Recent content from Curt Brown
New headstone marks grave of Native soldier from Minnesota who fought in the Civil War
People who drive by the rural Rice County cemetery are "very rarely aware heroes lay in their midst."
Bloomington woman worked as aeronautical engineering 'cadette' during WWII
Loraine Teninga Plasman was one of dozens of young women who took a 10-month crash course at the University of Minnesota.
One Minnesota WWII veteran's story amplifies what so many endured
A retired bond trader compiled letters sent to the New Prague Times for a book, published this spring.
Century-old Minneapolis quilt stitched with names from days gone by
Rosemount woman has spent more than 100 hours on online genealogy research to find out more about the 318 signatures.
Irish descendants are embracing St. Paul's forgotten Connemara Patch
The former site of the four-block shantytown at the base of Dayton's Bluff on St. Paul's East Side is now part of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.
She faced racism, he fled the Nazis: A Minnesota couple look back at a century of history
An afternoon of living history was something to relish.
Dayton, Minn., revives its French-Canadian past
Dayton's rich French-Canadian roots will be the focus of an upcoming presentation.
Axel Hayford Reed: Glencoe's one-armed pioneer dynamo
The indefatigable businessman, politician and Civil War veteran was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Excelsior man dives into 1880 family murder committed by his great-great-grandmother
"If she did kill him," the St. Peter Times reported, "she simply put out of existence a notorious thief, for doing which she is entitled to the thanks of all mankind."
Letters survive, though author did not, from 1862 U.S.-Dakota War
Four surviving kids from family wound up raising 26 children, and their family tree now includes more than 1,000 descendants.
New book by family historian reveals Minnesota clan's 'messy' history
Unlike many family histories that simply string together events, Daryl Lawrence weaves in a second layer of research to place Effie Schwartz and her mother, Annie Wendell, in the context of their times.
1887 home built by Albert Lea's first doctor has sheltered his family for generations
The house built by Dr. Albert Clark Wedge went on the National Register of Historical Places in 1986.
Lake City's Anna Underwood helped open State Fair gates to women
Fruit orchard manager was active in the women's suffrage movement.
1883 tornado leveled Rochester, but opened the way for St. Marys Hospital and the Mayos
Injuries from the intense twister prompted Franciscan nuns to lobby for a hospital.
Book breathes new life into 1894 Duluth murder mystery
A 7-year-old's ghastly discovery one chilly August morning prompted a long search for the truth.
Hennepin County museum exhibit tells colorful tale of Minneapolis pioneer family
An adventure-loving former sailor and his wife settled far from the sea in Minnesota Territory.
How a Minneapolis businessman and a baseball icon made Minnesota major league
Wheelock Whitney's work with Branch Rickey helped set the stage for major league baseball to expand to Minnesota in 1961.
World wars claimed Minnesota woman's brother and the son she named after him
Mary McGowan "was the real hero," her grandson says.
Swedish pioneer's farmhouse near Waconia slated for restoration
Andrew Peterson was passionate about growing apple trees and keeping a diary.
'Forgotten' artist sketched his way from Willmar to Disney and Bugs in California
Illustrator Ralph Heimdahl does live on at St. Cloud State University, where he studied, graduating in 1930.
A Minnesota bootlegger's son delves into his father's lawless past
He was a "swashbuckling suspect" who didn't like to drink.
Two Ojibwe women shaped Minneapolis' Indigenous history
Winnie Jourdain and Emily Peake are featured in a new anthology about urban Indians.
Minnesota photographer chronicled 1960s Airstream caravan from Singapore to Portugal
Airstreams hired Fran Hall for a 14-month, 31-nation publicity campaign.
University of Minnesota bug expert advocated for a free Ukraine
Alexander Granovsky pioneered the use of chemicals to control cutworm, grubs and potato bugs.
Lake City will honor man who created water skiing on Lake Pepin 100 years ago
Boosters will unveil a statue of Ralph Samuelson on July 2.
'Hushed-up' WWII ship attack claimed the lives of nine Minnesotans
A German missile sank the British troop ship the HMT Rohna after it left Algeria bound for Egypt, killing 1,138.
Grasshoppers swarmed in 1870s, leaving Minnesota farmers destitute
The grasshopper plague devastated the state for four years, gobbling up a half-million acres of wheat, corn, oats and barley.
50 years later, the Virginia Piper kidnapping remains a Minnesota mystery
In some ways, her abduction was a story with a happy ending — but also one that left two nagging questions.
Black baseball pioneer who once played in Stillwater will get Cooperstown honors
Bud Fowler played for more than a dozen minor league teams, ranging from Vermont to the New Mexico Territory.
Polish ancestors' immigration to Minnesota inspired D.C. art show near Russian Embassy
"My family history was always out there, but didn't feel alive" until a cousin in Minneapolis sent a wedding photo of their great-grandparents, said Wayne Brezinka, whose art show runs through May 15
Freed Minnesota prisoner brought home well-baked German souvenir from WWII
His family saved the bread he brought home from Germany —his first meal after being released from his captors — almost 80 years ago.
Photographer's images of 19th-century Minnesota going up for auction
Benjamin Franklin Upton developed thousands of negatives in his custom-equipped, horse-drawn wagon.
Unconventional couple etched and painted their way into Minnesota's art scene
Clara Mairs and Clement Haupers lived and traveled together from the 1920s until her death in 1963.
Minnesota farmer-statesman Frank Billings Kellogg championed peace
Kellogg Boulevard namesake was a renowned trust-busting lawyer, U.S. senator, Nobel Peace Prize winner and World Court judge.
Pacifist volunteers starved themselves for science in Minnesota study during WWII
Conscientious objectors to World War II volunteered for yearlong University of Minnesota study.
Amelia Earhart's helmet that sold for $825,000 spent decades in Minnesota closets
An Edina man's mother got the helmet from a boy who had a crush on her; they were among a crowd greeting the famous aviator in 1929.
Duluth Central hoopster became state tourney pioneer in 1918
The story of basketball pioneer "Boots" Watts is sadly filled with questions.
Tony DeVito was killed by cronies 70 years ago. His body is still missing.
"It was bootlegging and and breadlines in those days."
Remembering Abbott Northwestern Hospital's two founders
Amos Abbott and Harriet Walker started two hospitals, Abbott and Northwestern, that would merge decades after their deaths.
Eighty years after WWII, Red Cross volunteer Ginny Allen recalls her service
Minnesotan was nicknamed "G.I. Jill" during WWII for her upbeat radio programs broadcast to Allied troops.
Forgotten badge resurfaces 127 years after Hastings officer's death
Albert Jacobson was the first law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in Dakota County and still the only one slain in the history of the Hastings police.
After Minnesota years, journalist Carl Rowan became diplomatic pioneer
His improbable rise from poverty to international diplomacy is the focus of a PBS documentary premiering Feb. 15.
Search for racial justice sent 1928 University of Minnesota grad across the globe
Globetrotting reporter Homer Smith Jr. lived in Moscow and Ethiopia before returning to the U.S.
Minnesota woman committed by husband wrote harrowing 'Poems From the Asylum'
Martha Nasch's granddaughter and great-granddaughter say her breakdown might have stemmed from intubation during a mysterious surgery.
Back in 1992, Betty White visited Minnesota's real St. Olaf
Star charmed the namesake for her "Golden Girls" character's hometown.
A Minnesota farmer, Civil War soldier and builder recounts his 'eventful life'
Great-grandson shares memoir by Thomas Charles Barnes.
How a girl named Horace befriended an outlaw named Younger
Horace Greeley Perry became one of Minnesota's first female journalists.
Holocaust prompted political scientist Ted Mitau to make a difference
Like other Jewish kids growing up in Germany in the 1930s, Gunter Theodore Mitau was forced to wear a Star of David and attend a…
Before Fauci, there was Ohage: St. Paul's health czar
When 1,200 doctors gathered in the Twin Cities in 1930 for the Interstate Postgraduate Medical Association convention, they took a minute to honor an old…
Looking back on Sitting Bull's two visits to St. Paul in 1884
The tours were punctuated with press briefings, demonstrations of cigar-rolling and a telephone, ballet and theater performance, even an aborted assassination attempt.
St. Paul hospice has helped the dying for 80 years
Our Lady of Peace will commemorate its anniversary with a candle-lighting ceremony Tuesday.
Was Hugo named for a great French writer — or an otherwise forgotten Duluth mayor?
In the research process, a David vs. Goliath clash of Minnesota history buffs emerged — and the underdog won.
A tale of two Minnesota graves that go way, way back
"It is an odd chain of events whereby the War of 1812 would have such a Minnesota connection," Curt Bradford writes.
Remembering fallen Minneapolis firefighter Charlie Birkeli
The father of three was the first Minneapolis firefighter in 17 years killed in the line of duty when he died in 1965.
Minneapolis fighter pilot shattered barriers in WWII
At 97, Harold Haywood Brown is one of just a few surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
Japanese-born vet Edward Yamazaki a rarity at Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Edward Yamazaki owned a north Minneapolis cafe and lived in Linden Hills.
One of Austin's founders was also its first murder victim
Some say George Hormel put Austin, Minn., on the map when he began processing pork along the Cedar River there in 1891.But more than 30…
Finnish white-tailed deer herd started as Minnesota gift
All those Finnish whitetails can trace their roots to that first Minnesota gift in 1934, as well as another six fawns flown over from the Iron Range in 1948.
Vigilante justice descended on dark night in Glencoe, 1896
The lynchings made the front page of the New York Times. But no one came forward to identify the vigilantes or push for their arrests.
Bloomington woman's letters describe amazing WWII trek
A new book, "Love, Della," has 193 of the letters from Della Fahley.
Gophers reserves saw WWII duty
KARE-TV reporter Danny Spewak's new book "From the Gridiron to the Battlefield" chronicles the 1941 Gophers.
Minneapolis anti-vaxxer's death in 1903 resonates today
The Minneapolis Anti-Vaccination League was formed 120 years ago this month, opposing mandated inoculations for schoolchildren.
Burned-out University of Minnesota dental student filled hole in heart with secret elopement
University of Minnesota dental student Robert Ostergren was so miserable he couldn't sleep. So he wrote another of his countless letters to Esther Eldora Anderson,…
Minnesota Boat Club still rowing after 151 years
The club is celebrating a COVID-delayed 150th anniversary as the state's oldest athletic organization on Sept. 11 with a day of races and events.
Sculptor climbed from Duluth farm to congressional hall
After her mother died in 1938, Leona Evelyn Raymond carved a remarkable career restart.
Two days in court, 25 years apart, frame Minneapolis mobster Kid Cann's career
As he rose from Prohibition-era bootlegger to Minneapolis crime boss, Isadore "Kid Cann" Blumenfeld regularly spun through the revolving doors of justice — and mostly…
Strangled Minneapolis woman's death remains unsolved 84 years later
Laura Kruse's body was found after she took a streetcar home from a party at her beauty school.
Minneapolis shoeshiner Dorsie Willis waited 66 years for Army apology
His tarnished service record had hurt his hopes for finding a better job.
At 94, retired engineer 'blessed' to have wed identical twins
Gerald Williams recently completed a 10-year project, writing a 241-page memoir for his grandkids. How he ended up marrying twins emerges as the most intriguing subplot.
Dog tag found in Italy returned to Minnesota family 77 years after soldier vanished
The hope was that returning Harlan William Melinsky's dog tag to his Minnesota relatives would "give some consolation to the family."
Towing mogul's rare car collection hits auction block
The auction includes vintage hood ornaments, cash registers, a player piano, tin auto signs and old hubcaps.
Female mapmakers detailed Minnesota's Arrowhead back in 1929
The colorful, meticulously detailed map is packed with stories of Native American lore, French Canadian explorers and some fun facts and sketches.
Dark day at Split Rock: Two keepers drowned in 1910
As Split Rock Lighthouse's first head keeper from 1910 to 1928, Orren "Pete" Young cautioned countless sailors from his cliff-top perch overlooking Lake Superior, 50…
Let's remember the Stark brothers this Memorial Day
The brothers died the same day in 1944 when their B-17 crashed. They were among 9,765 Minnesotans killed in World War II.
