Recent content from Eric Roper
Listen: What roles did Minnesota's Native American chiefs play? And who were some notable ones?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how these celebrated figures of the past navigated difficult decisions.
Listen: Why does Maplewood have such an odd shape?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how Maplewood was born out of leftover land — and became home to a signature Minnesota company.
Listen: How did Northfield become home to St. Olaf and Carleton colleges?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the collaborative roots of these two prominent institutions.
Listen: Did union rules prevent Leonard Bernstein from joining the Minnesota Orchestra?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how sometimes rejection is the beginning of an exciting new path in life.
Introducing the Curious Minnesota Collection. Every question we've answered — now in one place
Our new searchable database is home to more than 260 stories about Minnesota history and culture, all inspired by reader questions.
Listen: What does it mean when Minnesota courts sentence offenders to 'the workhouse'?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the background of these unique correctional facilities, which are neither jails nor prisons.
Listen: What is Minnesota's deepest lake?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how humans created many of the state's deepest water bodies.
Listen: How did Minnesota become the nation's top turkey state?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how a turkey turnaround a century ago made Minnesota birds a Thanksgiving staple around the country.
Listen: How much flour would it take to turn Lake Superior into bread?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how a teenager's question sent us down a leavened labyrinth.
How should Curious Minnesota expand in 2024?
Your feedback is important to shaping the future of this project, which will soon celebrate its fifth anniversary.
Listen: Did teenagers 'riot' when the Beatles stayed in downtown Minneapolis in 1965?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the chaotic aftermath of the Fab Four's Bloomington concert.
Listen: Did a Nazi sympathizer once represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how Ernest Lundeen's political career culminated in a fight to stay out of World War II — and came to a tragic conclusion.
Listen: How did Kid Cann become Minneapolis' most infamous gangster?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how Isadore "Kid Cann" Blumenfeld rode Prohibition to wealth and influence in the city.
Listen: Was Moorhead once a drinking destination?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how the Fargo-Moorhead area became a battleground over booze in the late 1800s.
Listen: Why did Spam become an international sensation?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the product's cultural legacy that extends across the globe — and even into our email inboxes.
Listen: Why did Prince decide to live in Chanhassen?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the pop star's decision to settle down in the western Twin Cities suburbs.
Listen: State Fair attendees tell us their questions about Minnesota
The Curious Minnesota podcast solicited questions from fairgoers. Which is your favorite?
Listen: Why is Minnesota such a hotbed of professional wrestling?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how locals helped develop this unique sport.
Listen: Why did Minnesota once require margarine to be dyed pink?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the state's crusade against the 'abomination' of margarine.
Listen: How did Tonka trucks get their start in Minnesota?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the local origins of this well-known children's toy.
Listen: Inside the mines and megamachines of the Iron Range
The Curious Minnesota podcast heads north to the mighty Mesabi, which helped fuel America's success story.
Listen: Why didn't Minneapolis and St. Paul ever merge?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how it was once considered 'manifest destiny' that the two cities would become one.
What happens to the plastic bags we recycle at grocery stores?
Our modern lives are flooded with plastic film, which cannot be put in curbside recycling bins.
Listen: Why does Minnesota have municipal liquor stores?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why Minnesota's alcohol regulations are unlike most other states.
Inside the mines and megamachines of the Iron Range
A family's question about large machines resulted in a Curious Minnesota field trip to the mighty Mesabi, a place that has fueled America's success story.
Listen: Why didn't Minneapolis gobble up its suburbs?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why the Minneapolis area fragmented into a web of smaller cities.
Listen: Did a famed parks leader import gray squirrels to Minneapolis — and have the red ones killed?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses Theodore Wirth's effort to replace one type of squirrel with another in the early 1900s.
Listen: Why was the utopian plan for Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside area never built?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the ambitious vision behind what is now Riverside Plaza.
Listen: What happened to Minneapolis' famous Weatherball?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the landmark that dominated Minneapolis' skyline for part of the 20th century.
Listen: How a Twin Cities ammunition factory dominated by women helped U.S. win WWII
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the unique history of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant.
Why didn't Minneapolis gobble up its suburbs?
Annexation once seemed likely. Instead, the Twin Cities became a region of fragmented local governments.
Listen: Why was the Mall of America built in Minnesota?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the origins of the country's largest indoor shopping center.
What is the largest machine in Minnesota?
Transformers inspired a family to hunt for a mechanical mammoth. Here's what we found.
Listen: Why are there so many stucco homes in the Twin Cities?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why the cement-based siding became especially popular in this region.
Listen: How did Minnesota become a window manufacturing hub?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the history of the state's window giants, Marvin and Andersen Windows & Doors.
Wind gusts are blowing away recent records in Minnesota. But is technology partly to blame?
Weather watchers are observing notable wind trends, though other factors could be boosting the numbers.
How we choose Curious Minnesota questions submitted by readers
Readers sent in nearly 800 questions in 2022. Help us keep the momentum going in the new year.
Listen: Minnesota companies once dominated the supercomputer industry. What happened?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the Minnesota companies that built some of the fastest computers in the world.
Listen: Why did Finnish immigrants come to Minnesota? (And no, they're not Scandinavian)
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why Minnesota has more residents of Finnish ancestry than any other state.
Listen: Did a TV debate decide one of Minnesota's most scandalous elections?
The Curious Minnesota podcast delves into the contentious 1990 gubernatorial campaign.
Third arson fire was most damaging to historic Stevens House in Minneapolis
Known as the "birthplace of Minneapolis," the 172-year-old property is in bad shape following three fires this year.
Listen: Does Minnesota really have the 'World's Oldest Rock'?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the 3.5 billion-year-old history of Minnesota's most ancient artifact.
Listen: Who was Hennepin and why did Minnesota name so many things after him?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the 17th century Catholic priest whose name is prevalent in the Twin Cities.
Why did Finnish immigrants come to Minnesota? (And no, they're not Scandinavian)
Minnesota boasts more residents of Finnish ancestry than any other state. The story of how Finns arrived here is distinct from Swedes and Norwegians in several ways.
What happens to hazardous waste Minnesotans bring to drop-off facilities?
Minnesota is a national leader for its extensive network of hazardous waste collection programs.
Does Minnesota really have the 'World's Oldest Rock'?
The 3.5 billion-year-old rocks of southwestern Minnesota are known to geologists around the world.
Why has the Park Board allowed the 'birthplace of Minneapolis' to deteriorate?
The storied, 172-year-old structure in Minnehaha Park is in need of exterior repairs.
640th Avenue? 180th Street? The backstory behind long rural addresses
Those large numbers convey a lot of information about the geography of greater Minnesota.
Listen: Was Charles Lindbergh a Nazi sympathizer?
The Star Tribune's Kevin Duchschere discusses the Minnesota native's controversial statements and actions preceding America's involvement in World War II.
Listen: Why has the Park Board allowed the 'birthplace of Minneapolis' to deteriorate?
The Star Tribune's Eric Roper and Ash Miller discuss the unique history of the John H. Stevens House on the Curious Minnesota podcast.
Listen: How lumberjacks harnessed an 'ocean of pine' to build Minnesota
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the logistics behind Minnesota's booming 19th century logging industry.
Listen: How did Nicollet Island become one of Minneapolis' most unusual parks?
The Curious Minnesota podcast delves into the island's transformation from a 19th Century industrial hub.
Listen: Why did Scandinavian immigrants choose Minnesota?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the reasons that Norwegian and Swedish immigrants left their home countries for Minnesota starting in the mid-1800s.
Listen: Why isn't Minnesota's sacrifice at Gettysburg better remembered?
The Star Tribune's Kevin Duchschere discusses the First Minnesota regiment's heroism and legacy on the Curious Minnesota podcast.
Why did Scandinavian immigrants choose Minnesota?
No state in the country has more residents of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry.
Listen: The hidden electrical system that keeps our lights on
Reporter Mike Hughlett joins the Curious Minnesota podcast to discuss where Minnesota's electricity originates, and how it gets to homes.
Listen: Why do Minnesotans have accents?
The Curious Minnesota podcast delves into the accent's origins and what defines this uniquely Minnesotan way of speaking.
Listen: Why did Minneapolis' famous flour boom go bust?
The Curious Minnesota podcast explores how Minneapolis became a flour milling capital and why it didn't last.
Listen: The stories behind Minnesota's oldest building and the Northwest Angle
The Curious Minnesota podcast talks with reporter Katy Read about listeners' favorite questions from the State Fair.
Listen: Historic wildfires once destroyed part of Minnesota. Could it happen again?
The Curious Minnesota podcast talks with Jana Hollingsworth about the tragic fires of 1894 and 1918.
Listen: The Jolly Green Giant has left Minnesota. So who is maintaining his iconic billboard?
The Curious Minnesota podcast talks with Brooks Johnson about the history of the Green Giant brand and who is keeping its legacy alive.
Listen: Which Indigenous tribes first called Minnesota home?
The Curious Minnesota podcast talks with professor Anton Treuer about the ancient human history of Minnesota.
Why did Minneapolis' famous flour boom go bust?
The Mill City dominated the flour market for half a century. But it came to an end in 1930.
Listen: Meet the Curious Minnesota superfan behind some of our best questions
The Curious Minnesota podcast talks with Sharon Carlson about questions she has submitted to the column.
What does 'Minnesota' mean and how did the state get its name?
Long before Minnesota was a state, the name referred to a major body of water in the area.
Twin Cities area digging out after record Dec. 10 snowfall
Snow amounts ranged from 1 to 4 inches north of the metro area to 15 to 20 inches in Woodbury and southern suburbs. Several metro area cities declared snow emergencies.
