Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
What's the story behind Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge?
The largest mechanical bridge in Minnesota once operated very differently than it does today.
Curious Minnesota
Skid-steers, Softsoap and Nerf: 8 more Minnesota inventions that changed the world
One article couldn't hold all of the state's innovations that shape our daily lives.
Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
Why does Maplewood have such an odd shape?
The suburb bordering St. Paul is home to one of Minnesota's largest companies — and that's not an accident.
Curious Minnesota
What roles did Minnesota's Native American chiefs play? And who were some notable ones?
There are many misconceptions about these leaders, who sometimes had a fragile hold on power.
Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
What's the story behind the Minnesota communities in Arizona and Florida?
Even far away from their home state, Minnesotans often find each other.
Curious Minnesota
How did Northfield become home to St. Olaf and Carleton colleges?
The prominent private schools have given the town an outsized stature.
Curious Minnesota
What caused the 'horrific' deformities of Minnesota frogs in the 1990s?
The discovery by Minnesota middle schoolers became national news, leading to similar finds elsewhere in the country.
Curious Minnesota
Listen: What is Minnesota's deepest lake?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how humans created many of the state's deepest water bodies.
Curious Minnesota
What Minnesota inventions have shaped modern life?
Many know the story of the pacemaker and Post-it notes. But creative Minnesotans have devised hundreds of other products we take for granted.
Curious Minnesota
Did union rules prevent Leonard Bernstein from joining the Minnesota Orchestra?
The "West Side Story" composer's career might have unfolded very differently had he worked with his mentor in Minneapolis.
Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
What happened to Paul Wellstone's green campaign bus?
The vehicle became famous for its central role in an underdog campaign. It has survived two decades out of the spotlight, but its future is uncertain.
Curious Minnesota
Curious Minnesota
Curious Minnesota
What does it mean when Minnesota courts sentence offenders to 'the workhouse'?
Minnesota is one of the few states that still uses this term, which some feel is outdated.
Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
How do small animals survive Minnesota's brutal winters?
Birds, squirrels, frogs and other small critters adapt to frigid temperatures in different — and sometimes surprising — ways.
Curious Minnesota
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.
Curious Minnesota
Why did Duluth's economy collapse in the 1980s?
The Zenith City was once predicted to be the next Chicago. But its fortunes changed.
Curious Minnesota
How Minnesota farmers kept booze flowing during Prohibition
Mobsters became famous for bootlegging, but smaller moonshine operations dotted the countryside.
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Curious Minnesota
Curious Minnesota, a Star Tribune community-driven reporting project, puts readers' inquiries at the center of our newsroom's reporting.
