Kiewel, Charles E. (1875–1969)

Charles Kiewel continued his father Jacob’s brewing legacy by owning and managing multiple breweries, including Kiewel Brewing Company in Crookston. His diverse business interests, from creameries to a farm to a bank, set him apart as one of Crookston’s most well-known businessmen.

Kilmarnock Books

The Kilmarnock Bookstore in downtown St. Paul brought writers and artists together at the dawn of the Jazz Age and helped inspire some of the best work of their careers. Nearly a hundred years later, the Twin Cities are considered among the most literary cities in the United States.

King Wheat in Southeastern Minnesota

Minnesota's southeastern counties held a commanding position during the second half of the nineteenth century, considered the state's King Wheat era. In these decades, many farmers throughout the state grew wheat in preference to all other crops.

King, Josias R. (1832–1916)

With the fall of Fort Sumter in 1861, Minnesota became the first state to offer troops to fight the Confederacy. Josias Redgate King is credited with being the first man to volunteer for the Union in the Civil War.

KleinBank

KleinBank is the largest family-owned state bank in Minnesota, with assets worth over $1.4 billion in 2012. There are nineteen locations throughout Minnesota, including Buffalo, Chanhassen, Cologne, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Norwood Young America, Otsego, St. Bonifacius, and Victoria.

Kline Sanatorium

The Kline Sanatorium was built in 1902 by Dr. James Kline and served hundreds of patients before it closed in 1935. Serving as a shelter for those left without homes in the wake of a 1939 tornado, the building again provided relief for people in the area. Later, it served as a hotel and then as a private residence and apartments. It remains one of the city of Anoka’s more iconic structures, clearly visible as you enter the city from across the Mississippi River.

Klingensmith, Florence “Tree Tops” (1904–1933)

The first licensed female pilot in North Dakota and a pioneer of aviation, Florence “Tree Tops” Klingensmith made a name for herself in air racing circuits, winning several prizes and setting records. At a time when women were expected to stay at home, Klingensmith followed her own path.

Knights of Labor in Minnesota

The Knights of Labor shaped business and political policy in Minnesota communities in the late nineteenth century by working with the Farmers' Alliance and advocating for shorter work days, equal pay for women, child labor laws, and cooperation between workers.

Knute Nelson Memorial, St. Paul

In December of 1928, the Knute Nelson Memorial was unveiled on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol. The memorial celebrates the impact of Norwegian immigration in Minnesota by portraying Nelson as a Norwegian American hero.

Knutson, Coya (1912‒1996)

Coya Knutson, a Norwegian American farmer from North Dakota, became Minnesota’s first congresswoman when she was elected in 1954. Though her political career was groundbreaking and packed with important legislation, it was cut short by her husband and political rivals.

Koehler, Robert (1850–1917)

Robert Koehler was a German-born American painter, educator, and arts organizer known for his pivotal role in the development of arts exhibitions and arts education in Minnesota. He was the director of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts from 1893 to 1914 and was a central figure in the founding of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Kolthoff, Izaak Maurits (1894–1993)

Izaak Maurits Kolthoff was a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Minnesota from 1927 to 1962. He published over a thousand papers, wrote more than a dozen books, and created and edited the first comprehensive treatise of analytical chemistry. He also played a key part in the development of synthetic rubber during and after World War II. He is known as the “father of modern analytical chemistry.”

Korean Transracial Adoption in Minnesota

Korean adoption to the United States began at the end of the Korean War and continues in the 2010s. Over 200,000 Korean children have been adopted worldwide, with over 120,000 joining American homes. Minnesota has the highest concentration of Korean adoptees of any state, and its large and visible Korean adoptee population has made crucial contributions to local culture.

La Prensa de Minnesota

La Prensa is the first state-wide Spanish-language and bilingual newspaper in Minnesota dedicated to informing and representing issues pertinent to the Latinx and Chicanx community.

How labor and labor organizing have shaped the state

Labor and Labor Organizing in Minnesota

Since statehood, Minnesota workers have joined together to improve and protect their livelihoods, rights, and voices in the workplace. Labor organizations, especially unions, have stood up for members’ interests with employers. They have participated in politics to influence society for the benefit of all working people. Minnesota labor has experienced successes and setbacks, times of positive relations with businesses and government, and times of hostility. Minnesotans have been national innovators in labor strategies and organizational forms.

Labor Lyceum and Workmen’s Circle

A small, committed group of Jewish immigrants raised the funds needed to build the Labor Lyceum at 1426 Sixth Avenue North in Minneapolis in 1915. The two-story brick and stucco building was a hub for radical Jewish cultural, political, and social activities for the next thirty-five years.

Lac qui Parle Mission

Lac qui Parle Mission in Chippewa County was the leading station of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions’ work among Dakota people between 1835 and 1854. Though missionaries cited it as the most successful project of its kind among the Dakota, the mission failed in its objective to replace Dakota culture with European American lifeways. Throughout its existence Lac qui Parle was a multicultural community, where Dakota people and European Americans cooperated with each other but experienced deep divides.

Lacemaking at Birch Coulee, 1893–1926

The lace-making school that operated at Birch Coulee at the turn of the twentieth century is an important part of the history of the Lower Sioux Indian Community. Although the school was an extension of the assimilation efforts directed towards Dakota people in the late 1800s, the Birch Coulee lace-makers used the project to support their community, and to continue a long tradition of communal artmaking among Dakota women.

Lake Harriet Bandshell Park

When a streetcar line first reached the shores of Lake Harriet (Bde Unma) in Minneapolis in the 1880s, it triggered decades of building projects designed to accommodate visitors who could reach the site easily from other Twin Cities locations. Beginning in 1888, five successive structures occupied the northwest corner of the lake—the most recent being the fanciful Milo Thompson-designed bandshell, which opened in 1986.

Lake Minnetonka Resort Hotels

From early inns and boarding houses to the magnificent three-hundred-room Hotel Lafayette, during the last decades of the nineteenth century, Lake Minnetonka was transformed into one of the resort capitals of America. In the 1870s and 1880s, tourists from across the nation came to stay at the resort hotels that prospered on the shores of one of Minnesota's most famous lakes.

Lake Superior Zoo (Duluth Zoo)

Since its opening in 1923, the Lake Superior Zoo has evolved into a modern attraction accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) with hundreds of animals from around the world. Zoo staff work to provide close-up animal experiences that inspire connections to wildlife and action towards conservation in northern Minnesota and around the world.

Lake Vermilion–Soudan Underground Mine State Park

The Lake Vermilion–Soudan Underground Mine State Park occupies over four thousand acres in the far northeast corner of Minnesota. The site contains a historic underground iron mine as well as the fifth largest lake in Minnesota and its surrounding habitat.

Lake Winnibigoshish, Leech Lake, and Pokegama Falls Dams

Winnibigoshish, Leech Lake, and Pokegama Falls Dams were built in the Mississippi Headwaters during the late nineteenth century. These structures preceded the construction of the Headwaters reservoir system and played key roles in flood prevention and river control during the 20th century.

Lakewood Cemetery Memorial Chapel, Minneapolis

The Memorial Chapel at Lakewood Cemetery (3600 Hennepin Avenue) in Minneapolis is one of the few buildings that can claim to be modeled after two World Heritage Sites. Its exterior, designed by architect Harry Wild Jones, was inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Its interior was designed by J&R Lamb Studios of New York and drew inspiration from St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

Land Speculation, 1854–1857

Between 1854 and 1857, a craze for platting town sites and selling the deeds to settler-colonists swept through Minnesota. Speculators poured into the territory hoping to make their fortunes, and many succeeded. An estimated 700 town sites were platted during this time, though most of them were never developed or were abandoned after a few years. Ultimately, the mania of land speculation ended when the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company went bankrupt in 1857, causing a financial panic through the country.

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