HOW POLITICS HAS SHAPED THE STATE

Politics in Minnesota

People in Minnesota have engaged in lively politics noted for a high level of citizen participation since the founding of the state in 1858 and long before. Often, they showed a willingness to use government to improve the state’s quality of life. Though Minnesota’s political parties have at times diverged from their national counterparts, they have produced leaders who made notable contributions to the nation.

Populism in Minnesota, 1868–1896

In the late nineteenth century, a movement arose in Minnesota and across the United States to support the interests of working people and to challenge the power of big business and wealthy tycoons. That movement, called populism, shaped the young state's politics for close to three decades.

Porter Kelsey House

The Porter Kelsey house was built in Andover in 1887 from materials produced by the owner’s own brickyard. In 2020, it is one of the few structures built with Kelsey Brickyard brick that still stands in Anoka County.

Positively Gay Cuban Refugee Task Force

Founded in Minneapolis by activists Thom Higgins and Bruce Brockway, the Positively Gay Cuban Refugee Task Force helped ninety gay Cuban men fleeing the regime of Fidel Castro find new homes in Minnesota in the summer of 1980.

Post-it Notes

Introduced to the public in 1980, the Post-it Note has become one of the Minnesota-based 3M Company’s most successful products.

Powell‽, J. Otis (1955–2017)

James Otis Powell (a.k.a. J. Otis Powell‽) was an influential Minnesota-based American spoken word poet. He was the founding producer of the award-winning Write On Radio! show at KFAI-FM in Minneapolis, an advisor for the Minnesota Spoken Word Association, a curator for Intermedia Arts, and a program director for the Loft Literary Center. He was also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Loft Creative Nonfiction Award, Jerome Foundation mid-career-artists grants, a Jerome Foundation travel-and-study grant, the Intermedia Arts Interdisciplinary McKnight fellowship, and the 2017 Sally Award at the Ordway Theater. The MN Spoken Word Association awarded Powell‽ its Urban Griot Innovator Award and inducted him into the MN Spoken Word Association Hall of Fame in 2009.

Power Line Controversy

The construction of a high-voltage power line across west-central Minnesota in the 1970s created a dispute about land use and energy needs that pitted farmers against large utilities and governmental agencies. The farmers began their opposition to the line by appearing at governmental hearings and in court proceedings. When those methods proved unsuccessful, protesters employed more confrontational methods.

Prairie Home Cemetery, Moorhead

Prairie Home Cemetery, founded in 1875, is the oldest cemetery in Moorhead. Many of the city's settler colonists, such as Randolph M. Probstfield and Solomon G. Comstock, are buried there. It inspired the name of Garrison Keillor’s famous National Public Radio (NPR) program A Prairie Home Companion.

Prairie Home Companion

Host Garrison Keillor pushed the boundaries of radio in the 1970s to develop A Prairie Home Companion, National Public Radio’s Saturday-night staple. The variety show’s features included Keillor’s Lake Wobegon monologue, fictional sponsors, music, and dramas.

Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture is a farming method that uses the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), sensors on the ground, and drones in the air to study individual farm fields. With these tools, farmers can fine-tune their approaches to planting, harvesting, and maintaining crops to save themselves time and money. Minnesota farmers have used the technology since the early 1990s to improve crop yields while protecting the health of their soil.

Prince (1958–2016)

Prince was a Minnesota-based singer, songwriter, musician, studio engineer, actor, director, dancer, and music legend. Over his nearly forty-year career, he sold more than100 million albums; he also won seven Grammys and an Oscar. He was the main creator of the “Minneapolis Sound,” a blending of rhythm and blues, funk, rock, pop, punk, and new wave that defined the music of the 1980s.

Private Schools in Carver County

Early schools in Carver County were typical of those found in nineteenth-century Minnesota. Schools were small then and grew out of the community's desire to educate local children. They were often held in the same building as the church or town meeting hall, and had ties to both. For this reason, they were not clearly public or private.

Probstfield, Randolph M. (1832–1911)

Randolph M. Probstfield is commonly considered Clay County’s first European settler-colonist. A farmer in the Red River Valley, he was a local leader in politics, education, and agricultural development from his arrival in Minnesota in 1859 until his death in 1911.

Professionalization of Nursing in Minnesota, 1898–1920

For most of its history, nursing was an unregulated profession. To raise both their reputation and their standard of care, Minnesota nurses during the Progressive Era founded local and statewide nursing associations. Using these to create community among members, influence training schools, and engage in legislative advocacy, these nurses transformed what had been a mixture of skilled and unskilled work into a full, licensed profession.

Progressive Era in Minnesota, 1899–1920

The growth of cities and industry in the late nineteenth century brought sweeping changes to American society. Minneapolis and Saint Paul grew rapidly. Urban labor provided new opportunities for Minnesotans as well as new challenges. Business practices and labor rights became topics of heated debate. The Progressive movement spread amid growing concerns about the place of ordinary Americans in the new urban landscape.

How Health and Medicine Have Shaped the State

Progressive Public Health, Innovative Medical Enterprise, and More

Expert Essay: Jennifer Gunn, Director of the Program in the History of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, touches on more than 300 years of state history to explain what has made Minnesota a medical mecca.

Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis

Erected in 1913 on Tower Hill, one of the highest elevations in Minneapolis, the Prospect Park Water Tower was built to increase water pressure in the area and thereby enhance firefighting efforts. Familiarly known as "The Witch's Hat," it has become the neighborhood's architectural mascot not for its function but for its singularity.

Public Schools in Carver County

Early schools in Minnesota were one-room schoolhouses. The first school in Carver County, built in 1855, was one of these. It became part of the first school district in Minnesota, Public School District #1 in Carver, which was formed in 1856.

Puckett, Kirby (1960–2006)

Kirby Puckett played twelve seasons as a center fielder for the Minnesota Twins. Known for both his playing skills and his spirit, “Puck” played a major role in rejuvenating the team and leading them to World Series victories in 1987 and 1991. Although his career was cut short by eye problems, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.

Quadriga: "The Progress of the State"

A gilded quadriga sculpture group titled "The Progress of the State" stands like a sentinel over the front façade of the Minnesota State Capitol. Architect Cass Gilbert commissioned Daniel Chester French, best known for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to do the work. He sculpted the chariot and human figures, and animal sculptor Edward Clark Potter created the horses. The quadriga (Latin for "four-horse chariot") has greeted capitol visitors since its installation in December 1906.

Quie, Halvor Halvorson (1834–1919)

An early settler-colonist in Wheeling Township (Rice County), Norwegian immigrant Halvor Quie is often remembered as a member of the Second Company of Minnesota Sharpshooters during the Civil War. He was instrumental in local religious and educational affairs and offered lasting support to St. Olaf College.

Race and Policing in the Twin Cities

The history of law enforcement in the Twin Cities, as in the rest of the United States, has been deeply influenced by race. Since the early twentieth century, many Minnesotans of color have responded to racial targeting and police brutality by forming community organizations and citizen patrols; others have served as officers themselves and grappled with racial inequality inside the police force.

Racial Housing Covenants in the Twin Cities

Minneapolis real estate developers began writing racial covenants—race-based property ownership restrictions—into property deeds in 1910. They were banned by the Minnesota state legislature in 1953, but their use in the early twentieth century laid the foundation for contemporary racial disparities in Minnesota.

Radisson, Pierre Esprit (1636/1640–1710)

Pierre Esprit Radisson’s 1659 expedition to Lake Superior and beyond opened a door to the North American fur trade. Through it, he earned a reputation as a courageous explorer and a cunning merchant. In the 2010s he is remembered as one of the first Europeans to travel to what became the state of Minnesota.

Ragamala Dance Company

Founded in 1992 by Ranee Ramaswamy and David Whetstone, Ragamala Dance Company is a leading dance ensemble of the Indian diasporaIndian diaspora in the United States. Through original works like Sacred Earth and Song of the Jasmine, the Minneapolis-based institution has made a global impact while maintaining its Minnesota roots.

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