MN90: Itchless Underwear

MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds

Minneapolis-based Munsingwear cornered the union suit market in the early 1900s and went on to become the largest underwear company in the world. MN90 producer Marisa Helms tells us that Munsingwear’s rise to under garment dominance all started with the invention of “itchless wool,” a revolution in its time.

MN90: Jim Denomie’s Year of Daily Paintings

Jim Denomie, an Ojibwe artist in Minneapolis, had been painting for only fifteen years. Now fifty, he wanted to bring the fun back into his art by making a painting a day for a year. But that was after spending all day at his construction job. MN90’s Britt Aamodt tells the story.

MN90: Joe Huie’s Cafe

Politicians ate there. Celebrities, too, apparently even a king—Elvis Presley. It was Joe Huie’s Café, open twenty-four hours, every day. And, for twenty years, it was the place to go for Chinese in Duluth. Britt Aamodt reports.

MN90: Kiss Me, I'm Minnesotan

Archbishop John Ireland helped numerous Irish prosper in America and Minnesota. MN90 Producer Allison Herrera talks about the man behind the boulevard in St. Paul. Includes an interview with Ann Regan, author of Irish in Minnesota, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002.

MN90: Minnesota's African American Press

Minnesota has one of the more robust black newspaper scenes in the country. At one time, there were nearly one hundred. The oldest such newspaper is The Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, based in Minneapolis. As Allison Herrera points out, these newspapers not only informed African Americans about news and culture of the day, they did it with literary flair.

MN90: Minnesota's Civil Rights Visionary

While Martin Luther King Jr. may be the name most people think of when they think of civil rights, there’s another seminal character in the story of equality in the U.S. MN90 Producer Andi McDaniel learns about Roy Wilkins, who grew up in St. Paul and attended the University of Minnesota.

MN90: Minnesota's Civil War Mettle

MN90 producer Marisa Helms describes the creation of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1861 and highlights its actions at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Includes an interview with Matthew Cassady of Historic Fort Snelling.

MN90: Minnesota's GLBT Champion

Allan Spear accomplished a lot in his three decades in the Minnesota Senate. But it’s the 1993 Minnesota Human Rights Act that he would call his “proudest legislative victory.” MN90 Producer Andi McDaniel finds out how one of the first openly gay Americans serving in elected office made Minnesota proud.

MN90: Minnesota's Massive Fire of 1918

In a matter of hours, a series of devastating fires changed the look of Northern Minnesota for decades. The Cloquet/Moose Lake fires of 1918 resulted in a loss life, millions of dollars in property damage, and displacement of thousands of Minnesotans. Producer Allison Herrera tells us more about the spark that lit the flames in this MN90 segment.

MN90: Minnesota's Most Able Attorney

To say that Frederick McGhee had a remarkable life would be an understatement. Born into slavery, he became the first African American attorney to practice in MN. He was among the founders of the NAACP. He argued against separate but equal laws in 1910, nearly forty years before Plessy vs. Ferguson. MN90 producer Allison Herrera tells us about his legacy.

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