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.

MN90: Minnesota's Most Controversial Piece of Land

The one million acres of land and water bordering Minnesota and Canada called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, or BWCA, began to be set aside for preservation purposes in 1902. MN90 producer Marisa Helms recounts some of its history.

MN90: Minnesota’s First Documented AIDS case

In 1981, Bruce Brockway wasn’t feeling well. Doctors didn’t know what was wrong. Then in June, the CDC published a report on five men in Los Angeles dead from a mysterious ailment. Britt Aamodt looks at Minnesota’s first documented AIDS case.

MN90: Minnesota’s State Bird

It isn’t a Minnesota summer without the sound of a loon coming off the lake. Producer Britt Aamodt wonders, “What are all those sounds the loon makes, and what do they mean?”

MN90: Minnesota’s Super Apple

Minnesota’s short growing season makes it tough to run an orchard here. But thanks to the University of Minnesota’s fruit-breeding program, there are a growing number of varieties that can withstand our winters. MN90 producer Andi McDaniel learns the story behind the wildly successful Honeycrisp apple and its U of M-born cousins.

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