Morgan, Samuel Huntington (1911–2000)

Samuel Huntington Morgan was a long-time attorney regarded as a champion of Minnesota's outdoors. His advocacy efforts helped create, preserve, or expand many of the state's most popular open spaces, including Fort Snelling State Park, Lilydale Regional Park, Afton State Park, and the Gateway State Trail.

Monahan, Gene Ritchie (1908‒1994)

Gene Ritchie Monahan was a northern Minnesotan portrait and landscape artist. She is best remembered for the character and mood she conveyed in her portraits and for the realism in her pen-and-ink drawings for the Rainy Lake Chronicle, a weekly Minnesota newspaper with an international readership.

Brown, John A. (1841–1925)

John A. Brown, a Civil War veteran, settled in Cottonwood County in 1878 on land that he homesteaded near Windom. After surviving many hardships, he became one of the county’s best-known citizens and contributed significantly to its welfare and advancement.

Remick, Robert (1904‒1998)

Visual artist Robert Remick spent decades creating masterpieces that grace public buildings, galleries, business places, and homes. As his fame grew throughout his career, so did his generosity. The Remick Gallery in the Cottonwood County Historical Society building, the Remick Ridge Estates for senior living, and the Robert and Helen Remick Charitable Foundation Trust are named in recognition of his philanthropy.

Ramsey, Alexander (1815–1903)

Alexander Ramsey was Minnesota’s first territorial governor (1849–1853), second state governor (1860–1863), and a US senator (1864–1875). Although he directly contributed to the founding and the growth of Minnesota, he also played a major role in removing the area's Indigenous people—the Dakota and Ojibwe—from their homelands.

Ozaawindib (late 1700s‒?)

Ozaawindib was a prominent figure among the Cass Lake Ojibwe in the early 1800s. As an agokwa (a person deemed male at birth who took on women’s roles), she interacted with white travelers and traders in Minnesota and was active in conflicts with the Dakota. In 1832, she led Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and his expedition to the headwaters of the Mississippi. As a result, Schoolcraft gifted her a medal to designate her chief of the local Ojibwe.

Tripp, Alice Raatama (1918‒2014)

A self-proclaimed “jumper-inner,” Alice Tripp made her mark as a grassroots activist and self-taught farmer. She was a key leader of a movement opposing the CU Powerline, which began construction on western Minnesota farmland in the early 1970s. Tripp went on to steer a surprisingly successful gubernatorial campaign, and even briefly tried her luck in the 1980 presidential election.

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.

Lyght, John (1927–2010)

John Lyght, Minnesota’s first African American sheriff, faced different challenges than his constituents as one of the only African Americans in Cook County. A reputation for fairness, however, won him multiple re-elections with wide support between 1972 and 1994.

Gausta, Herbjorn (1854–1924)

Herbjorn Nilsen Gausta, one of the first Norwegian American professional artists, gained critical acclaim during the late nineteenth century for creating images of landscapes, people, and daily Norwegian American life. He may be best known, however, for his religious work, which comprises over 400 rural church altar paintings.

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