Minnesota History

Jay Cooke Swinging Bridge celebrates its centennial with free park day, summer of events
In honor of the bridge’s big birthday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is celebrating with a summer of educational programming and events for park visitors. It all kicks off with Free Park Day on Saturday.
Two years after a tornado, Forada finds a new sense of community
On May 30, 2022, an EF-2 tornado leveled much of Forada. Since then, the small west-central town has almost fully recovered. While some residents lost everything, in the months and years that followed many said they have gained something in the meantime — a sense of community. 
After four-year hiatus, underground mine tours resume at Soudan State Park
For the first time in four years — after the COVID-19 pandemic and then a $9.3 million reconstruction project — public tours of the Soudan Underground Mine in northeast Minnesota are poised to start up again on Memorial Day weekend.
‘I’m glad it’s home’: A family heirloom links back to Bemidji’s founding and Indigenous history
Firearm safety begins with personal responsibility, and over a century ago it wasn’t much different. But a historic moment in time integral to Bemidji’s founding is shedding new light on that importance — connecting the past with the present — while, with old age, bringing one man a better understanding of himself.  
Grand Portage Band and MnDOT to unveil Ojibwe-English road signs
This week the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and MnDOT are unveiling six dual-language English-Ojibwe signs along Highway 61, the first time the agency will post signs in an indigenous language outside reservation boundaries.
PWHL Minnesota attracts 6,880 fans per game (so far) in inaugural season
Crowds larger than expected in inaugural season of women’s hockey league. “I was hoping we’d get 3,000 each game,” said Natalie Darwitz, PWHL Minnesota general manager. “I was thinking I’d be really, really happy if that happened.”