Minnesota wrestles with U.S.-Dakota War 150 years later

150 years later, war's wounds still cut deep

Captured Sioux Indians in fenced enclosure on Minnesota River below Fort Snelling.

Photographer: Benjamin Franklin Upton (1818-)

Minnesota Historical Society Photograph Collection 1862-1863

Star Tribune: "A 150-year-old loop of rope, knotted into a hangman's noose, sits in a climate-controlled case in the underground archives of the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

Some say it should be burned, buried or returned to the hands of the Dakota people.

Others argue it should be displayed, like piles of shoes at Holocaust museums, as a powerful artifact to help people confront the grim story of the U.S.-Dakota War, which erupted in Minnesota in 1862 and ended with the largest mass execution in U.S. history.

The noose, and just what to make of it, is one sign of the historical reckoning looming this year as Minnesotans wrestle with how to mark the 150th anniversary of one its ugliest, yet often overlooked, episodes."

Also on MN Today

No deal struck in Crystal Sugar labor talks, company says 'window is closing'

Forum of Fargo Moorhead: "American Crystal Sugar Co. and the union representing locked-out workers are blaming each other for an unproductive negotiating session held Monday."

Coalition raises $830K for gay marriage ban

Fox9: "Minnesota for Marriage, a coalition of groups working to pass a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, says it raised $830,000 for its campaign last year."

$40K In Cattle Stolen From Minnesota Farm

WCCO: "The hunt is underway in western Minnesota for a steer thief.Police said someone stole 26 steer over the weekend in Madison, Minn."

After years on run, Maplewood man sentenced for $860,000 in fraud

Star Tribune: "More than three years after fleeing the continent upon conviction, a Maplewood man has been sentenced in federal court in Minneapolis for stealing more than $860,000 from people's bank accounts."

Bachmann presidential campaign ended 2011 in debt

Capitol View: "Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign committees ended the year owing a total of about $447,000, according to Federal Election Commission reports."

St. Paul teachers reach tentative contract deal

AP: "St. Paul Public Schools and its teachers' union have reached a tentative contract agreement with assistance from an outside mediator."

Minnesota's aerial moose count starts

AP: "Recent snowfall in northeastern Minnesota is letting researchers finally get going on their annual aerial survey of the region's struggling moose population."

iPad version of Kevin Kling children's book free today

Star Tribune: "Big Little Brother is a children's book by iconic Minnesota storyteller Kevin Kling that chronicles the experience of being an older brother with a younger, but larger sibling."

Arts Week on Midday: design for abandoned places

Midday: Marianne Combs hosts "Arts Week" on Midday, with today's co-host, architectural historian Larry Millett.

• Editor’s notebook: Covering the environment in 2014
• Best of Minnesota Scenes from 2014
• 50 years of memory making in the Boundary Waters
• ‘Fargo’ takes home two Emmys