Minnesota 150: The People, Places, and Things that Shape Our State

by Kate Roberts

The people have spoken. Minnesota wouldn't be Minnesota without Bob Dylan. Or the BWCA. Immigrant farmers. The American Indian Movement. Thousands of citizens nominated their favorite topics for inclusion in Minnesota 150. With short essays, eye-catching illustrations, and text from the winning nominations, Kate Roberts reveals the many ways in which our past becomes our collective history.

Read stories from people like former Iron Ranger Brian Weber, who wrote about watching the 1980 Olympic hockey team as a young "It makes me think of our neighbor, a miner with a very Finnish last name, who watched all the games with us. Thinking about it now, after the taconite expansion of the early to mid-1970s, this was the beginning of the end for the mines up there. And I think they knew it. But they felt they had a hockey team and a coach that was fighting for us. And hockey mattered." Learn about the genesis of such iconic businesses as the Greyhound Bus Company, which got its start when Hibbing natives Carl Wickman and Andrew Anderson bought a used Hupmobile, hoping to sell it at a profit.

Through surprising, little-known stories, Minnesota 150 explores how such intangibles as personal judgment, political climate, and popular taste can shape our view of the past.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2007

Reviews

[Kent Sturcken · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty fair reference book, but reading from start to finish was a bit of a grind

[Cori Edgerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I consider myself a dual citizen of both North Dakota and Minnesota, the title caught my attention right away. I was glad to see that of famous people Hubert H. Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, and Paul Bunyan were mentioned. Other noteworthy places and things include the American Indian Movement, the Duluth Lynchings, Itasca State Park, and the U.S.-Dakota War. I definitely learned some things that I didn't know about Minnesota such as it's famous or infamous international export...SPAM (yes, the canned meat product); John Thomas (1907-2002), a man with compassion that had no boundaries that resulted in saving around 6 million people; and The Willmar 8, who came to symbolize the struggle of women to receive equal pay of men.

[Allison Reimers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't agree with all the picks in this book but I don't think you could please everybody with something like this. I wish the pictures had been nicer. Some real surprises in here like the fact that First Ave. in Minneapolis used to be a Greyhound bus station and that Native Americans come from all over for the special stone at the Pipestone Quarry. There was a lot of info in here about the Native Americans' contributions to the state and also quite a bit about the immigrants that came here from Scandinavia. If you are interested in the history of Minnesota (and who isn't?) then check this one out.

[Moorhead Public Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would actually rate this 3.5 stars!

This book is an excellent choice for anyone interested in Minnesota history, culture, and fun facts. I recommend t hat you take a look at the following sections: the American Indian Movement, the Duluth Lynchings, Hubert H. Humphrey, Itasca State Park, the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team, and SPAM (yes, the canned meat).

[Abigail (Abbe) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything with Dr. Norman Borlaug in it is 5 stars.

[Jeff Bloomquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool. Lots of things I never knew about MN

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice summary of the people and events that shaped Minnesota. Many of the obvious choices were there, but plenty of the more obscure bits of history were included as well.