Curious Minnesota

Last fall, Curious Minnesota listeners voted on their favorite questions submitted by people stopping by the Star Tribune's booth at the State Fair. There was a three-way tie for the top question. Those winning questions were: "What is the oldest building in Minnesota?" "How did the Northwest Angle come about?" and "How big does a body of water need to be to qualify as a lake?"

Reporter Katy Read wrote stories on two of those questions for the Curious Minnesota column. She joins the show to discuss the answers with host Eric Roper.

LINKS:

How did Minnesota get its shape on the map? (October 2021 article)

What is the oldest building in Minnesota? (December 2021 article)

The Jolly Green Giant has moved on from Minnesota. His legacy, however, lives on in the form of an iconic Minnesota River Valley billboard. Reporter Brooks Johnson joins Ash Miller to talk about the history of the Green Giant brand and what the billboard means for those Minnesotans who drive by it every day.

LINKS:

The Jolly Green Giant has moved on from Minnesota. So who is maintaining his iconic billboard? (January 2022 Curious Minnesota story)

Jolly Green Giant commercial

The wildfires of 1894 and 1918 remain two of the worst natural disasters in Minnesota history, more than a century after destroying entire towns in the northern portion of the state. These rapidly moving blazes claimed more than 900 victims. What caused them to spread so quickly? Could it happen again?

Hannah Sayle and Duluth reporter Jana Hollingsworth discuss the circumstances that led to these tragedies, and what lessons were learned to prevent them from repeating.

LINKS:

Historic wildfires once destroyed entire cities in northern Minnesota. Could it happen again? 

Indigenous people have been living in the area that became Minnesota since ancient times. Anton Treuer, professor of Objiwe at Bemidji State University, joins the podcast to discuss the Native Americans who inhabited the state prior to European settlement -- and their tribal affiliations.

LINKS:

Which Indigenous tribes first called Minnesota home?

Star Tribune reader Sharon Carlson joins the podcast to discuss her questions that have been answered by Curious Minnesota. Eight of Carlson's questions, linked below, have appeared in the column.

How did St. Cloud get its name? It's a strange story

Are Minnesota's day-care costs really the highest in the nation?

Why does Minnesota have one of highest rates of volunteering in the country?

Why is Minnesota the only mainland state with an abundance of wolves?

What was the most destructive tornado in Minnesota history?

Why was the career of Minnesota's first congresswoman cut short?

Frozen for the future: Does Minnesota have any cryonics facilities?

What does it take to become a police officer in the state of Minnesota?

Additionally, here is an article about the police training video that Sharon mentioned during the conversation.

Streetcars were a defining feature of what it meant to live in Minneapolis and St. Paul in the early 20th Century. The elimination of the streetcar system in the 1950s, in favor of buses, dramatically reshaped life in the Twin Cities. A number of unusual characters played a role in that switch -- several of whom went to prison.

Hannah Sayle and Eric Roper discuss organized crime's impact on Twin City Rapid Transit Company during this period.

LINKS:

Was organized crime behind the demise of the Twin Cities streetcar system? (Nov. 2021 Curious Minnesota story)

Minnesota History magazine article about what occurred after the 1960 convictions

Minnesota is home to one of the most prominent roadway testing facilities in the nation, known as MnROAD. Researchers there study how different pavement types hold up amid real-world traffic on Interstate 94 and Minnesota's extreme weather.

Audience Producer Ash Miller joined the podcast to discuss how MnROAD is helping engineers around the country design better roads.

LINKS:

Why a slice of I-94 west of the Twin Cities is a 'candyland for researchers' (July 2021 Curious Minnesota story)

Overview of the different types of roadway materials being studied at MnROAD (U.S. DOT)

Video of low-volume road truck driver (MnDOT)

St. Anthony Falls has long been one of Minneapolis' top attractions. But the endurance of the falls is due to some complex infrastructure designed to halt erosion. A key component of that infrastructure is a hidden wall -- buried beneath the river -- that has protected the falls for roughly 145 years.

Little is known about the wall's condition, however. River historian John Anfinson believes there needs to be a comprehensive study of the structure's status. Anfinson is the former superintendent of the national park comprising the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities.

LINKS:

Graphic illustrating how the wall works

August 2021 article about the the wall

Vote for your favorite State Fair question

The next generation of cellular technology, known as 5G, will bring much faster speeds. But the rollout of 5G has been accompanied by a litany of new cellular antenna poles in some neighborhoods, particularly in Minneapolis.

Eric Roper and Ash Miller discussed the evolution of cellular technology and the reason for all the new antennas.

LINKS:

Why is there a new cellular pole in my Minneapolis neighborhood? (May 2021 Curious Minnesota story)

Map of small cell carrier-owned pole locations in Minneapolis

We asked fairgoers to tell us what they want to know about Minnesota during Curious Minnesota Day at the Star Tribune's State Fair building on August 28. Today's episode features recordings of many of the people who submitted questions. Click the link below to vote for your favorite!

Vote for your favorite question here (or by e-mailing [email protected])

See photos and video of the event (Instagram post)