Once you start noticing Minnesota’s water towers, they seem to be everywhere — and some are impossible to miss. There’s one shaped like a giant ear of corn, another painted like a fishing bobber and an old tower transformed into an enormous Swedish coffee pot.
That made Curious Minnesota listener Kathleen Brenk wonder: Does Minnesota actually have more water towers than other states?
Reporter Carson Hartzog went looking for an answer and discovered that the question is surprisingly difficult to settle. Most states don’t publish comprehensive water-tower counts. But Minnesota does have something unusual: a dedicated enthusiast who has traveled the state photographing, categorizing and documenting its towers one by one.
In this episode, host Erica Pearson and Hartzog explore why Minnesota’s relatively flat landscape may make its water towers especially noticeable, how the towers store water and help maintain pressure, and why communities turn these utilitarian structures into giant advertisements for local identity. They also revisit the infamous moment in 1956 when someone climbed a Moorhead water tower and painted “Elvis for President” across it.

Once you start noticing Minnesota’s water towers, they seem to be everywhere — and some are impossible to miss. There’s one shaped like a giant ear of corn, another painted like a fishing bobber and an old tower transformed into an enormous Swedish coffee pot. That made Curious Minnesota listener Kathleen Brenk wonder: Does Minnesota actually have more water towers than other states? Reporter Carson Hartzog went looking for an answer and discovered that the question is surprisingly difficult to settle. Most states don’t publish comprehensive water-tower counts. But Minnesota does have something unusual: a dedicated enthusiast who has traveled the state photographing, categorizing and documenting its towers one by one. In this episode, host Erica Pearson and Hartzog explore why Minnesota’s relatively flat landscape may make its water towers especially noticeable, how the towers store water and help maintain pressure, and why communities turn these utilitarian structures into giant advertisements for local identity. They also revisit the infamous moment in 1956 when someone climbed a Moorhead water tower and painted “Elvis for President” across it.

Why does Minnesota seem to have so many water towers?

Thousands of zombies once roamed the streets of Minneapolis every Halloween, staggering from bar to bar in elaborate costumes and fake blood. The Zombie Pub Crawl became a massive annual spectacle, even setting a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of zombies.
Then, after 15 years, it disappeared.
What happened to one of Minneapolis' wildest traditions? Curious Minnesota listener Brad wanted to know.
Host Erica Pearson talks with Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Laura Yuen, who tracked down the event's founders to uncover how a small gathering of friends turned into a zombie phenomenon — and why the organizers finally decided to pull the plug.
Along the way, hear some of the craziest stories from the crawl's heyday, including a chaotic concert featuring rapper DMX.
This episode originally aired in 2025.

Thousands of zombies once roamed the streets of Minneapolis every Halloween, staggering from bar to bar in elaborate costumes and fake blood. The Zombie Pub Crawl became a massive annual spectacle, even setting a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of zombies. Then, after 15 years, it disappeared. What happened to one of Minneapolis' wildest traditions? Curious Minnesota listener Brad wanted to know. Host Erica Pearson talks with Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Laura Yuen, who tracked down the event's founders to uncover how a small gathering of friends turned into a zombie phenomenon — and why the organizers finally decided to pull the plug. Along the way, hear some of the craziest stories from the crawl's heyday, including a chaotic concert featuring rapper DMX. This episode originally aired in 2025.

What happened to Minneapolis' massive zombie pub crawl?

There’s a creek flowing beneath the streets of downtown Minneapolis — and most people walking above it have no idea it’s there.
Bassett Creek begins near Medicine Lake, winds through parks and neighborhoods, then disappears underground before passing beneath Target Field and downtown Minneapolis. Along the way, it even drops through an underground waterfall before eventually emptying into the Mississippi River.
So why did Minneapolis bury a natural waterway in the first place?
After a Curious Minnesota listener asked about the creek, reporter Susan Du dug into its history. By the early 1900s, Bassett Creek had become badly polluted with sewage and trash. Rather than restore it, city leaders chose to put much of it underground — an expensive decision that created engineering and flooding challenges for decades to come.
In this episode, host Erica Pearson and Du trace the hidden path of Bassett Creek, explore the choices that transformed it, and ask: Could Minneapolis ever bring the buried creek back into the daylight?

There’s a creek flowing beneath the streets of downtown Minneapolis — and most people walking above it have no idea it’s there. Bassett Creek begins near Medicine Lake, winds through parks and neighborhoods, then disappears underground before passing beneath Target Field and downtown Minneapolis. Along the way, it even drops through an underground waterfall before eventually emptying into the Mississippi River. So why did Minneapolis bury a natural waterway in the first place? After a Curious Minnesota listener asked about the creek, reporter Susan Du dug into its history. By the early 1900s, Bassett Creek had become badly polluted with sewage and trash. Rather than restore it, city leaders chose to put much of it underground — an expensive decision that created engineering and flooding challenges for decades to come. In this episode, host Erica Pearson and Du trace the hidden path of Bassett Creek, explore the choices that transformed it, and ask: Could Minneapolis ever bring the buried creek back into the daylight?

The secret creek flowing beneath downtown Minneapolis

Why hasn't Minnesota passed the Equal Rights Amendment?

What's the latest we know about COVID-19's treatment, transmission?

When you flush a toilet in the Twin Cities, where does everything go?

Do the things we recycle all actually get recycled in Minnesota?

How did Minnesota become one of the most racially inequitable states?

In wake of George Floyd's death, what does 'reforming' Minneapolis Police mean?

Why do so many Fortune 500 companies call Minnesota home?

How did Minnesota become the Gopher State?

Listener lightning round: 3 answers on history, geography, traditions of Minnesota

Why is Uptown south of downtown in Minneapolis?

What do you wonder about the people, places and culture of Minnesota? Listen to our community-driven reporting project, which invites listeners to ask questions that our newsroom researches and answers.

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