Terry Sauer
Curious MinnesotaEpisodes
Episodes of Curious Minnesota
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Pacemakers, Post-it notes and Spam rank among the state's best-known inventions. But creative Minnesotans devised hundreds of other products we take for granted. Reporter Brooks Johnson dug into this issue for Curious Minnesota and found so man
The familiar image of a stoic Native American chief wearing a headdress is in many ways a core American cultural stereotype. It has been memorialized in films and statutes, as well as exploited to sell cigarettes and motorcycles. But who are th
Maplewood arguably has the strangest border of any city in the Twin Cities metro area. Its L shape wraps around the northern and eastern edges of St. Paul. The origins of that border reveals an interesting history of development patterns in the
St. Olaf and Carleton colleges have left a big mark on the world. Their alumni have reached the highest levels of entertainment, the arts, politics and the legal system. A reader wanted to know how these two prominent private colleges ended up
Sometimes rejection is the beginning of an exciting new path in life. That's one takeaway from today's episode about Leonard Bernstein, who once planned to work at the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (now the Minnesota Orchestra). Reporter Jenna
It's not uncommon in Minnesota to see a news story about someone being sentenced to "the workhouse." But what is a workhouse? It turns out Minnesota is one of the only states still using this term, which describes unique facilities that are ne
Sometimes, what seems like a simple question unravels into something much more complex and surprising than we expected. That was the case with the question behind today's episode, regarding the deepest lake in Minnesota. Reporter Chloe Johnson
Minnesota has been a national leader in turkey production since the 1950s, and No. 1 for the last two decades. That wouldn't have been possible without collaboration between farmers and researchers at the University of Minnesota. Christopher Vo
Our winning question from the State Fair required some serious mathematics to answer. But the bakers at Duluth's Best Bread were up to the challenge. Reporter Christa Lawler joined host Eric Roper to discuss the logistics behind the Lake Superi
The Beatles' 1965 concert in Bloomington was a memorable evening for many young fans. But that event was just the beginning of a long night for some ardent followers of the Fab Four. Reporter Zoë Jackson joins host Eric Roper to discuss what ha
Ernest Lundeen spent three decades trying to succeed in Minnesota politics. But it was his final years as a U.S. Senator representing the state that have defined his legacy, since Lundeen was spreading Nazi propaganda in the runup to America's
Isadore Blumenfeld, a.k.a. Kid Cann, is the arguably biggest name in the criminal history of Minneapolis. He earned millions as a bootlegger during Prohibition and soon became a powerbroker in the city's corrupt political system. He was accused
Different laws -- and cultures -- sometimes collide at the borders between states. An example of this occurred in the late 1800s in the twin cities of Fargo and Moorhead, at the North Dakota-Minnesota border. North Dakota's prohibition on alcoh
Nearly 90 years since its invention in Minnesota, Spam's legacy extends far beyond the state. The pork product's importance during World War II gave it a large fanbase and spawned new international cuisine. Reporter Brooks Johnson joins host Er
Prince was raised in Minneapolis, but settled in Chanhassen as his career blossomed. Why Chanhassen? Star Tribune music critic Jon Bream, who has been covering Prince since the 1970s, explains the backstory behind the musician's decision to liv
No event is more quintessentially Minnesotan than the State Fair. So it was important that Curious Minnesota be there to hear what was on fairgoers' minds. We set up shop at the Star Tribune's State Fair building on September 2. In the morning
Minnesota features prominently in the history of professional wrestling. Minneapolis was a prominent "hub" for the sport before promotions like the WWE made it a worldwide sensation. Reporter Stephen Montemayor joins host Eric Roper to discuss
Saturday, September 2 is Curious Minnesota Day at the Star Tribune's State Fair building! Stop by anytime between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will be soliciting questions from fairgoers in the morning and asking people to vote on their favorite questio
The introduction of margarine in the United States in the late 1800s was very controversial in butter-producing states like Minnesota. Prompted by fears that margarine would undercut butter in the marketplace, lawmakers in Minnesota and elsewhe
Many people alive today have memories of Tonka trucks, which have been an enduring element of the children's toy market for more than 70 years. Now owned by Hasbro, these realistic metal toys were invented and once manufactured in the western T
Minnesota's Iron Range essentially fueled America's success story as the country's largest source of iron ore. Curious Minnesota journeyed north to U.S. Steel's Keetac taconite mine to see how some of the state's largest machines make the raw i
It was once considered "manifest destiny" that Minneapolis and St. Paul would become one city. A conjoined municipality would have a population similar to Seattle and Denver. But this idea never took off, despite simmering in the public discour
In some parts of Minnesota, buying a case of beer or a bottle of wine means visiting a city-owned liquor store -- or "muni." Minnesota's law allowing cities to have a monopoly over liquor sales within their boundaries is unlike most other state
Minnesota's largest city, Minneapolis, is much smaller than cities elsewhere in the country that it considers peers -- like Seattle and Denver. This is partly because the city did not annex its surrounding suburbs. (It is also because Minneapol
Gray squirrels are so plentiful in cities today that it is difficult to imagine urban life without them. But their introduction to Minneapolis parks in the early 1900s was carefully orchestrated by park superintendent Theodore Wirth. Reporter S
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