The History of the St. Vincent Weather Station: 1880-1892

The St. Vincent weather station was established by the War Department circa 1880.  During the period of 1880 to July 1891, it was under the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce and Agriculture. 

St. Vincent was one of the three stations that were instrumental in reporting conditions on June 16, 1887, the day a major tornado hit Grand Forks, ND/East Grand Forks, MN - “Reshaping the Tornado Belt”  

Beginning in July 1891, weather services were established under the new Weather Bureau, and taken from the War Department and becoming part of the Department of Agriculture. St. Vincent remained an active weather station within the Weather Bureau until around 1940. 

Initially, the St. Vincent Signal Station, under the U.S. Army, was manned by soldiers from Fort Pembina.  From 1891 forward, civilian federal employees under the Department of Agriculture took over.  Many observers worked in St. Vincent over the years - men with last names of Day, Frank, Baldwin, Cobb, and Ellis - among others.   

St. Vincent Signal Station daily barometric pressure, temperature, and wind speed readings, for September 1885.

[Click to enlarge and more easily read…]

Cover of July 1885 monthly report, for St. Vincent, Minn. Signal Station.

[Click to enlarge and more easily read…]

April 1885 Monthly Meteorological Report for St. Vincent, Minn. Signal Station.

Sources:

National Archives [War Department. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce and Agriculture. St. Vincent (Minnesota) Weather Station. (Ca. 1883-07/01/1891)]

Grand Theatre Memories

Projector from Grand Theatre
[Kittson County Museum Collection]

The Grand Theatre was Hallock's (MN) movie palace.  I was recently contacted by a gentleman who once worked for the man who owned it¹, as well as the local drive-in.  He had some interesting stories to share...

Jim Tureson, who worked for Bill Krumholz:

Sitting here thinking about days gone by and remembered an incident at the Grand Theatre. It was 1956.  We were showing a horror movie called The Creeping Unknown where this big glob would catch and kill people. Well, my Dad decided to make it more interesting. He ran some wires from the projection room down to the seating area and attached a buzzer to two seats! The wires were attached to a battery and when he pushed the button the seats would start to vibrate and buzz! Needless to say, at the worst possible time in the movie when people were screaming, we would hit the buzzer and watch someone fly out of their seat! I know, that was bad and we made sure there wasn't an elderly person sitting there. Joe gave us permission to do it and enjoyed the reactions also!

Projector from Grand Theatre.
[Kittson County Museum Collection]

Jim Tureson shared another story:

I'll tell you another Grand Theatre treasure. My older brother Larry was a protectionist in high school also; he graduated in 1960. One of our pet peeves was when one person showed up to watch the second show, we weren't able to go home early. This particular night a gentleman came in just in time for the second show and Larry wasn't happy. So he ran the show. When it ended, he turned on the lights, closed the curtain and was going to lock up when he saw that man still sitting in the front row, thinking he had fallen asleep. He went up and shook his shoulder, only to find out he was dead! Freaked him out to say the least!! So Larry was the only one in our family to run an entire show for a dead man.

Highway 75 Drive-In; go-cart track can be seen between screen and parking area.

July 12th, 1962. Joe Carriere and I were at the drive-in where I was going to paint the big screen. We rigged up a one-man "swing" with ropes over the screen tied off on Joe's big Oldsmobile. It worked like a pulley system - as Joe drove forward I would go higher. It had rained the night before and the grass was wet. I needed to go up higher so Joe started pulling me up, but as he was going, he got hung up on the wet grass around the go-cart track. He goosed the Oldsmobile, tires spinning, and then suddenly he hit the cement track! He took off rather fast and I went from 15 feet off the ground to 35 feet in seconds. When he finally stopped, I had almost wet my pants, the paint can went flying, and I'm screaming at Joe!

The day the Grand burned down in 1975...

Of course, he thought it was funny as hell, while I had thought I was going to die!
















¹ - Joseph and Rebecca Carriere owned and operated the Grand Theatre in Hallock from 1947 to 1975 when it was destroyed by fire. They also opened the Hallock Drive-In Theater in 1954 and operated it until 1985. The 1995 tornado took it down...

Mike Rustad: County Fair Memories

Ah, the perceptions of youth!  In this reminiscence, Mike Rustad takes us back to the Kittson County Fair of a generation ago.  If you're like me, it will resonate strongly with your own memories of that time and place...

I looked forward to the the Kittson County Fair each summer. I enjoyed the rides as well as the carnival. My brother Tony and I collected pop bottles to save for the Fair. We would frequently have 4-H exhibits at the Fair. I remember once we were on a Tilt-a-Whirl (or similar ride) and Tony got sick on the ride. The operator of the ride was a crude man with a number of tattoos including something like "Born Loser." In any case, he would not let us leave until we cleaned up the ride. Since Tony was in no condition to help, it was left up to me. As farm boys, we were somewhat intimidated by the carnival workers. It was quite common for the carnival games to be rigged. I think that we would lose only a $1 or so on these games but they were cheap tuition. I think that the Fair illustrated the seedy side of society as well as the best.

The Fair was like the Tale of Two Cities: the best of times and the worst of times. One of the worst moments was experienced by my Mother. In an essay she wrote for the Scribe Tribe¹, she recounted how she placed her glasses case dutifully beside the hole.The case was cylinder shape and began rolling toward the hole because apparently the toilet was not level. In her haste to grab it, the clasp came open. Her glasses and keys went down the the dark smelly abyss. She was embarrassed but decided to take action. She found the Fair Manager and asked him for a flashlight and a shovel. The Manager asked her what she wanted them for. She was stopped numerous times by friends asking what she was doing with the shovel and flashlight. She dragged the odorous privy for a long time without success. For years after the episode, she was asked about how she got home without her glasses and car keys. For my Mother, this was the worst of times. 

The Fair was also the best of times. The lights of the rides were beautiful. For many years the Fair was not complete without a tremendous thunder storm and sometimes funnel clouds in the area. Later, a tornado destroyed the Fair Grandstand only a short time after it was filled to capacity. The severe weather conditions and the lights brought an indescribable excitement to the Fair. The 4-H exhibit hall was a favorite place. I always took time to look at every exhibit. I always wondered how I could never get beyond a red ribbon for my vegetables and insect collection. There were a number of local merchants who had exhibits. One of the highlights of the Fair was when the car dealer would give away a car and also bicycles. I never won but the anticipation of winning such a prize was greater than Publisher's Clearing House. 

My favorite place to eat at the fair was the Larson Family Stand which made the best hamburgers and generally had the best food at the Fair. Joyce Baldwin from Humboldt was a Larson and so many of the Baldwin kids helped out at the "Larson" food stand. Each of the 4-H clubs had special exhibits which depicted our activities for the year. I belonged to the "Stick-To-It" Club which was one of the oldest Kittson County Clubs. We had very good adult supervision. The Gatheridges, Baldwins, Bahrs, Wieses, Diamonds, Clows and many other families were active in the club. I remember that the older kids in the club were very helpful to the younger ones in exhibiting their products. Dennis Diamond was one of those older kids who was always helpful to Scott Clow and I who also showed sheep. Another memory I have is a 4-H parade through Hallock. A very pretty young lady asked me to help control her very large and unruly 4-H calf. I managed to keep the calf from stampeding through the streets of Hallock, but still received only a white ribbon. I can still remember the smell of those hamburgers at the Larson family stand. I hope that other former Kittson County residents will contribute their memories of the Fair and of their "Wonder Years." 

¹ - The Scribe Tribe began as a continuing education course in 1966.  The writing class morphed into a club with meetings in homes. These were more than social events - everyone in the club felt a great social pressure to produce writing. It was Dotty Boatz who first suggested that a writing course taught at Humboldt-St. Vincent High School continue on as a club and she was one of the most active members. The Scribe Tribe proved to be a huge success, and Gloria Swanson and Virginia Ott ended up writing a very interesting book on Fred Jones, who was an innovative handyman and inventor who lived in Hallock for many years. The title of the book was Man With a Million Ideas: Fred Jones, Genius/Inventor.

Letter to Rusty

The letter below was received by Alfred "Rusty" Rustad while he was in the service during WWII. It was written by a local representative of the Red Cross; the introduction is from an article that featured the letter, which appeared in the Kittson County Enterprise a few years ago. It paints a unique picture of his hometown area around Humboldt, capturing the people and events of that time...

Another View

by Rev. Hugh Bell

It's been almost one year since my last "View" so when I received a copy of this enclosed letter I thought it a most opportune time to catch up on correspondence in the Enterprise.

The enclosed letter was sent to Alfred Rustad, Jr. "Rusty" 60 years ago this month. For those of us old enough to remember WWII, we remember a time when just about everyone was in the same boat. It was a time of sacrifice and unbelievable hardship. It was also a time of great family support and great national support. Something that perhaps is lacking in the most recent of our wars including the present day battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. WWII was a time when the whole country pulled together for a common good. Today it seems as tho more energy is put into political rhetoric and profit seeking than into freedom in the Middle East. If we could just stop blaming others for our problems, wouldn't it be a wonderful world. Enough sermon, now to Rusty's letter.

Past News: Tornado

Tornado over Hallock Fairgrounds, July 9, 1995 

[Photo by Glenn Browne]

Aftermath: Grandstand roof destroyed, but no one was hurt 

[Photo by Glenn Browne]

Gamble Letter #25

On April 14, 1886 (4PM) the deadliest tornado in Minnesota history razed parts of St.Cloud and Sauk Rapids, leaving 72 dead and 213 injured. 11 members of a wedding party were killed including the bride and groom.

On that day, all the water leaped from the Mississippi near Sauk Rapids, sucked up by an 800-foot-wide tornado as it passed over.

- from Minnesota Weather Almanac, by Mark Seeley

St. Vincent
May 9th, 1886

My dear Grand father and Maggie we received your kind letter and was glad to hear that you were all well as this leaves us the same we have just about done with the seeding we have 50 bushel of wheat in and 12 of barley and 25 of oats we have not started to put in our potatoes yet we have lots of work now we have 8 cows giving milk and 8 calvs to feed and we have one more to cave yet we have 6 big pigs and 7 small ones Pa was working in the round house part of the winter but he is out now he had to leave to put in the grain Alick went on the first of May to work at the fort he is going to run the steam pump that pumps the water out of red river into a tank and it is filtered to supply the barricks wher there is stationed about one hunedred soldiers we dont know whether he will stay any longer than a month we live about a mile and a half from the fort he came home to see us to day the man that was running the pump got a forlough for a month to go see his friends and he left Alick in his place he is getting 30 dollars a month and his board he likes to be there very well he has never been sick since last fall.
I suppose you saw in the paper about the cyclone that was in Minnesota it was about 300 miles from wher we live it caused great damage and lose of life the people are afraid here since that happened there never has been as bad a storm since we came as we seen in Beaverton the weather was very nice in Aprile but since May came in it has been very Cold buisness is rather dull here now the trace you sent was very nice Alick was sorry to hear about Mrs Hudsons truble but there are very few in this world that have not trouble of some kind
We be very lonesome without Alick he used to play on his fiddler he could play very nicely Willie play a little too
There was a big fire in Emerson the station was burnt down Alick was going to write a long time ago but he kept putting it off till he went and when he came home he told Ellen to write but she has a bad cold so I thought I would write
So I think I have told you all the news at present hoping to hear from yous oon as this leaves all well pleas excuse mistakes as I am in hurry
Jannie Gamble
Write soon we all join ins ending our love to you and grand Pa hoping this will find you well
J.G.

Context

Part of what I want to do here is learn some of the bigger picture that St. Vincent is part of, meaning how the history of Minnesota evolved in the region beginning with Europeans arriving...

17th Century

1659-1660 - French fur traders Groseilliers and Radisson explore western end of Lake Superior and environs.

1673 - French explorers Marquette and Joliet discover the upper portion of the Mississippi River.

1679 - Frenchman Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Luth meets with Dakota Indians near Mille Lacs.

1683 - Catholic Missionary Father Louis Hennepin returns to France after exploring Minnesota and being held captive by the Dakota to write the first book about Minnesota, Description de la Louisiane.

18th Century

1745 - The Ojibwe Indians defeat the Dakota Indians at the Kathio, driving the Dakota into southern and western Minnesota.

1763 - Spain receives Louisiana Territory (includes Minnesota west of the Mississippi River) from France in compensation for its loss of Florida during the Seven Years War. Great Britain wins claim to what is now eastern North America (east of the Mississippi River) and Canada.

1770-1804 - Grand Portage (Minnesota) evolves into the western fur-trading headquarters of the British Empire in North America. British troops stationed here act as only military force in Minnesota during the American Revolution. Fur trading continues to be the main source of commerce in Minnesota through the early 19th century.

1775-1783 - American Revolution

1783 - The newly formed republic of the United States of America wins the eastern portion of Minnesota (from the Mississippi river east) from Great Britain in the American Revolution.

1787 - Eastern Minnesota officially designated part of the American Northwest Territories of the United States of America. David Thompson, working for the North West Company (fur-trading) completes the first formal mapping of Minnesota.

19th Century

1800 - France acquires Louisiana Territory from Spain.

1803 - The United States of America purchases Louisiana Territory from France, gaining ownership of the western portion of Minnesota. Boundary disputes with British Canada keep British fur companies in Minnesota until 1818.

1805 - Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike leads the first United States expedition through the Minnesota country.

1812-1814 - War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain with their Dakota, Winnebago, and Ojibwe allies.

1815 - Peace treaty negotiated between the Dakota Indian nation and the United States government. First American fur traders enter Minnesota.

1818 - Northern boundary of Minnesota fixed at the forty-ninth parallel. Boundary negotiations with British Canada continue until 1931. Lawrence Taliaferro instated as first United States Indian agent at Fort Snelling.

1819 - Colonel Josiah Snelling begins construction of Fort St. Anthony on land purchased from the Dakota Indians for $2000 US.

1824 - Fort St. Anthony completed. Name changed to Fort Snelling in Honor of Colonel Josiah Snelling's work.

1832 - Henry Schoolcraft credited with finding the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca, Minnesota with his Ojibwe guide Ozawindib.

1836 - Creation of Wisconsin Territory which encompassed Minnesota.

1837 - Land-cession treaties negotiated with the Dakota Indians and the Chippewa Indians for United States rights to a portion of land between the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers. This new land stimulates the lumber industry in Minnesota.

1841 - Chapel of Saint Paul built. Later it would serve to name the state capitol which sprang up around it.

1838-1848 - St. Paul, St. Anthony, and Stillwater (Minnesota's first towns*) founded.

*NOTE: I take exception to this - St.Vincent, although not an 'official' town at this time, is part of the trading posts/forts around Red/Pembina Rivers and has been for many years before this time...most acknowledge that our area is one of the oldest settlements in the upper midwest...

1848 - Wisconsin admitted into the union as a state, leaving residents of the area between the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers (current day eastern Minnesota) without a territorial government or legal system.

1849 - Minnesota Territory formed with present day eastern and southern boundaries set. The population amounts to less than 4000 people, not including persons of pure Native-American heritage. Law provides for free public schools to be open to all people between four and twenty-one years of age. Minnesota Historical Society formed to collect, publish, and educate people about Minnesota history. James Madison Goodhue begins publishing Minnesota's first newspaper, the Minnesota Pioneer.

1850 - Treaties concluded at Traverse des Sioux and Mendota with the Dakota Indians whereby the Dakota ceded their lands east of the Red River, Lake Traverse, and the Big Dakota River and south of a boundary line between the Dakota and Chippewa in 1825. In return the Dakota received $1,665,000 US, $1,360,000 of which was set into a trust fund, of which the interest would be distributed to chiefs partly in cash, partly in supplies, and partly in education and civilization funds. The vast majority ended up being used to pay off Indian debts to white traders. Wheat becomes a major crop in Minnesota.

1851 - Charter granted to the University of Minnesota, the first collegiate institution in the territory.

1853-1857- Population explosion occurs in Minnesota from 40,000 people in 1853 to approximately 150,000 people in 1857.

1854 - St. Paul becomes a city with a total area of four square miles.

1855 - Die Minnesota Deutsche Zeitung (The Minnesota German Newspaper), Minnesota's first non-English newspaper, rolls off the press for the first time in St. Paul.

1857 - The Dred Scott Decision is rendered by the United States Supreme Court, where a Missouri slave, Dred Scott, sued for his freedom based in part upon his residence in Minnesota. Amidst the sectional and racial animosity sweeping the nation, the court ruled Scott remained a slave. The residents of the Minnesota territory ratify the state constitution almost unanimously. The Panic of 1857 sends prices skyrocketing. Banks bust and businesses fail. Depression lingers until 1861.

1858 - Newspaper promotion of the Minnesota Territory prompts over one thousand steamboat arrivals in St. Paul, filled with settlers. On May 11 Minnesota becomes the thirty-second state admitted to the Union of the United States of America. State seal adopted by the Minnesota Legislature.

1858-1859 - Henry Sibley instated as first governor of Minnesota.

1859 - First Minnesota State Fair held.

1861 - Civil War of the United States begins. Minnesota volunteers one thousand men for service in the Union Army. Minnesota eventually provides 24,000 men for service in the Union Army for fighting in the Civil War or the Indian Outbreak.

1862 - The Dakota Conflict sweeps across Minnesota with a series of attacks motivated by hungry Dakota enraged by the failure of land treaties and unfair fiscal
practices of local traders. By the end of the conflict 486 white settlers would be dead. On December 26 thirty-eight Indians were hung at Mankato. Minnesota's first railroad is completed, connecting Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

1863 - At the Battle of Gettysburg the First Minnesota Regiment makes a heroic charges, losing 215 of 262 men.

1865 - Civil War of the United States ends.

1868 - Mankato receives a city charter. The Minnesota Legislature authorizes establishment of the 2nd State Normal School in Mankato (now known as Minnesota
State University, Mankato).

1873 -A three-day blizzard hits Minnesota in January, killing seventy Minnesotans.

1878 - 68.98% of tilled land in Minnesota devoted to wheat production, the high point for wheat farmers in Minnesota. After five consecutive summers of devastating infestations of Rocky Mountain Locusts (called the great Grasshopper Plague) which thrived on wheat, farmers decided to diversify, and wheat production was slowly replaced by other crops and dairy farming. A massive explosion in a Minneapolis flour mill kills 18.

1880 - Telephone communication begun between St. Paul and Minneapolis.

1881 - St. Paul is destroyed by fire.

1883 - Mayo Clinic founded by Dr. William Worrall Mayo in Rochester, Minnesota after a tornado sweeps through Rochester, killing 35. With his two sons, Dr. William
James Mayo and Dr. Charles Horace Mayo, he begins a clinic world-renowned for
its dedication to the latest advances in medicine and surgical procedures.

1884 - Minnesota iron ore begins to be exported heralding the dawn of iron mining in Minnesota. Over the next two decades mines spring up on the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Vermilion iron ranges, spurring the rapid growth of mining cities such as Evelyth, Chisholm, Virginia, and Hibbing, Minnesota as well as the port cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin.

1886 - Sauk Rapids is flattened by a tornado. Seventy-nine people die. St. Paul holds its first winter carnival.

1887 - St. Paul hosts the first ski tourney in the Midwest.

1888 - Western Minnesota receives a major blizzard on January 12 which takes 109 lives.

1890s - Electric streetcars become commonplace in large Minnesota cities.

1893 - The Minnesota state flag, designed by Amelia Hyde Center of Minneapolis, is accepted by the Minnesota Legislature. Virginia, Minnesota destroyed by fire.

1894 - A massive forest fire caused by clear-cut logging debris encompasses Hinckley, Minnesota and several other nearby communities. Over four hundred die.

1898 - The Spanish-American War begins. Minnesota, the first state to volunteer, raises four regiments, one of which serves in the Philippines. Disease proves to be the biggest killer, with combat fatalities accounting for only four Minnesota soldier deaths. Farmer Olof Ohman finds a stone tablet with runic carvings on it in his field near Kensington, Minnesota. The runes indicate a party of Viking explorers passed through that area in 1362. Initially considered a hoax, it was accepted by the Smithsonian Institution in 1948. Opinions differ, but most academic sources today doubt its veracity.

1899 - Minnesota's lumber industry reaches its peak. By 1930 only 1/3 of the state would remain forested, with very little of that virgin growth.

20th Century

1900 - Virginia, Minnesota destroyed by fire again.

1902 - Approximately twelve automobiles appear in Minneapolis. Tom Shevlin, son of a lumber magnate, gets arrested for violating the ten mile per hour city speed limit.

1905 - John A. Johnson, Minnesota's first native-born governor, elected to the first of his three terms. Lumber production peaks in Minnesota.

1906 - William Williams is hanged in the county jail in St. Paul on February 13, ending capital punishment in Minnesota.

1908 - Chisholm, Minnesota is virtually obliterated by a late summer forest fire.

1914 - World War I begins. Minneapolis becomes the home of the Federal Reserve Bank.

1917 - The United States of America enters World War I. 118,497 men from Minnesota serve in the war.

1918 - World War I ends with 1,432 Minnesotans in uniform giving their lives for their country. The new Farmer-Labor Party becomes the second largest political party in Minnesota and capitalizes on the rural depression which plagues Minnesota until 1824 to gain a broad base of support. Influenza spreads to Minnesota. Labeled a "pandemic of influenza", this disease managed to kill 7,521Minnesotans in 1918 and more than 4,200 over the course of the following two years. Cloquet and Moose Lake, Minnesota are destroyed when seventy mile an hour winds change minor forest fires into major conflagrations.

1919 - Minnesota ratifies the 19th amendment (women's suffrage) to the United States constitution. A tornado strikes Fergus Falls, Minnesota killing 59.

1920 - Minnesota authors receive international recognition. Main Street, written by Sinclair Lewis, earns national recognition as he takes a critical look at his hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. By the end of the decade he had won the Nobel Prize for literature after a string of four more novels won international acclaim. St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald receives much acclaim for his book This Side of Paradise. By 1925 he had published five more works, all focusing on the extravagance and despair of the 1920s in the United States.

1921 - WLB, the first Minnesota radio station, formed at the University of Minnesota.

1927 - Charles Lindbergh, a native of Little Falls, Minnesota, flies solo across the
Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris.

1929 - Great Depression begins in the United States. The depression begins in Minnesota with the bankruptcy of key employers in Minneapolis and quickly spreads to the rest of the state.

1930-1935 - Over 1/2 of iron ore extracted from the earth originates in Minnesota mines.

1931 - Ancient remains of 20,000 year old skeleton dubbed "Minnesota Man" found in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.

1933 - "Browns Valley Man" remains, estimated to be 8,000 - 10,000 years old, discovered in Brown County, Minnesota.

1934 - Edward G. Bremer of St. Paul kidnapped by the Barker-Karpis gang. His ransom of $200,000 US is one of the largest ransoms in the United States up to that time. By 1936 the kidnappers had been caught and convicted. "Public Enemy Number 1" John Dillinger has a gun battle with FBI agents in St. Paul on March 11 and escapes.

1936 - Temperatures remain below zero for a record thirty-six days beginning on January 18. Later in the summer Moorhead, Minnesota ties a state record high official temperature of 114 degrees Fahrenheit, previously set in Beardsley, Minnesota in 1927.

1939 - A hockey game in the Duluth Amphitheater is interrupted when the ceiling collapses under the weight of snow. No deaths are reported.

1940 - The Armistice Day Blizzard strikes Minnesota leaving a 16.8 inches of snow in twenty four hours. Winds that day exceed thirty two miles per hour with gusts over sixty miles per hour. Forty-nine Minnesota residents die and over $1,500,000 US worth of property is damaged as a result of the storm.

1941 - First tax on taconite, a black magnetic iron-bearing ore, in effect in Minnesota. The United States enters World War II. Singer Bob Zimmerman
(Bob Dylan) born in Duluth.

1944 -The Democratic and Farmer Labor parties merge to form the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

1945 - World War II ends with 6,255 American servicemen from Minnesota giving their lives for their country. The Minnesota state song, "Hail! Minnesota" is adopted by the Minnesota Legislature.

1948 - Minnesota's first television station, KSTP, goes on the air.

1950 - The Korean War begins. By the time of the armistice in 1953, 688 Minnesotans had died in the fighting.

1951 - Over 82% of iron ore extracted from United States mines during this year originates in Minnesota.

1954 - Coya Knutson becomes the first Minnesota woman elected to the Congress of the United States.

1958 - Prince Rogers Nelson (the artist formerly known as Prince) born in Minneapolis.

1959 - The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway makes Duluth accessible to the Atlantic Ocean.

1963 - Last iron ore shipment leaves the Vermillion iron range.

1964 -Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey elected vice-president of the United
States as the running-mate of president Lyndon Johnson. Conventional American ground forces are introduced into Vietnam.

1968 - Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota begins his bid for the presidency by easily winning the New Hampshire presidential primary. Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey also runs for president that year, narrowly losing to Richard Nixon. The American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded in Minneapolis to combat racism.

1969 - Warren Burger, a native of St. Paul, named to the Supreme Court of the United States.

1970 - Minnesotan Harry Blackmun named to the Supreme Court of the United States. He would later write the majority opinion in the case of Roe v. Wade, which legalizes abortion.

1975 - The last American military personnel leave Vietnam with the evacuation of the United States embassy in Saigon, completely ending American involvement in Vietnam and the Vietnam War. 1,053 Minnesotans gave their lives over the course of the war.

1976 - Jimmy Carter becomes the 39th president of the United States with Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale as his vice-president. Mondale would later run for president in 1984, losing to Ronald Reagan.

1977 - Rosalie Wahl becomes the first woman justice in the Minnesota Supreme Court.

1980 - Last iron ore shipment leaves the Cuyuna iron range.

1982 - A total of 34.3 inches of snow falls on the Twin Cities on January 20 and 22. Taconite mining emerges as the future employment source for the iron range, with 12,000 workers. The subsequent depression and trend toward mechanization halve that number by 1995.

1984 - Last iron ore shipment leaves the Mesabi iron range, effectively ending Minnesota's direct iron ore industry and confirming a difficult depression on the iron range.

1987 -The Minnesota Twins win the World Series.

1988 - The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, passed to promote tribal economies, causes a boom in Indian casinos and gambling in Minnesota. By 1990 Minnesota ranks fourth in the nation in per capita gambling sales. Minnesota hit by a record setting drought.

1990 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev visits Minnesota.

1991 - Operation Desert Storm occurs with approximately 11,000 Minnesotans in uniform helping to defeat Iraq and liberate Kuwait. The Minnesota Twins win the World Series. A record-breaking snowstorm hits Minnesota on November 1 depositing twenty-four inches of snow in twenty-four hours.

1996 - Coldest official temperature ever recorded in Minnesota set at -60 degrees Fahrenheit on February 2 near Tower, MN.

1998 - Minnesota becomes home to largest ethnic Hmong population in America.