Spooky Season Reads

Southeast Minnesota has regularly felt the wrath of nature.

In 1890, a driving straight-line wind on Lake Pepin overturned the Sea Wing, killing ninety-eight people within minutes in the worst marine tragedy in Minnesota history. In 1940, a raging blizzard trapped duck hunters on islands in the Mississippi River and left motorists stranded across the region, leaving dozens injured or dead. Then, in 1965, flood waters of the Mississippi River and its vast network of tributaries kept area residents in fear for two months, shattering records for high water marks and destroying buildings and farmlands before receding and leaving behind damage that took years to rebuild.

Local author Steve Gardiner examines these powerful natural disasters and their ramifications on the people of Southeast Minnesota.

An amazing piece of Brainerd’s proud past

For over eighty years, the Northern Pacific Railroad Shops was the largest employer in the Brainerd area. After the Depression, the NP provided steady jobs for Brainerd railroad workers, whose paychecks contributed to the growth of Brainerd. The NP Shops built freight cars and conducted maintenance and disassembly of the NP’s rolling stock. The workforce of several trades called themselves “shop dogs.” Shop dogs built a workplace culture with its own jokes, stories, ethics, and nicknames – an unintended circumstance could result in a nickname, such as Scoop Swanson or the Soo Line Bull, that stuck to a shop dog for the rest of his life. After shop dogs retired and the NP shops closed, their nicknames and stories live on. Author Bob Roscoe gathers the stories from this vital piece of Brainerd history.

Minnesota is often called the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it could also be called the Land of 20,000 Bridges. /

During the early days of the state, the Mississippi River and its many tributaries barred and disrupted transportation and commerce. To span these obstacles, communities battled to build and maintain bridges. Their efforts created a variety of bridge designs and purposes—from small hiking and biking bridges to concrete beams across rural rivers. Across the area, one can behold wonders like the beautiful Stone Arch Bridge, the La Crescent Swing Bridge, the Point Douglas Drawbridge, the elegant Winona Main Channel Bridge as well as other massive structures crossing the Mississippi.

Studying and photographing these amazing structures, local author Steve Gardiner celebrates the innovation and determination of Southeast Minnesota./      

On brick buildings throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul, overlooked, fleeting symbols chronicle the cities' past.

Champion, John Deere, and International Harvester still tout their agricultural equipment, and Gold Medal and Pillsbury Flour remind everyone where these now global companies began. Weathered proclamations from Grain Belt, Jacob Schmidt, and Gluek's Beer offer a glimpse into early local brewing. Ads from Schmitt Music and Dahl Violin Shop recall a thriving art scene. Local hardware stores like Welna Ace Hardware and grocery stores like J.H. Allen & Co Grocers and Schoen's Home Grocery hawk long-gone wares through elegant painted announcements.

Join photographer and author Jay Grammond for a fascinating journey through Twin Cities history.

A fledgling community in the midst of stunning natural scenes, the St. Paul of yesteryear had a well-earned reputation for beauty and danger.

Whiskey made the river city a byword for peril. Men brawled over small offenses and killed one another with near impunity. As crime flourished beyond the power of police control, vigilantes patrolled the streets. Irresponsible speculation and white-collar crime wrecked the local economy, devastating families and driving thousands out of town. The remaining St. Paulites rebuilt their community and economy, stimulating immigration, but more people meant more crime. In the 1870s, vice and violence spiraled into the Bloody Fall of '74, and St. Paul regained its reputation as a "dead tough" town.

Historian Ron de Beaulieu reveals the past travails of life in this turbulent city.

Named for the network of lakes and waterways stretching along the city’s western edge, the Lake District helps define Minneapolis as a place of great natural beauty.   With stately homes lining the parkways surrounding these bodies of water, the district may convey an image of affluence and prestige, but the district is not an exclusive preserve of the well-to-do. People from all walks of life flock to the area’s parks and lakes that serve as public playgrounds for the entire region. The Lake District was not always the public amenity that it is today. During the late 19th century, much of the area consisted of marshy swamps that had little recreational or economic value. It took a group of forward-looking civic leaders to recognize the undeveloped area’s potential. In the 1880s, they came together to form the Minneapolis Park Board, the public agency that would acquire and improve the lakes, preserving them for future generations. /Iric Nathanson tells the story of this appealing urban district using archival images from the Hennepin County Library Special Collections and the Minnesota Historical Society. Nathanson’s most recent work, University Avenue of the Twin Cities, was published in 2023 as part of Arcadia’s Images of America series.

The author of Lost Rochester explores more Med City history beyond the medicine.

Stories surrounding the establishment of Rochester as a medical mecca are well documented and often showcased, but countless other tales haven't received as much attention. William Costley, son of the first slave freed by Abraham Lincoln, lived his last few months at Rochester State Hospital. Beloved citizen Reinhold Bach sailed aboard the doomed ocean liner the Empress of Ireland. The life of Minnie Bowron, hired as the city's first policewoman in 1917, offers an intriguing story, and teenager Lottie Schermerhorn awed crowds during the Roaring Twenties with daredevil aerial stunts.

Join historian Amy Jo Hahn on an engaging narrative journey, a revelation of fascinating characters who made their mark on Rochester.

Sometimes the coolest places are right outside your front door. Learning about the Twin Cities’ interesting and unique culture has never been so super fun!

Did you know St. Paul’s annual Winter Carnival is the country’s oldest winter festival? Or that people have traveled Minnesota’s lakes and rivers for nearly 10,000 years? Have you ever been to the haunted Dairy Queen in downtown Minneapolis? From the Foshay Tower to the legendary First Avenue music club, Super Cities!: The Twin Cities covers it all and is sure to engage any reader with fun facts about the history, culture, and people who make this place great. Attend the Minnesota Opera, explore the Como Park Zoo, and rock out with Minneapolis-native Prince, all right here. Take a peek inside to learn more about the impressive, unusual, super history of the Twin Cities!

In addition to its well-known associations with doctors and diagnoses, the city of Rochester offers a string of curiosities to those willing to look closely.

How did a secret bomber mission to Moscow during World War II lead to thousands of fighter planes flying through Rochester and the subsequent construction of a giant IBM manufacturing plant here? What was Rochester's contribution to the 1980 Olympic Hockey "Miracle on Ice"? Who was dubbed the “Greatest Doctor in the World”, and why? Who were the regular folks without whom the great Mayo Clinic might never have become a medical mecca?

Rochester Stories: A Med City History Paul Scanlon answers these and other questions in this enlightening and sometimes humorous study of Rochester’s past.

Ghost stories from the Twin Cities have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! 

Welcome to the spooky Twin Cities!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.

Did you know that St. Paul's Wabasha Street Caves are haunted? Or that at the historic St. Paul theater, spirits sometimes take center stage? Can you believe the Minneapolis Institute of Art is not only home to incredible art . . . but unforgettable ghosts?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see the Twin Cities forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!

Central Minnesota Beer unfolds the history of the region's bountiful beers--from its storied past to its illustrious present.

German immigrants settling in Central Minnesota in the early 1800s built a thriving brewing culture. While Prohibition destroyed these early beer empires--like the St. Cloud Brewing Company and New Munich's Pitzl Brewing--the Cold Spring Brewing Company survived various reincarnations and financial crises to brew continually at the same spot since 1874.In recent years, the craft beer boom added medals and new chapters to a saga that includes Prohibition brawls, a New Deal project, the famous Billy Beer, Elvira's personal brand and a multistate brewpub chain. The rise of taproom culture throughout the region has given new identities to St. Cloud, St. Joseph, Annandale, Big Lake and more. Beer writer Jacob Laxen presents this definitive take on the region's rich brewing history.