Episodes
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One of Minnesota's most fascinating unsolved murder cases began on the morning of December 9, 1937, when firefighters discovered the charred body of 31-year-old Ruth Munson in an abandoned Saint Paul hotel. As the investigation deepened, evidence would surface that suggested that Ruth had lived a very secret life.
My guest, Roger Barr, is the author of "A Murder on the Hill: The Secret Life and Mysterious Death of Ruth Munson." He utilized an extensive collection of police files to piece this 1930s-era investigation together.
Purchase the book here through the MNHS Press website: https://shop.mnhs.org/products/a-murder-on-the-hill
Prefer the ebook version? You can get it here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Hill-Secret-Mysterious-Munson-ebook/dp/B0CTPYV2HN
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On June 2, 1916, forty mostly immigrant mineworkers at the St. James Mine in Aurora, Minnesota, walked off the job. This seemingly small labor disturbance would mushroom into one of the region’s, if not the nation’s, most contentious and significant battles between organized labor and management in the early twentieth century.
My guest, Gary Kaunoen, is an International Falls labor historian and author of the book "Flames of Discontent: The 1916 Minnesota Iron Ore Strike". He talks about the origin of the conflict, the Finnish immigrant miners who fought mining company forces with help from the Industrial Workers of the World (aka "The Wobblies"), and how the deadly conflict ultimately ended.
The author's University of Minnesota Press page: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/flames-of-discontent
Northern Minnesota's Labor Wars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AklJBH6SBGA
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Episodes manquant?
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My guest is prolific author Larry Millett. His knowledge of Twin Cities architecture and history is unequalled in Minnesota, and he has used his knowledge to write some of the best local history books in the last thirty years. We initially discuss downtown Minneapolis' lost crown jewel, the spectacular Northwestern Guaranty Loan Building (which would later become the Metropolitan) and how it was built through the shady dealings of real estate speculator Louis Menage - only to be torn down in 1962, along with the tragic destruction of the rest of the historic Gateway District. He documents its existence in his book "Metropolitan Dreams: The Scandalous Rise and Stunning Fall of a Minneapolis Masterpiece".
Then we move on to some of his other fascinating books, including "Strange Days, Dangerous Nights: Photos from the Speed Graphic Era", "Murder Has a Public Face: Crime and Punishment in the Speed Graphic Era", and his series of novels that brings Sherlock Holmes to Minnesota to solve crimes.
More about Larry Millett can be found here at his website, including his history blog: https://www.larrymillett.com/
If you'd like to begin his Sherlock Holmes series, the first book is called "Sherlock Holmes & the Red Demon". Buy it at your local bookstore or here: https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Fesler-Lampert-Minnesota-Heritage/dp/0816674833
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It was a question asked by many Minnesotans in 1974, including her parents. How could Camilla Hall, the sweet and caring daughter of a small-town Lutheran pastor, become a member of the radical Symbionese Liberation Army? The abductors of Patty Hearst? The gun-toting militants who would end up battling police to death in Los Angeles?
My guest is award-winning Mankato author Rachael Hanel, author of "Not the Camilla We Knew: One Woman's Path From Small-Town America to the Symbionese Liberation Army". She tells us about Camilla and her journey from Minnesota social worker to member of Los Angeles's notorious SLA.
The author's website: https://www.rachaelhanel.com/
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In August of 1894, a young woman was found brutally murdered on a sand dune at Minnesota Point in Duluth. Over the next two years both Duluth and Minneapolis detectives would hunt for her killer across the country, until finally finding him in the Pacific Northwest.
My guest is Jeffrey Sauve, author of "Murder at Minnesota Point". He shares details of the life and death of 32-year-old Norwegian immigrant servant Lena Olson, the con man (and possible serial killer) who seduced and killed her, and his connection to notorious Minneapolis murderer Harry Hayward.
More about the author and his book here at North Star Editions.
My earlier interview about Harry Hayward here on the Most Notorious website.
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Since the mid-19th century one of the great tourist destinations in Minnesota has been Minnehaha Falls. Already known for its beauty, its fame intensified when Henry Wadsworth Longfellow immortalized it in his poem "The Song of Hiawatha".
But Minnehaha Falls has had a dark side as well. In the late 19th century it became a place synonymous with drunkenness and debauchery. The notorious father and son team of Adelbert and Irwin Gardner (and others) profited from the Minnehaha Midway, where corrupt cops intermingled with inebriated Fort Snelling soldiers and young Minneapolis women. Eventually the low-class dancehalls would be driven out, replaced by the park we know today.
My guest is Karen E. Cooper, whose book "When Minnehaha Flowed With Whiskey: A Spirited History of the Falls" has just been nominated for a 2023 Minnesota Book Award. She shares some of the uncouth history of the Falls on this latest episode of Minnesota's Most Notorious.
More about the author and her work can be found here: http://www.urbancreek.com/
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Have you ever wondered whether Pig's Eye Parrant's notorious Fountain Cave saloon is accessible to visitors? Was there really a tunnel between Nina Clifford's brothel and the original Minnesota Club? Did Jesse and Frank James hide out in any Minnesota caves before or after their botched Northfield bank raid in 1876? What really exists under downtown Saint Paul and Minneapolis?
My guest is Dr. Greg Brick, who arguably knows more about caves and tunnels in Minnesota than anyone alive, and he answers these questions for us (and more) on this latest episode of Minnesota's Most Notorious. He is the author of "Minnesota Caves: History and Lore", "Minnesota Underground", and "Subterranean Twin Cities", to name a few of his books.
More information on Dr. Brick's books (and adventures) can be found here: https://drgregbrick.com/
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On June 27, 1868, Hole in the Day (Bagonegiizhig) the Younger left Crow Wing, Minnesota, for Washington, DC, to fight the planned removal of the Mississippi Ojibwe to a reservation at White Earth. Several miles from his home, the self-styled leader of all the Ojibwe was stopped by at least twelve Ojibwe men and fatally shot.
Hole in the Day's death was national news, and rumors of its cause were many: personal jealousy, retribution for his claiming to be head chief of the Ojibwe, retaliation for the attacks he fomented in 1862, or retribution for his attempts to keep mixed-blood Ojibwe off the White Earth Reservation. Still later, investigators found evidence of a more disturbing plot involving some of his closest colleagues: the business elite at Crow Wing.
My guest, Anton Treuer, is Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of "The Assassination of Hole in the Day". He has spent years researching the story and believes he has solved the now one hundred and fifty four year old murder case.
Professor Treuer's website: https://antontreuer.com/
Buy it at Birch Bark Books here: https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/the-assassination-of-hole-in-the-day
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On December 3rd, 1894, a dressmaker named Catherine "Kitty" Ging was found shot to death on a snowy Lake Calhoun road in Minneapolis. Police patched together clues and evidence, which ultimately led them to the front door of a charming, scheming scoundrel named Harry Hayward.
My guest is Shawn Francis Peters, author of "The Infamous Harry Hayward: A True Account of Murder and Mesmerism in Gilded Age Minneapolis". He shares insight into this sensational murder case and arguably the greatest 19th century villain in Minnesota history.
More about the book here: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-infamous-harry-hayward
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The upscale Highland Park neighborhood in Saint Paul in the late 1940s was a fun place to grow up in. But there was a dark side to the area as well. A trio of gruesome murders of young women happened in a fifteen month period, which shocked the respectable community. The most memorable for the author was the 1948 murder of seventeen-year-old Geraldine Mingo.
My guest, David Butwin, shares childhood stories from his memoir, "A Minnesota Kid: In Search of Heroes and Ghosts". Information about his book can be found at his website here: https://www.davidbutwin.com/
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On this episode, I get a little more informal than usual, as I chat with Deborah Frethem, long time tour guide at the Wabasha Street Caves (the old Castle Royale Nightclub). We swap tour guide and ghost stories, in honor of the sad, recent closing of the Caves.
Deborah, along with Cynthia Schreiner Smith, are co-authors of a book called "Alvin Karpis and the Barker Gang in Minnesota".
More about the author at her website: https://deborahfrethem.com/#
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My guest, Rob Feeney, suddenly found himself the middle of one of the most fascinating criminal investigations in Minnesota history - the theft of one of the famous pairs of Ruby Slippers, worn by Minnesota native Judy Garland in the classic film The Wizard of Oz, out of a Grand Rapids museum in 2005. Rob talks about the historical significance of the shoes, the theft itself, and shares his own experience helping investigators track them down.
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In the summer of 1887, Thomas Tollefson was shot to death as he operated his mule-drawn streetcar in the Cedar Avenue-Lake Street neighborhood of Minneapolis. Police settled on two brothers as the murderers - members of a family that ran a notorious saloon nearby called The Hub of Hell.
My guest is Beverly J. Porter, author of "The Hub of Hell: A True Story of a Nineteenth-Century Neighborhood, Murder, and Trial". She offers details of not only the murder itself, but the flimsy investigation, trial, and eventual execution of Tim and Pete Barrett.
Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious
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Before the early 1960s, when much of Minneapolis was razed to make way for ugly parking ramps and office buildings, another world existed. Decrepit 19th century buildings in an area of downtown called Skid Row housed lowbrow bars and flophouses, and a man named John "Johnny Rex" Bacich, owner of the Sourdough Bar, reigned supreme over a gaggle of brawlers, migrant workers, prostitutes and drunks.
My guest is Star Tribune editor James Eli Shiffer and his book is called "The King of Skid Row: John Bachich and the Twilight Years of Old Minneapolis". With the help of John Bacich's memories and photographs, he documents and shares the fascinating history of this bygone era of Minneapolis.
More about the author here: https://jamesshiffer.com/
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The F.B.I. refers to the 1972 Virginia Piper kidnapping as the most successful kidnapping in American history. In July of that year, Virginia Piper, socialite wife of Bobby Piper, the CEO of Piper, Jaffray and Hopwood, was abducted from her home, taken to Jay Cooke State Park near Duluth, and tied to a tree. The ransom demand was one million dollars.
My guest, William Swanson, with help from the Piper family, has meticulously researched a case that many Minnesotans still remember in vivid detail. The product of his hard work is the book "Stolen From the Garden: The Kidnapping of Virginia Piper".
Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious
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My guest is Jerry Kuntz, author of "Minnesota's Notorious Nellie King: Wild Woman of the Closed Frontier". He tells the story of a larger-than-life and beautiful young con-artist, pretend detective, singer and cross-dresser, who lights up Twin Cities papers with her outrageous exploits.
He also explains how he was able to track down her elusive past history, and discover her real identity.
More about the author here: https://jerrykuntz.org/
Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious
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In this second part of the 1912 Alice Matthews Murder case, a serious suspect finally emerges, a young man named Alfred Driskell, but it takes four confessions for the police to finally him seriously. And throughout his journey to convince authorities of his guilt, many questions arise as to Driskell's sanity.
Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious
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In March of 1912, a brutal murder of a young woman just off of Cedar Avenue rocked the city of Minneapolis. In part one of this episode, I narrate the story of the initial investigation of the slaying of Alice Matthews, just feet from her front door.
Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious
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On this new episode of Minnesota's Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold, I speak with author Jack El-Hai about his book, "The Lost Brothers: A Family's Decades-Long Search".
In it, he explores the mysterious disappearance of three little brothers in a Minneapolis park in November of 1951. While the police would consider it a drowning, their parents, Betty and Ken Klein, would never give up looking for their sons. A recent investigation has begun into the cold case, suggesting something far more sinister happened to the boys.
Jack also talks about a new podcast set to debut at the end of 2019 that explores the story in further detail.
The author's website: https://www.el-hai.com/
Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious
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The year 1918 goes down as probably the most horrific in Minnesota history. A flu epidemic, a world war and the deadliest fire in the state's history all hit within months of each other, and often the resulting tragedies overlapped for suffering families.
My guest is Curt Brown, author of "Minnesota 1918: When Flu, Fire & War Ravaged the State". He not only shares some sad stories from this disastrous year, but uplifting ones as well.
Buy the book here: https://shop.mnhs.org/products/minnesota-1918
Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious
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