24 JUL 2023 · 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 https://northstareditions.com/product/murder-at-minnesota-point/ My earlier interview about Harry Hayward https://www.mostnotorious.com/2023/02/01/the-1894-murder-of-kitty-ging-w-shawn-francis-peters/

3 FEB 2023 · 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/

22 JUL 2022 · 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/

5 JUN 2022 · 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

30 DEC 2021 · 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

26 JUL 2021 · 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/

22 JAN 2021 · 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/#

16 OCT 2020 · 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.

5 SEP 2020 · 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

6 APR 2020 · 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/ Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious