Minnesota Experience

Citizen explores the multigenerational march of Minnesota women and all they hoped would come with the vote. From pioneering activists like Sarah Burger Stearns to Progressive Era leaders like Nellie Griswold Francis, the vote was seen as a mark of fuller citizenship and tool of change for concerns like healthcare, children, and women’s rights.

Based on the book from Zenith City Press, the story of "Lost Duluth" comes to life through the stories of explorers, dreamers, and leaders along with the common man looking for a better future for his children. From Duluth's humble beginnings sprang industry after industry, including a harbor busier than any other in the United States.

ROBERT BLY: A THOUSAND YEARS OF JOY presents a moving portrait of one of America's most celebrated and revolutionary poets of the last half-century. The film showcases Bly's development as a writer with an unswerving belief in the importance of poetry both to his own life and to American culture in general. A THOUSAND YEARS OF JOY charts Bly's singular path from a mid-western farmer's son to radical anti-Vietnam War activist to "wild man" of the 1990s men's movement and author of The New York Timesbest-seller Iron John: A Book About Men.

This two hour documentary examines one of the most difficult chapters of Minnesota's history: the state's involvement in the Dakota War as the Civil War was simultaneously raging. Both of these wars, which came quickly on the heels of statehood were about race, land, and identity.

From Pine City, Minnesota to war-torn Europe, WWII U.S. Eighth Air Force Bombardier Lt. Charles Woehrle, relives his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft III, made famous by the movie The Great Escape. Lt. Woehrle survived two long years of uncertainty and tremendous hardship by his wits, courage, and compassion. His harrowing saga can teach us about war and about life.

Coming to Mni Sota explores conflicts, contradictions and solidarity among the millions who have moved through, and to, Minnesota. For hundreds of years, the arrival of those from around the world has changed Minnesota's identity and caused disruption for those already here. By examining our state's narratives, communities reveal unique stories that lead to greater understanding.

Cemeteries are more than burial grounds for the dead. They are windows into history. Cathy Wurzer travels the state to visit some fascinating Minnesotans at their final addresses. Cathy makes stops in Hibbing, Red Wing as well as Minneapolis and St. Paul. Along the way, we learn about noted war heroes, remarkable athletes, talented artists and beloved nurses.

In 1862, a fierce battle, formerly known as the Sioux Uprising, broke out between Minnesota's white European settlers and its Dakota Indian population. By the end of the year, hundreds of settlers and Dakota were dead, thousands of Dakota were imprisoned and exiled, and 38 Dakota were hanged. The story of the violent chapter in America's history, its causes and aftermath is told through diaries, old photographs, sketchbooks, newspaper archives, trial transcripts and oral histories.

Follow the journey of the award-winning author of the best-selling "Little House" series in this exploration of her life and legacy and her little-known, secret collaboration with her daughter on the books that shaped American ideas of the frontier.

In 1971, three college kids blazed a new trail in the world of interactive entertainment with the creation of The Oregon Trail. Produced by the independent media outlet MinnMax, this documentary is the untold story of how Bill Heinemann, Paul Dillenberger, and Don Rawitsch created a phenomenon, became Minnesota's greatest video game pioneers, and why they gave it all away for free.

Raised by her grandmother after losing her mother at the age of three, Rosalie Wahl trailblazed her way to become the first woman appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court. She overcame many hardships growing up on a Kansas farm during the Great Depression, earn a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in 1946, and after facing discrimination as one of few female lawyers in Minnesota, she fought for women's equality in the 1970's, which led the way to her 1977 court appointment.

Clearing out the old and making way for the new. Buildings have come and gone in Minneapolis and St. Paul. But sometimes this happens before we have the opportunity to appreciate them. This is the story of the buildings lost in the Twin Cities.

1870s–1900: Voices from the past recreate the natural world Euro-Americans first encountered. Find out what happens to North America's most abundant species as commercial hunters and the railroad arrive in Minnesota. The majestic Big Woods are cut down to make room for farms and villages. Visit one of the little-known crown jewels of Minnesota, the Bluestem Prairie. Find out why Minnesota has some of the richest soils in the world and how Minneapolis becomes the flour-milling capital of the world. Historic re-creations bring to life the bonanza era of wheat farming. And experience the catastrophic fire that ushers in a new way of looking at the land.

RETURN TO SKID ROW walks along the pavement of bygone downtown Minneapolis, preserved in rare footage, memory and 21st Century reflection. A unique 16mm film brings back to life Minneapolis' seedy Gateway district in its twilight years. Guided by the first-person account from the 'King of Skid Row,' the film is an unnerving and illuminating gaze on midcentury poverty, people, place, and the past.

Minnesota was home to a little-known military intelligence school during WWII that trained Japanese Americans be to translators. Primarily recruited from concentration camps on the West Coast, these men and women, served while many of their families remained imprisoned. For their efforts it is said that they "shortened the Pacific War by two years and saved possibly a million American lives."