Curious Minnesota

Curious Minnesota goes on a bit of a bar crawl through history. We look into which of the state’s historic watering holes is really Minnesota’s oldest. The question is trickier than you might think.

For thousands of years, Native Americans have quarried a sacred, soft red rock from a patch of Minnesota prairie. The site is now Pipestone National Monument. Reporter Jp Lawrence joins host Erica Pearson to share the story of this special place.

Minnesota’s trout stamp, a special add-on to fishing licenses, brings in more than $1 million each year. The program funds fish hatcheries, restocking efforts and more. Reporter Anna Sago joins host Erica Pearson to share the history of the program and give a glimpse into what a day's work is like at a trout hatchery.

A scuplture called “The Scroll” once had a prominent spot in downtown Minneapolis. It stood in front of the old central library for more than 4 decades. Alicia Eler, the Minnesota Star Tribune's visual art reporter and critic, joins host Erica Pearson to tell the story of how the sculpture narrowly missed ending up in a scrap heap when the library building was demolished to make way for a new one.

Harmony, Minnesota is home to the largest Amish settlement in the state. The "Old Order" community is also one of the most conservative of its kind in the country. Reporter Sean Baker joins host Erica Pearson to explain why and when the Amish selected this sliver of southeast Minnesota to call home.