Minnesota Experience

Episode 2

Lost Twin Cities III

"Lost Twin Cities III" is the third installment of the immensely popular "Lost Twin Cities" specials. Based on the Larry Millett book of the same name, these programs explore the vibrant history of vanished places and cultures in the metropolitan area.

Episode 3

Cornerstones: A History of North Minneapolis

"Cornerstones: A History of North Minneapolis" explores the neighborhood's diverse past through the power of place. Co-produced with the University of Minnesota and the U's Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center on historic Plymouth Avenue, Cornerstones is an hour-long journey through the history of Minnesota's least understood neighborhood.

Episode 4

Fires of 1918

The horror and hardship of the great Minnesota fires of 1918 are hard to imagine 100-years later. Ten communities were destroyed and dozens more were damaged in an inferno that covered an 1,800-square mile area. The date October 12, 1918 will forever be remembered in this part of the world as a date that didn't just make history, but erased history.

Episode 5

Lost Twin Cities 4

Our latest installment of the Lost Twin Cities history series tells the stories of Northwest Airlines, Negro League baseball, Longfellow Zoo, Dayton’s Oval Room, St. Paul’s Public Baths and a lost Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece.

Episode 6

Glensheen and the Congdon Legacy

Glensheen is a true Minnesota original, preserved intact for future generations. It is a story of hard work, fortunate timing and a life long pursuit of knowledge.

Episode 7

Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian

This documentary follows Kate Beane, a young Dakota woman, as she examines the extraordinary life of her celebrated relative, Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa). Biography and journey come together as Kate traces Eastman's path-from traditional Dakota boyhood, through education at Dartmouth College, and in later roles as physician, author, lecturer and Native American advocate.

Episode 8

The People's Protectors

Four Native American Vietnam War veterans reflect on the agony of war and how their communities helped them carry their warrior legacy proudly. A lifetime later, these soldiers begin to tell their stories.Funding provided by Vision Maker Media and The Mark and Mary Davis Foundation.

Episode 9

MN in the 70's

People power, environmental cleanups, exciting new music, grand city plans, and food wars in co-ops and grocery stores--In the turbulent '70s, Minnesota shed its image as a snowy outpost and became a place of consequence in politics, culture, business and civic activism. Produced with the Minnesota Historical Society Press and inspired by authors Dave Kenney and Thomas Saylor.

Episode 10

The Fabulous Ice Age

Discover the era of the great American touring ice shows, revealing how they dominated family entertainment for decades, changing the lives of skaters and audiences alike.

Episode 11

Hmong Pioneers: Honoring the First Wave

In 1975, at the tumultuous close of the Viet Nam war, the Hmong people in Laos fled their homes, livelihoods, and culture and began to arrive in the U.S. as refugees. Since that time, St. Paul, Minnesota has become the largest home of Hmong Americans in the United States; Hmong Pioneers is their story.

Episode 12

Restoring The People's House

Host Mary Lahammer explores the top-to-bottom three-year $300 million restoration of the home of state government. We soar to the top of the Dome and climb up scaffolding in the Rotunda to see an up-close view of the world's second largest self-supported marble dome and classical art valued at a billion dollars. Architect Cass Gilbert's 1905 masterpiece shines anew.

Episode 13

Tales of the Road

Take a scenic, historic 440 mile trip with host Cathy Wurzer down iconic Highway 61 revisiting the early days of automobile travel. Using an old travel guide, Cathy drives a period Cadillac the length of Minnesota Highway 61 exploring the secrets of places long gone and spinning stories about people from the past.

Episode 14

Made in St. Paul

Built in 1925, the Twin Cities Ford Plant was famous for its classical architecture, on-site hydropower and glass manufacturing. Get the inside story about its role in WWII, the labor movement, the evolution of the city, and the relentless pressure of the assembly line. Produced in partnership with Highland District Council.

Episode 15

Martin Luther King in Minnesota

A discovered tape of a speech given by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the University of Minnesota in 1967; followed by an interview of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by host L. Howard Bennett for a discussion on ideas, methods and words of wisdom on how to achieve the goal of a free society for all.

Episode 16

The Legendary Saint Paul Winter Carnival

The Legendary Saint Paul Winter Carnival's traditions of gathering Saint Paul's neighborhoods to participate in ten days of winter sports, activities and parades, building elaborate ice palaces and crowning a fabled royal family have continued for generations. This one-hour documentary is rich with archival film and images, capturing Saint Paul throughout Carnival's 130-year history.

Episode 17

North Star: Making Home

The "hidden history" of African Americans who helped shape the North Star state of Minnesota. From fur trader George Bonga to the state's first black woman lawyer, Lena Smith.

Episode 18

North Star: Making Change

The "hidden history" of African Americans who helped shape the North Star state of Minnesota. From fur trader George Bonga to the state's first black woman lawyer, Lena Smith.

Episode 19

Cass Gilbert: Standing the Test of Time

CASS GILBERT: STANDING THE TEST OF TIME, features the story of how one of Minnesota's most gifted artists became one of our Nation's great architects. By building on his formal education at M.I.T. and his world travels, Gilbert transformed the spot where he played as a boy by creating one of America's finest statehouses- our Minnesota State Capitol.

Episode 20

Jim Crow of the North

Why does Minnesota suffer through some of the worst racial disparities in the nation? One answer is the spread of racist, restrictive real estate covenants in the early 20th century. Jim Crow of the North charts the progression of racist policies and practices from the advent of restrictive covenants after the turn of the last century to their final elimination in the late 1960s.

Episode 21

Gracious Spaces: Clarence H. Johnston

Clarence Johnston was one of Minnesota's most prolific Gilded Age architects. Discover how his aesthetic legacy shaped the state.

Episode 22

Women Outward Bound

WOMEN OUTWARD BOUND profiles the first group of young women to participate in an Outward Bound survival school course in 1965, and chronicles their experiences in the wild. It also captures how one month in the woods taught them they could do more than they ever thought possible. During their experience, the young women forged a special bond.

Episode 23

The Minneapolis Sound

For the first time since its original run 30 years ago, Minnesota Experience brings back Emily Goldberg's first person journey through the vibrant Minneapolis music scene of the 80s. A Twin Cities PBS Original.

Episode 24

Minnesota's Deadliest Tornadoes & Fiercest Floods

A documentary look at some of the deadliest weather to ever strike Minnesota.

Episode 25

A History of the Land

Witness 16,000 years of Minnesota's fascinating early history. Its unique place in North America is revealed through state of the art animations and graphics. A Twin Cities PBS Original production.

Episode 26

Great American Railroad Journeys: Minneapolis to St. Paul

Join Michael Portillo and discover how Minneapolis harnessed the power of the Mighty Mississippi to become a great industrial center. In St. Paul, Michael explores the birthplace of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Michael's diplomatic skills are tested at a Swedish-American lunch where the centerpiece of the menu is reconstituted dried cod.

Episode 27

Great American Railroad Journeys: Red Wing to Portage, WI

Michael Portillo continues his rail journey along the Upper Mississippi to Red Wing, Minnesota, and the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Picking up the Empire Builder rail service he travels to Winona, La Crosse, and Tomah, Wisconsin, where he wades in a bog to harvest the nation's most important berry from the marshes at a century old farm.

Episode 28

Minnesota Remembers Vietnam: America's Secret War

In the shadows of the Vietnam War, the CIA organized a secret war in neighboring Laos to prevent communism from spreading deeper into Southeast Asia. The Hmong fought for the U.S. — and for themselves— to keep Ho Chi Minh’s regime from destroying their way of life. Distributed nationally by American Public Television.

Episode 29

Out North - Part 1

Out North - Part 1 of a full-length film documenting and honoring Minnesota's LGBTQ history. The film will tell the stories of known and largely unknown LGBTQ Minnesotans who found each other and spoke out when it was a tremendous risk to do so.The film will also explore some of the important ways that Minnesota has played a significant role in the national movement for LGBTQ equality.

Episode 30

Out North - Part 2

Out North - Part 1 of a full-length film documenting and honoring Minnesota's LGBTQ history. The film will tell the stories of known and largely unknown LGBTQ Minnesotans who found each other and spoke out when it was a tremendous risk to do so.The film will also explore some of the important ways that Minnesota has played a significant role in the national movement for LGBTQ equality.

Episode 31

Iron Range: Minnesota Building America

Minnesota’s Iron Range built America from sea to shining sea. Steel buildings to enriched bread. Co-produced with the Minnesota Humanities Center.