Minnesota Unknown

Minnesota Unknown Minnesota Unknown is a company shining a light on Minnesota's surprising, unusual, and hidden history. www.minnesotaunknown.com

We offer seasonal history walking tours and also produce a podcast (also called Minnesota Unknown). At Minnesota Unknown, we offer guided walking tours of Minnesota history, with a special emphasis on the surprising, unusual, and little-known history hidden in plain sight. Our tours combine thorough research with captivating storytelling to create a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable experience.

05/28/2026

A small town in Minnesota is making history with a new marker that celebrates its role in the rural LGBTQ Pride movement.

As far as we’re concerned, the Cream Cheese Wonton is one of the most perfect foods ever created. But did you know that ...
05/07/2026

As far as we’re concerned, the Cream Cheese Wonton is one of the most perfect foods ever created. But did you know that this culinary miracle was invented right here in Minnesota by none other than famed chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author Leeann Chin?

Join us on the latest episode of our Minnesota Unknown podcast as we explore the fascinating life and incredible legacy of Leeann Chin. We’ll follow her story from 1930s China to her arrival in 1950s Minnesota, years during which she received nothing but discouragement from others, to her eventual triumph as a business mogul and culinary star, in part thanks to a fateful encounter with none other than actor Sean Connery.

You can find ‘Minnesota Unknown’ wherever you get your podcasts. To find links to our latest episode as well as bonus content and images, head to:

https://www.minnesotaunknown.com/post/ep-12-leeann-chin

Image: Leeann Chin outside her second restaurant, located in St. Paul's Union Depot, 1984 (Pioneer Press)

05/01/2026

Here, kitty kitty...

Ten years ago today, the world lost one of its true musical legends, Prince.Over the course of his 57 years on this eart...
04/21/2026

Ten years ago today, the world lost one of its true musical legends, Prince.

Over the course of his 57 years on this earth, Prince Rogers Nelson crossed paths with countless people. Are you one of them? If so, we want to hear from you!

We are in the process of preparing an episode of our Minnesota Unknown podcast focused on Prince, and we would love to include as many stories as possible from everyday people who encountered him. Did you ever see him in public? Did he ever come to your place of employment? Did you work for him in some way? Did you see him in concert? Did you know him before he was famous? Go to school with him? Party with him? Whatever your Prince story is, we would love to hear and be able to share it.

There are several ways you can let us know your Prince story. You can write it in the comments, message us on Facebook or Instagram, or email us at: [email protected]

We also have a Google Form that you can fill out:

https://forms.gle/G8LXGf8wZzqxL5uE8

We would especially love it if you are able to record an audio message that we could share in the podcast itself. You can record a voice memo and either email it to us or upload the file to the Google Form listed above.

(By sending us your story, you consent to having it shared on our podcast. We won’t include any personal information beyond first names, and you can also leave your name out entirely and be anonymous. We may lightly edit your story for length or clarity.)

We’ve recently concluded Monument Madness 2026, a contest to decide which is the best roadside monument in Minnesota. In...
04/17/2026

We’ve recently concluded Monument Madness 2026, a contest to decide which is the best roadside monument in Minnesota. In our latest podcast episode, we adopt the persona of wisecracking 1930s newscasters to share the exciting match-by-match results of this tournament and explore the fascinating history behind all sixteen marvelous contenders.

You can find ‘Minnesota Unknown’ wherever you get your podcasts. To find links to this episode as well as bonus content and images, head to:

https://www.minnesotaunknown.com/post/ep-11-monument-madness

We’ve had a number of people reach out to us asking if they could buy prints of this original watercolor we created to c...
04/15/2026

We’ve had a number of people reach out to us asking if they could buy prints of this original watercolor we created to celebrate the winners of our ‘Monument Madness 2026’ contest. And the answer is: YES!

We are thrilled to present this commemorative artwork, now available for purchase on our website.

The Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth was the winner of this single-elimination tournament to decide the best roadside monument in Minnesota, followed by runners-up Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji. In celebration, we made this original watercolor and ink artwork depicting the Jolly Green Giant lifting up the runners-up onto the winner’s podium and sharing in the glory.

This artwork is 100% human-made (we will never use generative AI) and currently available as a high quality Giclée print in two sizes (5” x 7” and 8.3” x 11.7”) and as a t-shirt. (If you’d like this in any other sizes or on other products, let us know and we’ll make it happen!)

Simply follow this link:

www.minnesotaunknown.com/category/all-products

04/07/2026

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!! We are thrilled to announce the winner of Monument Madness, a single-elimination tournament to decide which is the best roadside monument in the great state of Minnesota!!!

We started with 16, but in the end it came down to just two contenders: The Jolly Green Giant (Blue Earth) vs. Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox (Bemidji).

In a way, they are BOTH winners.

In another, more accurate way, the JOLLY GREEN GIANT is the winner!!!!

We tallied the votes from four sources: comments on our Facebook posts, comments on our Instagram posts, comments on our TikTok videos, and votes in the Google form that was available on our website. When all these were added up, the Jolly Green Giant had a whopping 2,335 votes, over Paul & Babe’s 373 votes.

However, when we looked closer at the data, we noticed something interesting. The majority of the Jolly Green Giant’s votes came from the Google form, where the JGG received 2,179 votes and Paul & Babe only got 41. But if we looked ONLY at the social media comments, then PAUL & BABE were the clear winners, garnering 332 votes compared to the Jolly Green Giant’s 156 votes.

With such a disparity, we can’t help but suspect that some people were voting for the Jolly Green Giant many, many times on the Google Form. Now, we never said you couldn’t do this, so that’s entirely fair play. The Jolly Green Giant is legitimately the winner of this contest.

However, we couldn’t help but feel sympathy for ol’ Paul & Babe and their strong showing in the comments sections And as Minnesotans, we are nothing if not conflict avoidant, and so we decided we wanted to ALSO honor Paul & Babe in some way.

Therefore, we made this original watercolor and ink artwork depicting the Jolly Green Giant lifting up the runners-up onto the winner’s podium and sharing in the glory.

So congratulations to the Jolly Green Giant for winning the overall tournament, and congrats to Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox for gaining the most comments!

We look forward to next year’s Monument Madness!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!! We are thrilled to announce the winner of Monument Madness, a single-elimination tournament to deci...
04/07/2026

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!! We are thrilled to announce the winner of Monument Madness, a single-elimination tournament to decide which is the best roadside monument in the great state of Minnesota!!!

We started with a bracket of sixteen contenders, but in the end it came down to just two: The Jolly Green Giant (Blue Earth) vs. Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox (Bemidji).

In a way, they are BOTH winners.

In another, more accurate way, the JOLLY GREEN GIANT is the winner!!!!

We tallied the votes from four sources: comments on our Facebook posts, comments on our Instagram posts, comments on our TikTok videos, and votes in the Google form that was available on our website. When all these were added up, the Jolly Green Giant had a whopping 2,335 votes, over Paul & Babe’s 373 votes.

However, when we looked closer at the data, we noticed something interesting. The majority of the Jolly Green Giant’s votes came from the Google form, where the JGG received 2,179 votes and Paul & Babe only got 41. But if we looked ONLY at the social media comments, then PAUL & BABE were the clear winners, garnering 332 votes compared to the Jolly Green Giant’s 156 votes.

With such a disparity, we can't help but suspect that some people were voting for the Jolly Green Giant many, many times on the Google Form. Now, we never said you couldn’t do this, so that’s entirely fair play. The Jolly Green Giant is legitimately the winner of this contest.

However, we couldn’t help but feel sympathy for ol’ Paul & Babe and their strong showing in the comments sections (and we couldn't shake our suspicion that they would have had this thing in the bag if it were only one person, one vote). And as Minnesotans, we are nothing if not conflict avoidant, and so we decided we wanted to ALSO honor Paul & Babe in some way.

Therefore, we spent today creating this original watercolor and ink artwork depicting the Jolly Green Giant lifting up the runners-up onto the winners podium and sharing in the glory. We think anyone this jolly clearly would be a good sport about his win.

So congratulations to the Jolly Green Giant for winning the overall tournament, and congrats to Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox for gaining the most comments!

We look forward to next year’s Monument Madness!

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