Our Programs

A landmark Supreme Court decision protecting freedom of the press has its origins in Minnesota. In the 1920s, a Minneapolis man named Jay Near began writing articles, many of them tinged with racism and anti-Semitism, about the influence organized crime had on Twin Cities’ government and law enforcement officials. Under Minnesota’s gag law, the state shut down Near’s proposed new paper, the Saturday Press, before it could be published. Near sued. His case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1931. The court sided with Near, overturning Minnesota’s gag law, and affirming censorship to be unconstitutional in most cases. MN90 producer Marisa Helms has the story. [Read Transcript...]

Born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Judy Garland was destined for show business from the ripe old age of 2. MN90 Producer Andi McDaniel takes a closer look at Garland’s career, and discovers what else one of our most famous Minnesotans is best remembered for. [Read Transcript...]

Today, Minnesota is home to just over 100,000 people of Italian heritage. Italian immigrants began arriving in the state in the late 1800s and early 1900s. MN90 producer Marisa Helms reports that, like other immigrant groups, Italians came to Minnesota looking for opportunity and brought with them old world traditions, including music, wine and food. [Read Transcript...]

When Elizabeth Quinlan (1863-1947) opened her five-story department store on Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis in 1926, the fashion trade magazine “Women’s Wear Daily” proclaimed it “the most beautiful women’s specialty store in America.” MN90 producer Marisa Helms tells us that Quinlan was a remarkable businesswoman and fashion visionary who first made history in 1895 when she became the first merchant to open a women’s specialty store west of the Mississippi. [Read Transcript...]