On This Date in Minnesota History: February 21

February 21, 1970 – Five Stillwater prison inmates attempted to break out of the prison, and “held three guards hostage for eight hours.” The prisoners lured the guards into an honor area by saying that a prisoner was ill, then used a .22 caliber revolver that had been smuggled into the prison and a dagger to take them hostage. Two of the prisoners “put on the uniforms of two of the guards and pretended to lead the other three convicts out the front door.” They managed to get through “the first of four iron-bar doors, but retreated back into the cell-block when another guard refused to give orders to open the other three doors.”
The Minneapolis Star; “5 to be charged in Stillwater ‘break’ try”; February 2, 1970, p. 9A

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Feb. 21, 2013,
 as long as acknowledgement included.