On This Date in Minnesota History: March 9

March 9, 1874 – Established on this date, Cook County, Minn., “was named in honor of Major Michael Cook, of Faribault, a prominent citizen and a brave soldier in the civil war (sic).”
Upham, Warren; Minnesota Geographic Names, Their Origin and Historic Significance; Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minn., 1969); p. 135.

Major Michael Cook
http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?id=11792

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 8

March 8, 1990 - After a night of heavy drinking, a Northwest Airline pilot, first officer and flight engineer “flew a Boeing 727 with 58 passengers from Fargo, N.D., to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The plane landed smoothly, but the authorities had been alerted by a bar patron who had seen the crew drinking. The three pilots were ordered to undergo sobriety tests, and all showed blood-alcohol levels higher than the Federal limit of .04 percent. Northwest dismissed the three men, the Federal Aviation Administration revoked their licenses and in August 1990 they became the first pilots convicted of flying a commercial jet while intoxicated.”

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/14/us/airline-gives-ex-drunken-pilot-a-second-chance.html

http://www.whatscookinnow.org/?p=676

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 7

March 7, 1967 – A Carlton County grand jury indicted James M. Savage, 15, on a charge of second degree murder for the Nov. 17, 1966, fatal stabbing of Kathleen Bodie, 14, in the Cloquet high School band room.

Duluth News-Tribune; “Youth, 15, Indicted in Cloquet Slaying”; March 8, 1967; p. 1.

Murder of Kathleen Bodie; see Nov. 17, 2012 blog

Suspect arrested: see Nov. 23, 2012 blog

Complaint issued; see Feb. 20, 2013 blog

Savage pleads guilty; see March 14, 2013 blog

Death of James M. Savage; see July 10, 2013 blog

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 6

March 6, 1963 – Carol Thompson, a Highland Park housewife and 34-year-old mother of four, was the victim of a murder-for-hire plan devised by her husband, T. Eugene Thompson, a well-known local criminal attorney. On this “otherwise ordinary”² morning, Carol collapsed on a neighbor's stoop in her nightgown, beaten and bloodied; “in her neck was the broken blade of a paring knife. She died hours later in the hospital.”¹

Minnesotans called it the murder of the century, the crime of the century, the trial of the century. Thompson’s “trial was closely covered by reporters from New York and Chicago, and his conviction was front-page news as far away as Honolulu and Oslo.”²  

http://www.robertsgriffin.com/AndersonA.pdf
¹http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/article_615df7e3-eb09-54c9-bad6-9ef83d762997.html
²http://business.highbeam.com/137256/article-1G1-20968310/legacy-murder-been-thirtyfive-years-since-carol-thompson

Carol and T. Eugene Thompson

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fringefestival.org/2012/img/shows/300/2399.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fringefestival.org/2012/mobile/show/?id%3D2399&h=131&w=300&sz=8&tbnid=aSULkgMvJGJE-M:&tbnh=48&tbnw=110&zoom=1&usg=__MIRu3mBlOQZysiNpkBq0KMYatRU=&docid=OCivbwRWVcXH1M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BA2DULOME-aVyQGSwICQBw&ved=0CCsQ9QEwBA&dur=1384

St. Paul street Thompson's lived on at the time of the murder.

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain March 6, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included. 

Gun handle pieces found at the scene of Carol Thompson’s murder identified; see April 9, 2013 blog


Thieves admit to stealing and selling gun used in Carol Thompson murder; see April 17, 2013 blog


Suspects arrested in Carol Thompson’s murder; see April 19, 2013 blog


Suspect implicates another as actual murderer in Carol Thompson case; see April21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson represented one of the suspects in his wife’s murder; see April 23, 2013 blog


Pistol used to bludgeon Carol Thompson found; see April 30, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson walks out on grand jury; see May 2, 2013 blog


Getaway car in Carol Thompson murder located; see May 3, 2013 blog


Blood-stained trousers believed to have been worn by Carol Thompson’s murderer found; May 9, 2013 blog


Suspect in Carol Thompson’s murder confesses, implicates T. Eugene Thompson; see June 20, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson arrested in his wife’s murder; see June 21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson’s role in wife’s murder revealed to public; see June 22, 2013 blog
Minn. Supreme Court affirms T. Eugene Thompson’s conviction; see Jan. 7, 2014 blog

Minn. Supreme Court denies T. Eugene Thompson’s attempt to collect wife’s insurance death benefits; see Feb. 10, 2014 blog

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 5

March 5, 1934 - Gangster John Dillinger moves into the Santa Monica Apartments, 3252 Girard Av. S. in Minneapolis, after he escapes from an Indiana jail and eludes a nationwide manhunt.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/49452787.html?page=2&c=y

John Dillinger

http://www.squidoo.com/johndillinger

Santa Monica Apartments, 3252 Girard Av. S. in Minneapolis, Minn.

http://www.hornigcompanies.com/property/photos.aspx?prop=64

 

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 4

March 4, 1879 – The village of Young America, Carver County, Minn., was platted in the fall of 1856, and incorporated on this date. “This name is a familiar expression for the vigor and progressiveness of the young people of the United States.”¹ The cities of Norwood and Young America merged on January 1, 1997, forming the city of Norwood Young America, Minn.<sup>2

1</sup>Upham, Warren; Minnesota Geographic Names, Their Origin and Historic Significance; Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minn., 1969); p. 84.
²http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WME9GM_Norwood_Young_America_MN_USA

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WME9GM_Norwood_Young_America_MN_USA

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 3

March 3, 1982 – Actress Jessica Biel was born in Ely, Minn. Best known for her role as Mary Camden on the TV series 7th Heaven and as Justin Timberlake’s wife, she was ranked No. 1 in Stuff magazine's "100 Sexiest Women" (2007).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Biel

Jessica Biel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jessica_Biel_Palm_Film_Festival.jpg