On this Date in Minnesota History: August 31

August 31, 1960 – “Sections of Minneapolis, including about one-third of the downtown district were without electricity for 25 minutes following a short circuit at a Northern States Power sub-station. Three television stations, KMSP, WCCO and WTCN were off the air during the power failure,” and traffic lights shut down. People were caught in elevators, and elevators and air conditioning were off throughout the area.

Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Power Failure Darkens Television, Traffic Lights”; September 1, 1960; p.1.

http://www.johnweeks.com/highway/mpls-neighborhoods/

On this Date in Minnesota History: August 30

August 30, 1886 – “Three young ladies were crossing a trestle work near [Sauk Centre, Minn.] this afternoon when the Manitoba east bound train came along. They lost their presence of mind, became frantic and started back, but the engine was too close to be reversed.

MISS ALLEN, eighteen years old, was killed and terribly mangled and MISS FAVEN severely injured. The latter's sister escaped unhurt by jumping into the water but was unconscious for several hours from fright.”

Mitchell Daily Republican South Dakota 1886-08-31
http://www3.gendisasters.com/minnesota/18153/sauk-center-mn-trestle-accident-aug-1886

http://www.mntreasures.com/2011/05/sauk-centre-minnesota.html

On this Date in Minnesota History: August 29

August 29, 1857 - A constitutional convention was assembled in the Minnesota territory in July 1857. Divisions between Republicans and Democrats led to the drafting of two separate constitutions. The larger cities of Saint Paul, Saint Anthony, and Stillwater were the domain of the Democrats whereas agrarian southern Minnesota was the domain of the Republicans. A single constitution was finally worked out between the two factions though the more powerful Democrats ultimately prevailed on most issues.

The resentment between the two parties remained so acrimonious that two separate copies of the constitution had to be used so that members of each party did not have to sign a copy signed by members of the other party. The copies were signed on this date and an election was called on October 13, 1857, to approve the document. 30,055 voters approved the constitution, while 571 rejected it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_era_of_Minnesota

http://www.mnhs.org/places/historycenter/exhibits/territory/people/count/

On this Date in Minnesota History: August 28

August 28, 1965 – Mary Ann Titrud of Clarissa, Minn.,¹ was crowned 1965 Princess Kay of the Milky Way on this date. She and her court were the first regional Dairy Princesses to have their heads and shoulders sculpted “from a 64-pound solid block of top quality Minnesota butter”² in the dairy building at the Minnesota State Fair.

Minneapolis Tribune; “Clarissa Art Student is New Princess Kay”; August 29, 1965; p. 1A.
Minneapolis Tribune; “What to See at State Fair—Clip and Save This Page”; August 29, 1965; p. 16B

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain August 28, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included

On This Date in Minnesota History: August 27

August 27, 1920 – (Women’s Equality Day) “Notice of the final ratification was received by the Secretary of State in Washington at 4:00 a.m., and the Nineteenth Amendment was proclaimed part of the Constitution. Up to that time, no other amendment had taken so long to secure. Minnesota can claim the first women voters in the nation as a stalwart group of women in South St. Paul organized a local referendum in the wee hours of [this] morning.”

http://www.lwvduluth.org/important-dates-in-league-history.html

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/votes-women/file.html

On This Date in Minnesota History: August 26

August 26, 1848 – “The Stillwater Convention [was held on this date]. Delegates from unorganized territory formerly in Wisconsin meet and pass a resolution to be presented to the United States Congress asking for the organization of a new territory named "Minnesota." Because of this convention, Stillwater is later known as the ‘Birthplace of Minnesota.’”

http://projects.wchsmn.org/reference/events/territorial-convention/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Welcome_to_Stillwater,_Minnesota_(2005_sign).jpg

On this Date in Minnesota History: August 25

August 25, 1965(1965-08-25) - Archibald Wright "Moonlight" Graham, “an American professional baseball player who appeared as a right fielder in a single major league game for the New York Giants on June 29, 1905,” died on this date in Chisholm, Minn. “His story was popularized by Shoeless Joe, a novel by W. P. Kinsella, and the subsequent 1989 film Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner, and featuring Burt Lancaster and Frank Whaley as older and younger incarnations of Graham.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Graham

Archibald Wright "Moonlight" Graham
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grahamo01.shtml