On This Date in Minnesota History: April 11

April 11, 1965 - Dennis Craig Jurgens (December 6, 1961 – April 11, 1965) was the most famous and only fatal victim of prolific child abuser Lois Jurgens, who abused a total of six adopted children during a period spanning the 1950s to 1970s. The eventual trial of Lois Jurgens for his murder [on this date] made national headlines and was the top news story for the state of Minnesota in 1987, and is one of few crimes that FBI agent Kenneth Lanning argues can legitimately be described as "ritual abuse".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dennis_Jurgens

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 10

April 10, 1936 – Birthdate of John Madden, “former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts.” He was born in Austin, Minn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Madden

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 9

April 9, 1905 – “First Aerial Ferry was put into Operation on [this date], over the ship canal between Duluth to Minnesota Point. It had room enough to accommodate 6 automobiles. Round trip took 10 min.”
http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/state-facts/minnesota.html

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 8

April 8, 1953 – “Responding to the first-ever sit-down strike at the Minnesota State Prison at Stillwater, warden Carl Jackson met the prisoners' demand for nourishing, sanitary food by firing the prison's chef.”
http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part2.pdf

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 7

April 7, 1858 – A bill for the admission of Minnesota into the Union was passed by the senate with only three no votes.
http://www.mnterritorialpioneers.org/info/hist/terrgovt.htm

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 6

April 6, 1956 – “The ore boat C. L. AUSTIN picked up the first load of taconite at Silver Bay [Minn.].”
http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part2.pdf

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 5

April 5, 1933 - One of the greatest April snowstorms in Minnesota began on this date. “The old Pigeon River Bridge crossing in Cook County saw 28 inches in one day from that storm. This still stands as the 24 hour state record for snowfall in April. Two Harbors in Lake County saw 17 inches of snow from the 1933 storm.”
http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/april_snow_records.htm