Minnesota Mayhem: A History of Calamitous Events, Horrific Accidents, Dastardly Crime & Dreadful Behavior in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes

by Ben Welter

Turn back the yellowing pages of Minnesota's past and explore the best of the state's worst moments, as chronicled in the Minneapolis Tribune and its successor newspapers. These stories and photos, culled from the Star Tribune's microfilm archive by author Ben Welter, range from the catastrophic to the merely curious. From a fire that destroyed the State Capitol in 1881, to a wordless fistfight that broke out on a Minneapolis street in 1898, a flu outbreak that killed more than 10,000 Minnesotans in 1918 and the arrest of Frank Lloyd Wright at a Lake Minnetonka cottage in 1926.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2012

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as exciting as I thought it would be though there are some very intriguing stories. I did find myself enjoying some articles more than others, but I was left with a desire for more...mayhem, I suppose. I did, however, enjoy reading Welter's other book based off of Minnesota news articles from the past which is how I came to discover that this book was out as well. Not an awful compilation but it needed something to kick it up a star.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a great idea! Recap a group of interesting events in Minnesota history. Disappointing at best. Interesting events to learn of but pulled together from newspaper articles each in a such disjointed way, if you are unfamiliar with the linear story of the event, you will be hard pressed to determine it from the newspaper writing at that time. If the intent was to spotlight newspaper writing, that it does however don’t expect to piece together the stories.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite story in this book was about Barry Bondhus. In 1966, he poured two buckets of human excrement into the filing cabinet containing Selective Service papers, to protest his drafting into the Vietnam war. There’s wonderful follow up information from an interview Welter held with Bondhus decades later, including fascinating information regarding his father’s declaration of war against the country and daughter’s term paper on the topic.

[John Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of an odd mix of things, although the sub-title does warn of this: “Clamitous Events, Horrific Accidents, Dastardly Crime & Dreadful Behavior…” With this many categories it seems like the author could have found more, and more interesting things than were included in this book. As a Minnesotan, I found it mildly interesting although I think that some of the stories could have easily been fleshed out a bit more.

[Kevin Zwiefelhofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of MN newspaper articles with an introduction and a few with follow-up interviews. Interesting living here and also interesting as how history relates to existing current events.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven, and many of the stories don't live up to the hype of the title. The best pieces included additional background information, but those were limited.

[Sara Rose Nissen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating history my home state but like other reviews state, it was sort of hard to read through. Some of these events I had never heard of in my life... And I had family living in the twin cities during these times. However,
I feel like it would've been better written like a third person narrative. Tell the stories. Don't repeat what the newspaper wrote.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read if you are from Minnesota! Familiar cities, streets, and landmarks throughout.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to see what each article was generally about, but I skimmed most of them.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the author’s notes. Some events I knew of, others were new to me. Always fun to learn more about the State’s history.

[Mandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting little book, full of snippets of Minnesota history as told through articles from the Star Tribune newspaper.

[Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.5] "Minnesota Mayhem" is an interesting, but slight, compilation of newspaper articles from the archives of the Star Tribune, from 1871-1977 (but without much context). From the steamer accidents on Lake Pepin to the Armistice Day Blizzard to Frank Lloyd Wright's Lake Minnetonka arrest, stories of the tragic, the bizarre, and the criminal are presented in chronological order as they appeared in the original papers. I found the story of the Bohemian Flats women in 1923 who refused to be evicted from their homes under the Washington Avenue Bridge, to be especially poignant today. Author Ben Welter, however, provides a little background information or historical context to the events presented, but aside from the articles themselves, there is no information on the aftermath or historical connotations alike. Still, it is fun to see how historical journalists phrased their stories and I think this would be a good resource for students looking for an introduction to a history project idea.

[Shannon D'Arpino]

This was a fun read that made me laugh out loud at times because of the pure humanness of the articles. It was a fun look at the state I have come to love!

[Humbledaisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically a collection of antique newspaper articles about crime and tragedy in Minnesota. Good for background research but so-so as a read.

[Sarah Alawami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the somewhat odd content over 100 years. It showed the journalism of the time.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. I have been finding local history fascinating.

[Coleen Guhl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but I would have like MORE stories.