This week in state history

Historic Minnesota events with anniversaries this coming week.

Jan. 10

1925 "Arrowhead" is selected as the official moniker for northeastern Minnesota, the result of a nationwide contest sponsored by the Northeastern Minnesota Civic and Commerce Association of Duluth. It renamed itself the Minnesota Arrowhead Association in July of 1925.

1975 A fierce blizzard strikes, bringing one to two feet of snow (with some drifts reaching 20 feet) and winds up to 80 miles per hour, closing most Minnesota roads. The storm produced a total of 58 fatalities with 12 of those resulting from the 42 tornadoes spawned in the Southeast over the course of four days. It's known as the "Super Bowl" blizzard, as the Minnesota Vikings were defeated in the NFL championship game by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 12.

Jan. 11

1909 Great Britain and the United States sign a treaty forming the International Joint Commission, a legislative body charged with preventing and settling disputes in the boundary waters region with Canada. The IJC remains in place today.

Jan. 12

1840 Gov. James D. Doty of Wisconsin Territory (which includes part of the future state of Minnesota) writes to the U.S. secretary of war protesting an extension of the Fort Snelling military reservation and asking how the federal government can take land "by the simple declaration that it is necessary for military purposes" and without consent of the territorial legislature. The protest is in vain, and military authorities eventually expel "squatters" living in the fort area, causing many of them to move to the site that will become St. Paul.

1888 A major blizzard strikes the state, hitting southwestern Minnesota especially hard and causing the deaths of between 100 and 150 people, many of them children on their way home from school. Estimated death counts including the plains states are 250 to 500 deaths. Many people died in the following weeks of pneumonia and infections after amputations. It became known as the Children's Blizzard or Schoolhouse Blizzard since so many children died trying to walk home from school. Near Foston, Minn., six siblings were found frozen to death, their arms entwined.

Jan. 13

1944 The cruiser Duluth is launched in Newport News, Virginia, christened by Ella T. Hatch, wife of Duluth mayor Edward H. Hatch. In May 1945 the ship becomes part of the U.S. fleet in World War II.

1982 Nature writer and environmentalist Sigurd Olson dies in Ely. Born in Chicago in 1899, Olson served as a canoe guide in the boundary waters region and was active in environmental issues beginning in the 1920s, playing a prominent role in the battle for federal protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and serving as president of the Wilderness Society.

Jan. 14

1993 Ann Bancroft of St. Paul reaches the South Pole by skis, becoming the first woman to travel overland to both the North Pole and South Pole. She leads the American Women's Expedition on a 67-day trek during which the four women cover 660 miles on skis. In 2001 Bancroft and Liv Arneson would become the first women to ski across Antarctica.

1994 The movie Iron Will, a fictionalized account of a 1917 dogsled race from Winnipeg to St. Paul, opens nationwide. Much of it is shot in the Duluth region, including Cloquet. Albert Campbell from Le Pas, Manitoba, won the real race, which was part of St. Paul's Winter Carnival. The first written account of any dogsled race detailed a trip from Winnipeg to St. Paul in the 1850s.

Jan. 15

1851 James M. Goodhue, editor of the Minnesota Pioneer, brawls in the street with Joseph Cooper, brother of territorial judge David Cooper. Cooper is upset because Goodhue printed a libelous column about his brother, which included the phrases "He is . . . a miserable drunkard . . . stuffed with arrogance, self conceit, and a ridiculous affectation of dignity." Goodhue shoots Cooper, who takes out a Bowie knife and stabs the editor three times. Both survive.

This column is derived from MNopedia, an online project at mnopedia.org. and developed by the Minnesota Historical Society and its partners.