Our view: Cloquet woman was a political first

It is quite likely that 100 years ago today, Anna Dickie Olesen was on the road, in some city in Minnesota far-flung from her permanent residence in Cloquet.

Olesen, known here as a strong advocate toward compensation for 1918 fire victims, parlayed her speaking skills into a campaign for U.S. Senate. She was the first woman to run for a national seat with a major party endorsement. As a Democrat, she faced great odds in unseating the incumbent, Republican Frank Kellogg. But because of her oratory skill, she rose up in the Democratic ranks and became a national news story in the political seas...