Digitized Index Cards to Minneapolis Newspapers
Van Houlson, Journalism Librarian, University of Minnesota Libraries
For many years, the index cards to the Minneapolis Star and the Minneapolis Tribune at the Wilson Library on the University of Minnesota campus gave researchers a unique tool for locating articles on local people and events. This index was recently scanned by the Digital Collections unit at the University of Minnesota Libraries and is now available for searching as a public access website called the Minneapolis Newspaper Index (https://www.lib.umn.edu/newspapers).
Use this search engine to find articles from the Minnesota Daily (1900-1922, 1963-1977), Minneapolis Tribune (1940-1945,1950-1954) and the Minneapolis Star (1964-1970). Search for keywords found in the headlines of articles or among the subject headings used to organize the card file. This is a fascinating resource for anyone interested in Minneapolis history and will also display the actual image of the original card, revealing the work of dedicated library staff over decades as they added citations about local people, architecture, events and other developments. The Minneapolis Newspaper Index opens up new possibilities for researching local Minnesota history in the 20th century that is currently not possible using any existing newspaper content in print, microfilm, or online.
Comment by Ian:
This is a great addition to the Minneapolis History Researcher toolbox. It is especially helpful for the period 1940-1945, 1950-1954, which we previously did not have an index for at Hennepin County Library.
I was able to find citations about my cousin twice removed, Arthur Stade. His wife Agnes was shot dead when she allegedly bumped into Arthur as he was carrying a rifle and a shotgun into their home. There also was evidence that Agnes was jealous of Arthur’s infatuation with their former teenage maid, Stella Howell and planned to divorce him. Arthur Stade was wealthy and had a quite a bit of property that would have been threatened by a divorce. Looks like it was a sensational trial, the death was ruled an accident and Arthur and Stella were married afterwards. In addition to being a farmer, Arthur was also good with real estate, flipping a farm originally owned by my great-grandfather Fred Stade into an addition to the Interlaken Golf Club. A street and park are named after him in Fairmont, Minnesota.
The murder trial get’s a mention in Larry Millett’s Murder Has a Public Face and features a photo of the jury that acquitted Arthur Stade.
