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A forgotten history of the Minneapolis Aquatennial
“The unity that the Aquatennial was celebrating, was a unity that tried to hide the kind of conflict that had gone on in Bloody Friday,” said Peter Rachleff.
MINNEAPOLIS — The City of Minneapolis has held Aquatennial celebrations featuring parades, pageants and more since 1940.
The annual festival full of fun used to be known as the “10 best days of summer” and always takes place in the third week of July.
According to historian Peter Rachleff, that timing is no coincidence.
“The unity that the Aquatennial was celebrating, was a unity that tried to hide the kind of conflict that had gone on in Bloody Friday,” said Rachleff.
He was joined by a crowd of dozens who had converged in the north loop neighborhood of Minneapolis to commemorate the 1934 Trucker’s strike, more specifically, the events that occurred on July 20 of that year.
Tens of thousands of truckers were striking for higher wages and more rights on that day more than 90 years ago. Pressure had been mounting for weeks and between the teamsters and a board of business owners who often deployed the police to break up the strikes.
“Sixty-seven people were shot and two died,” said Rachleff about the teamsters.
Governor Floyd Olson declared martial law and the union declared victory after a settlement was reached weeks later.
But the possible connection between Bloody Friday and the Aquatennial isn’t on the record.
The CEO and President of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, Adam Duininck, acknowledges the possible connection.
“Given the timelines (of the strike and the celebration) it’s possible that there’s a connection,” said Duininck.
Despite the controversial origins of the Aquatennial, Duininck argues that there’s room for both celebrating the victories of the union and the unity of the city.
“The unity around celebrating the city should involve all of us. We want a downtown that reflects everybody. From the people that work in the tall towers to everybody that works to clean them. It takes all of us. We should bring those communities together,” said Duininck.
Minneapolis artist Keith Christensen is working on behalf of the 1934 committee to ensure the memory of Bloody Friday makes it to the next generation
“It’s not about a dead history, it’s about how to use the history to go forward and learn a lesson,” said Christensen.
He and the committee have created a series of events to mark the 90th anniversary of Bloody Friday, including an art gallery in the downtown Minneapolis Library.
“It helps people to go forward, to know there’s a legacy of caring about each other to make the world better,” said Christensen.
Click here to see more information about the events the 1934 committee has created to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Bloody Friday.
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
