Minnesota's Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold

On this latest episode of Minnesota's Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold, I speak with Matt Cecil about one of the most infamous murder cases in Minnesota history. In 1859, Ann Bilansky's alcoholic husband, Stanislaus, passed away in his bed in the family's St. Paul saloon/home. At first it was believed he had died of an unspecified illness, but when the Bilanskys' neighbor, Lucinda Fitzpatrick, came forward with shocking news — she had accompanied Ann to buy arsenic not long before — suspicions suddenly turned to murder.

Matt Cecil is an accomplished author and J. Edgar Hoover expert who wrote about the Ann Bilansky murder case decades ago for Minnesota History magazine. He joins me to talk about this sensational case and the only woman ever executed in Minnesota.

Read the full article here: https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-org-support/mn_history_articles/55/v55i08p350-363.pdf

More information on the author's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Matthew-Cecil/author/B00I4BYFRQ
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On October 7, 1896, the citizens of Sherburn, a small town in southwestern Minnesota, were horrified when two brothers from Iowa held up the local bank and murdered two men inside. It would go down in history as the world's first heist executed on bicycles. An intense manhunt followed, as the brothers pedaled hard for Iowa in a desperate bid to escape.

Award winning author Jeffrey Sauve has returned to Minnesota's Most Notorious - this time to share details from his new book "Wheels of Murder: The 1896 Bank Robbery That Shocked a Small Prairie Town".

The book comes out on August 18th, and you can pre-order/order it here (or buy it from a local Minnesota or Iowa book store!). https://northstareditions.com/wheels-of-murder/ https://www.amazon.com/Wheels-Murder-Robbery-Shocked-Prairie/dp/B0GHWKTX6R/

Jeffrey has a number of book engagements in the next few months across Minnesota and Iowa. Here is his schedule:

Aug. 28 — Northfield Senior Center (50 North). Book launch celebration, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 8 — Kossuth County Historical Society, Algona, Iowa. Book Signing, 1-4 p.m.

Sept. 8 — Algona Public Library, Algona, Iowa. Author talk, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 12 — Washington County Historical Society, Stillwater. Author talk, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 17 — Rice County Historical Society, Faribault. Author talk, 6:00 p.m.

Sept. 24 — Zenith Bookstore, Duluth. Author talk, 7:00 p.m.

Sept. 26 — Duluth Public Library in conjunction with the Lake Superior Writers. Author talk, 1:00 p.m.

Oct. 1 — Content Bookstore, Northfield. Author talk, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 7 — Martin County Historical Society, Fairmont, Minn. Author talk, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 8 — Albert Lea Public Library. Author talk, Noon.

Oct. 8 — Estherville Iowa Public Library. Author talk, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 30 — Lake Mills Public Library, Lake Mills, Iowa. Author talk, 10:30 a.m.

Nov. 5 — Jackson County Historical Society, Lakefield, MN. Author talk, 6 p.m.

Nov. 14 — Sons of Norway Norsota Lodge, Apple Valley (open to all). Author talk, 4 p.m.

Dec. 7 — Northfield History Center. Author talk, 6:00 p.m.
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My guest is Steven J. Harper, author of "Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story". His father, Jim Harper, was a member of Minneapolis Teamsters Local 544 who uncovered evidence of corruption within the union. In the late 1950s, he brought this information to the attention of the newly elected Teamsters president, Jimmy Hoffa. But his efforts to confront union leadership and root out corruption were met with severe resistance, including threats and even attempts on his life.

More about the book at the author's website: https://www.stevenjharper.com/contact

The book is available to purchase through the Minnesota Historical Society gift shop here: https://shop.mnhs.org/products/crossing-hoffa?srsltid=AfmBOooRjR8SomcEVQ_Y0WBg_gQgatZQiMX_2R4cZptmjaVTBa7nVNT

It's available on ebook on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Hoffa-Teamsters-Steven-Harper-ebook/dp/B01MT6I3B4/
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One of Minnesota's most fascinating unsolved murder cases began on the morning of December 9, 1937, when firefighters discovered the charred body of 31-year-old Ruth Munson in an abandoned Saint Paul hotel. As the investigation deepened, evidence would surface that suggested that Ruth had lived a very secret life.

My guest, Roger Barr, is the author of "A Murder on the Hill: The Secret Life and Mysterious Death of Ruth Munson." He utilized an extensive collection of police files to piece this 1930s-era investigation together.

Purchase the book here through the MNHS Press website: https://shop.mnhs.org/products/a-murder-on-the-hill
Prefer the ebook version? You can get it here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Hill-Secret-Mysterious-Munson-ebook/dp/B0CTPYV2HN
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On June 2, 1916, forty mostly immigrant mineworkers at the St. James Mine in Aurora, Minnesota, walked off the job. This seemingly small labor disturbance would mushroom into one of the region’s, if not the nation’s, most contentious and significant battles between organized labor and management in the early twentieth century.

My guest, Gary Kaunoen, is an International Falls labor historian and author of the book "Flames of Discontent: The 1916 Minnesota Iron Ore Strike". He talks about the origin of the conflict, the Finnish immigrant miners who fought mining company forces with help from the Industrial Workers of the World (aka "The Wobblies"), and how the deadly conflict ultimately ended. 

The author's University of Minnesota Press page: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/flames-of-discontent
Northern Minnesota's Labor Wars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AklJBH6SBGA
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