Publisher's Note

Governor Mark Dayton met with Acquisitions Editor Ryan Hemmer at the History Center on June 5

Earlier this month we were pleased to host former senator and two-term governor Mark Dayton in our offices to discuss marketing plans for his memoir, Perseverance. Publishing in September, the book features a foreword by Governor Dayton's colleague in the US Senate Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dayton pulls back the curtain on a long career in public service as well as important moments in his private life. As pointed in assessments of himself as his colleagues, Dayton discusses mistakes as well as achievements. He gives credit where it is due, regardless of political affiliations. 

David Lillehaug, former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, captures the book's essence and appeal with these words: “In this candid, searing reflection, former senator and governor Mark Dayton shows that his rare combo of high-IQ wonk, chippy hockey goalie, and anti-war activist remains intact. He regrets ‘not a cent’ spending his inheritance on his candidacies for economic and social justice. Behind the scenes, he reveals, he waged a decades-long struggle for emotional and physical health. Perseverance, indeed. Minnesota is better for it.” 

Preorder your copy of Perseverance today at shop.mnhs.org.

New Releases

Happy Pride Month! MNHS Press's June book smartly places local history in a national context through the lesser-known story of a Twin Ports bar's community service during a crucial time in LGBTQ rights and gay health.

Remember the Main: The Gay Bar that Started a Movement in the Northland

Meg Gorzycki
"This book brings me home. Remember the Main clarifies some of the mythology that has grown up around the Main Club, the gay bar in my hometown of Superior, Wisconsin, and its owner, Bob Jansen. Author Meg Gorzycki places  LGBTQ+ activism in the Northland squarely in the context of the feminist, civil rights, and anti-violence movements that she calls 'boomer activism.' Remember the Main is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the role LGBTQ people played in the civil rights and AIDS movements of the 1980s and 1990s." —Jim Berg, editor, scholar, and former dean of Lake Superior College

"Meg Gorzycki’s Remember the Main is both history and rallying cry; impossible to read without being struck by myriad resonances with our political moment. It is a history that prizes locality, and demonstrates how the bravery of a single individual can inspire a community, and how the bravery of a small but vital community can help advance a national cause." —Christopher Tradowsky, author of Midnight at the Cinema Palace

"In Remember the Main, Meg Gorzycki illuminates a powerful and often overlooked chapter of LGBTQ history, tracing how a single bar in the Northland became a lifeline, a political engine, and a home for those pushed to the margins. Set against the early decades of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the rural Midwest, the book reveals how grassroots organizing and mutual aid emerged in places too often left out of the historical record. Weaving oral history with narrative precision, she captures a generation that refused invisibility, transforming isolation into community and grief into action. A reminder that real change often begins exactly where the Main Club did: in a room where people gathered, listened, and refused to disappear." —Ryan Berg, author of No House to Call My Home and program manager, ConneQT Host Home Program at Avenues for Youth

Events

Twin Cities Metro

6/20/2026, 11:00 AM, Carolyn Olson, Pearl's Garden, American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis

6/24/2026, 6:00 PM, Audrey M. Thayer and Colette A. Hyman, Weaving Community, Milkweed Books, Open Book, Minneapolis

7/16/2026, 6:00 PM, Lori Sturdevant, Martin Sabo, Norway House, Minneapolis

Greater Minnesota

6/27/2026, 1:00 PM, Carolyn Olson, Pearl's Garden, Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors

6/27/2026, 1:00 PM, Patty Wetterling and Joy Baker, Dear Jacob, Winona Public Library, Winona

6/27/2026, 6:00 PM, Meg Gorzycki, Remember the Main, Drury Lane, Grand Marais 

7/11/2026, 1:00 PM, Michael Risku, Following the Fish, Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors

In the Media

Ben Schierer, Perpich, "Who is Ben Schierer, Amy Klobuchar’s running mate?" Star Tribune

Sarah Peterson, Dish and Tell, "Pets we featured in the Morning Report in May," Pioneer Press

Sarah Peterson, Dish and Tell, "Author shares recipes, memories," Marshall Independent

Meg Gorzycki, Remember the Main, "Book celebrates legacy of Superior's Main Club," Superior Telegram

Audrey M. Thayer and Colette A. Hyman, Weaving Community, "Four Pines Bookstore to celebrate 5-year anniversary with week of events," Bemidji Pioneer

Meg Gorzycki, Remember the Main, "Summer Books," Star Tribune

Meg Gorzycki, Remember the Main, "Inside the Twin Ports gay bar that helped fuel LGBTQ+ rights activism in northern Minnesota," Minnesota Public Radio

Audrey M. Thayer, Weaving Community, "Audrey Thayer’s first book tells stories of Indigenous women leaders," Bemidji Pioneer

Noteworthy

MNHS Press Fall 2026 Catalog Is Available Online

Our seasonal catalog is now posted on the MNHS Press homepage as a pdf download. See the full list of new books publishing this fall season, featuring such authors as Molly Beth Griffin, Ka Choua Vue, Crystal Schlueter, Hampton Smith, and more. All our fall titles are available for preorder at shop.mnhs.org.

New in MNopedia

Deformed Frogs in Le Sueur County, 1995

In 1995, middle school students discovered eleven deformed frogs around a pond in south-central Minnesota (Le Sueur County). Their findings sparked research, led by Judy Helgen at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), into the potential causes of the frog deformities—research that remains inconclusive.

Minneapolis-Moline Company

Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company was created in 1929 by a merger of Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company, Minneapolis Threshing Company, and Moline Implement Company. Together they formed what was called a “whole line” farm equipment company, one whose products served the planting, harvesting, and processing of grain crops. At the time of the merger it was the fifth-biggest farm equipment company in the country and one of the biggest employers in Minneapolis.

Forthcoming Releases

Our fall season kicks off in September, when MNHS Press will publish three powerful and engaging books, including the sequel to a bestselling children's book, a memoir by a beloved former governor, and a rich volume of original art paired with stories.

Blue Bearies

Story by Brenda J. Child (Bíne), illustrations by Jonathan Thunder, translation by Gordon Jourdain
In Blue Bearies Brenda J. Child (Bíne) reprises the adventures of Windy Girl and her dog Itchy Boy with a focus on history and ecology, while Jonathan Thunder’s lively illustrations teem with playful humor. Anishinaabe educator Gordon Jourdain retells the story in Ojibwemowin. This much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning Bowwow Powwow celebrates the wonders of a time when  humans lived closely with our animal relatives, to our mutual benefit.

Pub date: September 8, 2026

Perseverance

Mark Dayton, foreword by Hillary Rodham Clinton
“I served in the legislature while Mark Dayton was governor, and while our political philosophies couldn’t be more different, our friendship has always been a point of pride for me. In Perseverance, Mark brings the same humor and humility to the page that he brought to the capitol. From family stories to the grit of a political career, this is a fascinating read that reminds us there is always more to a person than their party platform.” —State Senator Karin Housley

Pub date: September 15, 2026

Walking My Ancestors' Path

Sam Zimmerman / Zhaawanoogiizhik
“Walking My Ancestors’ Path is a gorgeous collection of engaging Woodlands-style paintings, personal and familial memoir, cultural memory, and the complex dance of an artist balancing his own space between English and Ojibwemowin, including both. The arc of seasons informs Zimmerman’s work, along with constant lunar cycles, images illuminated with symbols both universal and deeply personal. This engrossing, rich volume welcomes us to witness one intersection of time and memory, allowing us to glimpse this singular artistic spirit and its place in the universe.”—Eric Gansworth Sˑha-weñ na-saeˀ (Onondaga, Eel Clan), author of Apple (Skin to the Core)

Pub date: September 22, 2026

Bestselling Backlist

Bowwow Powwow Story by Brenda J. Child  (Bíne), illustrations by Jonathan Thunder, translation by Gordon Jourdain	Following My Spirit Home by Sam Zimmerman / Zhaawanoogiizhik	Martin Sabo by Lori Sturdevant