History
History writers from Minnesota.

Michelle S. Phelps
Michelle S. Phelps is Professor of Sociology and Law at the University of Minnesota. Her research is in the sociology of punishment, focusing in particular on policing, probation, and prisons. Her writing has appeared in public outlets, including The New Republic, The Minnesota Star Tribune, and MinnPost, alongside academic journals, including American Journal of Sociology…

Mubanga Kalimamukwento
Mubanga Kalimamukwento is a Zambian lawyer, writer, and editor. She is the author of Shipikisha, Another Mother Does Not Come When Yours Dies: Poems, Obligations to the Wounded: Stories, unmarked graves, and The Mourning Bird: A Novel. Her creative work has also appeared in adda, Aster(ix), Isele Magazine, Contemporary Verse 2, Kweli, Overland, on Netflix,…

Scott F. Wolter
Scott Wolter, a forensic geologist, has worked as a petrographer since 1985. In 1990, he founded American Petrographic Services and continues to serve as President. He has been the principal petrographer in more than 7,000 material forensic investigations throughout the world, including the evaluation of fire-damaged concrete from the Pentagon following the attacks of September…

Ursula Murray Husted
Ursula Murray Husted is a graphic novelist who received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and BFA from Marshall University. (Photo credit: Bryan Bornmueller)

Karen E. Cooper
Karen E. Cooper is the author of When Minnehaha Flowed with Whiskey: A Spirited History of the Falls. Cooper has discovered the rowdy, forgotten past at Minnehaha Falls, decades when every kind of shenanigans flourished at the Falls. The book, her first, won the 2023 Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction and was a finalist…

Rudi Hargesheimer
Rudi Hargesheimer follows his passion for adventure, history, and the North Shore of Lake Superior in telling the tale of how the Superior Hiking Trail grew from nothing at all in 1986 to a 300-mile long nationally renowned trail today. His experience as a past Superior Hiking Trail Association board member and President gives him…

Liz Heinecke
Liz Heinecke thrives at the intersection of science and the arts. With an undergraduate degree in art, a master’s degree in bacteriology, and 10 years of laboratory research, Heinecke shares her love of science regularly on television, on social media, and in print. Her book, Ecology for Kids: Science Experiments and Activities Inspired by Awesome…

Nate Patrin
Nate Patrin is a St. Paul resident and cultural critic specializing in popular music. Since the late 1990s, his work has appeared in sites and publications including Pitchfork, Stereogum, Spin, Red Bull Music Academy, The Shfl, and City Pages. He is the author of two books: Bring That Beat Back: How Sampling Built Hip-Hop and…

Pete Kero
Pete Kero is an author, speaker, and environmental engineer. His work focuses on the intersection of people, industry, and the environment. Kero was the visionary behind the award-winning Redhead Mountain Bike Park in Chisholm, Minnesota which has been featured in Outside magazine and the nation-wide documentary film Biketown. His book, Minescapes: Reclaiming Minnesota’s Mined Lands,…

John Rosengren
John Rosengren is a freelance journalist and Pulitzer nominee who’s written for The Atlantic, GQ, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, and The Washington Post Magazine, among others. He’s authored 10 books, including Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes, the definitive biography of the Jewish Hall of Famer, and the novel A Clean Heart. His work…