1990 – 25 years ago
• IBM Corp. moved to place the Rochester-developed Application System/400 computer in more small businesses and departments of big companies by introducing several new products and increasing the storage capacity of the biggest AS/400 with new technology.
• The Distinguished Master team entry of the Rochester Police Pistol Team took champion honors at the 68th annual convention of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. The team of Al Kuehl, Jon Sibley, Butch Barton and K.C. Reed defeated its closest challenger by 18 points.
• Gas prices have spun upwards a few cents. Gas at Hillcrest 66 station on Elton Hills Drive went up 4 cents a gallon to $1.27 a gallon for self-service unleaded.
1965 – 50 years ago
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• John Marshall High School is expecting 2,300 students when it opens its door for its final year of being the only public high school in Rochester. The enrollment at Rochester Central Junior High School is expected to be 1,575 or more which will again be a record-breaking enrollment year.
• Miss Mary Haugen, a June graduate of St. Olaf College, has returned home after spending the summer as part of a civil rights "second front" tutoring black adults and children in and around Tuskegee, Ala.
• Mrs. Joan Mondale, wife of Minnesota's Sen. Mondale, was guest speaker at the Fillmore County Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Women's dinner in the Rushford Golf View Supper Club.
1940 – 75 years ago
• Members of the Rochester Police department will serve as pallbearers at funeral services for Ludwig Ranfranz. Appointed a patrolman in 1894, he was a member of the department for 44 years.
• Almost 3,000 people attended the "bargain night" which inaugurated the 1940 Dodge County Fair in Kasson. A record number of exhibits were on display in the auditorium, 4-H buildings and livestock barns.
• One hundred sixty youngsters attended the watermelon feed at the Hawthorne playground. Miss Ruth Lyngholm, playground director, supervised activities.
1915 – 100 years ago
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• Mantorville had a bad fire that damaged Kaufman's harness and shoe shop, Sharman's tailor shop, Peters' hardware store, Buro's meat market and Joslyn's lunch and soft drink room. Kasson's fire department went overland to help the distressed village three miles distant and carloads of persons drove over to do whatever they possibly could.
From news services
Ten years ago: Northwest Airlines mechanics went on strike rather than accept pay cuts and layoffs; Northwest ended up hiring replacement workers. San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Thomas Herrion, 23, died of a heart attack shortly after a preseason game against the Denver Broncos. With a deafening boom, the ashes of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson were blown into the sky above Woody Creek, Colo.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama invited Israel and the Palestinians to meet face-to-face in Washington the following month for talks aimed at achieving an agreement to establish an independent Palestinian state and secure peace for Israel.
One year ago: The United States launched a new barrage of airstrikes against Islamic State extremists and weighed sending more troops to Iraq as President Barack Obama vowed to be relentless in pursuit of a terrorist group that beheaded American journalist James Foley. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder arrived in Ferguson, Missouri, to meet with federal investigators and reassure residents of the community torn by several nights of racial unrest since the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer.
Today's birthdays: Writer-producer-director Walter Bernstein is 96. Boxing promoter Don King is 84. Former Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, is 82. Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is 80. Former MLB All-Star Graig Nettles is 71. Broadcast journalist Connie Chung is 69. Musician Jimmy Pankow (Chicago) is 68. Actor Ray Wise is 68. Actor John Noble is 67. Rock singer Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) is 67. Country singer Rudy Gatlin is 63. Singer-songwriter John Hiatt is 63. Actor-director Peter Horton is 62. TV weatherman Al Roker is 61. Actor Jay Acovone is 60. Actress Joan Allen is 59. Movie director David O. Russell is 57. TV personality Asha Blake is 54. Actor James Marsters is 53. Rapper KRS-One is 50. Actor Colin Cunningham is 49. Actor Billy Gardell is 46. Rock singer Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) is 45. Rock musician Brad Avery is 44. Actor Jonathan Ke Quan is 44. Actor Misha Collins is 41. Rock singer Monique Powell (Save Ferris) is 40. Jazz/pop singer-pianist Jamie Cullum is 36. Actor Ben Barnes is 34. Actress Meghan Ory is 33. Actor Andrew Garfield is 32. Actor Brant Daugherty is 30. Actress-singer Demi Lovato is 23.
