1989 – 25 years ago
• The installation of traffic signals at the dangerous intersection of Seventh Street Northwest at U.S. 14 is nearly reality. A number of fatal accidents have occurred at the intersection.
• The new firearms ordinance was ratified by the Rochester City Council. On a motion, the ordinance was amended to delete bb guns. It was left out as they are used to scare off yard pests. The new ordinance makes is a misdemeanor to fire guns within the city limits and carries a maximum penalty of $700 and a 90-day jail term.
• Rochester police officers and Olmsted County deputies will again give out Minnesota Vikings Crime Prevention cards to youths in the city and county this year. This is the seventh year of the program, and some of the Vikings pictured include Wade Wilson, Anthony Carter and Rick Fenney.
1964 – 50 years ago
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• The 1964-65 school term at Elgin will open Aug. 31 with a two-day workshop for the faculty. Thomas Huffman will be head football coach, and Mrs. Helen Tood will be in charge of the home economics program.
• An intensive investigation is being carried out to determine the cause of a boiler explosion that killed an assistant engineer at the Kellogg Junior High School.
• More than 1,700 saw the Beatles in five shows at the Lawler Theater during the showing of their first motion picture, "A Hard Day's Night." A 70-year-old lady who came out of the theater was asked about the Beatles and she said, "They're not just for kids, are they?" She stated her favorite was Paul.
1939 – 75 years ago
• New York Yankee Lou Gehrig was back in town when he arrived in Rochester via the Chicago, North Western's "400" from Chicago. Meeting him at the station was Dr. P.A. O'Leary of Mayo Clinic and the physician's two children, Patricia and Paul. Gehrig told the Post-Bulletin reporter that he was unsure how long he was going to be in town but he hopes to rejoin the Yankees team in a couple of days. Gehrig has retired as a player but still travels with the team.
From news services
Ten years ago: The International Gymnastics Federation ruled that South Korean Yang Tae-young had been unfairly docked a tenth of a point in the all-around gymnastics final at the Athens Olympics, costing him the gold medal that ended up going to Paul Hamm of the United States; however, the ruling did not change the final result in which Yang received the bronze.
Five years ago: A wildfire broke out north of Athens, Greece; in the days that followed, the blaze spread, charring 80 square miles before being extinguished. A high-level delegation of North Korean officials paid their respects to late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to lift a ban that prohibited sexually active gays and lesbians from serving as ministers.
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One year ago: Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was sentenced at Fort Meade, Md., to up to 35 years in prison for spilling an unprecedented trove of government secrets. The National Security Agency declassified three secret court opinions showing how in one of its surveillance programs, it scooped up as many as 56,000 emails and other communications by Americans not connected to terrorism annually over three years. Former space shuttle astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton, 76, died in Lancaster, Calif. Music promoter Sid Bernstein, 95, who booked such top acts as Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland and the Rolling Stones and brought The Beatles to Carnegie Hall in 1964, died in New York.
Today's birthdays: Former football player Pete Retzlaff is 83. Actor-director Melvin Van Peebles is 82. Playwright Mart Crowley is 79. Singer Kenny Rogers is 76. Actor Clarence Williams III is 75. Rock-and-roll musician James Burton is 75. Singer Harold Reid (The Statler Brothers) is 75. Singer Jackie DeShannon is 73. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Lanier is 69. Actress Patty McCormack is 69. Pop singer-musician Carl Giammarese is 67. Actress Loretta Devine is 65. NBC newsman Harry Smith is 63. Singer Glenn Hughes is 62. Country musician Nick Kane is 60. Actress Kim Cattrall is 58. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon is 55. Actress Cleo King is 52. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher John Wetteland is 48. Rock singer Serj Tankian (System of a Down) is 47. Figure skater Josee Chouinard is 45. Actress Carrie-Anne Moss is 44. Retired MLB player Craig Counsell is 44. Rock musician Liam Howlett (Prodigy) is 43. Actress Alicia Witt is 39. Singer Kelis is 35. TV personality Brody Jenner is 31. Singer Melissa Schuman is 30. Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain (yoo-SAYN') Bolt is 28. Actor-comedian Brooks Wheelan (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 28. Actor Cody Kasch is 27. Country singer Kacey Musgraves is 26. Actress Hayden Panettiere is 25. Actor RJ Mitte is 22.
