1989 – 25 years ago
• A news conference was held regarding the release of the new Rochester history book "City of the Prairie," by Harriet Hodgson. The book was commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce and is the 10th book written by Hodgson, a long-time Rochester resident.
• Stockton Roller Mill, a historic structure that burned in November 1988, will not be rebuilt and the company that sold the well-known flour and mixes under the mill's name may be sold.
1964 – 50 years ago
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• The proposed $800,000 bond issue to finance an addition to Harmony High School was defeated for the second time, this time by a vote of 527-261. Proponents of the new addition stated that the high school was built to accommodate 180 students. The 1963-64 enrollment is nearly 400.
• A weapons display and sale will be held by the Minnesota Weapons Collectors Association at the Mayo Civic Auditorium. The show this weekend is expected to be the largest ever held in the area.
• Quarter horses "Barbon" and "Champs Buddy" won awards this past weekend at the Class A Quarter Horse Show at the St. Paul Hippodrome. Both horses are owned by Rochester's Joseph Dingle.
1939 – 75 years ago
• Virginia Culver, a 17-year-old Rochester High School student and a member of the Oronoco Optimist 4-H club, was today named queen of the fourth annual Gypsy Frolic to be staged in the arena of the Mayo Civic Auditorium. Miss Culver, who will reign over the festivities, will be crowned queen in an elaborate coronation ceremony preceding the ice show.
• "Living" snow fences are being considered by the Minnesota highway department as a replacement for the ordinary type. Experiments conducted last winter show a single row of dense-growing shrubs at least eight feet tall is highly effective in trapping snow.
From news services
Ten years ago:President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met behind closed doors with the September 11 commission; afterward, Bush said he'd told the panel his administration tried to protect America from terrorists as warnings grew before the devastating attack of 2001. A national monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who'd served during World War II opened to the public in Washington, D.C. Internet search engine leader Google Inc. filed its long-awaited IPO plans. The last Oldsmobile, an Alero, rolled off the line at the Lansing Car Assembly plant.
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Five years ago:During a prime-time news conference marking his 100th day in office, President Barack Obama said that waterboarding authorized by former President George W. Bush was torture and that the information it gained from terror suspects could have been obtained by other means. The World Health Organization raised its alert level for swine flu to its next-to-highest notch. Twin car bombs ravaged a popular shopping area in Baghdad's biggest Shiite district, killing at least 51 people.
One year ago:Opening statements took place in Los Angeles in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live, claiming it failed to properly investigate a doctor who'd cared for Jackson and was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his 2009 death. (The jury determined in October 2013 that AEG Live was not liable.) Syria's prime minister, Wael al-Halqi, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy in Damascus. NBA veteran center Jason Collins became the first male professional athlete in the major four American sports leagues to come out as gay in a first-person account posted on Sports Illustrated's website.
Today's birthdays:Poet Rod McKuen is 81. Actor Keith Baxter is 81. Bluesman Otis Rush is 79. Conductor Zubin Mehta is 78. Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is 76. Pop singer Bob Miranda (The Happenings) is 72. Country singer Duane Allen (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 71. Singer Tommy James is 67. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is 64. Movie director Phillip Noyce is 64. Country musician Wayne Secrest (Confederate Railroad) is 64. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 60. Actor Leslie Jordan is 59. Actress Kate Mulgrew is 59. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 57. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 56. Actress Eve Plumb is 56. Rock musician Phil King is 54. Country singer Stephanie Bentley is 51. Actor Vincent Ventresca is 48. Singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 46. Actor Paul Adelstein is 45. Actress Uma Thurman is 44. Tennis player Andre Agassi is 44. Rapper Master P is 44. Actor Darby Stanchfield is 43. Country singer James Bonamy is 42. Gospel/rhythm-and-blues singer Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) is 42. Rock musician Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is 41. Actor Tyler Labine is 36. Actress Megan Boone (TV: "The Blacklist") is 31. Actress-model Taylor Cole is 30. Actor Zane Carney is 29. Pop singer Amy Heidemann (Karmin) is 28. Pop singer Foxes is 25.
