Local History

50 years ago: Eileen Karl was awarded a National Science Foundation Grant to do research in bacterial genetics at the University of Minnesota.

10 years ago: The Illini 4000 for Cancer, who cycled from New York City to Seattle to raise money for cancer research and to document cancer stories, spent the evening in New Ulm at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

5 years ago: Carver Creek bluegrass, a band of five siblings from Carver, sang at the Harkin Store.

One year ago: New Ulm VFW Gold defeated Osseo 11-3 in a Junior Upper Midwest Classic baseball game at Johnson Park.

And elsewhere…

Today is Sunday, June 24, the 175th day of 2018. There are 190 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On June 24, 1968, “Resurrection City,” a shantytown constructed as part of the Poor People’s March on Washington, D.C., was closed down by authorities.

On this date:

In 1497, the first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place as explorer John Cabot spotted land, probably in present-day Canada.

In 1509, Henry VIII was crowned king of England; his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was crowned queen consort.

In 1793, the first republican constitution in France was adopted.

In 1807, a grand jury in Richmond, Virginia, indicted former Vice President Aaron Burr on charges of treason and high misdemeanor (he was later acquitted).

In 1939, the Southeast Asian country Siam changed its name to Thailand. (It went back to being Siam in 1945, then became Thailand once again in 1949.)

In 1947, what’s regarded as the first modern UFO sighting took place as private pilot Kenneth Arnold, an Idaho businessman, reported seeing nine silvery objects flying in a “weaving formation” near Mount Rainier in Washington.

In 1948, Communist forces cut off all land and water routes between West Germany and West Berlin, prompting the western allies to organize the Berlin Airlift.

In 1957, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Roth v. United States, ruled 6-3 that obscene materials were not protected by the First Amendment.

In 1975, 113 people were killed when Eastern Airlines Flight 66, a Boeing 727 carrying 124 people, crashed while attempting to land during a thunderstorm at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger — carrying America’s first woman in space, Sally K. Ride — coasted to a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1997, the U.S. Air Force released a report on the so-called “Roswell Incident,” suggesting the “alien bodies” that witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies.

Ten years ago: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe refused to give in to pressure from Africa and the West, saying the world could “shout as loud as they like” but he would not cancel an upcoming runoff election even though his opponent had quit the race.

Five years ago: Opening statements took place in the Sanford, Florida, trial of George Zimmerman, accused of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman was acquitted.)

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Michele Lee is 76. Actor-director Georg Stanford Brown is 75. Rock musician Jeff Beck is 74. Musician Mick Fleetwood is 71. Actor Peter Weller is 71. Rock musician John Illsley (Dire Straits) is 69. Actress Danielle Spencer is 53. Actress Sherry Stringfield is 51. Actress-producer Mindy Kaling is 39. Actress Minka Kelly is 38. Actress Vanessa Ray is 37. Actor Justin Hires is 33. Actress Candice Patton is 33. Actress Kaitlin Cullum is 32. Singer Solange Knowles is 32. Actor Max Ehrich is 27. Actress Beanie Feldstein is 25.

Thought for Today: “Move, and the way will open.” — Zen saying.