Local History

50 years ago: Winner of the sales contest that climaxed the Dale Carnegie sales course in New Ulm was Ray Untiedt.

10 years ago: Ashley Swenson and Allison Nass were presented with the Citizens Bank Minnesota’s ninth annual scholarship awards.

5 years ago: The New Ulm 10AA River Rats took second in the Redwood Falls Tournament.

One year ago: The Marktplatz Mall sold off all of its final items in preparation for its final closing.

And elsewhere…

Today is Monday, June 24, the 175th day of 2019. There are 190 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On June 24, 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.

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 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 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 1964, AT&T inaugurated commercial “Picturephone” service between New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. (the service, however, never caught on).

In 1992, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, strengthened its 30-year ban on officially sponsored worship in public schools, prohibiting prayer as a part of graduation ceremonies.

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.

In 2004, federal investigators questioned President George W. Bush for more than an hour in connection with the news leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity.

Ten years ago: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair, and said he would resign as head of the Republican Governors Association.

Five years ago: Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, a mainstream conservative with more than 40 years’ of congressional experience, narrowly turned back a primary challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel, a tea party favorite.

One year ago: President Donald Trump compared people entering the U.S. from Mexico to invaders and said they should be immediately sent back without appearing before a judge. Women in Saudi Arabia were able to drive for the first time, as the world’s last remaining ban on female drivers was lifted.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Michele Lee is 77. Actor-director Georg Stanford Brown is 76. Rock musician Jeff Beck is 75. Musician Mick Fleetwood is 72. Actor Peter Weller is 72. Actress Sherry Stringfield is 52. Singer Glenn Medeiros is 49. Actress Carla Gallo is 44. Actress-producer Mindy Kaling is 40. Actress Minka Kelly is 39. Actress Vanessa Ray is 38. Actor Justin Hires is 34. Actress Candice Patton is 34. Actress Kaitlin Cullum is 33. Singer Solange Knowles is 33. Actor Max Ehrich is 28. Actress Beanie Feldstein is 26.

Thought for Today: “All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher.” — Ambrose Bierce, American author (born this date in 1842, disappeared in 1914.)