Local History

50 years ago: Jerry Hudrlick, a psychiatric social worker, was appointed to the staff of the Sioux Trails Mental Health Center.

10 years ago: Joel Harmening of Franklin was honored as an outstanding agent of Farmers Union Insurance, according to company President and CEO Jerry Mackey in Greenwood Village.

5 years ago: Members of the Wanda Gag House Association unveiled a new plaque in front of the historic home to mark the 25th anniversary of the Association.

One year ago: The New Ulm Area Chamber of Commerce Willkommen Committee held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Red Dragon Gaming, the new table-top board game store on North Minnesota Street.

And elsewhere…

Today is Saturday, Aug. 3, the 215th day of 2019. There are 150 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On August 3, 1972, the U.S. Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. (The U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the treaty in 2002.)

On this date:

In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that took him to the present-day Americas.

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr went on trial before a federal court in Richmond, Virginia, charged with treason. (He was acquitted less than a month later.)

In 1921, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis refused to reinstate the former Chicago White Sox players implicated in the “Black Sox” scandal, despite their acquittals in a jury trial.

In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the first of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he took the 100-meter sprint.

In 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike, despite a warning from President Ronald Reagan they would be fired, which they were.

In 1993, the Senate voted 96-to-three to confirm Supreme Court nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In 1994, Stephen G. Breyer was sworn in as the Supreme Court’s newest justice in a private ceremony at Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist’s Vermont summer home.

In 2004, the Statue of Liberty pedestal in New York City reopened to the public for the first time since the 9/11 attacks.

In 2005, 14 Marines from a Reserve unit in Ohio were killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq.

Ten years ago: Iran’s supreme leader formally endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or a second term as president.

Five years ago: Israel withdrew most of its ground troops from the Gaza Strip in an apparent winding down of a nearly monthlong operation against Hamas that had left more than 1,800 Palestinians and more than 60 Israelis dead.

One year ago: China said it was ready to impose tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports if Washington went ahead with its threat to impose duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Tony Bennett is 93. Actor Martin Sheen is 79. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 78. Movie director John Landis is 69. Actor John C. McGinley is 60. Actor Isaiah Washington is 56. Actress Brigid Brannagh is 47. Actor Michael Ealy is 46. Country musician Jimmy De Martini (Zac Brown Band) is 43. NFL quarterback Tom Brady is 42. Actress Evangeline Lilly is 40. Actress Mamie Gummer is 36. Olympic gold medal swimmer Ryan Lochte is 35. Country singer Whitney Duncan is 35. Actor Jon Foster is 35. Actress Georgina Haig is 34. Singer Holly Arnstein (Dream) is 34. Actress Tanya Fischer is 34. Pop-rock musician Brent Kutzle (OneRepublic) is 34. Rapper D.R.A.M. is 31.

Thought for Today: “We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.” — Marcel Proust, French author (1871-1922).