What's the oldest bar in Minnesota?

Curious Minnesota goes on a bit of a bar crawl through history. We look into which of the state’s historic watering holes is really Minnesota’s oldest. The question is trickier than you might think.

For thousands of years, Native Americans have quarried a sacred, soft red rock from a patch of Minnesota prairie. The site is now Pipestone National Monument. Reporter Jp Lawrence joins host Erica Pearson to share the story of this special place.

Minnesota’s trout stamp, a special add-on to fishing licenses, brings in more than $1 million each year. The program funds fish hatcheries, restocking efforts and more. Reporter Anna Sago joins host Erica Pearson to share the history of the program and give a glimpse into what a day's work is like at a trout hatchery.

A scuplture called “The Scroll” once had a prominent spot in downtown Minneapolis. It stood in front of the old central library for more than 4 decades. Alicia Eler, the Minnesota Star Tribune's visual art reporter and critic, joins host Erica Pearson to tell the story of how the sculpture narrowly missed ending up in a scrap heap when the library building was demolished to make way for a new one.

Harmony, Minnesota is home to the largest Amish settlement in the state. The "Old Order" community is also one of the most conservative of its kind in the country. Reporter Sean Baker joins host Erica Pearson to explain why and when the Amish selected this sliver of southeast Minnesota to call home.

Nearly 8,000 years ago, in the wild expanse of what is now southwestern Minnesota, a primal drama of survival unfolded. Early Plains Archaic hunters ambushed a herd of massive, now-extinct bison. Then, in 1988 a Granite Falls man found bones while digging in his pasture. Reporter Jp Lawrence joins host Erica Pearson to share what happened next and explain why archeologists left some of the site undisturbed.

In the summer of 1977, the leaders of a small Iron Range town made a rather bold announcement: Kinney, Minn., had seceded from the United States. The statement was tongue-in-cheek, but the town’s situation wasn’t funny. The story of the Republic of Kinney is one of dismissed town needs, a wacky, bar-born plan and the power of media attention. Reporter Christa Lawler joined host Erica Pearson to share Kinney's story.

The Minnesota town of Herman gained notoriety in the 1990s for having nearly 80 bachelors and fewer than a dozen unmarried women. During Herman’s time as “Bachelortown, U.S.A.”, its eligible bachelor farmers were seemingly everywhere — including on “The Oprah Winfrey Show." Reporter Jenny Berg joined host Erica Pearson to share what happened in the decades since. LINKS: What happened after ‘bachelormania’ beset Herman, Minnesota?

The small Minnesota town of Motley, despite being so far from the ocean, is home to seafood plants that process millions of pounds of imitation crab. More than 500 people work in the seafood business there. It all began with a business called Morey's Seafood. Reporter Brooks Johnson joined host Erica Pearson to share Morey's fascinating origin story and the current state of the industry in Motley today. LINKS: Why are there two seafood plants in the small Minnesota town of Motley?

We’re excited to introduce Worth It, a new show from The Minnesota Star Tribune and Lemonada Media. Each week, editor Nicole Norfleet and columnist Aaron Brown are joined by people who know Minnesota inside and out – reaching into the spaces you might not know to share the stories worth your attention, the places worth a look, and the events worth your time – and money. In this episode, whether you kayak, canoe or paddleboard - or you want to - we’ll hear the best paddling routes to try in the Twin Cities metro. There’s a new show about a real-life Minnesota woman-cowboy-detective from the 1800s. Plus, why you should think “salvage” for home remodeling and the cost to raise a kid here. After you listen, be sure to follow Worth It wherever you get your podcasts, or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/WorthItStarTribunefd