The death of a promising young actress at the hands of a stalker shocked the nation and led to changes in the law to provide legal protections against overzealous people looking to do them harm.

Rebecca Schaeffer’s story is proof that life isn’t always fair. As a young adult, she struggled to find a sustained foothold in the modeling world and eventually pivoted to acting. She excelled. After a co-starring turn in a popular but short-lived sit-com, she became a name on the mind of an increasing number of Hollywood producers and directors. …

“There are two paths people can take. They can either play now and pay later, or pay now and play later. Regardless of the choice, one thing is certain. Life will demand a payment.”

~ John C. Maxwell

Many years ago, a school advisor I’d talked to no more than a couple of times gave me a powerful piece of simple wisdom. Had I put it into practice, it likely would’ve changed the course of my life.

If only I had actually listened.

While looking up at me from behind his desk, he said that life is designed to work one of two ways. You can either pay now and play later or play now and pay later. …

In the first half of the twentieth century, the automobile offered people a means to get further than they previously had faster than ever before. Leaders eventually recognized the need to create high-speed connected freeways throughout the country. To accomplish their goal, they bulldozed long-standing communities that they considered little more than blight.

Unfortunately, nothing was going to get in the way of “progress.”

Discussions about building a connecting roadway between Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota’s Twin Cities, began in the early 1920s and gained considerable momentum after World War II. Rapidly increasing automobile use post-war compelled city officials to consider ways to overcome traffic gridlock on city streets. …

A series of tragedies littered the timeline of the Northwestern Brewery during its more than fifty-year existence in Stillwater, MN. Throughout much of that history, the business remained viable under the watchful eye of brewster Susannah Tepass.

Born Susannah Burkhard on August 10, 1824, in Germany, Tepass emigrated to the United States with her parents in 1847 at the age of twenty-two. The family settled amongst fellow countrymen in Freeport, Illinois. It was here that she wed Norbert Kimmick in 1849 before moving north with her husband to Stillwater. Shortly after the couple became settled, Mr. Kimmick set up a distillery in the kitchen of their home on the corner of Third and Chestnut streets. …

Aaron Foster Sr. had often subjected his girlfriend Barbara Winn to mental and physical abuse during their tumultuous one-year relationship. By May 7, 1981, she’d finally had enough. Enough of the lies, enough of the abuse, and enough of living in fear. That night she told Foster to pack his things and leave her Maplewood, MN home. Winn went home a couple of hours later, and a fight ensued. Before the sun rose the next morning, she had died from a single bullet wound to the center of her chest.

The Background

Arguments that escalated to physicality were, unfortunately, nothing new. Winn’s three children each knew of the abuse that their mother suffered, as well as her neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends. A co-worker remembered Winn had once worn sunglasses at work to hide a black eye — one given to her when Foster threw a beer can at her face. Just one week before her death, Winn went to the hospital for injuries to her hand and wrist. …

In November 1934, two Barker-Karpis gang members, Kate “Ma” Barker and her son Fred found themselves in Florida hiding from federal authorities. They created the personas of Mrs. T.C. Blackburn and her son and set out to find a home on Lake Weir to rent. It was a chance for the two to get away from the hustle-and-bustle of city life, do some fishing, and look for the area’s legendary large alligator named Old Joe.

They soon became upstanding, law-abiding citizens of the community. All was well.

On January 8, 1935, FBI agents raided the Chicago, IL hideout of notorious gangster Doc Barker. After a short chase, he was arrested without incident. While searching the apartment, agents came upon scores of guns and ammunition, as well as a road map of Florida with Lake Weir circled in red ink. They assumed — correctly — that the gang was hiding out in the area and sent agents there to find out for sure. A man matching the description of Fred Barker was found — and soon after, the Barker hideout. …

In the earliest days of alcohol enforcement, from the moment that public officials began to author legislation to control liquor flow, people looked for ways to circumvent those rules. One example of this is through the use of ‘blind pigs.’

In the United States, near the midpoint of the nineteenth century, ‘blind pigs,’ also known as ‘blind tigers’ or ‘striped pigs,’ were public functions held in some variant of exhibition space that served alcohol. Event promoters promised attendees the chance to see a genuine sightless pig. …

Leon Gleckman was a dominant underworld figure in St. Paul, MN, during the height of the gangster era in the city. He was an incredibly bright and savvy man that gained his prominent status by helping friends win critical political appointments and highly coveted law enforcement positions. Gleckman also became the city’s undisputed king of the bootleggers.

Gleckman’s first significant foray into the business world came with his ‘St. Paul Recreation Company.’ Located in downtown St. Paul, MN, it comprised of a pool parlor, cigar stand, gym, boxing ring, and bowling alley in the building’s basement. …