Journeymen barbers were skilled craftsmen whose labor organizations helped shape the barbers’ trade in Minnesota. Politically active from their first arrival, they allied themselves with third-party movements after World War I. Shopping mall barbershops, consumer choices, and lost union membership led to organizational decline in the 1970s.

The Interstate Bridge in Stillwater opens, replacing a wooden one built in 1876.

Some state government agencies and departments are shut down because of an impasse between Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) and the DFL-controlled senate. Almost 8,900 state employees are furloughed for nine days until a compromise is reached.

A shutdown of the state government begins and lasts twenty days. During the shutdown all non-critical state services are closed and an estimated 19,000 employees are laid off.

Golf great Bobby Jones plays a round at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina on the first day of the US Open Championship. At the end of the two-day tournament, he wins the title for the fourth time.

Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor ends his command at Fort Snelling, which had begun May 24, 1828. He would later lead the U.S. Army in the war against Mexico, and "Old Rough and Ready" would take that fame to the White House. Taylor is the only U.S. president to have spent a significant amount of time in Minnesota.

Congress passes the Northwest Ordinance. Authored by Thomas Jefferson, it set up the rules of government for the Northwest Territory of the United States, which included present-day Minnesota east of the Mississippi River. Slavery was outlawed, the land was to be surveyed into townships, and each township was to set aside land for a school. In addition, the ordinance stated that "the utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians, their land and property."

The Third Minnesota Infantry Regiment suffers one of the great embarrassments of the Civil War when it surrenders to a smaller Confederate force led by Nathan Bedford Forrest, who convinced the Minnesotans that his force was much larger than theirs. The men would be paroled and eventually return to action, fighting well under new officers.

The steamer Sea Wing, carrying a large party and towing a barge, capsizes in a sudden storm on Lake Pepin. Twenty-five individuals manage to clamber back on the boat, but, a few hours later, the boat turns turtle again, throwing the survivors back in the water. By the time the boat and the barge are driven ashore, ninety-eight individuals had drowned. Surprisingly, no one on the barge was hurt.

Four Minnesota regiments finally defeat their old nemesis, Nathan Bedford Forrest, in battle at Tupelo, Mississippi. The Seventh Minnesota Regiment plays the largest role and loses sixty-two men. Colonel Alexander Wilkin of the Ninth Minnesota Regiment is killed, making him Minnesota's highest-ranking casualty in the Civil War.

Lawrence S. Donaldson, founder of the first department store in the "Northwest," dies in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Twins retire number 6, formerly worn by slugger Tony Oliva, who was 1964 American League Rookie of the Year and three-time American League batting champion.