Brian Peterson and Kerri Westenberg, both native Minnesotans, share a deep affection for their homeland. That sensibility underlies every aspect of the State of Wonders project, which began as a series in the Travel section of the Star Tribune. Through their combined vision, springtime awakes in the northwest with prairie chicken dances and unfurling, delicate plants. Tallgrass prairies and historic American Indian lands trumpet the full glory of summer. Autumn colors dazzle the Mississippi River Valley, and winter in the Arrowhead region holds both harsh cold and exquisite beauty. Collectively, their work illuminates Minnesota's natural glories.

Field biologist Jim Gilbert takes a month-by-month approach to the changing Minnesota seasons, emphasizing the beauties that surround us at every phase. Many seasonal highlights are together here to thrill and inspire children and adults alike.

Minnesota comes alive in the pages of Wild Minnesota. Wild Minnesota contains more than 150 full-color photographs of Minnesota's natural wonders. Author Shawn Perich and photographer Gary Alan Nelson traveled thousands of miles to give us this photographic portrait of the diverse and unique natural areas of our state. Minnesota is often thought of as the state of 10,000 lakes, but it is much more. It is the peaks of the Sawtooth mountain range along the North Shore and the winding mighty Mississippi in the east. It is the rainbow palette of wildflowers and native grasses of the prairies and the spectacular limestone bluffs of the southeast. It is the acres of pine forests of Itasca State Park and the Red River valley's exceptionally rich soil. Wild Minnesota is the natural beauty of our state; it is what we see, hear, and feel as we paddle one of the many unspoiled lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, hike the Superior Hiking Trail, view the tremendous diversity of wildlife in the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. It is the call of the loon on Mille Lacs, the pounding of a powerful wave on the Lake Superior shore, the experience of history through the rock outcroppings of the Jeffers Petroglyphs. It is that still, golden late summer afternoon when you know the Gopher state is where you're meant to be.

In 1891 Minnesota established its first state park at Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. In the century that followed, Minnesotans and tourists from other states have enjoyed hiking, picnicking, fishing, camping, canoeing, and skiing at Itasca and Minnesota's 64 other state parks. This helpful guide to the past in the parks will be welcomed by people who regularly visit a favorite Minnesota park, people who have set out to visit every park, and people who are newly discovering the parks' wonders.

The reproducible coloring book includes pictures of characters, places, facts, and fun. The kids can color their way around your state while learning new facts. Great for school, home or on the road.

This true crime history recounts more than a century of crime, deviousness, and disaster in the North Star State. In Minnesota Mayhem, local historian and author Ben Welter explores the best of the state's worst moments. Culled from the archives of the Minneapolis Tribune and its successor newspapers, these stories and photos range from the catastrophic to the chillingly curious and the simply strange. Among the true tales told in these pages, Welter recounts the career of a successful con man in 1871; an 1881 fire that destroyed the State Capitol; a flu outbreak that killed more than 10,000 Minnesotans in 1918; the arrest of Frank Lloyd Wright at a Lake Minnetonka cottage in 1926; an arrested stripper who claimed wardrobe malfunction in 1953; and the 1977 murder of a wealthy matron in Duluth.

Young readers will squeal with delight as they tour the great state of Minnesota and recognize familiar sites, landmarks, and wildlife including moose and wolves, Duluth Harbor, Fort Snelling, SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium, lakes, Minnesota State Fair, Science Museum of Minnesota, Saint Paul Winter Carnival, ice skating, ice fishing, Paul Bunyan, and more.

For the traveler seeking to find the spirit--however he or she chooses to define that term--Minnesota is blessed with a large number of sacred sites, many of which are unique. This book profiles approximately 350 sites, including retreat centers, churches, temples, cemeteries, and effigy mounds. Learn about each site's history, uniqueness, aesthetic beauty, and awe. Specific location and contact information is also included.

A celebration of the special bond Minnesotans have with the land expressed through compelling essays and beautiful photographs.

Tells the stories behind 89 of the lost buildings and landmarks of Minnesota, from rural and small-town Minnesota, as well as from the state's metropolitan and suburban areas.