About

In Minnesota, we do things a little differently. The top notch of our great state even dares to cross the 49th parallel that divides the U.S. from Canada. We invented a lore that revolves around a giant lumberjack and his trusty blue ox when a brown one simply would not do. On the shores of Lake Superior, ancient people crafted metal tools before any other population in North America. We turned the power of the Mississippi into an explosive engine for our growing milling industry.

So it’s no wonder that Minnesota is home to countless stories that could only unfold here, on vast stretches of prairie, in the quiet of deciduous forests, on the sandy beaches of our 10,000 lakes, in our bustling Twin Cities and in our small-but-mighty towns scattered in all directions.

For more than six decades, Twin Cities PBS has served as the headwaters of Minnesota stories – and today, we’re more committed than ever to revealing that there’s more to the North Star State than arctic winters and funny accents. Introducing TPT Originals, a hub of locally-focused stories about Minnesota and the people who call Minnesota home, created by one of Minnesota’s finest public-media organizations. With a blend of new work and tales revived from TPT’s archive, TPT Originals weaves together the varied experiences that form the tapestry of our community, in turn offering depth and dimension to the way you see Minnesota. From profiles of local artists propelling our cultural zeitgeist to in-depth portraits of the issues that mattered most then and continue to matter today, TPT Originals invites you to dive deep, far below the placid surface, and to emerge with a rush of Minnesota pride.