In 1961, Minnesota gained its first professional sports team when the Washington Senators moved to Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington and became the Minnesota Twins. The team enjoyed relatively quick success, winning the American League pennant in 1965 behind the hitting of Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew, and the pitching of Mudcat Grant and Jim Kaat. The Twins lost the World Series that year to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The team didn't make another trip to the World Series until 1987, when they became Word Series champions…a feat the Twins repeated in 1991.
By 1987, the Twins moved into the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The team's move to that domed stadium was controversial, as would be its move to Target Field in 2010. Both projects were preceded by years of debate and controversy over whether public investments in stadiums were worthwhile.
Nine Twins players have have had their numbers retired: Harmon Killebrew (3), Tony Oliva (6), Joe Mauer (7) Kent Hrbek (14), Bert Blyleven (28), Rod Carew (29), Kirby Puckett (34), and Jim Katt (36).
April 30, 1999 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki reports on Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig’s comments that Minnesota's Supreme Court ruling on the Minnesota Twins means the team can now focus on getting a new stadium built in the Twin Cities.
May 25, 1999 - St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman is floating an idea for a new outdoor ballpark for the Minnesota Twins. The mayor argues a stadium in St. Paul would help revitalize the city's downtown core. He hasn't offered any specifics yet, but already the proposal is drawing some criticism.
May 31, 1999 - All Things Considered’s John Rabe chats with baseball analyst Kevin Hennessy on the state of affairs of Minnesota Twins. As the team continues to lose games and cuts payroll, Hennessy sees a possible line crossed for fanbase may be if the team loses ace starting pitcher Brad Radke.
July 2, 1999 - Judy Dwarkin, director of public relations at the Humane Society, talks about the first annual "Dog Day at the Dome." 150 dogs will gather for the Twins game event that includes a parade around the field and a dog owner look-alike contest. Dwarkin says the dogs won't be disappointed.
July 2, 1999 - Minnesota Twins officials have thrown their support behind St. Paul efforts to build the team a new ballpark. Mayor Norm Coleman had said he needed a commitment from the team before he asked St. Paul voters approve a .5% sales tax increase to pay for the project.
July 13, 1999 - Baseball analyst Kevin Hennessy talks about the Minnesota Twins, who at the All-Star break are in last place in their division and have the third worst record in the American League. Despite that, Hennessy says the Twins have done much better than he thought they would in 1999, especially considering the young pitching staff.
August 3, 1999 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen reports on a new agreement with St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman and the Minnesota Twins, in which owner Carl Pohlad and his sons have agreed to sell baseball team to new owners, provided a new ballpark is built in St. Paul. Some Minnesotans say an ownership change would make little difference in fostering public support for subsidizing a new stadium.
August 4, 1999 - A discussion of the St. Paul agreement with the Minnesota Twins regarding sale of the team and a new ballpark with St. Paul City Council Member Chris Coleman, a member of the negotiating team.
September 3, 1999 - The Minnesota Attorney General's office is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a case involving the Minnesota Twins, anti-trust laws, and whether professional baseball illegally coerces communities into building publicly-funded baseball stadiums.
September 13, 1999 - Sports commentator Howard Sinker describes the experience of watching/listening to Minnesota Twins pitcher Eric Milton throw a no-hitter on September 11th, 1999 against the Anaheim Angels.