JOKEDA “JOJO” BELL: Discusses “Red Stained: The Life of Hilda Simms” in Friends of the St. Paul Public Library’s free Fireside Reading series. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Rondo Community Library, 461 N. Dale St., St. Paul.
VICTORIA LAURIE: Presents “A Trinket for the Taking,” in conversation with Christine A. Munsie. 7 p.m. Monday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S, Mpls.
CHRISTOPHER WONG MICHAELSON: Discusses “Is Your Work Worth It?: How to Think About Meaningful Work.” Featuring music and conversation with Dennis Curley. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.
HISTORICAL FICTION NIGHT: With James Tucker and Loretta Ellsworth in conversation. 7 p.m. Thursday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.
HONORING FITZGERALD: Launch of the book “F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Composite Biography” (University of Minnesota Press) begins Friends of the St. Paul Public Library’s yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of St. Paul native Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” Editors Niklas Salmose and David Rennie will be joined by contributors David Page and Ross Tangedal. Free. Noon Saturday, Arlington Hills Community Center, 1200 Payne Ave., St. Paul. To watch the livestream register at info@thefriends.org.
What else is going on
(Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society Press)
Minnesota Historical Society Press announces the paperback edition of “Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope,” by Patty Wetterling and Joy Baker ($22.95), with a new afterword and cover art. It’s the story of the Wetterling family’s long years without Jacob, who was 11 when he was kidnapped in 1989 near his home in St. Joseph, Minn. His body was found 27 years later in a farm field. During the intervening years Patty Wetterling became an advocate for missing children, lobbying for the passage of the 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act that established sex offender registries as well as serving 20 years on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. When the memoir was first published in 2023, Wetterling and Baker went on a national promotional tour during which they met thousands of people who shared their own stories.
Good news from Robert Junghaus, founder and host of the monthly Minnesota Mystery Night at Lucky’s 13 Pub in Mendota. Junghaus has been working for months to get the programs broadcast and now that’s happening. The first broadcast was Jan. 10 on KMBO AM/FX 1290 and KSCR-FM 103.5. Both stations are in Benson, Minn. The show is called “Masters of Mystery, the Minds Behind the Murders,” an edited version of the Minnesota Mystery Night live programs. Junghaus also tells us he is fully booked for 2025, with authors such as Michael Stanley (Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip), Cary Griffith and Josh Moehling. In 2026 he has confirmed an appearance by Chicago-based Lori Rader Day and Minnesotans David Housewright and Laura Childs. The next Minnesota Mystery Night will be Jan. 20 with presenters Jeff Sauve, retired St. Olaf College historian (“Murder at Minnesota Point: unraveling the captivating mystery of a long-forgotten true crime”), and KARE 11 crime reporter Lou Raguse (“Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota’s Most Infamous Cold Case”).
Literary Hub website has chosen Minnesotan H.M. Bouwman’s middle-grade historical novel, “Scattergood,” as one of the most anticipated children’s books of 2025. Bouwman (“A Crack in the Sea,” “A Tear in the Ocean”) writes about a 12-year-old girl in rural Iowa during World War II. It’s due out Jan. 21. The author is a professor of literature and creative writing at the University of St. Thomas. She will launch the novel at 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., in conversation with Minnesota author Anne Ursu.
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