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This article explores the life of Joseph Renville, a fur trader at the Lac Qui Parle post who served as guide and interpreter for such explorers of the Minnesota River Valley as Zebulon Pike and Stephen Long. Topics addressed include Renville's background, his experiences with the Sioux, and his role in the War of 1812.

Originally published in 1810, these volumes present observations from Pike's military explorations into the Louisiana Purchase territory during the first decade of the nineteenth century. The first of these trips was from St. Louis up the Mississippi River to its headwaters, for the purpose of siting military posts and negotiating with Indian tribes. Although Pike traveled only a short distance up the Minnesota River from its mouth, this edition includes several extensive editorial notes on the history of the discovery of the river and the various European and Indian names for it.

Utilizing excerpts from an account in a French manuscript entitled "History of Louisiana, by La Harpe," this article discusses Le Sueur's travels up the Minnesota River in the early eighteenth century, focusing on interactions with American Indians and on mining operations along the Blue Earth River.

This narrative history of the St. Paul District of the Army Corps of Engineers examines the role of the Corps in water-resource development and management, including the conflicts over what that role should be. A section on the Minnesota River discusses early river navigation, government river surveys, the failure of proposed dam projects, and the fight over constructions of channels to increase commercial river use. Additional issues, such as the early exploration of Minnesota, including the Minnesota River Valley, and the role of the Corps in pollution and flood control, are also discussed.