Cory Haala
@coryhaala.bsky.social
Views mine, not my employer's (obviously). Historian of populism, the Democratic Party, U.S. politics, and the Midwest: http://coryhaala.org. Book, When Democrats Won the Heartland, comes out on 4/14/26: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p089176.
Pinned
Cory Haala
@coryhaala.bsky.social
· Nov 10
When Democrats Won the Heartland
www.press.uillinois.edu
And just like that, it's real.
When Democrats Won the Heartland: Progressive Populism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992, from @illinoispress.bsky.social. Due out 4/14/26.
Thanks to everyone who tolerated this dream and made it happen. Pre-order if you'd like: www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
When Democrats Won the Heartland: Progressive Populism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992, from @illinoispress.bsky.social. Due out 4/14/26.
Thanks to everyone who tolerated this dream and made it happen. Pre-order if you'd like: www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Please consider reading this great article from Augsburg professor of history Michael Lansing on the recent history of community organizing in Minneapolis and how it informs ongoing resistance: www.zocalopublicsquare.org/in-minneapol...
In Minneapolis, Spectacular Cruelty Meets Authentic Community | Essay
A Historian of Democracy Shows How His City's Organizing Empowered Their Response to ICE
www.zocalopublicsquare.org
January 30, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Please consider reading this great article from Augsburg professor of history Michael Lansing on the recent history of community organizing in Minneapolis and how it informs ongoing resistance: www.zocalopublicsquare.org/in-minneapol...
quite an energy at the maple grove costco
January 25, 2026 at 1:05 AM
quite an energy at the maple grove costco
Reposted by Cory Haala
little psa: minnesota, you are pretty fucking great
January 23, 2026 at 1:55 AM
little psa: minnesota, you are pretty fucking great
Reposted by Cory Haala
Coordinated a beer drop by a white friend to deliver a 30-rack of Hamm’s to a Hispanic friend’s doorstep because his wife wouldn’t let him leave the house to go buy more beer for fear he’d be brutalized by lawless armed masked federal paramilitaries. This is Minnesota community. We take care of us.
January 17, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Coordinated a beer drop by a white friend to deliver a 30-rack of Hamm’s to a Hispanic friend’s doorstep because his wife wouldn’t let him leave the house to go buy more beer for fear he’d be brutalized by lawless armed masked federal paramilitaries. This is Minnesota community. We take care of us.
Reposted by Cory Haala
the wildest thing is right-wingers acting like minnesotans in videos must be outside agitators when we can all hear their accents. i don't think i could do that accent convincingly if i spent a year practicing. and neither would i wish to. have you heard that shit? craziest american accent
January 16, 2026 at 4:57 AM
the wildest thing is right-wingers acting like minnesotans in videos must be outside agitators when we can all hear their accents. i don't think i could do that accent convincingly if i spent a year practicing. and neither would i wish to. have you heard that shit? craziest american accent
Thinking a lot about Elmer Benson today, for some reason
January 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Thinking a lot about Elmer Benson today, for some reason
[SHAMELESS PLUG CANNON]
Foreclosure moratoria
Labor revivals: mines to mills to meat
Wellstone and a state bank 👀
Harkin and a Populist Caucus
How the grassroots left built power, won elections, changed the Democratic Party, and left a legacy, out 4/14:
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Foreclosure moratoria
Labor revivals: mines to mills to meat
Wellstone and a state bank 👀
Harkin and a Populist Caucus
How the grassroots left built power, won elections, changed the Democratic Party, and left a legacy, out 4/14:
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
January 11, 2026 at 2:06 AM
[SHAMELESS PLUG CANNON]
Foreclosure moratoria
Labor revivals: mines to mills to meat
Wellstone and a state bank 👀
Harkin and a Populist Caucus
How the grassroots left built power, won elections, changed the Democratic Party, and left a legacy, out 4/14:
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Foreclosure moratoria
Labor revivals: mines to mills to meat
Wellstone and a state bank 👀
Harkin and a Populist Caucus
How the grassroots left built power, won elections, changed the Democratic Party, and left a legacy, out 4/14:
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
If you're at #AHA26, there's something cool at the @illinoispress.bsky.social table...out 4/14/26!
(I was there for a Sunday panel, but a triple family flu incident recalled me to Minnesota. Didn't even make it to the book hall. So...check it out FOR me! Read a couple pages! Send me a pic with it!)
(I was there for a Sunday panel, but a triple family flu incident recalled me to Minnesota. Didn't even make it to the book hall. So...check it out FOR me! Read a couple pages! Send me a pic with it!)
January 10, 2026 at 10:48 PM
If you're at #AHA26, there's something cool at the @illinoispress.bsky.social table...out 4/14/26!
(I was there for a Sunday panel, but a triple family flu incident recalled me to Minnesota. Didn't even make it to the book hall. So...check it out FOR me! Read a couple pages! Send me a pic with it!)
(I was there for a Sunday panel, but a triple family flu incident recalled me to Minnesota. Didn't even make it to the book hall. So...check it out FOR me! Read a couple pages! Send me a pic with it!)
Reposted by Cory Haala
Every so often I think about how Minnesota holds, continues to hold, and will never return the 28th Virginia Batte Flag as a spoil of war, won righteously against the slaver-oligarchs and their willing goons in battle at Gettysburg.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_Vi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_Vi...
28th Virginia battle flag - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 7, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Every so often I think about how Minnesota holds, continues to hold, and will never return the 28th Virginia Batte Flag as a spoil of war, won righteously against the slaver-oligarchs and their willing goons in battle at Gettysburg.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_Vi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_Vi...
Reposted by Cory Haala
January 7, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Cory Haala
Just released - the preliminary program for @deindustrialpol.bsky.social's June 18-20 conference in Montreal on "(Un)Just Transitions? Deindustrialization and the Environment." Check it out!
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
January 7, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Just released - the preliminary program for @deindustrialpol.bsky.social's June 18-20 conference in Montreal on "(Un)Just Transitions? Deindustrialization and the Environment." Check it out!
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
My UW employer, Stevens Point, last had a winning season in 2016 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2008. (And they...uh...don't look close to doing it again soon.)
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
Unbelievable stuff here.
River Falls had a losing season every year from 2001 to 2019. They hadn't made the playoffs since 1996 before this year. And now they're national champions
River Falls had a losing season every year from 2001 to 2019. They hadn't made the playoffs since 1996 before this year. And now they're national champions
January 5, 2026 at 4:08 AM
My UW employer, Stevens Point, last had a winning season in 2016 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2008. (And they...uh...don't look close to doing it again soon.)
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
Reposted by Cory Haala
@coryhaala.bsky.social wrote a piece that compared the progressive/populist backgrounds in the DNC Chair race. It was truly a Midwestern moment. (I still think the wrong Midwesterner won)
Ken Martin, Ben Wikler, and the DNC Chair Race’s Midwestern Moment
The next chair of the Democratic National Committee will likely come from the Upper Midwest. To understand the politics of that region, we need to better appreciate the tradition of progressive, po…
clioandthecontemporary.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:05 PM
@coryhaala.bsky.social wrote a piece that compared the progressive/populist backgrounds in the DNC Chair race. It was truly a Midwestern moment. (I still think the wrong Midwesterner won)
Once in a while I check my personal site, just to see what random things people care about...
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Once in a while I check my personal site, just to see what random things people care about...
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
/readies the "shameless plug" cannon
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
December 30, 2025 at 6:47 PM
/readies the "shameless plug" cannon
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
As we enjoy Bears-Niners and the absurdities of Christian McCaffrey, please remember that he was once out-dueled in a single game by Justin Jackson the Ball-Carrier AND Clayton Thorson.
December 29, 2025 at 4:20 AM
As we enjoy Bears-Niners and the absurdities of Christian McCaffrey, please remember that he was once out-dueled in a single game by Justin Jackson the Ball-Carrier AND Clayton Thorson.
The Hawai'i Bowl is on (and a banger, as the prophecies foretold) and the presents are (almost) wrapped, with plenty of help from a whole lot of cheap scotch. God bless us, everyone.
December 25, 2025 at 4:26 AM
The Hawai'i Bowl is on (and a banger, as the prophecies foretold) and the presents are (almost) wrapped, with plenty of help from a whole lot of cheap scotch. God bless us, everyone.
Did a Friends theme for our sibling Christmas. I was responsible for bringing the traditional English trifle, and I think I did a great job.
December 21, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Did a Friends theme for our sibling Christmas. I was responsible for bringing the traditional English trifle, and I think I did a great job.
How do we feel about Roseanne here: a show that lived the 80s/90s Midwest in its original form (the prison opening in S8!), but in the reboot opted for...well, other things.
people simply do not remember the recession of the early 1990s (which formed the backdrop of films like FALLING DOWN). and the idea that the 80s were a decade of economic stagnation for most americans just isn't in the popular mind at all.
December 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
How do we feel about Roseanne here: a show that lived the 80s/90s Midwest in its original form (the prison opening in S8!), but in the reboot opted for...well, other things.
Same boat. Enrollments up (esp history ed, run in-dept), yet when we tried to make a cost-SAVING move of hiring a like-for-like TT line w/supervisory certification to replace a retiring prof w/o it, provost said no, MAYBE we'd get an NTT if we behaved.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
one of the great, pernicious myths perpetrated about higher ed—which media, higher ed administrators, politicians, and a number of faculty are complicit in spreading—is that humanities departments close due to some combination of cratering student demand and unjustifiable cost. It’s not true
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
December 16, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Same boat. Enrollments up (esp history ed, run in-dept), yet when we tried to make a cost-SAVING move of hiring a like-for-like TT line w/supervisory certification to replace a retiring prof w/o it, provost said no, MAYBE we'd get an NTT if we behaved.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
A great idea! May I offer a suggestion?
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
December 15, 2025 at 4:25 PM
A great idea! May I offer a suggestion?
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Grateful to the State Historical Society of Missouri for awarding me a Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies fellowship in 2026: I'll spend a few weeks researching the Farm Crisis, community organizing, and struggles to rebuild rural and urban communities alike.
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
SHSMO Awards Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies for 2026 | The State Historical Society of Missouri
The State Historical Society of Missouri is awarding three Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies fellowships in 2026. The 2026 fellows are Deborah Cohen,
shsmo.org
December 12, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Grateful to the State Historical Society of Missouri for awarding me a Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies fellowship in 2026: I'll spend a few weeks researching the Farm Crisis, community organizing, and struggles to rebuild rural and urban communities alike.
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
Ten(?) years ago I joined an amazing co-op. Tonight the lights went out for the last time.
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
December 8, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Ten(?) years ago I joined an amazing co-op. Tonight the lights went out for the last time.
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
Currently on the Chronicle of Higher Ed's job board for history. Wonder if I should throw in my CV; I can promise them I'd take a pay cut and I wouldn't leave for LSU.
December 4, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Currently on the Chronicle of Higher Ed's job board for history. Wonder if I should throw in my CV; I can promise them I'd take a pay cut and I wouldn't leave for LSU.
Really important. Cool to hear Daniel's work at a 2023 @brennancenter.org symposium and sobering to see gaps' growth since.
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!
Lower-income people are less likely to vote than higher-income people, across racial groups - and that gap has been growing.
That’s a real problem for the future of US democracy.
It’s not apathy or ignorance - for many, it’s a sense that politics is not for or about them.
In a report out in Jan +
That’s a real problem for the future of US democracy.
It’s not apathy or ignorance - for many, it’s a sense that politics is not for or about them.
In a report out in Jan +
December 1, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Really important. Cool to hear Daniel's work at a 2023 @brennancenter.org symposium and sobering to see gaps' growth since.
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!