Local

Aug. 1, 1989: Radio stations KATE and KCPI-FM in Albert Lea began 24-hour operations.

Aug. 2,1989: Mel Tillis was the opening entertainment at the Freeborn County Fair

Aug. 2, 1989: Gov. Rudy Perpich was in town for the dedication of Albert Lea Technical College’s new name and expanded facilities.

Aug. 4, 1979: A thunderstorm with high winds swept through Albert Lea, blowing down trees and demolishing an airplane hangar at Albert Lea Municipal Airport.

 

National

2018: President Donald Trump tweeted that he was willing to see the government shut down over border security issues, including money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

2017: U.S. and South Korean forces conducted joint live-fire exercises in response to North Korea’s second launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile; experts said the North Korean launch showed that a large portion of the United States was now within range of North Korea’s arsenal.

2014: Spurred to action by the downing of a Malaysian airliner over rebel-held eastern Ukraine, the European Union approved dramatically tougher economic sanctions against Russia, including an arms embargo and restrictions on state-owned banks; President Barack Obama swiftly followed with an expansion of U.S. penalties targeting key sectors of the Russian economy.

2009: Microsoft and Yahoo announced a 10-year internet search partnership under which Bing would replace Yahoo Search, as the companies agreed to take on the overwhelming dominance of Google in the online advertising market.

1981: Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The couple later divorced in 1996.

1958: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA.

1975: President Gerald R. Ford became the first U.S. president to visit the site of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland.

1967: An accidental rocket launch on the deck of USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin resulted in a fire and explosions that killed 134 servicemen. Among the survivors was future Arizona senator John McCain, a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who narrowly escaped with his life.

1921: Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

1914: Transcontinental telephone service in the U.S. became operational with the first test conversation between New York and San Francisco.