Isadore Blumenfeld, aka Kid Cann, came to Minnesota as a toddler when his family emigrated from Romania. In Prohibition-era Minneapolis, a city of vast wealth inequality and vicious antisemitism, young Isadore rose from impoverished newsboy to millionaire. Kid Cann’s ruthless determination, growing organized crime network and willingness to commit wanton violence ignited his meteoric ascent. He got away with innumerable crimes over four decades before a series of relatively minor offenses brought him down. Although ravaged by stress and stripped of his social stature, the infamous gangster earned a place in the folklore of Minnesota. Historian Ron de Beaulieu recounts the saga of the state’s most notorious crime boss.

Ron has lived in Minnesota for nearly two decades. She went to Macalester College in St. Paul and the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities for a master’s degree in history and a doctoral degree in sociology. She is also the author of Minneapolis Murder & Mayhem and St. Paul Murder & Mayhem. When she isn’t reading and writing about history, Ron travels around the state with her family.