The Klossner Bank Robbery
By Bob Sandeen
Who says small towns are boring? The tiny town of Klossner, MN in Lafayette Township would certainly disagree and here’s why. The Klossner State Bank (founded in 1919) was the scene of a bold robbery on November 6, 1923. Thanks to detailed writing at the Nicollet Ledger and Saint Peter Herald, we can piece together the day’s harrowing event.
According to the reports, residents looked on as five bandits entered the bank with the intent to rob it. Unable to call for help because the would-be thieves cut the telegraph and telephone lines, they helplessly watch the scene unfurl. In order to get into the vault, the thieves had to blow it up. The inner vault door was smashed when it was blown through the closed vault door with so much force it cut a jagged hole near the bottom and tore the panel from its hinges. After gaining entry to the vault, the bandits absconded with $2,500.
Disbelief and outrage filled local communities, and a call was made for the creation of a state police force to solve bank robbery problems in small communities. An article in the Saint Peter Herald suggested that Minnesota should follow Iowa’s example of “organizing a state wide vigilante committee” because the number of bank robberies in Iowa “were cut down appreciably.”
