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St. Paul, Minn.

Minnesotan looks back on Iranian hostage crisis

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Bruce Laingen receives the U.S. flag
Bruce Laingen receives a U.S. flag from President Ronald Reagan at his homecoming ceremony in 1981. Laingen, a Minnesota native, was held prisoner during the Iran hostage crisis from Nov. 4, 1979 to Jan. 20, 1981.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Laingen

Minnesota native L. Bruce Laingen was charge d'affaires of the American Embassy in Iran when radicals took over the building and held 52 Americans hostage from November 1979 to January 1981.

Laingen is back in Minnesota to donate artifacts from that experience to the Minnesota Historical Society, and he joins Midday to talk about his experience during the hostage crisis more than 27 years ago.