The Public Bank at 100

On its darkest day, a collection attempt turned deadly and the bank's loan officer was killed and a deputy sheriff seriously injured. The resulting Bonanza farms encouraged immigration and investment in infrastructure, and produced a number of political leaders, including the state's first governor and one of its first U.S. senators. When the state legislature failed to act in 1915, A.C. Townley seized the political moment to form the Nonpartisan League, which quickly took advantage of the state s open primary to gain control of the Republican Party and the state legislature.