The article below was published in the daily newspaper Sprinfield State Journal, of Springfield, Illinois, USA, page 1, March 2, 1916.
These events entered the ufology literature, including a close encounter of the third kind. See the case file here.
Duluth, Minn., March 1. -- With the capture of a toy balloon carrying three lights, Duluth's worry over being bombed from the air became less severe today. There's a faint chuckle running through the city today because it is thought a gigantic hoax has been worked.
It was learned a shipment of toy balloons was sent to Iron River, Wis., probably accounting for the sighting of aeroplanes over Ashland's munition plants. There are still several who still insist they heard the purring of the aeroplane's engines they originally reported over the city.
