The $1.4 billion sale of Bremer Financial to Old National Bank, announced Monday, dropped the curtain on a bank that started in the Depression, grew into a regional power and, despite federal law, maintained a charity as principal owner via a workaround that defied reason and efficiency.

Bremer Bank, one of the largest Minnesota banks by deposits, has been acquired by Old National Bank, which is based in Chicago and Evansville, Ind.

Old National and Bremer Financial announced Monday morning a merger agreement that will make Old National the third-largest bank in the Twin Cities and expand its banking footprint throughout Minnesota,