Welcome to Minnesota
Minnesota is located in the Upper Midwest United States. It was the 32nd state admitted into the Union on May 11 1858 and it is the northern most state in the contiguous United States. According to 2006 census estimates, Minnesota had a population of 5,167,101 residents. Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the North Star State and the Gopher State. More than half of the states population lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. This area, also known as The Twin Cities, is the transportation industry and business hub of Minnesota.Minnesota got its name from the Sioux Indian word for the Minnesota River, Mnisota. The eastern portion of the state became U.S. territory after the end of the Revolutionary War. The portion of the state that is west of the Mississippi was acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. Farming and Logging were the major economic sectors in the early days of Minnesota’s history. In the 1880s, iron ore was discovered in the Vermilion and Mesabi Ranges and an iron-mining industry sprung up in these areas. With the coming of the industrial revolution in the early 1900s, a large portion of Minnesota’s population moved from rural areas to cities. This industrial development would be halted by the Great Depression and would not be invigorated again until after WWII. New methods, and industrial development helped to increase productivity of farms in this post-war period and Minnesota soon became a center of technology.
The climate in Minnesota is extreme, combining hot summers with very cold winters, however, with its many lakes, parks and open spaces there are many options for outdoor sports and recreational activities. Itasca State park, Minnesotas first state park, is one of the oldest state parks in the U.S. and offers visitors a myriad of activities ranging from boating, canoeing and fishing, to kayaking, cycling, horseback riding, camping and ice fishing in winter. Many tourists come to Itasca State Park to see the source of the Mighty Mississippi River.Minnesota has an excellent educational infrastructure. Its population ranks fifth in the U.S. in number of high school graduates. Eighty four percent of Minnesotans have graduated high school. This is notable in the thriving fine and performing arts scene in Minnesota. Fine art museums include the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center and the Weisman Art Museum. There are two professional orchestras, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra. And, theaters in the Twin Cities rank second only to New York City in terms of tickets sold to with an approximate 2.3 million tickets sold every year.With its solid economy and cultural and recreational infrastructures, it is not hard to see why Minnesotas population is still growing.
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Minnesota Useful Links: State of Minnesota Official site Minnesota State Legislature Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Historical Society Forests, Fields, and the Falls: Connecting Minnesota Minnesota State Demographic Center John R. Borchert Map Library |