Capital: Saint Paul

Population: 5,611,179 (Source: 2012 U.S. Census)

Major Cities: Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Bloomington

Borders: North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan (at Lake Superior), Canada

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $294,729 million (2012 U.S. Department of Commerce)

Key Industries:

Agriculture including corn, peas, sugar beets, and turkeys

Paper products, iron ore, biomedical, food processing, and tourism

How Minnesota got its name: The name Minnesota comes from a Sioux Indian word that means sky water.

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Minnesota State Symbols

State Nickname: North Star State

State Slogan: Explore Minnesota

State Motto: L'Etoile du Nord (The North Star)

State flower: Pink and white lady's slipper

State bird: Common Loon

State fish: Walleye

State tree: Red (or Norway) Pine

State mammal: NA

State foods: Milk, Honeycrisp Apple, Wild Rice, Blueberry Muffin

Becoming a State

Date admitted: Tuesday, May 11, 1858

Number admitted: 32

Prior Name: Minnesota Territory

Postal Abbreviation: MN

The Geography of Minnesota

Total Size: 79,610 sq. miles (source: 2003 Census)

Geographical Low Point: Lake Superior at 601 feet (source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Geographical High Point: Eagle Mtn. at 2,301 feet, located in the county/subdivision of Cook (source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Central Point: Located in Crow Wing County approx. 10 miles southwest of Brainerd (source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Counties: 87 (source: National Association of Counties)

Bodies of Water: Lake Superior, Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, Upper Red Lake, Lower Red Lake, Mississippi River, Minnesota River

Famous People

• Jessica Biel - Actress

• Ethan and Joel Coen - Movie directors

• Bob Dylan - Singer and songwriter

• F. Scott Fitzgerald - Author who wrote The Great Gatsby

• Judy Garland - Actress and singer from the Wizard of Oz

• Roger Maris - Professional baseball player

• Prince - Singer and songwriter

• Winona Ryder - Actress

• Richard W. Sears - Businessman who founded Sears department stores

• Charles Schulz - Cartoonist who created the comic strip Peanuts

Fun Facts

• The Mall of America in Minneapolis is one of the biggest malls in the world. It covers the same ground as 78 football fields!

• The Mayo Clinic, one of the worlds largest health facilities, is located in Rochester, Minnesota.

• The Tonka truck comes from Minnetonka, Minnesota.

• Minneapolis has a skyway system connecting buildings which allows you to go all over town without ever going outside. Good news for snowy winters!

• Another nickname for the state is the Land of 10,000 Lakes. There are so many rivers and lakes that 1 out of 6 Minnesotans owns a boat.

• The name comes from a Native American Dakota word meaning 'water that reflects the sky'.

• Anoka, Minnesota is said to be the Halloween capital of the world.

• Mosquitoes are actually declared a public nuisance by law.

• Legend has it that the 10,000 lakes were made by the footprints of Paul Bunyan's giant ox, Babe.

• The University of Minnesota was home to the first open heart surgery performed in the United States.

Professional Sports Teams

• Minnesota Twins - MLB (baseball)

• Minnesota Links - WNBA (basketball)

• Minnesota Timberwolves - NBA (basketball)

• Minnesota Wild - NHL (hockey)

• Minnesota Vikings - NFL (football)

• Minnesota United FC - MLS (soccer)

Minnesota

State History

Native Americans

Minnesota has been inhabited by people for thousands of years including ancient cultures such as the Woodland people and the Mississippian culture. When the Europeans arrived in the 1600s, Native American tribes lived throughout the region. The largest Native American tribe in the area was the Dakota Sioux. They hunted buffalo and farmed crops such as corn, beans, and squash. Other smaller tribes included the Ojibwa, the Cree, and the Cheyenne.

Fish Lake in Kanabec County, Minnesota by Smoove

Europeans Arrive

The first Europeans to arrive in Minnesota were the French. Explorers such as Pierre Radisson and Medard des Groseilleirs first visited the region in the 1650s. These early explorers mapped out the coast of Lake Superior and claimed the land for France.

The French made an agreement with the Ojibwa peoples to trade for furs in 1671. French trader Daniel Graysolon, Sieur Du Luth explored the area and, in 1679, he helped to negotiate a peace agreement between the Dakota and Ojibwa tribes. The city of Duluth is named after him.

Changing Hands

After the French and Indian war between the British and French ended in 1763, the British took over the eastern portion of Minnesota. However, the land was only in British hands for 20 years when it became a territory of the United States after the Revolutionary War. In 1803, the United States purchased the rest of Minnesota from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Explorers

After buying the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson sent out explorers to learn more about the vast new land. Explorer Zebulon Pike arrived in Minnesota in 1805. His main goal was to find the headwaters of the Mississippi River. He didn't find the source of the Mississippi, but he did sign a treaty with the Dakota Indians for land in the area.

Henry Schoolcraft by Wellstood and Peters

In 1832, explorer Henry Schoolcraft finally found the source of the Mississippi River with the help of the Ojibwa peoples. He named the source Lake Itasca. Later, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would write The Song of Hiawatha based on Indian legends and stories told by Schoolcraft about Minnesota.

Twin Cities

The first major U.S. outpost in Minnesota was Fort Snelling which was completed in 1825. It was built at the point where the Minnesota and the Mississippi Rivers come together. Two major cities eventually were built up on each side of the Mississippi River. The city on the west side was called Minneapolis and the city on the east side St. Paul. Today these two cities are often referred to as the Twin Cities and are the two largest cities in Minnesota.

Becoming a State

In 1849, Minnesota became a territory of the United States. Over the next two decades, numerous immigrants from northern European countries such as Germany and Sweden settled in Minnesota. On May 11, 1858 Minnesota was admitted to the Union as the 32nd state.

Minneapolis, Minnesota by Jim Bean

Timeline

• 1650s - First Europeans visit and map out portions of Minnesota.

• 1763 - The U.S. gains eastern Minnesota after winning the French and Indian War.

• 1803 - The U.S. buys western Minnesota from the French as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

• 1805 - Zebulon Pike explores the region.

• 1825 - Fort Snelling is established at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers.

• 1832 - Explorer Henry Schoolcraft finds the source of the Mississippi at Lake Itasca.

• 1849 - The U.S. creates the Minnesota Territory.

• 1858 - Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd state.

• 1862 - The Dakota War was fought between the United States and the Dakota Sioux.

• 1889 - The Mayo Clinic is founded in Rochester by Dr. William Mayo.

• 1965 - Herbert Humphrey becomes vice-president of the United States.

• 1992 - The Mall of America is completed in Bloomington.

• 1998 - Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler and Navy Seal, is elected governor.