state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
in the
upper midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...
ern region of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
s, now given over to intensive agriculture;
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forests in the southeast, now partially cleared, farmed, and settled; and the less populated
North Woods
The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, also known as the North Woods, is a forested ecoregion in eastern North America. Among others, this terminology has been adopted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Similar, though not n ...
, used for mining, forestry, and recreation. Roughly a third of the state is covered in forests, and it is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" for having over 14,000 bodies of fresh water of at least ten acres. More than 60% of Minnesotans live in the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...
Mankato
Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
, and St. Cloud.
Minnesota, which gets its name from the
Dakota language
Dakota (''Dakhótiyapi, Dakȟótiyapi''), also referred to as Dakhota, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language. It is critically endan ...
, has been inhabited by various
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
since the
Woodland period
In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...
of the 11th century BCE. Between roughly 200 and 500 CE, two areas of the indigenous
Hopewell tradition
The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from 1 ...
emerged: the
Laurel complex
The Laurel complex or Laurel tradition is an archaeological culture which was present in what is now southern Quebec, southern and northwestern Ontario and east-central Manitoba in Canada, and northern Michigan, northwestern Wisconsin and northe ...
in the north, and Trempealeau Hopewell in the
Mississippi River Valley
The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the fluvial sediments of the Mississippi River Delta to its conflu ...
in the south. The
Upper Mississippian
The Upper Mississippian cultures were located in the Upper Mississippi River, Mississippi basin and Great Lakes region of the American Midwest. They were in existence from approximately A.D. 1000 until the Protohistory, Protohistoric and early H ...
culture, consisting of the
Oneota
Oneota is a designation archaeologists use to refer to a cultural complex that existed in the eastern plains and Great Lakes area of what is now occupied by the United States from around AD 900 to around 1650 or 1700. Based on classification de ...
people and other
Siouan
Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east.
Name
Authors who call the entire ...
speakers, emerged around 1000 CE and lasted through the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century. French explorers and
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
were the earliest Europeans to enter the region, encountering the
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, a ...
,
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
, and various
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
Minnesota Territory
The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and wester ...
was
admitted to the Union
''Admitted'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language docudrama film directed by Chandigarh-based director Ojaswwee Sharma. The film is about Dhananjay Chauhan, the first transgender student at Panjab University. The role of Dhananjay Chauhan has been p ...
as the 32nd state in 1858. Minnesota's official motto, , is the only
state motto
Most of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...
in French; meaning "The Star of the North", it was adopted shortly after statehood and reflects both the state's early French explorers and its position as the northernmost state in the contiguous U.S.
As part of the
American frontier
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...
, Minnesota attracted settlers and
homesteaders
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...
from across the country, with its growth initially centered on timber, agriculture, and railroad construction. Into the early 20th century, European immigrants arrived in significant numbers, particularly from
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
, Germany, and
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
; many were linked to the failed
revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
, which partly influenced the state's development as a center of labor and social activism. Minnesota's rapid industrialization and urbanization precipitated major social, economic, and political changes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the state was at the forefront of labor rights, women's suffrage, and political reform. Minnesota is considered Democratic-leaning, having voted for every Democratic presidential nominee since 1976, longer than any other U.S. state.
Since the late 20th century, the core of Minnesota's economy has diversified, shifting from traditional industries such as agriculture and resource extraction to services, finance, and health care; it is consequently one of the richest in terms of GDP and per capita income. The state is home to 11 federally recognized
Native American reservations
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
(seven
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
, four
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, a ...
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
cultures with an influence of Lutheranism. In more recent decades, Minnesota has become more multicultural, driven by both larger domestic migration and immigration from Latin America, Asia, the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
, and the Middle East; the state has the nation's largest population of
Somali Americans
Somali Americans are Americans of Somali ancestry. The first ethnic Somalis to arrive in the U.S. were sailors who came in the 1920s from British Somaliland. They were followed by students pursuing higher studies in the 1960s and 1970s, by the la ...
standard of living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
and level of education are among the highest in the U.S., and it is ranked among the best states in metrics such as employment, median income, safety, and governance.
Etymology
The word ''Minnesota'' comes from the
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, a ...
name for the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
, which got its name from one of two words in
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, a ...
: "mní sóta", which means "clear blue water", or "Mníssota", which means "cloudy water".
Dakota people
The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...
demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it ''mní sóta''. Many places in the state have similar Dakota names, such as
Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha Park is a city park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and home to Minnehaha Falls and the lower reaches of Minnehaha Creek. Officially named Minnehaha Regional Park, it is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board syst ...
("curling water" or waterfall), Minneiska ("white water"), Minneota ("much water"),
Minnetonka
Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781.
Minnetonka is the ...
("big water"),
Minnetrista
Minnetrista, is the home of the Ball Jar and a Gathering Place located in Muncie, Indiana with exhibits and programs that focus on nature, local history, gardens, and art. The campus includes a museum with changing exhibits, the historic home ...
("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, a
hybrid word
A hybrid word or hybridism is a word that etymologically derives from at least two languages.
Common hybrids
The most common form of hybrid word in English combines Latin and Greek parts. Since many prefixes and suffixes in English are of Latin ...
combining Dakota ''mní'' ("water") and ''-polis'' (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
for "city").
History
When Europeans arrived in North America, the
Dakota people
The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...
lived in what is now Minnesota. The first Europeans to enter the region were French
voyageurs
The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ' ...
,
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
rs who arrived in the 17th century. They used the
Grand Portage
Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. The area became one ...
to access trapping and trading areas further into Minnesota. The
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
(also known as
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
or Chippewa) were migrating into Minnesota, causing tensions with the
Dakota people
The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...
, and dislocated the Mdewakanton from their homelands along
Mille Lacs Lake
Mille Lacs Lake (also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large but shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly 75 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul m ...
. Explorers such as
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut ( 1639 – 25 February 1710) was a French soldier and explorer who is the first European known to have visited the area where the city of Duluth, Minnesota, United States, is now located and the head of Lake Superi ...
, Father
Louis Hennepin
Father Louis Hennepin, O.F.M. baptized Antoine, (; 12 May 1626 – 5 December 1704) was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollet order (French: ''Récollets'') and an explorer of the interior of North Ameri ...
,
Jonathan Carver
Jonathan Carver (April 13, 1710 – January 31, 1780) was a captain in a Massachusetts colonial unit, explorer, and writer. After his exploration of the northern Mississippi valley and western Great Lakes region, he published an account of his exp ...
,
Henry Schoolcraft
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnology, ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native Americans in the United States, Native American cultures, as well as for his 1 ...
, and
Joseph Nicollet
Joseph Nicolas Nicollet (July 24, 1786 – September 11, 1843), also known as Jean-Nicolas Nicollet, was a French geographer, astronomer, and mathematician known for mapping the Upper Mississippi River basin during the 1830s. Nicollet led three ...
mapped the state.
The region was part of
Spanish Louisiana
Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...
from 1762 to 1802. The portion of the state east of the Mississippi River became part of the United States at the end of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, when the Second Treaty of Paris was signed. Land west of the Mississippi was acquired with the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
, though the
Hudson Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
disputed the
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...
until the
Treaty of 1818
The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...
, when the border on the 49th parallel was agreed upon. In 1805
Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions under authority of President Thomas Jefferson th ...
bargained with Native Americans to acquire land at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers to create a military reservation. The construction of Fort Snelling followed between 1819 and 1825. Its soldiers built a
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
and a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
at
Saint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony ( dak, italics=no, Owámniyomni, ) located at the northeastern edge of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the only natural major waterfall on the Mississippi River. Throughout the mid-to-late 1 ...
, which were harbingers of the water-powered industries around which Minneapolis later grew. Meanwhile, squatters, government officials, and others had settled near the fort; in 1839 the army forced them off military lands, and most moved downriver, just outside the military reservation, to the area that became St. Paul.
Minnesota was part of several territorial organizations between acquisition and statehood. From 1812 to 1821 it was part of the
Territory of Missouri
The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southea ...
that corresponded with much of the Louisiana Purchase. It was briefly an unorganized territory (1821–1834) and was later consolidated with Wisconsin, Iowa and half the Dakotas to form the short-lived
Territory of Michigan
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...
(1834–1836). From 1836 to 1848 Minnesota and Iowa were part of the
Territory of Wisconsin
The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...
. From 1838 to 1846 Minnesota west of the Mississippi River was part of the
Territory of Iowa
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remain ...
. Minnesota east of the Mississippi was part of Wisconsin until 1848. When Iowa gained statehood western Minnesota was in an Unorganized Territory again.
Minnesota Territory
The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and wester ...
was formed on March 3, 1849. The first territorial legislature, held on September 2, 1849, was dominated by men of New England ancestry. Thousands of pioneers had come to create farms and cut timber. Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858. The founding population was so overwhelmingly of New England origins that the state was dubbed "the New England of the West".
Treaties between the U.S. Government and the eastern Dakota and Ojibwe gradually forced the natives off their lands and onto reservations. As conditions deteriorated for the eastern Dakota, tensions rose, leading to the
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...
. The conflict was ignited when four young Dakota men, searching for food, killed a family of white settlers on August 17. That night, a faction of
Little Crow
Little Crow III (Dakota: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; 1810 – July 3, 1863) was a Mdewakanton Dakota chief who led a faction of the Dakota in a five-week war against the United States in 1862.
In 1846, after surviving a violent leadership contest ...
's eastern Dakota decided to try and drive all settlers out of the Minnesota River valley. In the weeks that followed, Dakota warriors killed hundreds of settlers, causing thousands to flee the area.Anderson, Gary Clayton (2019). ''Massacre in Minnesota: The Dakota War of 1862, the Most Violent Ethnic Conflict in American History.'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. P. 107 The six-week war ended with the defeat of the eastern Dakota and 2,000 in custody, who were eventually exiled to the
Crow Creek Reservation
The Crow Creek Indian Reservation ( dak, Khąǧí wakpá okášpe, '' lkt, Kȟaŋğí Wakpá Oyáŋke''), home to Crow Creek Sioux Tribe ( dak, Khąǧí wakpá oyáte) is located in parts of Buffalo County, South Dakota, Buffalo, Hughes County, ...
by the
Great Sioux Reservation
The Great Sioux Reservation initially set aside land west of the Missouri River in South Dakota and Nebraska for the use of the Lakota Sioux, who had dominated this territory. The reservation was established in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 ...
in
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...
. The remaining 4,500 to 5,000 Dakota mostly fled the state into
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...
. As many as 800 settlers were killed during the war.
Minnesota Governor
Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 1840s and the 1880s. He was the first Minnesota Territorial Governor.
Early years and fam ...
subsequently declared that "the Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state” and placed a bounty of $25/scalp on the heads of the eastern Dakota men. Over 1,600 eastern Dakota women, children, and elderly walked from the Lower Sioux Agency to
Fort Snelling
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
to be held until the spring thaw allowed riverboats to take them out of Minnesota to Crow Creek Indian Reservation.U.S.-Dakota War's aftermath a ‘dark moment’ in Fort Snelling history, Pioneer Press, Nick Woltman, May 201 William Crooks (colonel), William Crooks, commander of 6th Minnesota, had a
palisade
A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade.
Etymology
''Palisade' ...
erected around the encampment on Pike Island, just below the fort, to protect native people from the soldiers and settlers. Conditions there were poor and between 125 and 300 died of disease.Minnesota Bounties On Dakota Men During The US-Dakota War, Hamline University, C. Rotel, 201 Around 400 Dakota men were tried after the war. 303 were sentenced to death, but
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
reviewed the convictions and approved 39 of the death sentences. In December 1862, 38 of them were hanged.
In early 1863, Ramsey resigned as governor to become the Federal
Indian Commissioner The Board of Indian Commissioners was a committee that advised the federal government of the United States on Native American policy and inspected supplies delivered to Indian agencies to ensure the fulfillment of government treaty obligations.
Hi ...
. His successor, Governor Henry Swift, raised the bounty to $200/scalp. A total of $325 was paid out to four people collecting bounties, including for Little Crow who was killed in July 1863. Upon becoming Indian Commissioner, Ramsey set out to get Ojibwe lands too. In 1863 he negotiated the
Treaty of Old Crossing
By the Treaty of Old Crossing (1863) and the Treaty of Old Crossing (1864), the Pembina and Red Lake bands of the Ojibwe, then known as Chippewa Indians, purportedly ceded to the United States all of their rights to the Red River Valley. On the ...
, whereby the Ojibwe ceded all their land in northern Minnesota and moved to reservations.
Logging, farming, and railroads were mainstays of Minnesota's early economy. The sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls and logging centers of Pine City, Marine on St. Croix, Stillwater, and Winona processed vast quantities of timber. These cities were on rivers that were ideal for transportation. St. Anthony Falls was later tapped to provide power for
flour mills
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
. Innovations by Minneapolis millers led to the production of Minnesota "patent" flour, which commanded almost double the price of "bakers'" or "clear" flour which it replaced. By 1900 Minnesota mills, led by Pillsbury, Northwestern, and the Washburn-Crosby Company (an ancestor of
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
), were grinding 14.1% of the nation's grain.
The state's iron-mining industry was established with the discovery of iron in the
Vermilion
Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...
and
Mesabi
The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota ...
ranges in the 1880s, followed by the
Cuyuna Range
The Cuyuna Range is an inactive iron range to the southwest of the Mesabi Range, largely within Crow Wing County, Minnesota. It lies along a line between Brainerd, Minnesota, and Aitkin, Minnesota. The width ranges from 1 to 10 miles (1.6 to 16 ...
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
.
Industrial development and the rise of manufacturing caused the population to shift gradually from rural areas to cities during the early 20th century. Nevertheless, farming remained prevalent. Minnesota's economy was hit hard by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, resulting in lower prices for farmers, layoffs among iron miners, and labor unrest. Compounding the adversity, western Minnesota and the Dakotas were hit by drought from 1931 to 1935.
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
programs provided some economic turnaround. The
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
and other programs around the state established some jobs for Indians on their reservations, and the
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...
of 1934 provided the tribes with a mechanism of self-government. This gave Natives a greater voice within the state and promoted more respect for tribal customs because religious ceremonies and
native language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
s were no longer suppressed.
After World War II, industrial development quickened. New technology increased farm productivity through automation of
feedlot
A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called conc ...
s for hogs and cattle, machine milking at dairy farms, and raising chickens in large buildings. Planting became more specialized, with
hybridization
Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to:
*Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid
*Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals
*Nu ...
of corn and wheat, and farm machinery such as
tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
professor
Norman Borlaug
Norman Ernest Borlaug (; March 25, 1914September 12, 2009) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple ...
contributed to these developments as part of the
Green Revolution
The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...
.
Suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
an development accelerated due to increased postwar housing demand and convenient transportation. Increased mobility in turn enabled more specialized jobs.
Minnesota became a center of technology after World War II.
Engineering Research Associates
Engineering Research Associates, commonly known as ERA, was a pioneering computer firm from the 1950s. ERA became famous for their numerical computers, but as the market expanded they became better known for their drum memory systems. They were ev ...
was formed in 1946 to develop computers for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. It later merged with
Remington Rand
Remington Rand was an early American business machine manufacturer, originally a typewriter manufacturer and in a later incarnation the manufacturer of the UNIVAC line of mainframe computers. Formed in 1927 following a merger, Remington Rand wa ...
, and then became
Sperry Rand
Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Sperry ceased to exist in 1986 following a prolonged hostile takeover bid engineered by Burroughs ...
Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation (CDC) was a mainframe and supercomputer firm. CDC was one of the nine major United States computer companies through most of the 1960s; the others were IBM, Burroughs Corporation, DEC, NCR, General Electric, Honeywel ...
(CDC).
Cray
Cray Inc., a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is an American supercomputer manufacturer headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It also manufactures systems for data storage and analytics. Several Cray supercomputer systems are listed ...
Research was formed when
Seymour Cray
Seymour Roger Cray (September 28, 1925 – October 5, 1996 ) was an American
Medtronic
Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...
also started business in the Twin Cities in 1949.
The United States Navy and Coast Guard have recognized Minnesota with:
* steam frigate
*
*
*
*
Geography
Minnesota is the second northernmost U.S. state (after Alaska) and northernmost contiguous state, as the isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods County is the only part of the 48 Contiguous United States, contiguous states north of the 49th parallel. The state is part of the U.S. region known as the Upper Midwest and part of North America's Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes Region. It shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and a land and water border with Wisconsin to the east. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota are to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba are to the north. With , or approximately 2.25% of the United States, Minnesota is the 12th-largest state.
Geology
Minnesota has some of the earth's oldest rocks, gneisses that are about 3.6billion years old (80% as old as the planet). About 2.7billion years ago basaltic lava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean; the remains of this volcano, volcanic rock formed the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota. The roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Since a period of volcanism 1.1billion years ago, Minnesota's geological activity has been more subdued, with no volcanism or mountain formation, but with repeated incursions of the sea, which left behind multiple strata of sedimentary rock.
In Glacial history of Minnesota, more recent times, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the state's landscape and sculpted its terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago. These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. This area is known as the Coulee Region, Driftless Zone for its absence of drift (geology), glacial drift. Much of the remainder of the state has fifty feet (15m) or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago. Its flatbed now is the fertile Red River of the North, Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
and the Upper Mississippi downstream from
Fort Snelling
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
. Minnesota is geologically quiet today; it experiences earthquakes infrequently, most of them minor.
The state's high point is Eagle Mountain (Minnesota), Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet (701m), which is only away from the low point of 601 feet (183m) at the shore of Lake Superior. Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a gently rolling peneplain.
Two major drainage divides meet in Minnesota's northeast in rural Hibbing, Minnesota, Hibbing, forming a triple Drainage basin, watershed. Precipitation (meteorology), Precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Saint Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the Canada Hudson Bay drainage, Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean.
The state's nickname "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is apt, as there are 11,842 Minnesota lakes over in size. Minnesota's portion of Lake Superior is the largest at and deepest (at ) body of water in the state. Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for . The Mississippi River begins its journey from its headwaters at Lake Itasca and crosses the Iowa border downstream. It is joined by the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
at Fort Snelling, by the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River near Hastings, Minnesota, Hastings, by the Chippewa River (Wisconsin), Chippewa River at Wabasha, MN, Wabasha, and by many smaller streams. The Red River drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada's Hudson Bay. Approximately of wetlands are within Minnesota's borders, the most of any state outside Alaska.
Flora and fauna
Minnesota has four ecological provinces:
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
parkland, in the southwestern and western parts of the state; the Temperate deciduous forest, eastern broadleaf forest (Big Woods) in the southeast, extending in a narrowing strip to the state's northwestern part, where it transitions into Tallgrass Aspen Parkland, tallgrass aspen parkland; and the northern Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, Laurentian mixed forest, a transitional forest between the northern Taiga, boreal forest and the broadleaf forests to the south. These northern forests are a vast wilderness of pine and spruce trees mixed with patchy stands of birch and Populus, poplar.
Much of Minnesota's northern forest has undergone logging, leaving only a few patches of old growth forest today in areas such as the Chippewa National Forest and the Superior National Forest, where the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has some of unlogged land. Although logging continues, regrowth and replanting keep about Forest cover by state and territory in the United States, a third of the state forested. Nearly all Minnesota's prairies and oak savannas have been fragmented by farming, grazing, logging, and suburban development.
While loss of habitat has affected native animals such as the American marten, pine marten, elk, Migratory Woodland Caribou, woodland caribou, and American bison, bison, others like whitetail deer and bobcat thrive. Minnesota has the nation's largest population of wolf, timber wolves outside Alaska, and supports healthy populations of American black bear, black bears, moose, and gophers. Located on the Mississippi Flyway, Minnesota hosts migratory waterfowl such as Goose, geese and ducks, and game birds such as grouse, pheasants, and Turkey (bird), turkeys. It is home to bird of prey, birds of prey, including the largest number of breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states as of 2007, red-tailed Hawk, red-tailed hawks, and snowy owls. Hawk Ridge, Duluth, Hawk Ridge is one of the premier bird watching sites in North America. The lakes teem with sport fish such as walleye, bass (fish), bass, muskellunge, and northern pike, and brook trout, brook, brown trout, brown, and rainbow trout populate streams in the southeast and northeast.
Climate
Minnesota experiences List of Minnesota weather records, temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. The lowest temperature recorded was at Tower, Minnesota, Tower on February 2, 1996, and the highest was at Moorhead on July 6, 1936. Meteorological events include rain, snow, blizzards, thunderstorms, hail, derechos, tornadoes, and high-velocity Downburst, straight-line winds. The growing season varies from 90 days in the far northeast to 160 days in southeast Minnesota near the Mississippi River, and average temperatures range from . Average summer dew point, dewpoints range from about in the south to about in the north. Average annual precipitation ranges from , and droughts occur every 10 to 50 years.
Protected lands
Minnesota's first state park, Itasca State Park, was established in 1891, and is the source (river or stream), source of the Mississippi River. Today Minnesota has List of Minnesota state parks, 72 state parks and recreation areas, List of Minnesota state forests, 58 state forests covering about four million acres (16,000km2), and numerous state wildlife preserves, all managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Chippewa National Forest, Chippewa and Superior National Forest, Superior national forests comprise . The Superior National Forest in the northeast contains the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which encompasses over a million acres (4,000km2) and a thousand lakes. To its west is Voyageurs National Park. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) is a corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis–St. Paul Metropolitan Area connecting a variety of sites of historic, cultural, and geologic interest.
Cities and towns
Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, in east-central Minnesota along the banks of the Mississippi River, has been Minnesota's List of capitals in the United States, capital city since 1849, first as capital of the Territory of Minnesota, and then as the state capital since 1858.
Saint Paul is adjacent to Minnesota's most populous city, Minneapolis; they and their suburbs are collectively known as the Minneapolis–Saint Paul#Combined Statistical Area, Twin Cities metropolitan area, the country's 16th-largest metropolitan area and home to about 55% of the state's population. The remainder of the state is known as "Regions of Minnesota, Greater Minnesota" or "Outstate Minnesota".
The state has 17 cities with populations above 50,000 as of the 2010 census. In descending order of population, they are Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul,
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
, Bloomington, Minnesota, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Brooklyn Park, Plymouth, Minnesota, Plymouth, St. Cloud, Minnesota, Saint Cloud, Woodbury, Minnesota, Woodbury, Eagan, Minnesota, Eagan, Maple Grove, Minnesota, Maple Grove, Coon Rapids, Minnesota, Coon Rapids, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, MN, Minnetonka, Burnsville, Minnesota, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Minnesota, Apple Valley, Blaine, Minnesota, Blaine, and Lakeville, Minnesota, Lakeville. Of these, only Rochester, Duluth, and Saint Cloud are outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Minnesota's population continues to grow, primarily in the urban centers. The populations of metropolitan Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne and Scott County, Minnesota, Scott counties doubled between 1980 and 2000, while 40 of the state's 87 counties lost residents over the same period.
The United States Navy has recognized
List of naval ships named for Minnesota, multiple Minnesota communities.
Demographics
Population
From fewer than 6,120 white settlers in 1850, Minnesota's enumerated population grew to over 1.7million by 1900 and 3.4million in 1960. Growth then slowed, rising 11% to 3.8million in 1970, and an average of 9% over the next three decades to 4.9million in the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census.
The 2020 United States Census, 2020 United States census showed Minnesota's population at 5,709,752 on April 1, 2020, a 7.65% increase since the 2010 United States Census, 2010 United States census. The rate of population change, and age and gender distributions, approximate the national average. Minnesota's center of population is in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County.
At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census Minnesota's population was 5,303,925. The gender makeup of the state was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. 24.2% of the population was under age 18; 9.5% between 18 and 24; 26.3% from 25 to 44; 27.1% from 45 to 64; and 12.9% 65 or older.
The table below shows the racial composition of Minnesota's population as of the 2020 census.
According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 5.1% of Minnesota's population were of Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): Mexican American, Mexican (3.5%), Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican (0.2%), Cuban American, Cuban (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.2%). The ancestry groups claimed by more than 5% of the population were
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
(33.8%), Norwegian American, Norwegian (15.3%), Irish American, Irish (10.5%), Swedish American, Swedish (8.1%), and English American, English (5.4%). Minnesota was also a major destination for a wave of Finnish Americans, Finnish immigrants in the early 20th century, along with Wisconsin and Michigan. Among U.S. states, Minnesota has the highest number of Finnish-Americans, 100,545 as of 2019.
In 2011 non-Hispanic whites accounted for 72.3% of all births, but Minnesota's growing Race and ethnicity in the United States, minority groups still form a smaller percentage of the population than in the nation as a whole.
Minnesota has the country's largest Somalis, Somali population,New Americans in the North Star State with an estimated 57,000 people, the largest concentration outside of the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
.
Religion
The majority of Minnesotans are Protestants, including a large Lutheran contingent, owing to the state's largely Northern European ethnic makeup. Roman Catholics (of largely
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, Irish Americans, Irish, French Americans, French and Slavs, Slavic descent) make up the largest single Christian denomination. A 2010 survey by the Pew Research Center, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 32% of Minnesotans were affiliated with Mainline Protestant traditions, 21% were Evangelicalism, Evangelical Protestants, 28% Roman Catholic, 1% each Judaism, Jewish, Islam, Muslim, Buddhism, Buddhist, and Black church, Black Protestant, and smaller amounts of other faiths, with 13% unaffiliated. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, the denominations with the most adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church with 1,150,367; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 737,537; and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod with 182,439. This is broadly consistent with the results of the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, which also gives detailed percentages for many individual denominations. The international Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference is headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota. Although Christianity is dominant, Minnesota has a long history with non-Christian faiths. Ashkenazi Judaism, Jewish pioneers set up Saint Paul's first synagogue in 1856. Minnesota is home to more than 30 mosques, mostly in the Twin Cities metro area. The Temple of ECK, the spiritual home of Eckankar, is based in Minnesota.
Economy
Once primarily a producer of raw materials, Minnesota's economy has transformed to emphasize finished products and services. Perhaps the most significant characteristic of the economy is its diversity; the relative outputs of its business sectors closely match the United States as a whole. Minnesota's economy had a gross domestic product of $383billion in 2019, with 33 of the United States' top 1,000 publicly traded companies by revenue headquartered in Minnesota, including Target Corporation, Target, UnitedHealth Group, 3M,
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
, U.S. Bancorp, Ameriprise, Hormel, Land O' Lakes, SuperValu (United States), SuperValu, Best Buy, and Valspar. Private companies based in Minnesota include Cargill, the largest privately owned company in the United States, and Carlson Companies, the parent company of Radisson Hotels.
Minnesota's List of U.S. states by income, per capita personal income in 2019 was $58,834, the thirteenth-highest in the nation. Its 2019 median household income was $74,593, ranking thirteenth in the U.S. and fifth among the 36 states not on the Atlantic coast.
Industry and commerce
Minnesota's earliest industries were fur trading and agriculture. Minneapolis grew around the flour mills powered by St. Anthony Falls. Although less than 1% of the population is now employed in the agricultural sector, it remains a major part of the state's economy, ranking sixth in the nation in the value of products sold. The state is the nation's largest producer of sugar beets, sweet corn, and peas for processing, and farm-raised Turkey (bird), turkeys. Minnesota is also a large producer of corn and soybeans, and has the most food List of food cooperatives#United States, cooperatives per capita in the United States. Forestry remains strong, including logging, pulpwood processing and paper production, and forest products manufacturing. Minnesota was famous for its soft-ore mines, which produced a significant portion of the world's iron ore for more than a century. Although the high-grade ore is now depleted, taconite mining continues, using processes developed locally to save the industry. In 2016 the state produced 60% of the country's usable iron ore. The mining boom created the port of Duluth, which continues to be important for shipping ore, coal, and agricultural products. The manufacturing sector now includes technology and biomedical firms, in addition to the older food processors and heavy industry. The nation's first indoor shopping mall was Edina, Minnesota, Edina's Southdale Center, and its largest is Bloomington's Mall of America.
Minnesota is one of 45 U.S. states with its Minnesota State Lottery, own lottery; its games include Multi-State Lottery Association, multi-jurisdiction draws, in-house draws, and other games.
Energy use and production
Minnesota produces ethanol fuel and is the first to mandate its use, a 10% mix (E10 fuel, E10). In 2019 there were more than 411 service stations supplying E85 fuel, comprising 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. A 2% biodiesel blend has been required in diesel fuel since 2005. Minnesota is ranked in the top ten for wind energy production. The state gets nearly one fifth of all its electrical energy from wind.
Xcel Energy is the state's largest utility and is headquartered in the state; it is one of five investor-owned utilities. There are also a number of municipal utilities.
State taxes
Minnesota has a progressive income tax structure; the four brackets of state income tax rates are 5.35%, 7.05%, 7.85%, and 9.85%. As of 2008 Minnesota was ranked 12th in the nation in per capita total state and local taxes. In 2008 Minnesotans paid 10.2% of their income in state and local taxes; the U.S. average was 9.7%. The state sales tax in Minnesota is 6.875%, but clothing, prescription drug medications and food items for home consumption are exempt. The Minnesota Legislature, state legislature may allow municipalities to institute local sales taxes and special local taxes, such as the 0.5% supplemental sales tax in Minneapolis. Excise taxes are levied on alcohol, tobacco, and motor fuel. The state imposes a use tax on items purchased elsewhere but used within Minnesota. Owners of real property in Minnesota pay property tax to their county, municipality, school district, and special taxing districts.
Culture
Fine and performing arts
Minnesota's leading fine art museums include the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, and The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA). All are in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra are prominent full-time professional musical ensembles who perform concerts and offer educational programs to the Twin Cities' community. The world-renowned Guthrie Theater moved into a new Minneapolis facility in 2006, boasting three stages and overlooking the Mississippi River. Attendance at theatre, theatrical, musical, and comedy events in the area is strong. In the United States, Minneapolis's number of theater companies ranks behind only New York City's, and about 2.3million theater tickets were sold in the Twin Cities annually as of 2006. The Minnesota Fringe Festival in Minneapolis is an annual celebration of theatre, dance, improvisation, puppetry, kids' shows, visual art, and musicals with more than 800 performances over 11 days. It is the country's largest non-juried performing arts festival.
Literature
The rigors and rewards of pioneer life on the
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
are the subject of Giants in the Earth (novel), ''Giants in the Earth'' by Ole Rolvaag and the Little House on the Prairie, ''Little House'' series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Small-town life is portrayed grimly by Sinclair Lewis in the novel Main Street (novel), ''Main Street'', and more gently and affectionately by Garrison Keillor in his tales of Lake Wobegon. St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald writes of the social insecurities and aspirations of the young city in stories such as ''Winter Dreams'' and ''The Ice Palace'' (published in ''Flappers and Philosophers''). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem ''The Song of Hiawatha'' was inspired by Minnesota and names many of the state's places and bodies of water. Minnesota native Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. Science fiction writer Marissa Lingen lives here.
Entertainment
Minnesota musicians include Prince (musician), Prince, Bob Dylan, Eddie Cochran, The Andrews Sisters, The Castaways, The Trashmen, Soul Asylum, David Ellefson, Chad Smith, John Wozniak, Hüsker Dü, Semisonic, The Replacements (band), The Replacements, Owl City, Holly Henry, Motion City Soundtrack, Atmosphere (music group), Atmosphere, and Dessa. Minnesotans helped shape the history of music through popular American culture: the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was an iconic tune of World War II, while the Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird" and Bob Dylan epitomize two sides of the 1960s. In the 1980s, influential hit radio groups and musicians included Prince (musician), Prince, The Original 7ven, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, The Jets (Minnesota band), The Jets, Lipps Inc., and Information Society (band), Information Society.
Minnesotans have also made significant contributions to comedy, theater, media, and film. The comic strip ''Peanuts'' was created by St. Paul native Charles M. Schulz. A Prairie Home Companion which first aired in 1974, became a long-running comedy radio show on National Public Radio. A cult Science fiction, scifi cable TV show, Mystery Science Theater 3000, was created by Joel Hodgson in Hopkins, and Minneapolis, MN. Another popular comedy staple developed in the 1990s, The Daily Show, was originated through Lizz Winstead and Madeleine Smithberg.
Joel and Ethan Coen, Terry Gilliam, Bill Pohlad, and Mike Todd contributed to the art of filmmaking as writers, directors, and producers. Notable actors from Minnesota include Loni Anderson, Richard Dean Anderson, James Arness, Jessica Biel, Rachael Leigh Cook, Julia Duffy, Mike Farrell, Judy Garland, Peter Graves, Josh Hartnett, Garrett Hedlund, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Lange, Kelly Lynch, E.G. Marshall, Laura Osnes, Melissa Peterman, Chris Pratt, Marion Ross, Jane Russell, Winona Ryder, Seann William Scott, Kevin Sorbo, Lea Thompson, Vince Vaughn, Jesse Ventura, and Steve Zahn.
Popular culture
Stereotype, Stereotypical traits of Minnesotans include "Minnesota nice", Lutheranism, a strong sense of community and shared culture, and a distinctive brand of North Central American English sprinkled with
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n expressions. Potlucks, usually with a variety of hotdishes, are popular small-town church activities. A small segment of the Scandinavian population attend a traditional lutefisk dinner to celebrate Christmas. Life in Minnesota has also been depicted or used as a backdrop, in movies such as ''Fargo (1996 film), Fargo'', ''Grumpy Old Men (film), Grumpy Old Men'', ''Grumpier Old Men'', ''Juno (film), Juno'', ''Drop Dead Gorgeous (film), Drop Dead Gorgeous'', ''Young Adult (film), Young Adult'', ''A Serious Man'', ''New in Town'', ''Rio (2011 film), Rio'', ''The Mighty Ducks (film series), The Mighty Ducks films,'' and in famous television series like ''Little House on the Prairie (TV series), Little House on the Prairie'', ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''The Golden Girls'', ''Coach (TV series), Coach'', ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'', ''How I Met Your Mother'' and ''Fargo (TV series), Fargo''. Major movies shot on location in Minnesota include ''That Was Then... This Is Now'', ''Purple Rain (film), Purple Rain'', ''Airport (1970 film), Airport'', ''Beautiful Girls (film), Beautiful Girls'', ''North Country (film), North Country'', ''Untamed Heart'', ''Feeling Minnesota'', ''Jingle All The Way'', ''A Simple Plan (film), A Simple Plan'', and ''The Mighty Ducks (film series), The Mighty Ducks films''.
The Minnesota State Fair, advertised as ''The Great Minnesota Get-Together'', is an icon of state culture. In a state of 5.5million people, there were more than 1.8million visitors to the fair in 2014, setting a new attendance record. The fair covers the variety of Minnesota life, including fine art, science, agriculture, food preparation, 4-H displays, music, midway (fair), the midway, and corporate merchandising. It is known for its displays of seed art, butter sculptures of Princess Kay of the Milky Way, dairy princesses, the birthing barn, and the "fattest pig" competition. One can also find dozens of varieties of food on a stick, such as Pronto Pups, Cheese curds#Fried cheese curds, cheese curds, and deep-fried candy bars. On a smaller scale, many of these attractions are offered at numerous county fairs.
Other large annual festivals include the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, Minneapolis' Minneapolis Aquatennial, Aquatennial and Mill City Music Festival, Moondance Jam in Walker, Minnesota, Walker, Sonshine Festival, Sonshine Christian music festival in Willmar, Minnesota, Willmar, the Judy Garland Festival in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Grand Rapids, the Eelpout Festival on Leech Lake, and the WE Fest in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Detroit Lakes.
Health
Minnesotans have low rates of premature death, infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, and occupational fatalities. They have long life expectancies, and high rates of health insurance and regular exercise. These and other measures have led two groups to rank Minnesota as the healthiest state in the nation; however, in one of these rankings, Minnesota descended from first to sixth in the nation between 2005 and 2009 because of low levels of public health funding and the prevalence of binge drinking. While overall health indicators are strong, Minnesota does have significant health disparities in minority populations.
On October 1, 2007, the Freedom to Breathe Act took effect, outlawing smoking in restaurants and bars in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Department of Health is the primary state health agency responsible for public policy and regulation. Medical care in the state is provided by a comprehensive network of hospitals and clinics operated by a number of large providers including Allina Hospitals & Clinics, CentraCare Health System, Essentia Health, HealthPartners, M Health Fairview and the Mayo Clinic Health System. There are two teaching hospitals and medical schools in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota Medical School is a high-rated teaching institution that has made a number of breakthroughs in treatment, and its research activities contribute significantly to the state's growing biotechnology industry. The Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned hospital based in Rochester, was founded by William Worrall Mayo, an immigrant from England.
''U.S. News & World Report'' 2020–21 survey ranked 4,554 hospitals in the country in 12 specialized fields of care, and placed the Mayo Clinic in the top four in most fields. The hospital ranked first on the best hospitals honor roll. The only specialty where it fell outside the top ten was ophthalmology. The Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota are partners in the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a state-funded program that conducts research into cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Coronary heart disease, heart health, obesity, and other areas.
Education
One of the first acts of the Minnesota Legislature when it opened in 1858 was the creation of a normal school in Winona. Minnesota's commitment to education has contributed to a literate and well-educated populace. In 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota had the second-highest proportion of high school graduates, with 91.5% of people 25 and older holding a high school diploma, and the tenth-highest proportion of people with bachelor's degrees. In 2015, Minneapolis was named the nation's "Most Literate City", while St. Paul placed fourth, according to a major annual survey. In a 2013 study conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics comparing the performance of eighth-grade students internationally in math and science, Minnesota ranked eighth in the world and third in the United States, behind Massachusetts and Vermont. In 2014, Minnesota students earned the tenth-highest average composite score in the nation on the ACT (examination), ACT exam. In 2013, nationwide in per-student public education spending, Minnesota ranked 21st. While Minnesota has chosen not to implement school vouchers, it is home to the first charter school.
The state supports a network of public universities and colleges, including 37 institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, and five major campuses of the University of Minnesota system. It is also home to more than 20 private colleges and universities, six of which rank among the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges, according to ''U.S. News & World Report''.
Transportation
Transportation in Minnesota is overseen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) at the state level and by regional and local governments at the local level. Principal transportation corridors radiate from the Twin Cities metropolitan area and along interstate corridors in Greater Minnesota. The major Interstate Highway System, Interstate highways are Interstate 35 in Minnesota, Interstate35 (I-35), Interstate 90 in Minnesota, I-90, and Interstate 94 in Minnesota, I-94, with I-35 and I-94 connecting the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, and I-90 traveling east–west along the southern edge of the state. In 2006, a constitutional amendment was passed that required sales and use taxes on motor vehicles to fund transportation, with at least 40% dedicated to public transit. There are nearly two dozen rail transport, rail corridors in Minnesota, most of which go through Minneapolis–St. Paul or Duluth. There is water transportation along the Mississippi River system and from the ports of Lake Superior.
Minnesota's principal airport is Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport (MSP), a major passenger and freight hub for Delta Air Lines and Sun Country Airlines. Most other domestic carriers serve the airport. Large commercial jet service is provided at Duluth and Rochester, with scheduled commuter service to four smaller cities via Delta Connection carriers SkyWest Airlines, Compass Airlines (North America), Compass Airlines, and Endeavor Air.
Public transit services are available in the regional urban centers in Minnesota including Metro Transit (Minnesota), Metro Transit in the Twin Cities, opt-out suburban operators Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, SouthWest Transit, Plymouth Metrolink, Maple Grove Transit and others. In Greater Minnesota transit services are provided by city systems such as Duluth Transit Authority, Mankato Transit System, MATBUS (Fargo-Moorhead), Rochester, Minnesota#Transportation, Rochester Public Transit, St. Cloud, Minnesota#Transportation, Saint Cloud Metro Bus, Winona Public Transit and others. Dial-a-Ride service is available for persons with disabilities in a majority of Minnesota Counties.
In addition to bus services, Amtrak's daily ''Empire Builder'' (Chicago–Seattle/Portland) train runs through Minnesota, calling at the Saint Paul Union Depot and five other stations. Intercity bus providers include Jefferson Lines, Greyhound Bus Lines, Greyhound, and Megabus (North America), Megabus. Local public transit is provided by bus networks in the larger cities and by two rail services. The Northstar Line commuter rail service runs from Big Lake, Minnesota, Big Lake to the Target Field (Metro Transit station), Target Field station in downtown Minneapolis. From there, light rail runs to Saint Paul Union Depot on the Green Line (Minnesota), Green Line, and to the MSP airport and the Mall of America via the Blue Line (Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro), Blue Line.
Law and government
Minnesota is governed pursuant to the Minnesota Constitution, which was adopted October 13, 1857, roughly one year before statehood. Like all U.S. states and the federal government, Minnesota has a Republicanism in the United States, republican system of political representation with power divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The state constitution includes a bill of rights that reaffirms many of the same rights and freedoms as its United States Bill of Rights, federal counterpart, with some protected more strongly and explicitly.
Executive
The executive branch is headed by the Governor (United States), governor, currently Tim Walz, DFL (Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Democratic–Farmer–Labor), who took office on January 7, 2019. The governor has a cabinet (government), cabinet consisting of the leaders of various state government agencies, called commissioners. The other elected constitutional offices are List of secretaries of state of Minnesota, secretary of state, Minnesota Attorney General, attorney general, and Minnesota State Auditor, state auditor.
Constitutional officeholders:
* Governor Tim Walz (DFL)
* Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (DFL)
* Secretary of State Steve Simon (DFL)
* Attorney General Keith Ellison (DFL)
* State Auditor Julie Blaha (DFL)
Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is a bicameral body consisting of the Minnesota Senate, Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The state has 67 districts, each with about 60,000 people. Each district has one senator and two representatives, each senatorial district being divided into ''A'' and ''B'' sections for members of the House. Senators serve for four years and representatives for two years.
In the 2010 Minnesota House of Representatives election, November 2010 Minnesota House election, the Minnesota Republican Party, Republicans gained 25 house seats, giving them control of the body by a 72–62 margin. The 2010 Minnesota Senate election, 2010 Senate election also saw Minnesota voters elect a Republican majority in the state Senate for the first time since 1972. In 2012, the Democrats 2012 Minnesota House of Representatives election, regained the House of Representatives by a margin of 73–61, picking up 11 seats; the Democrats also 2012 Minnesota Senate election, regained the Minnesota Senate. Control of the House shifted back to Republicans in the 2014 Minnesota House of Representatives election, 2014 election and returned to the DFL in the 2018 Minnesota House of Representatives election, 2018 midterm election. Since 2016 Minnesota Senate election, 2016, the Senate has had a slim Republican majority.
House Leadership
* Speaker: Melissa Hortman (DFL-36B)
* Majority Leader: Ryan Winkler (DFL-46A)
* Majority Whip: Kaohly Her (DFL-64A)
* Speaker Pro Tempore: Liz Olson (DFL-7B)
* Assistant Majority Leaders: Heather Edelson (DFL-49A), Emma Greenman (DFL-63B), Michael Howard (American politician), Michael Howard (DFL-50A), Todd Lippert (DLF-20B), Kelly Morrison (DFL-33B), Dan Wolgamott (DFL-14B)
* Minority Leader: Kurt Daudt (R-31A)
* Deputy Minority Leader: Anne Neu (R-Minnesota House of Representatives, District 32B, 32B)
* Minority Whip: Barb Haley (R-21A)
* Assistant Minority Leaders: Dave Baker (Minnesota politician), Dave Baker (R-17B), Peggy Bennett (R-27A), Lisa Demuth (R-13A), Jim Nash (politician), Jim Nash (R-47A), Paul Novotny (R-30A), Bjorn Olson (R-23A), Peggy Scott (politician), Peggy Scott (R-35B), Paul Torkelson (R-16B)
Senate Leadership
* President: Jeremy Miller (politician), Jeremy Miller (R-28)
* President Pro Tempore: ''Vacant''
* Majority Leader: Paul Gazelka (R-09)
* Deputy Majority Leader: Mark Johnson (Minnesota politician), Mark Johnson (R-01)
* Assistant Majority Leaders: Roger Chamberlain (R-38), Karin Housley (R-39), John Jasinski (politician), John Jasinski (R-24), Zach Duckworth (R-58), Eric Pratt (R-55)
* Minority Leader: Melisa Franzen (DFL-49)
* Minority Whips: Kent Eken (DFL-4), Jason Isaacson (DLF-42)
* Assistant Minority Leaders: Nick Frentz (DFL-19), Foung Hawj (DFL-67)
Judiciary
Minnesota's court system has three levels. Most cases start in the Minnesota District Courts, district courts, which are courts of general jurisdiction. There are 279 district court judgeships in ten judicial districts. Appeals from the trial courts and challenges to certain governmental decisions are heard by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, consisting of 19 judges who typically sit in three-judge panels. The seven-justice Minnesota Supreme Court hears all appeals from the tax court, the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals, workers' compensation court of appeals, first-degree murder convictions, and Certiorari#State courts, discretionary appeals from the court of appeals; it also has original jurisdiction over election disputes.
Two specialized courts within administrative agencies have been established: the workers' compensation court of appeals, and the tax court, which deals with non-criminal tax cases.
Supreme Court Justices
* Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea, Lorie Gildea
Associate Justices
* Barry Anderson
* David Lillehaug
* Natalie Hudson
* Margaret Chutich
* Anne McKeig
* Paul Thissen
Regional
In addition to the city and county levels of government found in the United States, Minnesota has other entities that provide governmental oversight and planning. Regional Development Commissions, Regional development commissions (RDCs) provide technical assistance to local governments in the broad multi-county areas of the state. Along with this Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), such as the Metropolitan Council, provide planning and oversight of land use actions in metropolitan areas. Many lakes and rivers are overseen by Watershed district (Minnesota), watershed districts and soil and water conservation districts.
Federal
Minnesota's United States senators are Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. The state has eight Minnesota Congressional Districts, congressional districts; they are represented by Brad Finstad (Minnesota's 1st congressional district, 1st district; R), Angie Craig (Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, 2nd; DFL), Dean Phillips (Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, 3rd; DFL), Betty McCollum (Minnesota's 4th congressional district, 4th; DFL), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota's 5th congressional district, 5th; DFL), Tom Emmer (Minnesota's 6th congressional district, 6th; R), Michelle Fischbach (Minnesota's 7th congressional district, 7th; R), and Pete Stauber (Minnesota's 8th congressional district, 8th; R).
Federal court cases are heard in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Fergus Falls. Appeals are heard by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul.
Tribal
The State of Minnesota was created by the United States federal government in the traditional and cultural range of lands occupied by the
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, a ...
and
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
peoples as well as other Native American groups. After many years of unequal treaties and forced resettlement by the state and federal government, the tribes re-organized into sovereign tribal governments. Today, the tribal governments are divided into 11 semi-autonomous reservations that negotiate with the U.S. and the state on a bilateral basis:
Four Dakota Mdewakanton communities:
* Prairie Island Indian Community
* Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
* Lower Sioux Indian Reservation
* Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota, Upper Sioux CommunityPejuhutazizi Oyate
Seven Anishinaabe reservations:
* Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
* Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
* Grand Portage Band of Chippewa
* Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
* Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
* White Earth Band of Ojibwe
* Red Lake Band of Chippewa
The first six of the Anishinaabe bands compose the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, the collective federally recognized tribal government of the Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth reservations.
Politics
Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, and populism has been a long-standing force among the state's political party, political parties. Minnesota has a consistently high voter turnout. In the 2008 United States presidential election, 2008 U.S. presidential election, 78.2% of eligible Minnesotans votedthe highest percentage of any U.S. stateversus the national average of 61.2%. That figure was surpassed in 2020, when 79.96% of registered voters participated in the general election. Voters can register on Election Day (United States), election day at their polling places with evidence of residency.
Hubert Humphrey brought national attention to the state with his address at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Minnesotans have consistently cast their Electoral College votes for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976, longer than any other state. Minnesota is the only state in the nation that did not vote for Ronald Reagan in either of his presidential campaigns. Minnesota has voted for the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since 1960, with the exception of 1972, when the state was won by Republican Richard Nixon.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties have major-party status in Minnesota, but its state-level Democratic party has a different name, officially known as the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). It was formed out of a 1944 alliance of the Minnesota Democratic and Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, Farmer-Labor parties.
The state has had active third-party movements. The Reform Party of the United States, Reform Party, now the Independence Party of Minnesota, Independence Party, was able to elect former mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Brooklyn Park and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura to the Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1998, governorship in 1998. The Independence Party of Minnesota, Independence Party has received enough support to keep major-party status. The Green Party of Minnesota, Green Party, while no longer having major-party status, has a large presence in municipal government, notably in Minneapolis and Duluth, where it competes directly with the DFL party for local offices. Major-party status in Minnesota (which grants state funding for elections) is reserved to parties whose candidates receive five percent or more of the vote in any statewide election (e.g., governor, secretary of state, U.S. president).
The state's United States Senate, U.S. Senate seats have generally been split since the early 1990s and in the 108th United States Congress, 108th and 109th United States Congress, 109th Congresses, Minnesota's congressional delegation was split, with four representatives and one senator from each party. In the 2006 mid-term election, Democrats were elected to all state offices, except governor and lieutenant governor, where Republicans Tim Pawlenty and Carol Molnau narrowly won reelection. The DFL posted double-digit gains in both houses of the legislature, elected Amy Klobuchar to the U.S. Senate, and increased the party's U.S. House caucus by one. Keith Ellison (DFL) was elected as the first African American U.S. Representative from Minnesota, as well as the first Muslim elected to Congress nationwide. In 2008, DFLer and former comedian and radio talk show host Al Franken defeated incumbent Republican Norm Coleman in the U.S. Senate race by 312 votes out of three million cast.
In the 2010 election, Republicans took control of both chambers of the Minnesota legislature for the first time in 38 years and, with Mark Dayton's election, the DFL party took the governor's office for the first time in 20 years. Two years later, the DFL regained control of both houses, and with Dayton in office, the party had same-party control of both the legislative and executive branches for the first time since 1990. Two years later, the Republicans regained control of the Minnesota House, and in 2016, the GOP also regained control of the State Senate.
In 2018, the DFL retook control of the Minnesota House, while electing DFLer Tim Walz as Governor.
In a 2020 study, Minnesota was ranked as the 15th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
Media
The Twin Cities area is the fifteenth largest media market in the United States, as ranked by Nielsen Media Research. The state's other top markets are Fargo–Moorhead (118th nationally), Twin Ports, Duluth–Superior (137th), Rochester–Mason City–Austin (152nd), and Mankato (200th).
Terrestrial television, Broadcast television in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest started on April 27, 1948, when KSTP-TV began broadcasting. Hubbard Broadcasting, which owns KSTP, is now the only locally owned television company in Minnesota. Twin Cities CBS station WCCO-TV and Fox Broadcasting Company, FOX station KMSP-TV are owned-and-operated by their respective networks. There are List of television stations in Minnesota (by channel number), 39 analog broadcast stations and 23 digital television, digital channels broadcast over Minnesota.
The four largest daily newspapers are the ''Star Tribune'' in Minneapolis, the ''St. Paul Pioneer Press, Pioneer Press'' in Saint Paul, the ''Duluth News Tribune'' in Duluth, and the ''Post-Bulletin'' in Rochester. ''Minnesota Daily, The Minnesota Daily'' is the largest student-run newspaper in the U.S. Sites offering daily news on the Web include ''The UpTake'', ''MinnPost.com, MinnPost'', the Twin Cities ''Daily Planet'', business news site ''Finance & Commerce, Finance and Commerce'' and Washington D.C.-based ''Minnesota Independent''. Weeklies including ''City Pages'' and monthly publications such as ''Minnesota Monthly'' are available.
Two of the largest public radio networks, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and Public Radio International (PRI), are based in the state. MPR has the largest audience of any regional public radio network in the nation, broadcasting on 46 radio stations as of 2019. PRI weekly provides more than 400 hours of programming to almost 800 affiliates. The state's oldest radio station, KUOM-AM, was launched in 1922 and is among the 10-List of oldest radio stations, oldest radio stations in the United States. The University of Minnesota-owned station is still on the air, and since 1993 broadcasts a campus radio, college rock format.
Sports, recreation and tourism
Minnesota has an active program of organized amateur and professional sports. Tourism has become an important industry, especially in the Lake region. In the North Country, what had been an industrial area focused on mining and timber has largely been transformed into a vacation destination. Popular interest in the environment and environmentalism, added to traditional interests in hunting and fishing, has attracted a large urban audience within driving range.
Organized sports
Minnesota has professional men's teams in all major sports.
The Minnesota Vikings have played in the National Football League since their admission as an expansion franchise in 1961. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 through 1981 and in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 until its demolition after the 2013 season for the construction of the team's new home, U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings' current stadium hosted Super Bowl LII in February 2018. Super Bowl XXVI was played in the Metrodome in 1992. The Vikings have advanced to the Super Bowl Super Bowl IV, Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl IX, and Super Bowl XI, losing all four games to their AFC/AFL opponent
The Minnesota Twins have played in the Major League Baseball in the Twin Cities since 1961. The Twins began play as the original Minnesota Twins, Washington Senators, a founding member of the American League in 1901, relocating to Minnesota in 1961. The Twins won the 1987 and 1991 World Series in seven-game matches where the home team was victorious in all games. The Twins also advanced to the 1965 World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. The team has played at Target Field since 2010.
The Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association played in the Minneapolis Auditorium from 1947 to 1960, after which they relocated to Los Angeles. The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in 1989, and have played in Target Center since 1990.
The National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild play in St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, and reached 300 consecutive sold-out games on January 16, 2008. Previously, the Minnesota North Stars competed in NHL from 1967 to 1993, which played in and lost the 1981 and 1991 Stanley Cup Finals.
Minnesota United FC joined Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 2017, having played in the lower-division North American Soccer League (2010), North American Soccer League from 2010 to 2016. The team plays at Allianz Field in St. Paul. Previous professional soccer teams have included the Minnesota Kicks, which played at Metropolitan Stadium from 1976 to 1981, and the Minnesota Strikers from 1984 to 1988.
Minnesota also has minor-league professional sports teams. The Minnesota Swarm of the National Lacrosse League played at the Xcel Energy Center until the team moved to Georgia in 2015. The St. Paul Saints, who play at CHS Field in St. Paul, are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
Professional women's sports include the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, winners of the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 WNBA Championships, Minnesota Aurora FC of the United Soccer League USL W-League, W-League, the Minnesota Vixen of the Independent Women's Football League, the Minnesota Valkyrie of the Legends Football League, and the Minnesota Whitecaps of the National Women's Hockey League.
The Twin Cities campus of the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I school competing in the Big Ten Conference. Four additional schools in the state compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey: the University of Minnesota Duluth; Minnesota State University, Mankato; St. Cloud State University and Bemidji State University. There are nine NCAA Division II colleges in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and twenty NCAA Division III colleges in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
Minneapolis has hosted the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1951, 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1992, 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 2001, and 2019 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 2019.
The Hazeltine National Golf Club has hosted the U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Senior Open and PGA Championship. The course also hosted the Ryder Cup in the fall of 2016, when it became one of two courses in the U.S. to host all major golf competitions. The Ryder Cup is scheduled to return in 2028.
Interlachen Country Club has hosted the U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, and Solheim Cup.
Winter Olympic Games medalists from the state include twelve of the twenty members of the gold medal Miracle on Ice, 1980 ice hockey team (coached by Minnesota native Herb Brooks) and the bronze medalist Curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics#Men's, U.S. men's curling team in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Swimmer Tom Malchow won an Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer games and a silver medal in 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996.
Grandma's Marathon is run every summer along the scenic North Shore (Lake Superior), North Shore of Lake Superior, and the Twin Cities Marathon winds around lakes and the Mississippi River during the peak of the color change in leaves, fall color season. Farther north, Eveleth, Minnesota, Eveleth is the location of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Outdoor recreation
Minnesotans participate in high levels of physical activity, and many of these activities are outdoors. The strong interest of Minnesotans in environmentalism has been attributed to the popularity of these pursuits.
In the warmer months, these activities often involve water. Weekend and longer trips to family cottage, cabins on Minnesota's numerous lakes are a way of life for many residents. Activities include water sports such as water skiing, which originated in the state, boating, canoeing, and fishing. More than 36% of Minnesotans fish, second only to Alaska.
Fishing does not cease when the lakes freeze; ice fishing has been around since the arrival of early Scandinavian immigrants. Minnesotans have learned to embrace their long, harsh winters in ice sports such as ice skating, skating, Ice hockey, hockey, curling, and broomball, and snow sports such as cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, luge, snowshoeing, and snowmobile, snowmobiling. Minnesota is the only U.S. state where bandy is played.
State and national forests and the 72 state parks are used year-round for hunting, camping, and hiking. There are almost of snowmobile trails statewide. Minnesota has more miles of bike trails than any other state, and a growing network of trail, hiking trails, including the Superior Hiking Trail in the northeast. Many hiking and bike trails are used for cross-country skiing during the winter.
See also
* Index of Minnesota-related articles
* Outline of Minnesota
*
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Minnesota,
States and territories established in 1858
States of the United States
Dakota toponyms
Midwestern United States
1858 establishments in the United States
Contiguous United States