Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of

. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities after the area's two largest cities,

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Minnesotans often refer to the two together (or the seven-county metro area collectively) simply as "the cities". It is Minnesota's economic, cultural, and political center. Minneapolis and Saint Paul are independent municipalities with defined borders. Minneapolis sits mostly on the west side of the Mississippi River on lake-covered terrain. Although most of the city is residential neighborhoods, it has a business-dominated downtown area with some historic industrial areas, the Mill District and the Warehouse District. Minneapolis also has a popular

uptown Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico * Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina * Uptown, area surrounding the University of C ...

area. Saint Paul, which sits mostly on the east side of the river, has quaint tree-lined neighborhoods, a vast collection of well-preserved late-

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian w ...

, and a number of colleges. Both cities and the surrounding areas are known for their woods, lakes, hills and creeks. Originally inhabited by the

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 Dakota people, the cities were settled by various Europeans. Minneapolis was strongly influenced by early Scandinavian and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

settlers, while Saint Paul was settled predominantly by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, the Irish, and German

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Today, both urban areas are home to new immigrant communities, including

Somalis The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mo ...

, Hmong, Oromo, Cameroonians, and Liberians. "Twin Cities" is sometimes used to refer to the seven-county region governed by the Metropolitan Council regional governmental agency and planning organization. The United States Office of Management and Budget officially designates 15 counties as the "Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area". It is the 16th-largest metropolitan statistical area and third-largest metropolitan area in the Midwest, with a population of 3,690,261 at the 2020 census. The larger 21-county Minneapolis–St. Paul MN–WI

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

, which also ranks as the 16th-largest, had a population of 4,078,788 at the 2020 census.

History

The first European settlement in the region was near what is now the town of Stillwater, Minnesota, about from downtown Saint Paul and on the western bank of the St. Croix River, which forms the border of central Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another settlement that fueled early interest in the area was the outpost at Fort Snelling, which was constructed from 1820 to 1825 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); ...

of the Minnesota River and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

. The Fort Snelling military reservation bordered both sides of the river up to Saint Anthony Falls. The town of Saint Anthony grew just outside the reservation on the river's east side. For several years, the only European resident to live on the west bank of the river was Colonel John H. Stevens, who operated a ferry service across the river. When the military reservation was reduced in size, settlers quickly moved to the land, creating the new village of Minneapolis. The town grew, with Minneapolis and Saint Anthony eventually merging. On the eastern side of the Mississippi, a few villages such as Pig's Eye and Lambert's Landing grew to become Saint Paul. Stpaul001

Natural geography played a role in the two cities' settlement and development. 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 confl ...

in the area is defined by a series of stone bluffs that line the river. Saint Paul grew up around Lambert's Landing, the last place to unload boats coming upriver at an easily accessible point, seven miles (11 km) downstream from Saint Anthony Falls, the geographic feature that, due to the value of its immense water power for industry, defined Minneapolis's location and its prominence as the Mill City. The falls can be seen from the Mill City Museum, housed in the former

Washburn "A" Mill Mill City Museum is a Minnesota Historical Society museum in Minneapolis. It opened in 2003 built in the ruins of the Washburn "A" Mill next to Mill Ruins Park on the banks of the Mississippi River. The museum focuses on the founding and grow ...

, which was among the world's largest mills in its time. The phrase "St. Paul is the last city of the East, Minneapolis the first city of the West" alludes to the historical difference. The state's oldest farms are in Washington County. The county borders the St. Croix River and Wisconsin on the eastern side of the metropolitan area. Joseph Haskell was Minnesota's first white farmer, harvesting the first crops in the state in 1840 on what is now part of Afton Township on Trading Post Trail. Ford lock and dam

The Grand Excursion, a trip into the Upper Midwest sponsored by the Rock Island Railroad, brought more than a thousand curious travelers into the area by rail and steamboat in 1854. In 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published '' The Song of Hiawatha'', an epic poem based on the

legends of

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accou ...

. A number of natural area landmarks appear in the story, including Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Falls. Tourists inspired by the coverage of the Grand Excursion in eastern newspapers and those who read ''The Song of Hiawatha'' flocked to the area in the following decades. At one time, the region also had numerous passenger rail services, including both interurban

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

systems and interstate rail. Due to the river's width at points further south, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area was briefly one of the few places where the Mississippi could be crossed by railroad. Much commercial rail traffic also ran through the area, often carrying grain to be processed at Minneapolis mills or delivering other goods to Saint Paul to be transported along the Mississippi. Saint Paul was long at the head of navigation on the river, until a lock and dam facility was added upriver in Minneapolis. Passenger travel hit its peak in 1888, with nearly eight million traversing to and from Saint Paul Union Depot. This amounted to approximately 150 trains daily. Soon, other rail crossings were built farther south and travel through the region began to decline. In an effort by the rail companies to combat the rise of the automobile, some of the earliest streamliners ran from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

to Minneapolis/Saint Paul and eventually served distant points in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Today, the only vestige of this interstate service is

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

'' Empire Builder'' route, running once daily in each direction. It is named after James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who settled on Summit Avenue in Saint Paul in what is now known as the

James J. Hill House The James J. Hill House in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, was built by railroad magnate James J. Hill. The house, completed in 1891, is near the eastern end of Summit Avenue near the Cathedral of Saint Paul. The house, for its time, was ...

. Like many Northern cities that grew up with the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, Minneapolis and St. Paul experienced shifts in their economic base as heavy industry declined, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. With the economic decline of those decades came population decline in the central city areas, white flight to suburbs, and, in the summer of 1967, race riots on Minneapolis's North Side. But by the 1980s and 1990s, Minneapolis and Saint Paul were often cited as former Rust Belt cities that had made successful transitions to service, high-technology, finance, and information economies. In May and June 2020, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area became a focus of international attention after MPD officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for almost ten minutes. The murder sparked local, nationwide and international protests against racism and police brutality, bringing considerable attention to the MPD. Minneapolis–Saint Paul was the site of the second-costliest act of civil disobedience in U.S. history, after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Local protests and riots caused an estimated $550 million in damages and affected around 1,600 businesses.

Rivalry

Minneapolis and Saint Paul have competed since they were founded, resulting in some duplication of effort. After Saint Paul completed its elaborate

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

in 1915, Minneapolis followed up with the equally ornate Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the rivalry became so intense that an architect practicing in one city was often refused business in the other. The 1890 United States Census even led to the two cities arresting and/or kidnapping each other's census takers, in an attempt to keep each city from outgrowing the other. The rivalry occasionally erupted into inter-city violence, as at a 1929 game between the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints, both

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

teams of the American Association. In the 1950s, both cities competed for a

major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

franchise (which resulted in two rival stadiums being built), and there was a brief period in the mid-1960s when the two cities could not agree on a common calendar for

daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time or simply daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typical ...

, resulting in a few weeks when people in Minneapolis were one hour "behind" those in Saint Paul. The cities' mutual antagonism was largely healed by the end of the 1960s, aided by the simultaneous arrival in 1961 of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

and the Minnesota Vikings of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

, both of which identified themselves with the state as a whole (the former explicitly named for both Twin Cities) rather than either city (like the earlier Minneapolis Lakers). Since 1961, it has been common practice for any major sports team based in the Twin Cities to be named for Minnesota as a whole. In terms of development, the two cities remain distinct in their progress, with Minneapolis absorbing new and avant-garde architecture while Saint Paul continues to carefully integrate new buildings into the context of classical and Victorian styles.

Geography and geology

Like much of Minnesota, the Twin Cities area was shaped by water and ice over millions of years. The area's land sits atop thick layers of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

laid down as seas encroached upon and receded from the region. Erosion caused natural caves to develop, which were expanded into mines when white settlers came to the area. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, at least one speakeasy was built into these hidden spaces—eventually refurbished as Saint Paul's

Wabasha Street Caves The Wabasha Street Caves is an event hall built into the sandstone caves located on the south shore of the Mississippi River in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. The caves have been home to mobsters, speakeasies, and for the past 30 years have hos ...

. Lakes across the area were formed and altered by the movement of

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

s. This left many bodies of water in the region, some with unusual shapes. For example, Lake Minnetonka, toward the western side of the Twin Cities, consists of a complex arrangement of channels and large bays. Elevations in the area range from above sea level in the northwest metro to at the edge of the

in the southeast. Bald Eagle-Burnsville-2006-01-15

Because it is relatively easy to dig through limestone and there are many natural and manmade open spaces, it has often been proposed that the area should consider building

subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...

s for public transportation. That could be less expensive in the Twin Cities than in many other places, but would still be much more expensive than surface projects.

Climate

Owing to their northerly latitude and inland location, the Twin Cities experience the coldest climate of any major metropolitan area in the United States. But due to their southern location in the state and the urban heat island, the Twin Cities are among Minnesota's warmest places. The average annual temperature recorded at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport is ; colder than Winona, Minnesota, and warmer than Roseau, Minnesota. Monthly average daily high temperatures range from in January to in July; the average daily minimum temperatures for those months are and respectively. Saint Paul-2007-01-27

Minimum temperatures of or lower are seen on an average of 29.7 days per year, and 76.2 days do not have a maximum temperature exceeding the freezing point. Temperatures above occur an average of 15 times per year. High temperatures above have been common in recent years; the last was on July 6, 2012. The lowest temperature ever reported at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport was on January 22, 1936; the highest, , was reported on July 14 of the same year. Early settlement records at Fort Snelling show temperatures as low as . Recent records include at Vadnais Lake on February 2, 1996 (National Climatic Data Center)

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hai ...

averages per year, and is most plentiful in June () and least so in February (). The greatest one-day rainfall amount was , reported on July 23, 1987. The cities' record for lowest annual precipitation was set in 1910, when fell throughout the year; coincidentally, the opposite record of was set the next year. At an annual average of , snowfall is generally abundant. The Twin Cities area takes the brunt of many types of extreme weather, including high-speed straight-line winds, tornadoes, flash floods, drought, heat, bitter cold, and blizzards. The costliest weather disaster in Twin Cities history was a

derecho A ''derecho'' (, from es, derecho, link=no , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system. Derechos can cause hu ...

event on May 15, 1998. Hail and wind damage exceeded $950 million, much of it in the Twin Cities. Other memorable Twin Cities weather-related events include the tornado outbreak on May 6, 1965, the Armistice Day Blizzard on November 11, 1940, and the

Halloween Blizzard The 1991 Halloween blizzard was a powerful storm that caused a period of heavy snowfall and ice accumulation, which affected parts of the Upper Midwest of the United States, from October 31 to November 3, 1991. Over the last week of October 1991 ...

of 1991. In 2019, Minnesota experienced its coldest temperatures since 1996, when a polar vortex dropped temperatures as low as in Cotton, Minnesota, with wind-chill temperatures lower than in much of the state. These temperatures are colder than those found on the surface of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

. (See
Department of Natural Resources - Cold Outbreak: January 27-31, 2019
A normal growing season in the metro extends from late April or early May through the month of October. The USDA places the area in the 4a plant hardiness zone.

Communities

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, or Twin Cities, includes 15 counties, of which 13 are in Minnesota and two in Wisconsin. The Minnesota portion accounts for almost two-thirds of Minnesota's population. Note: Counties that are bolded are under jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Council. Counties that are ''italicized'' were added to the metropolitan area when the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

revised its delineations of

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

s in 2013. Sibley County was included in the metropolitan statistical area from 2013 to September 2018. Minneapolis-St

Combined Statistical Area

The Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN–WI Combined Statistical Area is made up of 19 counties in Minnesota and two counties in Wisconsin. The statistical area includes two metropolitan areas and four micropolitan areas. As of the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 3,682,928 (though a July 1, 2012 estimate placed it at 3,691,918). In 2013, the Owatonna Micropolitan Statistical Area was added. Note: Owatonna MSA was not part of CSA in 2010.

Cities and suburbs

There are approximately 218 incorporated municipalities in the Twin Cities metropolitan region. This includes

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

s and

villages in Wisconsin A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

, but excludes unincorporated towns in Wisconsin, known as civil townships in other states. Population numbers are from the 2020 census. Principal cities *

(429,954) *

(311,527) Places with 50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants * Bloomington (89,987) * Brooklyn Park (86,478) *

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

(81,026) * Woodbury (75,102) * Maple Grove (70,253) * Blaine (70,222) * Lakeville (69,490) * Eagan (68,855) * Burnsville (64,317) * Eden Prairie (64,198) * Coon Rapids (63,599) * Apple Valley (56,374) * Minnetonka (53,781) *

Edina EDINA is a centre for digital expertise, based at the University of Edinburgh as a division of the Information Services Group. Services EDINA front-end services (those accessed directly by the user) are available free at the point of use fo ...

(53,494) *

St. Louis Park St. Louis Park is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 50,010 at the 2020 census. It is a first-ring suburb immediately west of Minneapolis. Other adjacent cities include Edina, Golden Valley, Minnetonka, Ply ...

(50,010) Places with 25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants * Shakopee (43,698) * Maplewood (42,088) * Cottage Grove (38,839) * Richfield (36,994) *

Roseville Roseville may refer to: Australia *Roseville, New South Wales Canada * Roseville, Ontario Malta * RoseVille (aka Villa Roseville), a house in Attard, Malta South Africa *Roseville, Pretoria, a suburb United Kingdom *Roseville, Dudley United S ...

(36,254) * Inver Grove Heights (35,801) * Brooklyn Center (33,782) * Andover (32,601) * Savage (32,465) * Fridley (29,590) * Oakdale (28,303) * Chaska (27,810) * Ramsey (27,646) * Prior Lake (27,617) * Shoreview (26,921) * Chanhassen (25,947) * Elk River (25,835) *

Rosemount Rosemount may refer to: Place names Australia * Rosemount, Queensland Canada * Rural Municipality of Rosemount No. 378, Saskatchewan Ireland * Rosemount, County Westmeath, an area in the Southwest of Westmeath United Kingdom * Rosemount, Aberde ...

(25,650) Places with 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants * White Bear Lake (24,883) * Champlin (23,919) *

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia *Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States * Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California * Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia ...

(23,632) *

New Brighton New Brighton is the name of several places, sports teams etc.: Australia * New Brighton, New South Wales, a town near Ocean Shores Canada * New Brighton, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood * New Brighton (Gambier Island), a settlement in British ...

(23,454) *

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macr ...

(23,330) * Golden Valley (22,552) * Hastings (22,154) * New Hope (21,986) * Columbia Heights (21,973) *

Lino Lakes Lino Lakes is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,399 at the 2020 census. Interstates 35W and 35E are two of Lino Lakes's main routes. It is an outer suburb north of the Twin Cities. History When European ...

(21,399) * South St. Paul (20,759) * West St. Paul (20,615) * Forest Lake (20,611) * Otsego (19,956) * Stillwater (19,394) * Hopkins (19,079) *

St. Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

(18,235) * Anoka (17,921) *

Ham Lake Ham Lake is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. It is a suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The population was 15,296 at the 2010 census. It is in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, one of Minnesota's larg ...

(16,464) * River Falls, Wisconsin (16,182) * Buffalo (16,168) * Hugo (15,766) * Hudson, Wisconsin (14,755) * Robbinsdale (14,646) * Monticello (14,455) * Rogers (13,295) *

Mounds View Mounds View is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 12,155 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. U.S. Highway 10, County Road 10, and Interstate Highway 35W are three of the ma ...

(13,249) * Waconia (13,033) * Vadnais Heights (12,912) * North St. Paul (12,364) *

East Bethel East Bethel is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,786 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Minnesota State Highway 65 and Anoka County Road 22 are the main routes in the cit ...

(11,786) * Mendota Heights (11,744) * Big Lake (11,686) *

Lake Elmo Lake Elmo is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,335 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 12,899. Much of the area within the city limit ...

(11,335) * Little Canada (10,819) * North Branch (10,787) * Victoria (10,546) Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants * Arden Hills (9,939) *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

(9,611) *

Mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ...

(9,398) *

St. Anthony Saint Anthony, Antony, or Antonius most often refers to Anthony of Padua, also known as Saint Anthony of Lisbon, the patron saint of lost things. This name may also refer to: People * Anthony of Antioch (266–302), Martyr under Diocletian. Feast ...

(9,257) * Oak Grove (8,929) * Orono (8,315) * Minnetrista (8,262) *

New Prague New Prague ( ) is a city in Scott and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 7,321 at the 2010 census. History Origin New Prague was laid out in 1856, and named after Prague, the capital of Bohemia (now the Czech R ...

(8,162) *

Saint Francis St. Francis or Saint Francis may refer to: Roman Catholic saints *Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) *Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims * ...

(8,142) * Mahtomedi (8,138) *

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

(8,032) *

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting t ...

(7,896) * Shorewood (7,783) *

Belle Plaine Belle Plaine may refer to a place in North America: United States * Belle Plaine, Iowa * Belle Plaine, Kansas * Belle Plaine, Minnesota * Belle Plaine Township, Minnesota * Belle Plaine (Madison County, Virginia), a historic farm property * B ...

(7,395) * Dayton (7,262) * Spring Lake Park (7,188) *

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

(6,837) * Isanti (6,804) *

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

(6,656) * Delano (6,484) * Zimmerman (6,189) * Corcoran (6,185) * Carver (5,839) * Chisago City (5,558) * Saint Paul Park (5,544) * Falcon Heights (5,369) * North Oaks (5,272) *

Circle Pines Circle Pines is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,025 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Lake Driv ...

(5,025) * Lindstrom (4,888) * Becker (4,877) * Oak Park Heights (4,849) * Elko New Market (4,846) * Princeton (4,819) * Lonsdale (4,686) * Watertown (4,659) * Nowthen (4,536) * Rockford (4,500) * Wayzata (4,434) * Prescott, Wisconsin (4,258) * Le Sueur (4,213) *

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

(4,159) * Bayport (4,024) * Scandia (3,984) * Grant (3,966) * Deephaven (3,899) * Centerville (3,896) *

Norwood Young America Norwood Young America is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, Carver County, Minnesota, United States, located about 40 miles west of Minneapolis. The population was 3,549 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Young America was ...

(3,863) *

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

(3,797) * Montrose (3,775) *

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

(3,755) *

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

(3,548) * Annandale (3,330) * Montgomery (3,249) * Rush City (3,072) * Afton (2,955) *

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

(2,923) * Milaca (2,901) * Cokato (2,799) * Osseo (2,688) *

Le Center Le Center is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,517 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Le Sueur County. The Le Sueur County Courthouse and Jail are listed on the National Register of Historic Plac ...

(2,517) *

Mayer Mayer may refer to: *Mayer (name) Places * C. Mayer (crater), named after Christian Mayer * Mayer, Syria * Mayer, Arizona, United States * Mayer, Minnesota, United States * Mayersville, Mississippi, United States * Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Canad ...

(2,453) * Excelsior (2,355) * St. Bonifacius (2,307) * Lauderdale (2,271) * Lexington (2,248) * Maple Lake (2,159) * Howard Lake (2,071) *

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

(2,047) * Clearwater (1,855) * Waterville (1,849) *

Braham Braham may refer to: *Braham (surname) *Braham, Minnesota, a city in the United States *Braham Murray (1943–2018), English theatre director *Braham (One Piece), Braham (''One Piece''), a minor character in the Japanese anime ''One Piece'' See a ...

(1,820) * Maple Plain (1,743) * Long Lake (1,741) * Spring Park (1,734) * Lakeland (1,710) * Stacy (1,470) * Tonka Bay (1,442) * Waverly (1,410) * Dellwood (1,171) * Shafer (1,142) * Harris (1,111) *

Taylors Falls Taylors Falls is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, United States, located at the junction of U.S. Highway 8 and Minnesota State Highway 95. The population was 1,055 at the 2020 census. History Taylors Falls was platted in 1850 or 1851, and ...

(1,055) * Lake St. Croix Beach (1,043) * Vineland (1,001) * Hilltop (958) * Onamia (878) * Birchwood Village (863) * Landfall (843) * Lilydale (809) * Loretto (762) *

Isle An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

(751) *

Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth C ...

(726) * Kasota (718) *

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

(700) * Hampton (687) * Center City (672) * Marine on St. Croix (664) * Elysian (650) * Clear Lake (573) * Gem Lake (567) *

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

(566) * Foreston (559) * Minnetonka Beach (546) * Sunfish Lake (522) * Willernie (515) * Bethel (476) *

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

(466) * New Germany (464) * Vermillion (441) * Woodland (439) * Pine Springs (377) * Lakeland Shores (339) * Medicine Lake (337) * St. Marys Point (321) * Wahkon (256) * Pease (248) * South Haven (192) * Mendota (157) * Kilkenny (148) * Coates (147) * Miesville (138) * Heidelberg (137) * Bock (104) * New Trier (86)

Culture

Fine and performing arts

The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area fine art museums include the

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United Stat ...

, the Walker Art Center, the

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum is an art museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1934 as University Gallery, the museum was originally housed in an upper floor of the university's Northrop Auditorium. In 19 ...

, Minnesota Museum of American Art and

The Museum of Russian Art The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA), a nonprofit museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, is the only major institution in North America devoted entirely to Russian art and culture from the entire scope of Russia's history. The Museum wa ...

. Other museums include American Swedish Institute, Science Museum of Minnesota,

Minnesota Children's Museum The Minnesota Children's Museum is a children's museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1981 in Minneapolis, the museum moved to St. Paul in 1995. The museum includes natural exhibits of Minnesota, developmental learning areas for small ch ...

, Bell Museum (natural history and planetarium) and The Bakken Museum (science and technology). The Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra are full-time professional musical ensembles. The Guthrie Theater is a world-class regional theater overlooking the Mississippi River. The

Minnesota Fringe Festival The Minnesota Fringe Festival is a performing arts festival held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, every summer, usually during the first two weeks in August. The eleven-day event, which features performing artists of many genres and dis ...

is an annual celebration of

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, dance,

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

, puppetry, kids' shows,

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile ar ...

, and musicals. The Twin Cities is also the home of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), the nation's second-largest public radio station. It has both a classical station and a contemporary station, The Current, which plays music from regional and other contemporary artists. The MPR program '' A Prairie Home Companion'', hosted by Minnesota native Garrison Keillor, aired live for many years from the Fitzgerald Theater in

. The show ended its run in 2016, with its successor '' Live from Here'' also airing from the same venue. This radio program was the basis of the 2006 film ''A Prairie Home Companion''. The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater is a sketch and improvisational comedy theater in Minneapolis. It is the nation's oldest comedy theater. The Current and the Walker Art Center also host the annual music festival

Rock the Garden Rock the Garden was an annual summer music festival organized by the Walker Art Center and Minnesota Public Radio held in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1998 - 2022. Launched by the Walker in 1998, the event was cosponsored by 89.3 The Curr ...

, which features nationally recognized and local artists. The festival has been held annually since 2008 and has featured artists such as Lizzo, Hippo Campus, Chance the Rapper, Bon Iver,

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (ke ...

, Wilco and Sonic Youth. The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis hosts the annual

Basilica Block Party The Basilica Block Party is an annual two-day music festival that takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event is hosted by the Basilica of St. Mary and described by City Pages as "summertime's hottest church party". The festival is the lar ...

, another music festival, which has featured nationally recognized artists such as Weezer, Andy Grammer, Death Cab for Cutie and Panic! at the Disco. The festival is used as a fundraiser for the restoration of the basilica. The event draws about 25,000 people to the downtown area. The Twin Cities area also has a number of venues where artists come to perform. Minneapolis is home to First Avenue. First Avenue is known for being the starting venue for many famous artists and bands from the area, including

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

, The Replacements,

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. ...

, and

Manny Phesto Manuel Levins Holden (born September 22, 1989) better known by his stage name Manny Phesto, is an Underground hip hop musician based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Manny is also an entrepreneur and business owner in the cannabis and CBD space. Pitch ...

. It became one of the most recognizable venues in Minnesota after the release of the Prince movie Purple Rain, in which it is featured.

Outdoors

There are numerous lakes in the region, and some cities in the area have extensive park systems for recreation. Organized recreation includes the

Great River Energy bicycle festival The North Star Bicycle Festival, is a ten-day series of cycling events that take place at sites around central Minnesota. The festival has gone by multiple names since its creation in 1999 as Tour de Wings. It was known as the Great River Energy Bic ...

, the Twin Cities Marathon, and the U.S. pond hockey championships. Some studies have shown that area residents take advantage of this, and are among the most physically fit in the country, but others have disputed that. Medicine is a major industry in the region and the southeasterly city of

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 ...

, as 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 ...

has joined other colleges and hospitals in doing significant research, and major medical device manufacturers started in the region (the most prominent is Medtronic). Technical innovators have brought important advances in computing, including the

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 i ...

line of supercomputers. Many Twin Cities residents own or share cabins and other properties along lakes and forested areas in central and northern Minnesota, and weekend trips "up North" happen in the warmer months.

Ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Lo ...

is a major winter pastime, although overambitious fishers sometimes find themselves in danger when they venture onto the ice too early or too late. Hunting, snowmobiling,

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television stations and companies * Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne * ATV (Austria) * AT ...

riding and other outdoor activities are also popular. This connection to the outdoors also brings a strong sense of

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...

to many Minnesotans. In 2011 and 2012, the American College of Sports Medicine named Minneapolis–Saint Paul the nation's healthiest metropolitan area.

Sports

The Twin Cities is one of 13 American metropolitan areas with teams in all four major professional sports—baseball (MLB), football (NFL), basketball (NBA) and ice hockey (NHL). Including Major League Soccer, it is one of 11 metro areas with five major professional sports teams. To avoid favoring either city, most teams based in the area use only the word "Minnesota" in their names, rather than "Minneapolis" or "St. Paul". Minneapolis was the site of two Super Bowls— Super Bowl XXVI in 1992 and Super Bowl LII in 2018. It is the farthest north that a Super Bowl has ever been played. The Minnesota Vikings have played in four Super Bowls— IV in 1970,

VIII 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

in 1974, IX in 1975 and XI in 1977. The

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

has been played in the Twin Cities three times—1965, 1987 and 1991—as have three

Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

s—1965, 1985 and 2014.

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

All-Star games were hosted in 1972 and 2004, NBA All-Star game in 1994, WNBA All-Star game in 2018 and MLS All-Star game in 2022. The

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

have been played in the Twin Cities twice, in 1981 and 1991. The

NHL Stadium Series The Stadium Series is one of the series of regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). This event is distinct from the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic and NHL Heritage Classic outdoor ...

had a game in the Twin Cities in 2016. The Final Four Men's National College Athletics Association (NCAA) basketball tournament has been hosted by Minneapolis four times—1951, 1992, 2001 and 2019—and the Women's twice, in 1995 and 2022. The Frozen Four Men's NCAA hockey tournament has been hosted by the Twin Cities eight times—1958, 1966, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2011 and 2018. It is scheduled to return in 2024. Mnrg0301 195840

Major golf tournaments hosted in the Twin Cities include: U.S. Open—1916, 1930, 1970, 1991; U.S. Women's Open—1966, 1977, 2008; PGA Championship—1932, 1954, 2002, 2009; Women's PGA Championship, 2019; Walker Cup, 1957; Solheim Cup, 2002; and the Ryder Cup, 2016. The Ryder Cup is scheduled to return in 2028. The 1998

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...

were held at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, 2018 and 2019 X Games were held in Minneapolis. The 2020 X Games were canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. The Twin Cities host three nationally competing Roller Derby leagues: the Minnesota Roller Derby of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1, the North Star Roller Derby of WFTDA Division 2, and Minnesota Men's Roller Derby, a league of the Men's Roller Derby Association. MNRD and NSRD have four home teams each: the Dagger Dolls, Garda Belts, Rockits, and Atomic Bombshells of MNRD and the Banger Sisters, Delta Delta Di, Kilmores, and Violent Femmes of NSRD, as well as two traveling teams each. MMRD has three home teams: The Gentlemen's Club, Destruction Workers, and Thunderjacks, and two traveling teams. The annual Twin Cities Marathon is held in the fall with a course running through Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Minneapolis was the birthplace of Rollerblade and is a center for

inline skating Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...

, as well as home to the most golfers per capita of any U.S. city. Additionally, water skiing got its start on Lake Pepin, a lake southeast of the metropolitan area, in the Mississippi River about downstream from Saint Paul. Some other sports teams gained their names from being in Minnesota before relocating. The Los Angeles Lakers get their name from once being based in Minneapolis, the City of Lakes. The

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

also derived their name from their tenure as a Minnesota team, the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors fo ...

Professional sports teams in Minneapolis–Saint Paul

The Twin Cities are also home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers who play in the Big Ten Conference.

Media

Print

The Twin Cities have two major daily newspapers: the '' Star Tribune'' and the '' Saint Paul Pioneer Press''. The '' Minnesota Daily'' serves the

's Twin Cities campus and surrounding neighborhoods. There is one general-interest neighborhood weekly newspaper still in the cities: The ''

East Side Review The East Side Review was an American, English language newspaper headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, until publication ceased in September 2019. While it was published, it was the only neighborhood-focused, general-interest weekly newspaper in ...

'', devoted to the 90,000 residents in St. Paul's eastern third. Other weekly papers are devoted to specific audiences/demographics, including (until 2020) '' City Pages''.

Television

The region is the 15th-largest television market, according to Nielsen Media Research. Three duopolies exist in the Twin Cities: Twin Cities PBS operates KTCA and KTCI, Hubbard Broadcasting (built by Stanley E. Hubbard) owns ABC affiliate KSTP-TV and independent station KSTC-TV, and Fox Television Stations operates

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

owned-and-operated station KMSP-TV and MyNetworkTV O&O WFTC. Diversified from radio, KSTP-TV became the first TV channel to air in the region with a show reaching 3,000 sets in 1948, and the 17th station to broadcast in the U.S. Transmitters-downtown-Minneapolis

The only station with its main studios in Minneapolis is CBS O&O WCCO, while Saint Paul hosts KSTP/KSTC, KTCA/KTCI, and CW affiliate WUCW. NBC affiliate KARE has a broadcasting complex in suburban Golden Valley. KMSP is in suburban Eden Prairie. For much of the last two decades, WCCO and KARE have shared in having the most popular evening newscasts in the area. On the other end, KSTP has struggled to maintain ratings on its news programs. KMSP has had a 9 o'clock newscast since at least the early 1990s, when it was an independent channel. Communities in the region have their own public, educational, and government access (PEG)

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

channels. One, the Metro Cable Network, is available on channel 6 on cable systems across the seven-county region. Several television programs originating in the Twin Cities have aired nationally on terrestrial and cable TV networks. KTCA created the science program '' Newton's Apple'' and distributes a children's program today. A few unusual comedic shows also originated in the area. In the 1980s, KTMA (predecessor to WUCW) created a number of low-budget shows, including cult classic ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1 ...

''. The short-lived '' Let's Bowl'' started on KARE, and PBS series '' Mental Engineering'' originated on the Saint Paul cable access network.

Radio

The Twin Cities radio market was ranked 15th by Nielsen in 2018. In November 2018, the area's top five morning radio shows were all FM stations: KSTP, KXFN, KQQL, KDWB, and KXXR. Three of those stations are owned by iHeartRadio. Most stations broadcast on air and online, as livestreams from their websites. MPR-2006-12-19

KSTP, a television station, also has radio stations, with

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

format on FM and ESPN Radio on AM. KSTP-AM and FM are owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. In 1985, Hubbard—valued at $400 million—was one of the nation's larger corporate media companies; in 2005, valued at $1.2 billion, Hubbard was a fairly small major-market media operation. The Twin Cities have a mix of commercial and non-commercial radio stations. The city's market is dominated by iHeartRadio, which operates seven stations. Two small, independent stations are award winners— KUOM, operated by the

, and KFAI public access radio in Cedar Riverside. Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) airs on KNOW 91.1 FM, KSJN 91.5 FM and KCMP 89.3 FM, with separate programs on each station. It was first nationally known for the variety show '' A Prairie Home Companion'', which ceased production in 2016. Doing business under the name American Public Media, the company is the second largest producer of NPR content, after

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...

(of which MPR is an affiliate). KCMP is also known as The Current.

Independent media

The Twin Cities is home to many independent media organizations, including

The UpTake The UpTake is a Minnesota-based citizen journalist organization. It was founded in July 2007 and has provided online news coverage on a low budget since. Because of its role as a provider of citizen journalism, the UpTake is a not-for-profit or ...

and '' MinnPost''.

Demographics

Population

Place of birth

About 93% of the metropolitan area's population is native to the United States, including 0.6% born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, or abroad to American parents. The rest of the population is foreign-born. The highest percentages of immigrants came from Asia (38.2%), Latin America (25.4%), and Africa (20.1%); smaller percentages of newcomers came from Europe (13.1%), other parts of North America (3.0%), and Oceania (0.2%). The metropolitan area's population is predominantly white, with every county at least 70% white.

Religion

Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a major center for religion in the state, especially

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

. The state headquarters of five major Christian churches are there: the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis ( la, Archidiœcesis Paulopolitana et Minneapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administer ...

, the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, the Presbyterian Synod of Lakes and Prairies, and

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

(LDS Church). The Presbyterian and LDS churches both have

missions Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and Bloomington, as does the Orthodox Church in America. The headquarters of the former American Lutheran Church (ALC),

Evangelical Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church can refer to many different Lutheran churches in the world. Among them are the following: U.S. * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a mainline Protestant denomination in Chicago, Illinois * Evangelical Lutheran Chu ...

, Lutheran Free Church and the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church were in Minneapolis; the headquarters of Augsburg Fortress publishing house still is. The Minneapolis Area Synod and the

Saint Paul Area Synod In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...

are the largest and third-largest synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA), respectively. The Evangelical Free Church of America is headquartered in Bloomington, and the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations is headquartered in Plymouth, along with its seminary and a Bible School. The Twin Cities are home to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population of approximately 64,800, with about 31% of Jewish households in Minneapolis suburbs, 24% in Minneapolis, 16% in St. Paul, 14% in the St. Paul suburbs, and 15% in outer suburbs. There is also a Hindu temple in the Twin Cities suburb of Maple Grove. The Twin Cities' sole Sikh

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) ( Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all fait ...

is in Bloomington. A recent influx of immigrants from Laos and Northern Africa has brought many more religions to the area. There are several Islamic Masjids in the area. There is a temple for the religion of

Eckankar Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. Its membership today is primarily in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The spiritual home is the Temple of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Eckankar is not affilia ...

in the suburb of Chanhassen known as the Temple of Eck. In addition, many Hmong and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

peoples live in Saint Paul; a Hmong Buddhist temple opened in suburban Roseville in 1995. The LDS St. Paul Minnesota Temple opened in Oakdale, a suburb east of Saint Paul, in 2000. There are several Unitarian Universalist communities, such as the

First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis is a non-theistic humanist community and member of the Unitarian-Universalist Association located at 900 Mount Curve, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Once led by the influential minister John H. Dietrich who is known ...

, as well as several Pagan and

groups. Minneapolis–Saint Paul has been called Paganistan due to the large numbers of Pagans living there. An estimated 20,000 Pagans live in the area. Minneapolis is where the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association started and was its home for more than 50 years.

Politics

The

2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popu ...

was held at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. Minneapolis and Saint Paul had submitted combined bids to host the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The conve ...

and the Republican National Convention. Minneapolis hosted the 1892 Republican National Convention. Like most major metropolitan areas, the Twin Cities is a stronghold for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, known in Minnesota as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. At the state level, DFLers in the Minnesota legislature have increasingly relied on the Twin Cities to build majorities. Outside of the staunchly liberal urban core, the suburbs of the Twin Cities have been historically competitive for both the DFL and the Republicans.

Economy

The Minneapolis–Saint Paul area is home to 24

Fortune 1000 The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine '' Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and f ...

headquarters. The 2022 rankings are: Private companies headquartered in the Twin Cities area include

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a Privately held company, privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privatel ...

, the country's largest private company, Carlson,

Radisson Hotel Group Radisson Hospitality, Inc. ( trading as Radisson Hotel Group) is an American multi-national hospitality company. It started as a division of Carlson Companies, which owned Radisson Hotels, Country Inns & Suites and other brands. In 1994, Carls ...

, Holiday Stationstores, and Andersen. Foreign companies with U.S. headquarters in the Twin Cities include

Aimia Aimia is an investment holding company with a focus on long-term investments in public and private companies, on a global basis, through controlling or minority stakes, and is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is publicly listed on the Toront ...

Allianz Life Suburban Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) provides annuities and life insurance products in the United States in all states except for New York. In New York, annuities and life insurance produc ...

, Canadian Pacific,

Coloplast Coloplast A/S is a Danish multinational company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices and services related to ostomy, urology, continence, and wound care. History Coloplast was founded in 1957 by Aage Louis-Hansen. His son ...

, Medtronic, Pearson VUE and Pentair. The Twin Cities' economy is the nation's 13th-largest and ranks second in the Midwest after Chicago. The Minneapolis–Saint Paul area is also North America's second-largest medical device manufacturing center and the fourth-largest U.S. banking center, based on total assets of banks headquartered in the area, after New York, San Francisco, and Charlotte. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis covers the 9th District of the Federal Reserve System, which is made up of Minnesota,

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, northwestern

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and the Upper Peninsula of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Its geographical territory is the third-largest of the 12 Federal Reserve banks.

Education

Colleges and universities

Adler Graduate School Adler Graduate School is a non-profit educational institution located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States, that offers a Master of Arts Degree in Adlerian Counseling and Psychotherapy. The six areas of emphasis are Adlerian Studies, Marri ...

– Minnetonka * Anoka-Ramsey Community College – Coon Rapids and Cambridge * Anoka Technical College – Anoka * Augsburg University – Minneapolis * Bethany Global University - Bloomington * Bethel University – Arden Hills * Capella University – Minneapolis * Century College – White Bear Lake * Concordia University – Saint Paul * Crown College – St. Bonifacius *

Dakota County Technical College Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) is a public, two-year technical college in Rosemount, Minnesota, United States. It is located in Dakota County inside the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. DCTC belongs to the Minnesota State Colle ...

– Rosemount * Dunwoody College of Technology – Minneapolis * Hamline University – Saint Paul * Hennepin Technical College – Eden Prairie and Brooklyn Park * Inver Hills Community College – Inver Grove Heights * Luther Seminary – Saint Paul * Macalester College – Saint Paul * Metropolitan State University – Saint Paul and Minneapolis * Minneapolis College of Art and Design – Minneapolis * Minneapolis Community and Technical College – Minneapolis * Minnesota State University – Edina * Mitchell Hamline School of Law – Saint Paul * Normandale Community College – Bloomington * North Central University – Minneapolis * North Hennepin Community College – Brooklyn Park *

Northwestern Health Sciences University Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) is a private university focused on alternative health care and located in Bloomington, Minnesota. The university has educational programs in chiropractic, Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, ...

– Bloomington *

Rasmussen University Rasmussen University is a private for-profit university with multiple locations throughout the United States. It offers associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at 23 campuses in Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, Florida, Wisconsin ...

– Bloomington, Blaine, Brooklyn Park, Eagan and Lake Elmo * St. Catherine University – Saint Paul and Minneapolis *

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximately ...

– St. Cloud and Maple Grove * St. Mary's University of Minnesota – Minneapolis *

Saint Paul College Saint Paul College is a public community college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The college enrolls nearly 15,000 students in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area; the ave ...

– Saint Paul * United Theological Seminary – Saint Paul *

– Minneapolis and Saint Paul (Falcon Heights) * University of Northwestern – St. Paul – Roseville * University of St. Thomas – Saint Paul and Minneapolis *

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

– River Falls and Hudson * Walden University – Minneapolis

Libraries

Libraries, with numbers of branches

Anoka County Library Anoka County ( ) is the fourth-most-populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 363,887. The county seat and namesake of the county is the city of Anoka, which is derived from the Dakota word ...

- 9 * Bayport Public Library - 1 * Carver County Library - 6 *

Dakota County Library Dakota County Library is a public library in Dakota County, Minnesota, headquartered in the Wescott Library in Eagan. The system includes 10 locations. History of the Dakota County Library Early history Dakota County Library as it exists today ...

- 10 * Hennepin County Library - 41 * Ramsey County Library - 7 *

St. Paul Public Library The Saint Paul Public Library is a library system serving the residents of Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. The library system includes a Central Library, twelve branch locations, and a bookmobile. It is a member of the Metropolitan Li ...

- 13 * Scott County Library - 7 * Stillwater Public Library - 1 * Washington County Library - 7

Infrastructure

Buildings and structures

The 11 tallest buildings and 16 of the 17 tallest buildings in the area are in downtown Minneapolis. There is some dispute over which building is the tallest—most Minnesotans think of the IDS Center if asked, but most sources seem to agree that Capella Tower is slightly taller. In early 2005, it was found that the IDS Center is taller by a washroom garage on top, bringing its height to . Capella Tower and the Wells Fargo Center differ in height by a foot or two. Buildings have gone up and been torn down rapidly across the region. Some city blocks have been demolished six or seven times since the mid-19th century. No single architectural style dominates the region. The cities have a mishmash of different designs, although structures from a few eras stand out. There were once many stone buildings in the Richardsonian Romanesque style (or at least Romanesque-inspired variants). Minneapolis City Hall is one prominent example of this, though buildings of all types—including personal residences such as the

—were similarly designed. A few decades later,

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

brought several structures that survive today, including St. Paul City Hall, the Foshay Tower, and the

Minneapolis Post Office The Minneapolis Post Office is the central post office for the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. Located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, the facility extends west to east from Hennepin Avenue Bridge to the Third ...

. The style of buildings in the two cities varies greatly. In Minneapolis, the trend has been toward sleek lines and modern glass facades, while Saint Paul tends to follow a more traditional style to better accompany its older structures. Walker Art Center-Minneapolis-061230

Saint Paul and especially Minneapolis underwent massive urban renewal projects in the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

era, so a vast number of buildings are now lost to history. Some of the larger and harder to demolish structures have survived. In fact, the area might be signified more by bridges than buildings. A series of reinforced concrete

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

spans crossing the Mississippi River were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They still carry daily traffic. A number have undergone major repair work, but retain the original design. Several are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

, including the 10th Avenue Bridge,

Intercity Bridge The Intercity Bridge, more commonly known as the Ford Parkway Bridge (and sometimes referred to as the 46th Street Bridge by residents of Minneapolis), is a reinforced concrete arch bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Minneapolis, ...

(Ford Parkway), Robert Street Bridge, and the longest, the Mendota Bridge. The area is also noted for having the first known permanent crossing of the Mississippi. That structure is long gone, but a series of Hennepin Avenue Bridges have since been built at the site. Both downtowns have extensive networks of enclosed pedestrian bridges known as

skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of encl ...

s. Several prominent Minneapolis buildings helped modernize the city. These include the Walker Art Center, Central Public Library, Weisman Art Museum and the Guthrie Theater. Opening in April 2005, the new Walker Art Center, nearly double its former size, includes increased indoor and outdoor facilities. The Walker is recognized internationally as a singular model of a multidisciplinary arts organization and a national leader for its innovative approaches to audience engagement. The Guthrie received a large amount of media coverage for its opening in June 2006. It was designed by Jean Nouvel and is a facility that houses three theaters: the theater's signature thrust stage, seating 1,100; a 700-seat proscenium stage; and a black-box studio with flexible seating. In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation put the old Guthrie building on its list of the most endangered historic properties in the U.S. in response to plans the Walker announced to expand on the land occupied by the theater. The original Guthrie building was torn down in 2006.

Healthcare

Hospitals with Numbers of Beds

''Trauma Centers'' - ''Level I * ; Level II **'' Allina Health * Abbott Northwestern Hospital - Minneapolis - 686 * Mercy Hospital - Coon Rapids - 271 ** * Mercy Hospital (Unity Campus) - Fridley - 164 * Phillips Eye Institute - Minneapolis - 8 * Regina Hospital - Hastings - 43 *

United Hospital United Hospital, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a 556-bed non-profit hospital that serves St. Paul and the eastern Twin Cities metropolitan area. United Hospital is part of Allina Health and offers specialty services including pregnancy care, ...

- St. Paul - 556 Children's Minnesota - 381 * Children's Minnesota Hospital - Minneapolis * Children's Minnesota Hospital - St. Paul Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare * Gillette Children's Hospital - St. Paul - 60 HealthPartners * Lakeview Hospital - Stillwater - 90 * Methodist Hospital - St. Louis Park - 361 *

Regions Hospital Regions Hospital is a teaching hospital located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is now part of HealthPartners. The hospital is an ACS verified Level I Trauma Center for both children and adults, and was Minnesota's first pediatric lev ...

- St. Paul - 452 * * St. Francis Regional Medical Center - Shakopee - 89 Hennepin Healthcare * Hennepin County Medical Center - Minneapolis - 484 * M Health Fairview * Bethesda Hospital - (long term acute) - St. Paul - 50 * M Health Fairview Lakes Medical Center - Wyoming - 61 * M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital - Burnsville - 171 * M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital - Edina - 334 * M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center - Minneapolis - 828 ** * M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital - Minneapolis - 212 * St. John's Hospital - Maplewood - 184 * St. Joseph's Hospital - St. Paul - 253 * M Health Fairview Woodwinds Hospital - Woodbury - 86 North Memorial Health * Maple Grove Hospital - Maple Grove - 130 *

North Memorial Health Hospital North Memorial Health Hospital, sometimes referred to as North Memorial, is a 353-bed community hospital located in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. It is one of four Level I trauma centers in Minnesota. It is also a Level II trauma center for pediatrics. ...

- Robbinsdale - 353 * Ridgeview Health * Ridgeview Medical Center - Waconia - 124 Veterans Administration Health Care *

Veterans Administration Medical Center Veterans' health care in the United States is separated geographically into 19 regions (numbered 1, 2, 4-10, 12 and 15–23) In January 2002, the Veterans Health Administration announced the merger of VISNs 13 and 14 to create a new, combined netw ...

- Minneapolis - 845

Transportation

Roads and highways

In the 20th century, the Twin Cities area expanded outward significantly. Automobiles made it possible for suburbs to grow greatly. The area now has a number of freeways, and many traffic cameras and ramp meters to monitor and manage

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic d ...

. There is some use of HOV ( high-occupancy vehicle) express lanes, which is becoming more common. To use an express lane, a driver must have a MnPASS transponder or at least one passenger. MnPASS rates are determined by the amount of traffic on the road and/or the time of day. During non-peak times, the MnPASS express lanes, except those on Interstate 394 (I-394) between Minnesota Highway 100 (MN 100) and I-94, are open to all traffic. I-94 comes into the area from the east and heads northwest from Minneapolis. Two spur routes form the I-494/ I-694 loop, and I-394 continues west when I-94 turns north. I-35 splits in Burnsville in the southern part of the region, bringing I-35E into Saint Paul and I-35W into Minneapolis. They rejoin to the north in

(just south of Forest Lake) and continue to the highway's terminus in Duluth. This is one of only two examples of an interstate highway splitting into branches and then rejoining; the other is in Dallas–Fort Worth, where I-35 also splits into east and west branches. On August 1, 2007, much of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge near downtown Minneapolis collapsed into the

around 6:05pm CDT. A replacement bridge opened on September 18, 2008. Interstates * I-35 (MN)

I-35 *

I-35E *

I-35W *

I-94 *

I-394 *

I-494 *

I-694 U.S. Highways * US 10

US 10 *

US 12 *

US 52 (Lafayette Freeway) * US 61 (MN)

US 61 (Blues Highway) * US 169 (MN)

US 169 (Johnson Memorial Highway) * US 212 (MN)

US 212 U.S. Route 212 (US 212) is a spur of US 12. It runs for from Yellowstone National Park to Minnesota Highway 62 at Edina, Minnesota. It does not intersect US 12 now, but it once had an eastern terminus at US 12 in St. Paul, Minneso ...

(Minnesota Veterans Memorial Highway) Major state highways * MN-3

MN 3 *

MN 5 *

MN 7 *

MN 13 *

MN 36 Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 35W in Roseville and continues east to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (near Stillwater), where it becomes Wi ...

MN 47 *

MN 51 (Snelling Avenue North) * MN-55

MN 55 (Olson Memorial Highway) * MN-62

MN 62 Minnesota State Highway 62 can refer to two distinct state highways in Minnesota. * Minnesota State Highway 62 (Murray–Cottonwood counties), the original Highway 62 in southwest Minnesota, an east-west route between the cities of Fulda and Windo ...

(Crosstown Highway) * MN-65

MN 65 Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a highway in the east–central and northeast parts of the U.S. state of Minnesota, which starts at its split from I-35W, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resume at the intersection wit ...

MN 77 (Cedar Avenue) * MN-100

MN 100 *

MN 101 Minnesota State Highway 101 (MN 101) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The present day route currently has two separate segments. The roadway was a continuous route until 1988. Route description The northern section of the roadw ...

MN 120 *

MN 149 *

MN 252 *

MN 156 *

MN 280 *

MN 610

Air travel

The main

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

in the region is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), a major hub for

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wi ...

. The airport is also the main hub and operating base for

Sun Country Airlines Sun Country Airlines is an American ultra-low-cost passenger and cargo airline, and the eleventh largest in the US by passengers carried. Based at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport with headquarters on airport property, Sun Coun ...

. There are six smaller (

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

) airports in the area owned and operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (the same agency operates MSP). Some people commute by air to the Twin Cities from northern Minnesota. Relief airports in the metropolitan area are: *

Airlake Airport Airlake Airport is a public use airport in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. Owned by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, It is approximately south of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul The airport is located near the T ...

(LVN) – Lakeville *

Anoka County-Blaine Airport Anoka is the name of several places in the United States: * Anoka, Indiana, an unincorporated place * Anoka, Minnesota, a city **Anoka (Metro Transit station) ** Anoka County, Minnesota ** Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 * Anoka, Nebraska, a vill ...

(ANE) – Blaine * Crystal Airport (MIC) –

Flying Cloud Airport Flying Cloud Airport is a public airport located in the city of Eden Prairie in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, about 11 miles (18 km) southwest of the central business district (CBD) of Minneapolis. History The airport was ...

(FCM) – Eden Prairie * Lake Elmo Airport (21D) –

* St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP) – St. Paul

Public transit

Metro Transit, by far the area's biggest bus service provider, owes its existence to the old streetcar lines in the area. Metro Transit provides about 95% of the

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

rides in the region, with over 900 buses, while some suburbs have other bus services. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities operates a free bus system between its campuses. This system includes the Campus Connector

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

line, which travels between the Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses by a dedicated bus line and throughout the two campuses on normal access roads. The

METRO Blue Line The Metro Blue Line is a light rail line in Hennepin County, Minnesota, that is part of the Metro network. It travels from downtown Minneapolis to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and the southern suburb of Bloomington. Former ...

LRT ( light rail) began operations in June 2004, connecting downtown Minneapolis, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and the Mall of America in Bloomington. It was followed by the METRO Red Line BRT (bus rapid transitway) in 2013 connecting the Mall of America with Lakeville along

Cedar Avenue Cedar Avenue is a roadway that runs from Minneapolis to Northfield in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The roadway is known as Minnesota State Highway 77 in the busiest portion of the route, from Minneapolis to Apple Valley. The portions north ...

through the southern suburbs. The METRO Green Line LRT connecting downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota campus and downtown Saint Paul along University Avenue opened in 2014. Metro Transit operates all three lines. The Northstar Line

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...

line connecting Minneapolis with Big Lake opened in 2009. The METRO system consists of six separate projects. There are two light rail lines: the Blue Line, which runs from Target Field in downtown

past Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport to the Mall of America; and the Green Line, which runs from Target Field past the

to Union Depot in downtown

. The BRT Red Line serves as an extension of the Blue Line across the Minnesota River, where it connects with southern suburbs at four different stations. The BRT Orange Line connects downtown Minneapolis with Burnsville along I-35W. The arterial BRT A and C lines serve as upgrades to existing local bus routes and connect with the Blue and Green lines at certain shared stations. METRO * Blue Line LRT: Target Field Station – Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – Mall of America *

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

LRT: Target Field Station –

– Union Depot * Orange Line BRT: Downtown Minneapolis – Burnsville Heart of the City * Red Line BRT: Mall of America – Apple Valley Transit Station * A Line BRT: 46th Street station –

Rosedale Transit Center Rosedale Transit Center is a transit center in the Saint Paul suburb of Roseville, Minnesota. The transit center is named after the adjacent shopping mall, Rosedale Center. Rosedale Transit Center is the northern terminus for the Metro A Line, ...

* C Line BRT: Downtown Minneapolis –

Brooklyn Center Transit Center Brooklyn Center Transit Center (BCTC) is a Transport hub#Public transport, transit center in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Owned and operated by Metro Transit (Minnesota), Metro Transit, it is one of ...

A variety of rail services are being pondered by state and local governments, including neighborhood streetcar systems, intercity light rail service, and

options to exurban regions. Minnesota is one of several Midwestern states considering high-speed rail service, using Chicago as a regional hub.Midwest Regional Rail Initiative
Retrieved June 24, 2008. The Minneapolis–Saint Paul area has been criticized for inadequate public transportation.
Retrieved October 16, 2006. Its public transportation system is less robust than those of many other cities its size. As the metro area has grown, the roads and highways have been updated and widened, but traffic volume is growing faster than the projects needed to widen them, and public transportation has not expanded commensurate with the population. Minneapolis–Saint Paul is ranked the fifth-worst for congestion growth of similar-sized U.S. metro areas. Additional lines and spurs are needed to upgrade public transportation in the Twin Cities. Construction is underway for Green Line extension connecting downtown Minneapolis to the southwest suburb of Eden Prairie. A northwest LRT (Blue Line extension) along Bottineau Boulevard is being planned from downtown Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park. The METRO Orange Line BRT will eventually be extended to Lakeville. The METRO Gold Line BRT is planned to connect downtown Saint Paul to the eastern suburbs within the next few years.

References

External links

Flyby video
courtesy NASA/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio
Fact sheet about Minneapolis–St. Paul Metropolitan Area Comparison

History of the National Weather Service in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota

GIS-based Demographic Guide to Twin Cities Region

Lost Twin Cities
– Documentary produced by Twin Cities Public Television {{DEFAULTSORT:Minneapolis Saint Paul Minnesota populated places on the Mississippi River Twin cities Metropolitan areas of Minnesota Metropolitan areas of Wisconsin Regional rivalries