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Minnesota

Minnesota (/ˌmɪnəˈstə/ MIN-ə-SOH-tə) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" for having more than 14,000 bodies of fresh water covering at least ten acres each;[7] roughly a third of the state is forested; much of the remainder is prairie and farmland. More than 60% of Minnesotans (about 3.7 million) live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the "Twin Cities", the state's main political, economic, and cultural hub[8] and the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Other minor metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud.[9]

This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see Minnesota (disambiguation).

Minnesota

May 11, 1858 (32nd State in the Union)

86,935.83 sq mi (225,163 km2)

79,626.74 sq mi (206,232 km2)

7,309.09 sq mi (18,930 km2)  8.40%

about 400 mi (640 km)

200–350 mi (320–560 km)

1,200 ft (370 m)

2,301 ft (701 m)

602 ft (183 m)

5,737,915[3]

68.9/sq mi (26.6/km2)

Minnesotan

none

43° 30′ N to 49° 23′ N

89° 29′ W to 97° 14′ W

Common morel (Morchella esculenta)

Photograph: Grace

Minnesota, which gets its name from the Dakota language, has been inhabited by various Indigenous peoples since the Woodland period of the 11th century BCE. Between roughly 200 and 500 CE, two areas of the indigenous Hopewell tradition emerged: the Laurel complex in the north, and Trempealeau Hopewell in the Mississippi River Valley in the south. The Upper Mississippian culture, consisting of the Oneota people and other Siouan speakers, emerged around 1000 CE and lasted through the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century. French explorers and missionaries were the earliest Europeans to enter the region, encountering the Dakota, Ojibwe, and various Anishinaabe tribes. Much of what is now Minnesota formed part of the vast French holding of Louisiana, which the United States purchased in 1803. After several territorial reorganizations, the Minnesota Territory was admitted to the Union as the 32nd state in 1858. Minnesota's official motto, L'Étoile du Nord ("The Star of the North") is the only state motto in French; this phrase was adopted shortly after statehood and reflects both the state's early French explorers and its position as the northernmost state in the contiguous U.S.


As part of the American frontier, Minnesota attracted settlers and homesteaders from across the country. Its growth was initially based on timber, agriculture, and railroad construction. Into the early 20th century, European immigrants arrived in significant numbers, particularly from Scandinavia, Germany, and Central Europe; many were linked to the failed revolutions of 1848, which partly influenced the state's development as a center of labor and social activism.[10] Minnesota's rapid industrialization and urbanization precipitated major social, economic, and political changes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the state was at the forefront of labor rights, women's suffrage, and political reform.[11] Consequently, Minnesota is unique among Midwestern states in being a relative stronghold of the Democratic Party, having voted for every Democratic presidential nominee since 1976, longer than any other U.S. state.[12]


Since the late 20th century, Minnesota's economy has diversified away from traditional industries such as agriculture and resource extraction to services, finance, and health care; it is consequently one of the richest states in terms of GDP and per capita income. Minnesota is home to 11 federally recognized Native American reservations (seven Ojibwe, four Dakota), and its culture, demographics, and religious landscape reflect Scandinavian and German influence. In more recent decades, the state has become more multicultural, driven by both larger domestic migration and immigration from Latin America, Asia, the Horn of Africa, and the Middle East; the state has the nation's largest population of Somali Americans and second-largest Hmong community.[13] Minnesota's standard of living and level of education are among the highest in the U.S.,[14] and it is ranked among the best states in metrics such as employment, median income, safety, and governance.[15]

Etymology[edit]

The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota[16] name for the Minnesota River, which got its name from one of two words in Dakota: "mní sóta", which means "clear blue water",[17][18] or "Mníssota", which means "cloudy water".[19][20] Early explorers interpreted the Dakota name for the Minnesota River in different ways, and four spellings of the state's name were considered before settling on "Minnesota" in 1849, when the Territory of Minnesota was formed.[21] Dakota people demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mní sóta.[20] Many places in the state have similar Dakota names, such as Minnehaha Falls ("curling water" or waterfall), Minneiska ("white water"), Minneota ("much water"), Minnetonka ("big water"), Minnetrista ("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, a hybrid word combining Dakota mní ("water") and -polis (Greek for "city").[22]

Governor (DFL)

Tim Walz

Lt. Governor (DFL)

Peggy Flanagan

Secretary of State (DFL)

Steve Simon

Attorney General (DFL)

Keith Ellison

State Auditor (DFL)

Julie Blaha

Index of Minnesota-related articles

Outline of Minnesota

Minnesota Historical Society

Minnesota Place Names

Archived May 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine

Minnesota Reflections

from the Library of Congress

Minnesota State Guide