Following
the visits of several French explorers, fur traders, and missionaries, including
Jacques Marquette, Louis Joliet, and Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, the region
was claimed for Louis XIV by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur Duluth, in 1679.
The
U.S. acquired eastern Minnesota from Great Britain after the Revolutionary War
and 20 years later bought the western part from France in the Louisiana Purchase
of 1803. Much of the region was explored by U.S. Army lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike
before the northern strip of Minnesota bordering Canada was ceded by Britain in
1818.
The
state is rich in natural resources. A few square miles of land in the north in
the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Vermilion ranges produce more than 75% of the nation's
iron ore. The state's farms rank high in yields of corn, wheat, rye, alfalfa,
and sugar beets. Other leading farm products include butter, eggs, milk, potatoes,
green peas, barley, soybeans, oats, and livestock.
Minnesota's
factories produce nonelectrical machinery, fabricated metals, flour-mill products,
plastics, electronic computers, scientific instruments, and processed foods. The
state is also a leader in the printing and paper-products industries.
Minneapolis
is the trade center of the Midwest, and the headquarters of the world's largest
super-computer and grain distributor. St. Paul is the nation's biggest publisher
of calendars and law books. These “twin cities” are the nation's third-largest
trucking center. Duluth has the nation's largest inland harbor and now handles
a significant amount of foreign trade. Rochester is home to the Mayo Clinic, a
world-famous medical center.
Tourism
is a major revenue producer in Minnesota, with arts, fishing, hunting, water sports,
and winter sports bringing in millions of visitors each year.
Among
the most popular attractions are the St. Paul Winter Carnival; the Tyrone Guthrie
Theatre, the Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, and Minnehaha Park, in Minneapolis;
Boundary Waters Canoe Area; Voyageurs National Park; North Shore Drive; the Minnesota
Zoological Gardens; and the state's more than 10,000 lakes.
Coming
Soon!
See
more on Minnesota:
Encyclopedia:
Minnesota Encyclopedia: Geography Encyclopedia: Economy Encyclopedia:
Government Encyclopedia: History Monthly Temperature Extremes
Accredited
Colleges and Universities
Selected
famous natives and residents:
LaVerne, Maxene, and Patti Andrews singers;
Warren E. Burger jurist; William E. Colby CIA director; William Demarest
actor; William O. Douglas jurist; Bob Dylan singer and composer; F.
Scott Fitzgerald novelist; Judy Garland singer and actress; J. Paul Getty
oil executive; Cass Gilbert architect; Duane Hanson sculptor; Hubert
H. Humphrey senator and vice president; Jessica Lange actress; Sinclair
Lewis novelist; Cornell MacNeil baritone; Roger Maris baseball player;
E. G. Marshall actor; Charles H. Mayo surgeon; William J. Mayo surgeon;
Eugene J. McCarthy former senator; Kate Millett feminist; Walter F.
Mondale former vice president; Gen. Lauris Norstad NATO commander; Westbrook
Pegler columnist; John Sargent Pillsbury businessman; Marion Ross actress;
Jane Russell actress; Harrison E. Salisbury journalist; Charles M.
Schulz cartoonist; Max Shulman novelist; Maurice H. Stans secretary of
commerce; Harold E. Stassen government official; Michael Todd producer;
Frederick Weyerhaeuser businessman; Gig Young actor.
Capital:
St. Paul
State
abbreviation/Postal code: Minn./MN
Governor:
Tim Pawlenty, R (to Jan. 2007)
Lieut.
Governor: Carol Molnau, R (to Jan. 2007)
Senators:
Norm Coleman, R (to Jan. 2009)Mark Dayton, D (to Jan. 2007)
U.S.
Representatives: 8
Secy.
of State: Mary Kiffmeyer, R (to Jan. 2007)
Atty.
General: Mike Hatch, D (to Jan. 2007)
Commissioner
of Finance: Peggy Ingison
Organized
as territory: March 3, 1849
Entered
Union (rank): May 11, 1858 (32)
Present
constitution adopted: 1858
Motto:
L'Étoile du Nord (The North Star)
State
symbols: flower lady slipper (1902) tree red (or Norway) pine (1953) bird
common loon (also called great northern diver) (1961) song “Hail Minnesota”
(1945) fish walleye (1965) mushroom morel (1984)
Nicknames:
North Star State; Gopher State; Land of 10,000 Lakes
Origin
of name: From a Dakota Indian word meaning “sky-tinted water”
10
largest cities (2003 est.): Minneapolis, 373,188; St. Paul, 280,404; Rochester,
92,507; Duluth, 85,734; Bloomington, 83,080; Plymouth, 69,164; Brooklyn Park,
67,781; Eagan, 64,006; Coon Rapids, 62,310; Burnsville, 59,805
Land
area: 79,610 sq mi. (206,190 sq km)
Geographic
center: In Crow Wing Co., 10 mi. SW of Brainerd
Number
of counties: 87
Largest
county by population and area: Hennepin, 1,120,897 (2004); St. Louis, 6,226
sq mi.
State
forests: 58 (nearly 4 million ac.)
State
parks: 66 (226,000 ac.)
Residents:
Minnesotan
2004
resident population est.: 5,100,958
2000
resident census population (rank): 4,919,479 (21). Male: 2,435,631 (49.5%);
Female: 2,483,848 (50.5%). White: 4,400,282 (89.4%); Black: 171,731 (3.5%); American
Indian: 54,967 (1.1%); Asian: 141,968 (2.9%); Other race: 65,810 (1.3%); Two or
more races: 82,742 (1.7%); Hispanic/Latino: 143,382 (2.9%). 2000 percent population
18 and over: 73.8; 65 and over: 12.1; median age: 35.4.
