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| State of Minnesota | |||||||||||
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| Capital | Saint Paul | ||||||||||
| Largest city | Minneapolis | ||||||||||
| Largest metro area | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 12th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²) | ||||||||||
| - Width | 250 miles (400 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 400 miles (645 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 8.4 | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 43° 30′ N to 49° 23′ N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 89° 29′ W to 97° 14′ W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 21st in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 4,919,479 | ||||||||||
| - Density | 61.80/sq mi 23.86/km² (31st in the US) | ||||||||||
| - Median income | $55,914 (5th) | ||||||||||
| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Eagle MountainElevations and Distances in the United States. U.S Geological Survey (2005). Retrieved on 2006-11-06. 2,301 ft (701 m) | ||||||||||
| - Mean | 1,198 ft (365 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Lake Superior 602 ft (183 m) | ||||||||||
| Admission to Union | May 11, 1858 (32nd) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Tim Pawlenty (R) | ||||||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | Carol Molnau (R) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | Norm Coleman (R) Amy Klobuchar (DFL) | ||||||||||
| Congressional Delegation | List | ||||||||||
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | MN US-MN | ||||||||||
| Website | www.state.mn.us | ||||||||||
Minnesota welcome sign
Minnesota (pronounced /ˌmɪnɨˈsoʊtə/)Minnesota - Definitions from Dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-04. is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. The 12th-largest state by area in the U.S., it is the 21st most populous, with just over five million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858. The state is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", and those lakes and the other waters for which the state is named, together with state and national forests and parks, offer residents and tourists a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.
Nearly 60% of Minnesota\'s residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area known as the Twin Cities, the center of transportation, business, and industry, and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state, often referred to as "Greater Minnesota" or "Outstate Minnesota", consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; eastern deciduous forests, also heavily farmed and settled; and the less populated northern boreal forest. The state\'s image of being populated by whites of Nordic and German descent has some truth, but diversity is increasing; substantial influxes of African, Asian, and Latin American immigrants have joined the descendants of European immigrants and of the original Native American inhabitants.
The extremes of the climate contrast with the moderation of Minnesota’s people. The state is known for its moderate-to- progressive politics and social policies, its civic involvement, and high voter turnout. It ranks among the healthiest states by a number of measures, and has one of the most highly educated and literate populations.
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The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota language name for the Minnesota River: Mnisota. The root Mni (also spelled mini or minne) means, "water". Mnisota can be translated as sky-tinted water or somewhat clouded water.Minnesota State. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved on 2006-06-29.Minnesota definition. Dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-06. Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mnisota. Many locations in the state have similar names, such as Minnehaha Falls ("waterfall"), Minneiska ("white water"), Minnetonka ("big water"), Minnetrista ("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, which is a combination of mni and polis, the Greek word for "city." Minnehaha Creek. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
Minnesota, showing roads and major bodies of water
Minnesota is the northernmost state outside of Alaska; its isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods is the only part of the 48 contiguous states lying north of the 49th Parallel. Minnesota is in the U.S. region known as the Upper Midwest. The state shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and Wisconsin on the northeast; the remainder of the eastern border is with Wisconsin. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota are west, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba are north. With 87,014 square miles (225,365 km²), or approximately 2.25% of the United States, Facts and figures. infoplease.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-22. Minnesota is the 12th largest state.Land and Water Area of States, 2000. Information Please (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
Tilted beds of the Middle Precambrian Thompson Formation in Jay Cooke State Park.Ojakangas, Richard W.; Charles L. Matsch (1982). Minnesota\'s Geology, Illus. Dan Breedy, Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0953-5.
Minnesota contains some of the oldest rocks found on earth, gneisses some 3.6 billion years old, or 80% as old as the planet.Geologic Time: Age of the Earth. United States Geological Survey (October 9 1997). Retrieved on 2007-03-27. About 2.7 billion years ago, basaltic lava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean; the remains of this volcanic rock formed the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota.Breining, Greg (December 2005). Compass American Guides: Minnesota, 3rd Edition, 3rd, Compass American Guides. ISBN 1-4000-1484-0. The roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Following a period of volcanism 1.1 billion years ago, Minnesota\'s geological activity has been more subdued, with no volcanism or mountain formation, but with repeated incursions of the sea which left behind multiple strata of sedimentary rock.
In more recent times, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its current terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago. These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. This area is known as the Driftless Zone for its absence of glacial drift.Natural history - Minnesota\'s geology. Minnesota DNR. Retrieved on 2006-10-17. Much of the remainder of the state outside of the northeast has 50 feet (15 m) or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. 13,000 years ago gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest; the lake\'s outflow, the glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the Minnesota River, and its bottom created the fertile lands of the Red River valley. Minnesota is geologically quiet today; it experiences earthquakes infrequently, and most of them are minor.Table Showing Minnesota Earthquakes. University of Minnesota, Morris. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
Palisade Head on Lake Superior formed from a Precambrian rhyolitic lava flow.
The state\'s high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet (701 m), which is only 13 miles (20.9 km) away from the low of 602 feet (183 m) at the shore of Lake Superior.Minnesota Map Collection - State, City, Road, County, River, Lake. geology.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a gently rolling peneplain.
Two continental divides meet in the northeastern part of Minnesota in rural Hibbing, forming a triple watershed. Precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico, the St. Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean.Continental Divides in North Dakota and North America. National Atlas. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
The state\'s nickname, The Land of 10,000 Lakes, is no exaggeration; there are 11,842 lakes over 10 acres (.04 km²) in size.Lakes, rivers & wetlands. MN Facts. Minnesota DNR (2003). Retrieved on 2006-09-16. The Minnesota portion of Lake Superior is the largest at 962,700 acres (3,896 km²) and deepest (at 1,290 ft, 393 m) body of water in the state. Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for 69,000 miles (111,000 km). The Mississippi River begins its journey from its headwaters at Lake Itasca and crosses the Iowa border 680 miles (1,094 km) downstream. It is joined by the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling, by the St. Croix River near Hastings, by the Chippewa River at Wabasha, and by many smaller streams. The Red River, in the bed of glacial Lake Agassiz, drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada\'s Hudson Bay. Approximately 10.6 million acres (42,900 km²) of wetlands are contained within Minnesota\'s borders, the most of any state except Alaska.Seely, Mark (2006). Minnesota Weather Almanac. Minnesota Historical Society press. ISBN 0-87351-554-4.
A groundhog seen in Minneapolis, along the banks of the Mississippi River
Three of North America\'s biomes converge in Minnesota: prairie grasslands in the southwestern and western parts of the state, the Big Woods deciduous forest of the southeast and east-central, and the northern boreal forest.Biomes of Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved on 2006-11-13. The northern coniferous forests are a vast wilderness of pine and spruce trees mixed with patchy stands of birch and poplar. Much of Minnesota\'s northern forest has been logged, leaving only a few patches of old growth forest today in areas such as in the Chippewa National Forest and the Superior National Forest where the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has some 400,000 acres (1,600 km²) of unlogged land.Heinselman, Miron (1996). The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-2805-X. Although logging continues, regrowth keeps about one third of the state forested.Bewer, Tim (2004). Moon Handbooks Minnesota, First edition, Avalon Travel Publishing. ISBN 1-56691-482-5. Nearly all of Minnesota\'s prairies and oak savannas have been destroyed or fragmented because of farming, grazing, logging, and suburban development.Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition (NA0415). Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund (2001). Retrieved on 2008-01-28.While loss of habitat has affected native animals such as the pine marten, elk, and bison,Bison disappeared in the mid 1800s; the last bison was reported in southwest Minnesota in 1879. Moyle, J. B. (1965). Big Game in Minnesota, Technical Bulletin, no. 9. Minnesota Department of Conservation, Division of Game and Fish, Section of Research and Planning, p. 172. As referenced in Anfinson, Scott F. (1997). Southwestern Minnesota Archaeology. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society, p. 20. ISBN 0-87351-355-X. whitetail deer and bobcat thrive. The state has the nation\'s largest population of timber wolves outside Alaska,Comprehensive Report Species - Canis lupus. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
and supports healthy populations of black bear and moose. Located on the Mississippi Flyway, Minnesota hosts migratory waterfowl such as geese and ducks, and game birds such as grouse, pheasants, and turkeys. It is home to birds of prey including the bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, and snowy owl. The lakes teem with the sport fish such as walleye, bass, muskellunge, and northern pike, and streams in the southeast are populated by brook, brown, and rainbow trout.
Pose Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Minnesota is home to a variety of wilderness, park, and other open spaces. Minnesota\'s first state park, Itasca State Park, was established in 1891, and is the source of the Mississippi River.Itasca State Park. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved on 2006-11-13. Today Minnesota has 72 state parks and recreation areas, 58 state forests covering about four million acres (16,000 km²), and numerous state wildlife preserves, all managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. There are 5.5 million acres (22,000 km²) in the Chippewa and Superior National Forests. The Superior National Forest in the northeast contains the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which encompasses over a million acres (4,000 km²) and a thousand lakes. To its west is Voyageurs National Park. A second national park, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), was created by Congress in 1988. This 72 miles (116 km) corridor along the Mississippi River stretches from the cities of Ramsey and Dayton to the north through Minneapolis to just south of Hastings.Places To Go. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
Map of Minnesota Territory 1849–1858
Before European settlement, Minnesota was populated by the Anishinaabe, the Dakota, and other Native Americans. The first Europeans were French fur traders that arrived in the 1600s. Late that century, the Ojibwe Indians migrated westward to Minnesota, causing tensions with the Sioux.TimePieces. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved on 2006-09-19. Explorers such as Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, Father Louis Hennepin, Jonathan Carver, Henry Schoolcraft, and Joseph Nicollet, among others, mapped out the state.
The portion of the state east of the Mississippi River became a part of the United States at the end of the American Revolutionary War, when the Second Treaty of Paris was signed. Land west of the Mississippi River was acquired with the Louisiana Purchase, although a portion of the Red River Valley was disputed until the Treaty of 1818. In 1805, Zebulon Pike bargained with Native Americans to acquire land at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. The construction of Fort Snelling followed between 1819 and 1825.Gilman, Rhoda R. (1991-07-01). The Story of Minnesota\'s Past. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87351-267-7. Its soldiers built a grist mill and a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls, the first of the water-powered industries around which the city of Minneapolis later grew. Meanwhile, squatters, government officials, and tourists had settled near the fort. In 1839, the Army forced them to move downriver, and they settled in the area that became St. Paul.Historic Fort Snelling. Minnesota Historical Society Press. Retrieved on 2006-07-06. Minnesota Territory was formed on March 3, 1849. Thousands of people had come to build farms and cut timber, and Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858.
Fort Snelling played a pivotal role in Minnesota\'s history and in the development of the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Treaties between whites and the Dakota and Ojibwe gradually forced the natives off their lands and onto smaller reservations. As conditions deteriorated for the Dakota, tensions rose, leading to the Dakota War of 1862. The result of the six-week war was the execution of 38 Dakota—the largest mass execution in United States history—and the exile of most of the rest of the Dakota to the Crow Creek Reservation in Nebraska.Lass, William E. [1977] (1998). Minnesota: A History, 2nd, New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04628-1.
Logging and farming were mainstays of Minnesota\'s early economy. The sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls, and logging centers like Marine on St. Croix, Stillwater, and Winona, processed high volumes of lumber. These cities were situated on rivers that were ideal for transportation. Later, Saint Anthony Falls was tapped to provide power for flour mills. Innovations by Minneapolis millers led to the production of Minnesota "patent" flour, which commanded almost double the price of "bakers" or "clear" flour, which it replaced.Hazen, Theodore R.. New Process Milling of 1850–70. Pond Lily Mill Restorations. Retrieved on 2007-05-11. By 1900, Minnesota mills, led by Pillsbury and the Washburn-Crosby Company (a forerunner of General Mills), were grinding 14.1% of the nation\'s grain.Danbom, David B. (Spring 2003). "Flour Power: The Significance of Flour Milling at the Falls". Minnesota History 58 (5): 271–285.
The state\'s iron-mining industry was established with the discovery of iron in the Vermilion Range and the Mesabi Range in the 1880s, and in the Cuyuna Range in the early 1900s. The ore was shipped by rail to Two Harbors and Duluth, then loaded onto ships and transported eastward over the Great Lakes.
Industrial development and the rise of manufacturing caused the population to shift gradually from rural areas to cities during the early 1900s. Nevertheless, farming remained prevalent. Minnesota\'s economy was hard-hit by the Great Depression, resulting in lower prices for farmers, layoffs among iron miners, and labor unrest. Compounding the adversity, western Minnesota and the Dakotas were hit by drought from 1931 to 1935. New Deal programs provided some economic turnaround. The Civilian Conservation Corps and other programs around the state established some jobs for Indians on their reservations, and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 provided the tribes with a mechanism of self-government. This provided natives a greater voice within the state, and promoted more respect for tribal customs because religious ceremonies and native languages were no longer suppressed.
After World War II, industrial development quickened. New technology increased farm productivity through automation of feedlots for hogs and cattle, machine milking at dairy farms, and raising chickens in large buildings. Planting became more specialized with hybridization of corn and wheat, and the use of farm machinery such as tractors and combines became the norm. University of Minnesota professor Norman Borlaug contributed to these developments as part of the Green Revolution. Suburban development accelerated due to increased postwar housing demand and convenient transportation. Increased mobility, in turn, enabled more specialized jobs.
Minnesota became a center of technology after the war. Engineering Research Associates was formed in 1946 to develop computers for the United States Navy. It later merged with Remington Rand, and then became Sperry Rand. William Norris left Sperry in 1957 to form Control Data Corporation (CDC).Engineering Research Associates Records 1946–1959. Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. Cray Research was formed when Seymour Cray left CDC to form his own company. Medical device maker Medtronic also started business in the Twin Cities in 1949.
On August 1, 2007, Minnesota had the international spotlight cast on it when the I-35W bridge spanning the Mississippi river collapsed, killing 13.
National Farmers Bank in Owatonna by Louis Sullivan
Saint Paul, located in east-central Minnesota along the banks of the Mississippi River, has been Minnesota\'s capital city since 1849, first as capital of the Territory of Minnesota, and then as state capital since 1858.
Saint Paul is adjacent to Minnesota\'s most populous city, Minneapolis; they and their suburbs are known collectively as the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the 16th largest metropolitan area in the United States and home to about 60% of the state\'s population (as of April 2005).Population in Metropolitan Statistical Areas Ranked by 2000 Census (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-08-16.Population Estimates. Minnesota Demographic Center. Retrieved on 2006-09-07. The remainder of the state is known as "Greater Minnesota" or "Outstate Minnesota".
Minnesota has 17 cities with populations above fifty thousand (based on 2005 estimates). In descending order they are Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Bloomington, Plymouth, Brooklyn Park, Eagan, Coon Rapids, St. Cloud, Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Woodbury, Blaine, Lakeville, and Minnetonka. Of these listed, only Rochester, Duluth, and St. Cloud are outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Minnesota\'s population continues to grow, primarily in the urban centers. The populations of metropolitan Sherburne and Scott Counties doubled between 1980 and 2000, while 40 of the state\'s 87 counties lost residents over the same decades.Environmental Information Report, App. D Socioeconomic Information (PDF). Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (2003-05-30). Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
From fewer than 6,100 people in 1850, Minnesota\'s population grew to over 1.75 million by 1900. Each of the next six decades saw a 15% rise in population, reaching 3.41 million in 1960. Growth then slowed, rising 11% to 3.8 million in 1970, and an average of 9% over the next three decades to 4.91 million in the 2000 census. As of July 1, 2007, the state\'s population was estimated at 5,197,621 by the U.S. Census Bureau.Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007 (NST-EST2007-01). Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau (December 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-12. The rate of population change, and age and gender distributions, approximate the national average. Minnesota\'s growing minority groups, however, still form a significantly smaller proportion of the population than in the nation as a whole.Minnesota QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. The center of population of Minnesota is located in Hennepin County, in the city of Rogers.statecenters. U.S. Census Bureau (2000). Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
Over 75% of Minnesota\'s residents are of Western European descent, with the largest reported ancestries being German (39%), Norwegian (17.2%), Irish (11.9%), and Swedish (9.6%).Minnesota - Selected Social Characteristics. U.S. Census Bureau (2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-12. As of 2005, 6.3% of residents were foreign-born, compared to 12.4% for the nation.National Selected Social Characteristics. U.S. Census Bureau (2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-12. The state has had the reputation of being relatively homogeneous, but that is changing. The Hispanic population of Minnesota is increasing rapidly,Minnesota Population Projections by Race and Hispanic Origin (PDF). Minnesota Department of Administration (2004). Retrieved on 2006-08-14. and recent immigrants have come from all over the world, including Hmong, Modern Language Ass\'n List of Hmong Language speakers by State using 2000 census data. Modern Language Association (2004). Retrieved on 2007-03-28. Somalis, Vietnamese, Indians and emigrants from the former Soviet bloc.
The French Renaissance style Cathedral of St. Paul in the city of St. Paul.
The state\'s racial composition in 2005 was:State Population Estimates by Selected Race Categories: July 1, 2005. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
Although Christianity dominates the religious persuasion of residents, there is a long history of non-Christian faith. German-Jewish pioneers formed Saint Paul\'s first synagogue in 1856,Gilman, Rhonda R. (1989). The Story of Minnesota\'s Past. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 99. ISBN 0-87351-267-7. and there are now appreciable numbers of adherents to Islam, Buddhism, and other traditions. But Protestantism is adhered to by the majority of Minnesotans, and Roman Catholics are the largest single denomination. A 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 32% of Minnesotans were affiliated with Protestant traditions, 21% with Evangelical Protestants, 28% with Roman Catholic, 1% each with Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Black Protestant traditions, smaller amounts for other faiths, and 13% unaffiliated.Religious Composition of Minnesota. Maps, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Pew Research Center (2008-02-25). Retrieved on 2008-02-26. This is broadly consistent with the results of the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, which also gives detail on percentages of many individual denominations.American Religious Identification Survey. Exhibit 15. The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.
Once primarily a producer of raw materials, Minnesota\'s economy has transformed in the last 200 years to emphasize finished products and services. Perhaps the most significant characteristic of the economy is its diversity; the relative outputs of its business sectors closely match the United States as a whole.Environmental Information Report, App. D Socioeconomic Information (PDF) (2003-05-30). Retrieved on 2006-11-19. The economy of Minnesota had a gross domestic product of $234 billion in 2005.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2006-10-26). Retrieved on 2006-11-13. Thirty-six of the United States\' top 1,000 publicly traded companies (by revenue in 2006) are headquartered in Minnesota,FORTUNE 500 2006: States. CNN Money. Retrieved on 2006-11-14. including Target, UnitedHealth Group, 3M, Medtronic, General Mills, U.S. Bancorp, and Best Buy. The second-largest privately owned U.S. company, Cargill, is headquartered in Wayzata.Hoover\'s via Yahoo! Finance (2007). Cargill, Incorporated Company Profile. Retrieved on 2007-05-31. The per capita income in 2005 was $37,290, the tenth-highest in the nation.Regional Economic Accounts. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved on 2007-05-12. The three-year median household income from 2002-2004 was $55,914, ranking fifth in the U.S. and first among the 36 states not on the Atlantic coast.United States and States - R2001. Median Household Income. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-08-05. Minnesota\'s state budget is currently facing a $935 million deficit.Debt now, debt later: Minnesota\'s declining economy wreaks havoc on state budgetState faces 935 million questions on deficit
The IDS Tower, designed by Philip Johnson and the state\'s second tallest building, reflecting César Pelli\'s Art Deco-style Wells Fargo Center
Minnesota\'s earliest industries were fur trading and agriculture; the city of Minneapolis grew around the flour mills powered by St. Anthony Falls. Although less than 1% of the population is employed in the agricultural sector,Minnesota - DP-3. Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics: 2000. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. it remains a major part of the state\'s economy, ranking 6th in the nation in the value of products sold.Census of Agriculture, Minnesota State Profile. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved on 2006-12-03. The state is the U.S.\'s largest producer of sugar beets, sweet corn, and green peas for processing, and farm-raised turkeys.Wealth of Resources. Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. Forestry remains strong, including logging, pulpwood processing and paper production, and forest products manufacturing. Minnesota was famous for its soft-ore mines, which produced a significant portion of the world\'s iron ore for over a century. Although the high-grade ore is now depleted, taconite mining continues, using processes developed locally to save the industry. In 2004, the state produced 75% of the country\'s usable iron ore. The mining boom created the port of Duluth which continues to be important for shipping ore, coal, and agricultural products. The manufacturing sector now includes technology and biomedical firms in addition to the older food processors and heavy industry. The nation\'s first indoor shopping mall was Edina\'s Southdale Center and its largest is Bloomington\'s Mall of America.
The state produces ethanol fuel and is the first to mandate its use, a 10% mix (E10) since 1997,Ethanol Producer Magazine. Ethanol Producer Magazine. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. and a 20% mix (E20) in 2013.2005 Senate Bill 4 (Ethanol Mandate Increase). Minnesota Votes. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. There are more than 310 service stations supplying E85 fuel.The complete list of Minnesota E85 fuel Sites. Minnesota Department of Commerce. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. A 2% biodiesel blend has been required in diesel fuel since 2005. As of December 2006 the state was the country\'s fourth-largest producer of wind power, with 895 megawatts installed and another 200 megawatts planned, much of it on the windy Buffalo Ridge in the southwest part of the state.Wind Energy Projects Throughout the United States of America. The American Wind Energy Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
Minnesota has a slightly progressive income tax structure; the three brackets of state income tax rates are 5.35%, 7.05% and 7.85%.Minnesota income tax rates for 2005/2006. Minnesota Department of Revenue. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. Minnesota is ranked as the 6th highest in the nation for per capita total state taxes.States Ranked by Total State Taxes and Per Capita Amount: 2005. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-03-31. The sales tax in Minnesota is 6.5%, but there is no sales tax on clothing, prescription medications, some services, or food items for home consumption.Minnesota Sales and Use Tax Instruction Book, Minnesota Department of Revenue, December 2007, <http://taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/sales/instructions/st_bk07.pdf>. Retrieved on 24 February 2008. The state legislature may allow municipalities to institute local sales taxes and special local taxes, such as the 0.5% supplemental sales tax in Minneapolis.Local Sales Tax and Use (PDF). Minnesota Department of Revenue. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. Excise taxes are levied on alcohol, tobacco, and motor fuel. The state imposes a use tax on items purchased elsewhere but used within Minnesota. Owners of real property in Minnesota pay property tax to their county, municipality, school district, and special taxing districts.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts\' Beaux-Arts north facade, designed by McKim, Mead, and White.
Minnesota\'s major fine art museums include the Weisman Art Museum, the Walker Art Center, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra are full-time professional musical ensembles that perform concerts and offer educational programs to the community. Attendance at theatrical, musical, and comedy events in the area is strong, which may be attributed to the cold winters, the large population of post-secondary students, and a generally vibrant economy.[citation needed] The Guthrie Theater moved into a new building in 2006, boasting three stages and overlooking the Mississippi River. In the U.S., the Twin Cities\' number of theater seats per capita ranks behind only New York City;Gopher Express. Coffman Info Desk. Regents of the University of Minnesota (2006-10-12). Retrieved on 2007-05-06. with some 2.3 million theater tickets sold annually.Royce, Graydon Royce. "New Guthrie casts a huge shadow over theater scene", Minneapolis Star-Tribune via SavetheGuthrie.org, 2006-04-01. Retrieved on 2007-05-06. The Minneapolis Fringe Festival is an annual celebration of theatre, dance, improvisation, puppetry, kids\' shows, visual art, and musicals. The summer festival consists of over 800 performances in 11 days, and is the largest non-juried performing arts festival in the United States.How to fringe. Fresh Art Delivered Daily. Minnesota Fringe Festival (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-22.The rigors and rewards of pioneer life on the prairie were the subject of Giants in the Earth by Ole Rolvaag and of the Little House series of children\'s books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Small-town life was savaged by Sinclair Lewis in the novel Main Street, and more gently and affectionately satirized by Garrison Keillor in his tales of Lake Wobegon. St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote of the social insecurities and aspirations of the young city in stories such as Winter Dreams and The Ice Palace (published in Flappers and Philosophers). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow\'s famous epic poem The Song of Hiawatha was inspired by Minnesota and many places and bodies of water in the state are named in the poem.
First Avenue nightclub, the heart of Minnesota\'s music community.Page 190
Minnesotan musicians of many genres include soul star Prince, harmony singers The Andrews Sisters, rockabilly star Eddie Cochran, folk musician Bob Dylan, garage rock band The Castaways, pop songwriters Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jonny Lang, and Soul Asylum. Minnesota has also produced cult favorites such as Hüsker Dü and The Replacements.Page 190
Minnesotans have made significant contributions to comedy, theater, and film. Ole and Lena jokes are best appreciated when delivered in the accent of Scandinavian Americans. Garrison Keillor is known around the country for resurrecting old-style radio comedy with A Prairie Home Companion, which has aired since the 1970s.Page 21 Local television had the satirical show The Bedtime Nooz in the 1960s, while area natives Lizz Winstead and Craig Kilborn helped create the increasingly influential Daily Show decades later. Actors from the state include Richard Dean Anderson, Eddie Albert, Judy Garland, Jessica Lange, Winona Ryder, Vince Vaughn, Josh Hartnett, Jessica Biel, Melissa Peterman, and Jonny Lang. Joel and Ethan Coen, Terry Gilliam and Mike Todd contributed to the art of film, and others brought the offbeat cult shows Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Let\'s Bowl to national
