in French; meaning "The Star of the North", it was adopted shortly after statehood and reflects both the state's early French explorers and its position as the northernmost state in the contiguous U.S.
As part of the
labor rights, women's suffrage, and political reform.[11] Minnesota is considered Democratic-leaning, having voted for every Democratic presidential nominee since 1976, longer than any other U.S. state.[12]
Since the late 20th century, the core of Minnesota's economy has diversified, shifting from traditional industries such as agriculture and resource extraction to services, finance, and health care; it is consequently one of the richest in terms of GDP and per capita income. The state is home to 11 federally recognized
Scandinavian and German cultures with an influence of Lutheranism. In more recent decades, Minnesota has become more multicultural, driven by both larger domestic migration and immigration from Latin America, Asia, the Horn of Africa, and the Middle East; the state has the nation's largest population of Somali Americans and second largest Hmong population.[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
The word Minnesota comes from the
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").[21]
grist mill and a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls, which were harbingers of the water-powered industries around which Minneapolis later grew. Meanwhile, squatters, government officials, and others had settled near the fort; in 1839 the army forced them off military lands, and most moved downriver, just outside the military reservation, to the area that became St. Paul.[27]
Minnesota was part of several territorial organizations between acquisition and statehood. From 1812 to 1821 it was part of the
Territory of Iowa. Minnesota east of the Mississippi was part of Wisconsin until 1848. When Iowa gained statehood western Minnesota was in an Unorganized Territory again. Minnesota Territory was formed on March 3, 1849. The first territorial legislature, held on September 2, 1849,[28] was dominated by men of New England ancestry.[29] Thousands of pioneers had come to create farms and cut timber. Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858. The founding population was so overwhelmingly of New England origins that the state was dubbed "the New England of the West".[30][31][32][33]
Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey subsequently declared that "the Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state"[37] and placed a bounty of $25/scalp on the heads of the eastern Dakota men. Over 1,600 eastern Dakota women, children, and elderly walked from the Lower Sioux Agency to Fort Snelling to be held until the spring thaw allowed riverboats to take them out of Minnesota to Crow Creek Indian Reservation.[38]William Crooks, commander of 6th Minnesota, had a palisade erected around the encampment on Pike Island, just below the fort, to protect native people from the soldiers and settlers.[39] Conditions there were poor and between 125 and 300 died of disease.[40][41] Around 400 Dakota men were tried after the war. 303 were sentenced to death, but Abraham Lincoln reviewed the convictions and approved 39 of the death sentences. In December 1862, 38 of them were hanged.[25]
In early 1863, Ramsey resigned as governor to become the Federal
Indian Commissioner. His successor, Governor Henry Swift, raised the bounty to $200/scalp. A total of $325 was paid out to four people collecting bounties, including for Little Crow who was killed in July 1863.[41] Upon becoming Indian Commissioner, Ramsey set out to get Ojibwe lands too. In 1863 he negotiated the Treaty of Old Crossing
, whereby the Ojibwe ceded all their land in northern Minnesota and moved to reservations.
Logging, farming, and railroads were mainstays of Minnesota's early economy. The sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls and logging centers of
Pillsbury, Northwestern, and the Washburn-Crosby Company (an ancestor of General Mills), were grinding 14.1% of the nation's grain.[43]
The state's iron-mining industry was established with the discovery of iron in the Vermilion and Mesabi ranges in the 1880s, followed by the Cuyuna Range in the early 1900s. The ore went by rail to Duluth and Two Harbors for ship transport east via the Great Lakes.[25]
Industrial development and the rise of manufacturing caused the population to shift gradually from rural areas to cities during the early 20th century. Nevertheless, farming remained prevalent. Minnesota's economy was hit hard by the
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 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.[26]Suburban development accelerated due to increased postwar housing demand and convenient transportation. Increased mobility in turn enabled more specialized jobs.[26]
Minnesota became a center of technology after World War II.
Minnesota has some of the earth's oldest rocks, gneisses that are about 3.6billion years old (80% as old as the planet).[48][49] About 2.7billion years ago basalticlava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean; the remains of this volcanic rock formed the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota.[48][50] The roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Since a period of volcanism 1.1billion years ago, Minnesota's geological activity has been more subdued, with no volcanism or mountain formation, but with repeated incursions of the sea, which left behind multiple strata of sedimentary rock.[48]
In
glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago. Its flatbed now is the fertile Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the Minnesota River and the Upper Mississippi downstream from Fort Snelling.[48] Minnesota is geologically quiet today; it experiences earthquakes infrequently, most of them minor.[52]
The state's high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet (701m), which is only 13 miles (21 km) away from the low point of 601 feet (183m) at the shore of Lake Superior.[50][53] Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a gently rolling peneplain.[48]
The state's nickname "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is apt, as there are 11,842
Wabasha, and by many smaller streams. The Red River drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada's Hudson Bay. Approximately 10.6 million acres (4,300,000 ha; 43,000 km2) of wetlands are within Minnesota's borders, the most of any state outside Alaska.[56]
Minnesota has four ecological provinces: prairie parkland, in the southwestern and western parts of the state; the eastern broadleaf forest (Big Woods) in the southeast, extending in a narrowing strip to the state's northwestern part, where it transitions into tallgrass aspen parkland; and the northern Laurentian mixed forest, a transitional forest between the northern boreal forest and the broadleaf forests to the south.[57] These northern 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 undergone logging, leaving only a few patches of
Minnesota experiences temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. The lowest temperature recorded was −60 °F (−51 °C) at Tower on February 2, 1996, and the highest was 114 °F (46 °C) at Moorhead on July 6, 1936.[64] Meteorological events include rain, snow, blizzards, thunderstorms, hail, derechos, tornadoes, and high-velocity straight-line winds. The growing season varies from 90 days in the far northeast to 160 days in southeast Minnesota near the Mississippi River, and average temperatures range from 37 to 49 °F (3 to 9 °C).[65] Average summer dewpoints range from about 58 °F (14 °C) in the south to about 48 °F (9 °C) in the north.[65][66] Average annual precipitation ranges from 19 to 35 inches (48 to 89 cm), and droughts occur every 10 to 50 years.[65]
Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Minnesota[67]
Of these, only Rochester, Duluth, and Saint Cloud are outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Minnesota's population continues to grow, primarily in the urban centers. The populations of metropolitan Sherburne and Scott counties doubled between 1980 and 2000, while 40 of the state's 87 counties lost residents over the same period.[73]
Map of counties in Minnesota by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Legend
Non-Hispanic White
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Native American
50–60%
From fewer than 6,120 white settlers in 1850, Minnesota's enumerated population grew to over 1.7million by 1900 and 3.4million by 1960. Growth then slowed, rising 11% to 3.8million in 1970, and an average of 9% over the next three decades to 4.9million in the
At the 2022 estimate Minnesota's population at 5,717,184 on July 1, 2022, a 0.19% increase since the 2020 United States census.[76] The rate of population change, and age and gender distributions, approximate the national average. Minnesota's center of population is in Hennepin County.[77]
At the
2010 census Minnesota's population was 5,303,925. The gender makeup of the state was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. 24.2% of the population was under age 18; 9.5% between 18 and 24; 26.3% from 25 to 44; 27.1% from 45 to 64; and 12.9% 65 or older.[78]
English (5.4%).[83] Minnesota was also a major destination for a wave of Finnish immigrants in the early 20th century, along with Wisconsin and Michigan.[84] Among U.S. states, Minnesota has the highest number of Finnish-Americans, 100,545 as of 2019.[85]
In 2011 non-Hispanic whites accounted for 72.3% of all births,[86] but Minnesota's growing minority groups still form a smaller percentage of the population than in the nation as a whole.[87]
Minnesota has the country's largest Somali population,[88] with an estimated 57,000 people, the largest concentration outside of the Horn of Africa.[89]
American Religious Identification Survey, which also gives detailed percentages for many individual denominations.[92] The international Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference is headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota.[93]
In a 2020 study by the Association of Religion Data Archives, Catholics remained the largest Christian denomination by adherents, along with the Evangelical Lutherans. Non-denominational Protestants increased to form the third-largest group of Christians in the state, with 167,891 adherents.[94] In 2022, the Public Religion Research Institute estimated 43% were Protestant, 25% Catholic, and 2% Jehovah's Witness and Mormon. Altogether, Christians represented 70% of the religiously affiliated population.[95]
Although
Temple of ECK, the spiritual home of Eckankar, is based in Minnesota.[98]
Additionally, in 2022, 27% were religiously unaffiliated.
Religious affiliation in Minnesota by movement (2014)[99]
Once primarily a producer of raw materials, Minnesota's economy has transformed to emphasize finished products and services. Perhaps the most significant characteristic of the economy is its diversity; the relative outputs of its business sectors closely match the United States as a whole.
E10).[112] In 2019 there were more than 411 service stations supplying E85 fuel, comprising 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.[113] A 2% biodiesel blend has been required in diesel fuel since 2005. Minnesota is ranked in the top ten for wind energy production. The state gets nearly one-fifth of all its electrical energy from wind.[114]
Xcel Energy is the state's largest utility and is headquartered in the state;[115] it is one of five investor-owned utilities.[116] There are also a number of municipal utilities.[116]
State taxes
Minnesota has a
progressive income tax structure; the four brackets of state income tax rates are 5.35%, 7.05%, 7.85%, and 9.85%.[117] As of 2008 Minnesota was ranked 12th in the nation in per capita total state and local taxes.[118] In 2008 Minnesotans paid 10.2% of their income in state and local taxes; the U.S. average was 9.7%.[118] The state sales tax in Minnesota is 6.875%, but clothing, prescription drug medications and food items for home consumption are exempt.[119] 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.[120]Excise taxes are levied on alcohol, tobacco, and motor fuel. The state imposes a use tax on items purchased elsewhere but used within Minnesota.[119] Owners of real property in Minnesota pay property tax
to their county, municipality, school district, and special taxing districts.
Minnesotans have low rates of premature death, infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, and occupational fatalities.[125][126] They have long life expectancies,[127] and high rates of health insurance and regular exercise.[125][128][129] These and other measures have led two groups to rank Minnesota as the healthiest state in the nation; however, in one of these rankings, Minnesota descended from first to sixth in the nation between 2005 and 2009 because of low levels of public health funding and the prevalence of binge drinking.[125][130] While overall health indicators are strong, Minnesota does have significant health disparities in minority populations.[131]
On October 1, 2007, the Freedom to Breathe Act took effect, outlawing smoking in restaurants and bars in Minnesota.[132]
U.S. News & World Report's 2020–21 survey ranked 4,554 hospitals in the country in 12 specialized fields of care, and placed the Mayo Clinic in the top four in most fields. The hospital ranked first on the best hospitals honor roll. The only specialty where it fell outside the top ten was ophthalmology.
One of the first acts of the Minnesota Legislature when it opened in 1858 was the creation of a
ACT exam.[141] In 2013, nationwide in per-student public education spending, Minnesota ranked 21st.[142] While Minnesota has chosen not to implement school vouchers,[143] it is home to the first charter school.[144]
The state supports a network of public universities and colleges, including 37 institutions in the
public transit.[147] There are nearly two dozen rail corridors in Minnesota, most of which go through Minneapolis–St. Paul or Duluth.[148] There is water transportation along the Mississippi River system and from the ports of Lake Superior.[149]
Minnesota is governed pursuant to the Minnesota Constitution, which was adopted on October 13, 1857, roughly one year before statehood.[153] Like all U.S. states and the federal government, Minnesota has a republican system of political representation with power divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.[154] The state constitution includes a bill of rights that reaffirms many of the same rights and freedoms as its federal counterpart, with some protected more strongly and explicitly.[153]
. The state has 67 districts, each with about 60,000 people. Each district has one senator and two representatives, each senatorial district being divided into A and B sections for members of the House. Senators serve for four years and representatives for two years.
Since 2023, both the House and Senate have had a slim DFL majority.[155]
Judiciary
Minnesota's court system has three levels. Most cases start in the
district courts, which are courts of general jurisdiction. There are 279 district court judgeships in ten judicial districts. Appeals from the trial courts and challenges to certain governmental decisions are heard by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, consisting of 19 judges who typically sit in three-judge panels. The seven-justice Minnesota Supreme Court hears all appeals from the tax court, the workers' compensation court of appeals, first-degree murder convictions, and discretionary appeals from the court of appeals; it also has original jurisdiction over election disputes.[156]
Two specialized courts within administrative agencies have been established: the workers' compensation court of appeals, and the tax court, which deals with non-criminal tax cases.
In addition to the city and county levels of government found in the United States, Minnesota has other entities that provide governmental oversight and planning.
The State of Minnesota was created by the United States federal government in the traditional and cultural range of lands occupied by the Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples as well as other Native American groups. After many years of unequal treaties and forced resettlement by the state and federal government, the tribes re-organized into sovereign tribal governments. Today, the tribal governments are divided into 11 semi-autonomous reservations that negotiate with the U.S. and the state on a bilateral basis:
The first six of the Anishinaabe bands compose the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, the collective federally recognized tribal government of the Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth reservations.
Hubert Humphrey brought national attention to the state with his address at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Minnesotans have consistently cast their Electoral College votes for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976, longer than any other state. Minnesota is the only state in the nation that did not vote for Ronald Reagan in either of his presidential campaigns. Minnesota has voted for the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since 1960, with the exception of 1972, when the state was won by Republican Richard Nixon.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties have major-party status in Minnesota, but its state-level Democratic party has a different name, officially known as the
Farmer-Labor
parties.
The state has had active third-party movements. The
governorship in 1998. The Independence Party has received enough support to keep major-party status. The Green Party, while no longer having major-party status, has a large presence in municipal government,[164]
notably in Minneapolis and Duluth, where it competes directly with the DFL party for local offices. Major-party status in Minnesota (which grants state funding for elections) is reserved for parties whose candidates receive five percent or more of the vote in any statewide election (e.g., governor, secretary of state, U.S. president).
The state's
Muslim elected to Congress nationwide.[165] In 2008, DFLer and former comedian and radio talk show host Al Franken defeated incumbent Republican Norm Coleman
in the U.S. Senate race by 312 votes out of three million cast.
In the 2010 election, Republicans took control of both chambers of the Minnesota legislature for the first time in 38 years and, with Mark Dayton's election, the DFL party took the governor's office for the first time in 20 years. Two years later, the DFL regained control of both houses, and with Dayton in office, the party had same-party control of both the legislative and executive branches for the first time since 1990. Two years later, the Republicans regained control of the Minnesota House,[166] and in 2016, the GOP also regained control of the State Senate.[167]
In 2018, the DFL retook control of the Minnesota House, while electing DFLer Tim Walz as Governor.
In a 2020 study, Minnesota was ranked as the 15th easiest state for citizens to vote in.[168]
Minnesota Independent. Weeklies including City Pages
and monthly publications such as Minnesota Monthly are available.
Two of the largest
public radio networks, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and Public Radio International (PRI), are based in the state. MPR has the largest audience of any regional public radio network in the nation, broadcasting on 46 radio stations as of 2019.[172][173] PRI weekly provides more than 400 hours of programming to almost 800 affiliates.[174] The state's oldest radio station, KUOM-AM, was launched in 1922 and is among the 10-oldest radio stations in the United States. The University of Minnesota-owned station is still on the air, and since 1993 broadcasts a college rock
format.
Sports, recreation and tourism
Minnesota has an active program of organized amateur and professional sports. Tourism has become an important industry, especially in the Lake region. In the North Country, what had been an industrial area focused on mining and timber has largely been transformed into a vacation destination. Popular interest in the environment and environmentalism, added to traditional interests in hunting and fishing, has attracted a large urban audience within driving range.[175]
The Minnesota Twins have played in the Major League Baseball in the Twin Cities since 1961. The Twins began play as the original Washington Senators, a founding member of the American League in 1901, relocating to Minnesota in 1961. The Twins won the 1987 and 1991 World Series in seven-game matches where the home team was victorious in all games. The Twins also advanced to the 1965 World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. The team has played at Target Field since 2010.
The
Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association played in the Minneapolis Auditorium from 1947 to 1960, after which they relocated to Los Angeles. The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in 1989, and have played in Target Center
Minnesota also has minor-league professional sports teams. The Minnesota Swarm of the National Lacrosse League played at the Xcel Energy Center until the team moved to Georgia in 2015. The St. Paul Saints, who play at CHS Field in St. Paul, are the Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
Minnesotans participate in high levels of physical activity,[181] and many of these activities are outdoors. The strong interest of Minnesotans in environmentalism has been attributed to the popularity of these pursuits.[182]
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^New Lakota dictionary. Lakota Language Consortium (2008).
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^"Mnisota". Dakota Dictionary Online. University of Minnesota Department of American Indian Studies. 2010. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
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^New England in the Life of the World: A Record of Adventure and Achievement By Howard Allen Bridgman page 112
^A Collection of Confusable Phrases By Yuri Dolgopolov page 309
^Minnesota: A History of the State By Theodore Christian Blegen page 202-203
^Sketches of Minnesota, the New England of the West. With incidents of travel in that territory during the summer of 1849. With a map by E. S. SEYMOUR page xii
^Northern Lights: The Stories of Minnesota's Past By Dave Kenney, Hillary Wackman, Nancy O'Brien Wagner page 94
^"Forced Marches & Imprisonment". The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Minnesota Historical Society. August 23, 2012. Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
^ abMinnesota Bounties On Dakota Men During The US-Dakota War, Hamline University, C. Rotel, 2013,[1]Archived September 22, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
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^"Places To Go". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
^Hibbs, James (November 1, 2016). "Analysis of the 2015 Population and Household Estimates"(Presentation). Demographic Reports and Analysis. Minnesota State Demographics Center. p. 2. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018. Minnesota's estimated population in 2015 is 5,485,238. Over half (54.8%) of Minnesota's population lives in the seven Twin Cities area counties that make up Region 11. The population of Region 11 has surpassed three million.
^"Greater Minnesota Refined and Revisited"(PDF). Minnesota State Demographics Center. State of Minnesota: Department of Administration. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
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^"How to fringe". Fresh Art Delivered Daily. Minnesota Fringe Festival. 2006. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
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