Minnesota (MN).

• Region: Upper Midwest
• Population: 5,717,184 (ranked 22nd; 2022 estimate)
• Capital: St. Paul (pop. 303,176; 2022 estimate)
• Largest city: Minneapolis (pop. 425,096; 2022 estimate)
• Number of counties: 87
• State nickname: North Star State; Gopher State; Land of 10,000 Lakes
• State motto: L’Etoile du nord (The North Star)
• State flag: Blue field with detail from state seal, name “Minnesota,” and nineteen stars

Minnesota—nicknamed the "North Star State," the "Gopher State," and the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"—entered the Union on May 11, 1858, as the thirty-second state. It is part of the Upper Midwest section of the United States. To the north are the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, to the east are Wisconsin and Lake Superior, to the west are North Dakota and South Dakota, and to the south is Iowa. Tourism, a major industry, focuses on Minnesota's natural beauty as well as on the urban attractions of "Twin Cities" Minneapolis–St. Paul. The state has produced a number of important national figures, particularly in the arts and politics—writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, musicians Bob Dylan and Prince, actor Jessica Lange, and former Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale are all Minnesota natives.

State Name: Minnesota takes its name from the Minnesota River, which in turn is believed to be derived from a Dakota word meaning "cloudy water" or "sky-tinted water"—a fitting name for the state known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Minnesota's other nicknames are the "North Star State" and the "Gopher State."

Capital: The capital of Minnesota is St. Paul. Its sister city, Minneapolis, is the state's largest. Together, they are known as the "Twin Cities."

Flag: The current Minnesota state flag was adopted in 1957. It has a royal blue union or background, with the state seal in the center. A wreath of showy lady's slipper, the state flower, runs around the state seal. The seal bears two figures—a farmer at his plow and a mounted Indian. Within the wreath are three important historic dates: 1858, when Minnesota entered the Union; 1819, when Fort Snelling was established; and 1893, when the state adopted its first official flag. Around the wreath are nineteen stars, because Minnesota was the nineteenth state to join the Union after the original thirteen states. The largest of the nineteen stars represents Minnesota, as well as the North Star (from which the state takes its nickname). Underneath the seal runs a red scroll with the state motto, the French phrase "L'étoile du nord" (Star of the North). The state's name appears beneath the seal.

Official Symbols

• Flower: Pink and white lady slipper
• Bird: Loon
• Tree: Red (Norway) pine
• Fish: Walleye
• Song: "Hail! Minnesota" by Truman E. Richard and Arthur E. Upson

State and National Historic Sites

• Birch Coulee Battlefield State Historic Site (Morton)
• Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site (Little Falls)
• Fort Ridgely State Park (Fairfax)
• Fort Snelling State Park (St. Paul)
• Grand Portage National Monument (Grand Portage)
• Lower Sioux Agency State Historic Site (Morton)
• Minnesota State Capitol (St. Paul)
• North West Fur Company State Historic Site (Pine City)
• Pipestone National Monument (Pipestone)

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Population: 5,717,184 (ranked 22nd; 2022 estimate)
• Population density: 71.7/sq mi (2020 estimate)
• Urban population: 71.9% (2020 estimate)
• Rural population: 28.1% (2020 estimate)
• Population under 18: 22.6% (2022 estimate)
• Population over 65: 17.4% (2022 estimate)
• White alone: 82.6% (2022 estimate)
• Black or African American alone: 7.6% (2022 estimate)
• Hispanic or Latino: 6.0% (2022 estimate)
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 1.4% (2022 estimate)
• Asian alone: 5.5% (2022 estimate)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1% (2022 estimate)
• Two or More Races: 2.8% (2022 estimate)
• Per capita income: $41,204 (ranked 11th; 2021)
• Unemployment: 2.7% (2022)

American Indians: The Dakota or Sioux were early settlers to what is now Minnesota. The Ojibwe (or Ojibwa) arrived later, in the late seventeenth century. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, French voyageurs or fur trappers had extensive commercial dealings with the American Indians. Relations were generally good between the French and the tribes, because France desired control of the fur trade rather than of the land itself. This situation changed when the United States gained control of the Old Northwest in 1783 and of the Louisiana Territory in 1804. Americans wanted the land for settlement and sought to remove the tribes farther westward.

The tone of future relations was established in 1805, when the US government first purchased land from American Indians in Minnesota. The Dakota had originally agreed to a price of $200,000, through negotiations with federal representative Lt. Zebulon Pike. Congress, however, eventually authorized a purchase price of only $2,000. Later treaties, from 1837 to 1855, greatly restricted the extent of reservation lands. In 1862, the Army put down the US-Dakota War, a six-week uprising caused in part by the government's broken promises. The US-tribal relationship changed in 1934, when Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act. This measure ended federal efforts to assimilate Indians into white culture and stopped the breaking up of reservation lands.

ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY

• Total area: 86,936 sq mi (ranked 12th)
• Land area: 79,604 sq mi (91.6% of total area)
• Water area: 7,311 sq mi (8.4% of total area)
• National parks: 5
• Highest point: Eagle Mountain (2,301 feet)
• Lowest point: Lake Superior (601 feet)
• Highest temperature: 115° F (Beardlsey, July 29, 1917)
• Lowest temperature: -60° F (Tower, February 2, 1996)

Topography: Minnesota is a mix of rolling hills, plains, and low mountains. The southern and western parts of the state, which border the Dakotas and Iowa, contain agricultural prairie land. The northern part of the state is heavily forested and contains a mix of plains and steep hills. Despite the state's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes," Minnesota has more than 11,000 lakes. There are also many rivers, part of three major systems: the Red River and Rainy River, which run into Canada's Hudson Bay); eastern waters such as the St. Louis and Pigeon Rivers, which feed into Lake Superior and the St. Lawrence River; and the Mississippi River, which has its headwaters in Minnesota and flows southward toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Major Lakes

• Cass Lake
• Lake of the Woods
• Lake Minnetonka
• Lake Saganaga
• Lake Superior
• Leech Lake
• Loon Lake
• Mille Lacs Lake
• Red Lake
• Ten Mile Lake
• Vermillion Lake
• Winnibigoshish Lake

Major Rivers

• Bigfork River
• Chippewa River
• Des Moines River
• Le Sueur River
• Long Prairie River
• Minnesota River
• Mississippi River
• Pomme de Terre River
• Snake River
• St. Croix River
• Tamarack River

State and National Parks: Minnesota, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," has five national parks and about seventy-five state parks and recreation areas, as well as more than 1,300 miles of state trails. The Lake Vermilion–Soudan Underground Mine State Park allows visitors to see how a mining operation works. Grand Portage State Park, near Lake Superior, preserves an American Indian trail that was created to allow travelers to bypass the falls near Pigeon River. At this location one also finds the Grand Portage National Monument. Large portions of Voyageurs National Park lack road access and are only accessible by boat; it is a popular destination for kayaking and canoeing.

Natural Resources: Minnesota's lakes, forests, and rich agricultural land are among its greatest resources. The state also possesses large quantities of iron ore, especially around Hibbing in the Mesabi Range. The nearby Hull-Rust-Mahoning mine is one of the world's largest open-pit mines.

Plants and Animals: Minnesota contains a vast abundance of wildlife, including many large game species that have become scarce or extinct elsewhere in the United States. Large mammals include black bear, white-tailed deer, and moose, as well as timberwolves. The bald eagle is also a resident. The state's rivers and 11,000-plus lakes are home to many species of game fish, including the trout, muskie (muskellunge), and walleye.

Climate: Minnesota has a humid continental climate, with long, snowy winters and hot summers. Winter temperatures average around 11 degrees Fahrenheit but can drop as low as –40 degrees Fahrenheit. Summer temperatures average around 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Each year, Minnesota typically receives between 36 and 70 inches of snow, with the former amount falling in the southwestern part of the state and the latter near Lake Superior. The state's average annual precipitation is just over 28 inches.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Major Colleges and Universities

• Bemidji State University (Bemidji)
• Bethel College (St. Paul)
• Carleton College (Northfield)
• College of Saint Benedict (St. Joseph)
• College of St. Scholastica (Duluth)
• Concordia University (St. Paul)
• Hamline University (St. Paul)
• Macalester College (St. Paul)
• Martin Luther College (New Ulm)
• Metropolitan State University (St. Paul)
• Minnesota State University, Mankato (Mankato)
• Minnesota State University Moorhead (Moorhead)
• North Central University (Minneapolis)
• Saint John's University (Collegeville)
• Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (Winona)
• St. Catherine University (St. Paul)
• St. Cloud State University (St. Cloud)
• Southwest Minnesota State University (Marshall)
• University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)
• University of St. Thomas (St. Paul)
• Winona State University (Winona)

Major Museums

• American Swedish Institute (Minneapolis)
• Bell Museum (Minneapolis)
• Lake Superior Marine Museum (Duluth)
• Minneapolis Institute of Art (Minneapolis)
• Minnesota History Center (St. Paul)
• Science Museum of Minnesota (St. Paul)
• Walker Art Center (Minneapolis)

Major Libraries

• Mayo Medical Library (Rochester)
• Minneapolis Central Library (Minneapolis)
• Minnesota Historical Society Library (St. Paul)
• Minnesota State Law Library (St. Paul)

Media

Important daily newspapers in Minnesota include the Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune and the Duluth News Tribune. Public broadcasting includes Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) in Minneapolis–St. Paul, and the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network is a nonprofit TV station based in St. Paul. Minnesota Public Radio, also based in St. Paul, produced the nationally popular radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion from 1974 to 2016. It was renamed Live from Here in 2016, and that show ran until 2020.

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Gross domestic product (in millions $USD): 446,499.5 (ranked 20th; 2022)
• GDP percent change: 1.2%

Major Industries: Minnesota is a major industrial state with a large manufacturing sector. The bioscience industry is also a major industry and employer. Throughout much of the early twenty-first century, Minnesota led the country in terms of medical patents. Agriculture (including forestry and fishing) is also important, though no longer the most important sector. The most important food crops include corn, sugar beets, oats, soybeans, wheat, and green peas. Livestock includes cattle and hogs. Minnesota regularly ranked first among all states in turkey production during the early twenty-first century, with farmers in the state raising as many as 42 million birds each year. Dairy is also a major agricultural sector.

The state's lumber and wood industry, symbolized by the legendary logger Paul Bunyan, remained an important manufacturing sector through the 2010s and 2020s. Other manufacturing includes high-tech, food processing, medical devices, vehicles, and chemicals. The state also has immense deposits of iron ore, including the lower-grade ore known as taconite. The mining of granite and gravel is also important.

Tourism: The tourist trade is also an important sector of Minnesota's economy. In a 2022 report, the state's tourism board noted that the industry generated about $15.7 billion in gross annual sales during 2021, a significant increase over figures in 2020 when the industry was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A major attraction is the natural beauty of Minnesota's lakes and other waterways and immense forests. Also popular with tourists are the cultural activities of the state's cities, particularly Duluth and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis–St. Paul, and various state historic sites.

Energy Production: Minnesota relies on natural gas, coal, and renewables such as wind and hydroelectric power as its main sources of energy, with petroleum and biomass as other sources. Wind is the state's largest source of renewable energy, accounting for three-quarters of the renewable energy generated in Minnesota in 2022. There are also two nuclear power plants, Monticello and Prairie Island, which accounted for about 24 percent of the state's net electricity generation in 2022. The state possesses oil refineries and several pipelines, but has no crude oil reserves or production.

Agriculture: Crop production focuses on corn, soybeans, wheat, and sugar beets. Livestock farmers raise cattle and hogs. Dairy is also a major agricultural sector.

Airports: Air travel is an important means of transportation in Minnesota, and the state has several international airports. The most important is Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport, one of the world's busiest airports. Other facilities include Rochester International Airport and Falls International Airport (International Falls). There are also several regional airports, such as the one at St. Cloud.

Seaports: The state has four Great Lakes ports, made up of thirty-four terminals. These are Duluth-Superior (the largest), Two Harbors, Taconite Harbor, and Silver Bay. Together, these ports handle more than 70 million tons of cargo annually. There are also ports on the Mississippi River, including the Port of Minneapolis and the Port of Saint Paul.

GOVERNMENT

• Governor: Tim Walz (Democrat)
• Present constitution date: October 13, 1857
• Electoral votes: 10
• Number of counties: 87
• Violent crime rate: 277.5 (per 100,000 residents) (2020 estimate)
• Death penalty: No (abolished in 1911)

Constitution: Minnesota's constitution was adopted in 1858, when the state entered the Union. In 1974, the state passed an amendment which modernized the constitution's nineteenth-century wording but did not change the meaning of the document.

Branches of Government

Executive: The governor of Minnesota, the state's highest executive officer, is elected to a four-year term and may serve more than once. The governor oversees the functions of the executive branch, proposes and vetoes legislation, makes appointments, and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The lieutenant governor assists the governor in administering the executive branch, undertaking whatever duties the governor may assign. The lieutenant governor acts in the governor's place in event of the incumbent's disability or removal from office. The other constitutional officers include the secretary of state, the attorney general, and the state auditor.

Legislative: The Minnesota legislature has two houses—the state senate (67 members) and the House of Representatives (134 members). Senators are elected for four-year terms, while representatives are elected for two-year terms.

Judicial: Minnesota's judicial branch has three levels: the supreme court, the court of appeals, and the trial courts. There are also two special courts to deal with tax issues and workers' compensation. The tax court and workers' compensation court of appeals are not part of the judicial system; rather, they are executive-branch agencies created by state law. The seven-member supreme court is the court of last resort and hears appeals from the court of appeals, the tax court, and the workers' compensation court of appeals.

HISTORY

1650 French cartographer Nicolas Sanson prints the first map to show all five Great Lakes, but Minnesota does not appear on the map.

Late 1650s The French explorers Radisson and Groseilliers, probably the first Europeans to explore Minnesota, reach the south shore of Lake Superior by canoe. There they encounter the Dakota tribe.

Late 1660s French missionary Claude-Jean Allouez explores the western and northern shores of Lake Superior.

1671 Claude-Jean Allouez publishes a map of his journeys in what is now Minnesota. That same year, France concludes a treaty with the northern Minnesota tribes, for fur-trading rights.

1679Daniel Greysolon, sieur du Lhut, claims the region now known as Minnesota for King Louis XIV of France. That same year, the Dakota and Ojibwe conclude a peace treaty through du Lhut's mediation. The Dakota had resented the arrival of the Ojibwe, who had migrated westward and become competitors.

1763 The French and Indian War ends in British victory. France cedes to Britain all territories east of the Mississippi River, as well as all lands in Canada. The northern and eastern portions of present-day Minnesota fall under British jurisdiction based on this arrangement. The remainder is under the control of Spain.

1783 The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution, and the British cede the "Old Northwest" region to the United States. This region, which the United States establishes as the Northwest Territory, includes the eastern part of current-day Minnesota.

1784 The British-owned North West Fur Co. is established, with its western headquarters at Grand Portage on Lake Superior. The location becomes a major trading post.

1787 Congress passes the Ordinance of 1787, or Northwest Ordinance, to govern the Northwest Territory, and to provide for admission of new states to the Union.

1800 Spain, under the influence of the French Emperor Napoleon, cedes the Louisiana Territory back to France.

1803 The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase includes the western part of current-day Minnesota. A year later, President Thomas Jefferson sends Lewis and Clark on their expedition to explore the new lands.

1805 The United States purchases land from the Dakota Indians of Minnesota. Lt. Zebulon Pike, the government's representative in the land deal, sets a price of $200,000 but Congress gives the tribe only $2,000.

1818 Britain cedes a narrow strip of Canadian land to the United States. This strip becomes the northern part of Minnesota when the territory is organized in 1849.

1819 The US Army builds Fort St. Anthony, later called Fort Snelling, to protect the frontier from American Indian attacks. This is the first White settlement in the region. The fort is named for Colonel Josiah Snelling, head of the Army's 5th Infantry Regiment. Major Lawrence Taliaferro become the federal government's American Indian agent at the fort.

1823 The steamboat Virginia becomes the first steamboat to reach Fort Snelling.

1837–55 The US government signs a number of treaties with the Dakota and Ojibwe tribes, by which the American Indians cede large amounts of land.

1849 Congress organizes the Minnesota Territory, which initially includes the lands later to become North and South Dakota.

1853 The Soo Ship Canal, begun in 1851, is completed at Sault Ste. Marie. Construction begins on the US Army's Fort Ridgely, near present-day Fairfax. The fort is intended to maintain peace between the settlers and the Dakota.

1857 A constitutional convention meets in St. Paul to draft a state constitution. Because of animosity between the Republican and Democratic delegations, the two parties meet in separate rooms of the territorial capitol. A conference committee prepares the final document, which is signed separately by each delegation.

1858 The US government decreases the size of the Dakota reservation lands in Minnesota, angering the tribe greatly. Minnesota enters the Union on May 11 as the thirty-second state.

1861–65 The Civil War. Minnesota strongly supports the Union cause and serves as a "breadbasket" to the US forces. Fort Snelling acts as a training center for Union volunteers. Dr. William W. Mayo, later founder of the Mayo Clinic, serves in Minnesota as a medical examiner for the Union Army.

1862 The six-week-long US-Dakota War (formerly known as the "Great Sioux Uprising") breaks out between the Dakota and White settlers, killing hundreds of people. The fighting takes place at Lower Sioux Agency, a small Dakota or Sioux reservation along the Minnesota River. The Dakota had moved there in 1851, after the US government forced them to sell over 95 percent of their lands. The government defeats the Dakota, taking over three hundred warriors captive; President Abraham Lincoln intervenes and grants clemency to all but thirty-eight.

Congress passes the Homestead Act, which promises 160 acres of free land to any person who promises to settle and farm it for five years. The act also requires construction of a permanent dwelling on the claim. Over 75,000 people have accept the offer by the mid-1860s. Also, the state's first railroad is constructed—a ten-mile line from St. Paul to St. Anthony (now Minneapolis).

1874Laura Ingalls Wilder, later author of the Little House series of books, settles with her family near Walnut Grove. Her book On the Banks of Plum Creek, published in 1932, relates her experiences.

1880s Dr. William W. Mayo and his sons William and Charles establish a family medical practice in Rochester, which evolves into the present-day Mayo Clinic.

1889 Congress passes the Nelson Act, which breaks up the Ojibwe reservation lands (except Red Lake) into individual plots of 160-acres each.

1892 Frank Hibbing, an iron miner, discovers extensive deposits in the Mesabi Range. The following year he founds a village named for himself. The village of Hibbing soon becomes known as "the iron ore capital of the world."

1893 The Great Northern railroad line is completed from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, spanning a distance of 1,816 miles.

1914 The Red River Lumber Company of Minneapolis popularizes the mythical lumberjack Paul Bunyan as part of an advertising campaign.

1914–18World War I. Minnesota provides more than 120,000 men to the Armed Forces, as well as around 1,000 nurses. The state's German Americans suffer greatly during the war, due to anti-German hysteria. US Representative Charles A. Lindbergh Sr., father of the transatlantic aviator, publicly opposes the war. This stance leads to his defeat in the 1918 governor's race, in which he runs as a Progressive Republican.

1915 North Dakota farmers, frustrated in their dealings with big-business interests, found the Nonpartisan League (NPL). This agrarian movement, which is not a political party, eventually spreads through much of the upper Midwest, including and Minnesota.

1927Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., son of Congressman Lindbergh, successfully crosses the Atlantic in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis. Upon his arrival in Paris, the aviator finds he has become an international celebrity.

1928 Minnesota changes state election laws to end discrimination against American Indians' voting rights. Four years earlier, Congress had conferred US citizenship on American Indians.

1932 The Andrews Sisters (LaVerne, Maxine, and Patti), one of the most popular singing groups during the 1930s and 1940s, begin their career by performing in amateur contests in their native Minneapolis.

1934 Congress drastically alters its policy toward American Indians by passing the Indian Reorganization Act. The measure ends federal efforts to break up reservations and forces American Indians to assimilate into White culture.

1935Sinclair Lewis, a native of Sauk Centre, wins the Nobel Prize for literature. His works—including the novels Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), and Elmer Gantry (1927)—set forth a sharply satirical view of Midwestern customs and morality.

1938Harold E. Stassen, a Republican political reformer, is elected as Minnesota's youngest governor. He immediately begins reforming the state's civil service.

1941–45World War II. Minnesota provides over 300,000 men and women to the Armed Forces. Of these, more than 6,000 are killed in combat or die in prison camps. Minnesota industries convert to war production; the Northern Pump Company, for example, becomes the Navy's largest supplier of munitions. Governor Stassen resigns in 1943 to serve as a Navy officer; he becomes an aide to Admiral William Halsey. At the founding of the United Nations, in 1945, Stassen serves as a US delegate to the conference.

1945 Hubert Humphrey, the future vice president of the United States, is elected mayor of Minneapolis as a reform candidate. A major focus of his two terms is civil rights.

1948 Former governor Stassen tries to win the Republican nomination for president but loses to New York governor Thomas Dewey. Stassen continues fruitlessly through 1992 to win the Republican nomination.

1950 St. Paul–born cartoonist Charles M. Schulz begins publication of the comic strip Peanuts. The strip, soon the nation' s most popular, eventually achieves worldwide success as well.

1959 The St. Lawrence Seaway is completed, connecting the Great Lakes region with the Atlantic Ocean. Duluth becomes an important port for overseas trade.

1961 The Washington Senators baseball team becomes the Minnesota Twins.

1964Walter F. Mondale is elected to the US Senate. He serves until 1977, when he becomes vice president in the Carter administration.

1968 American Indian activists found the American Indian Movement (AIM) in Minneapolis. The organization soon gains national attention for dramatically confronting federal authorities in order to gain support for American Indian issues.

Vice President Hubert Humphrey is chosen as the Democratic presidential candidate, defeating Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy for the nomination. Humphrey loses the general election to former Vice President Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate.

1970The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a TV situation comedy set at a Minneapolis television station, goes on the air.

1974 Garrison Keillor, a native of Anoka, begins broadcasting the radio variety program A Prairie Home Companion on Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul. Many of his sketches are based in the fictitious community of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, his supposed hometown.

1984 Former Vice President Walter Mondale runs for president on the Democratic ticket, but loses to President Ronald Reagan, the incumbent Republican.

1990Jesse Ventura, an ex-Navy SEAL turned pro wrestler and actor, is elected the mayor of Brooklyn Park as an independent. He serves until 1995.

1992 The Mall of America, an immense shopping facility of 4.2-million square feet, opens in Bloomington. It is the world's largest shopping center at the time.

1998 Jesse Ventura is elected governor of Minnesota on the Reform Party ticket.

2000 Governor Ventura leaves the Reform Party due to differences with party leaders and becomes an independent.

2002 Senator Paul Wellstone, a liberal Democrat, is killed in a plane crash while campaigning for reelection. The popular lawmaker had entered Congress in 1991 after years as a political-science professor at Carleton College in Northfield. Former senator and vice president Walter Mondale is selected to replace Wellstone as the Democratic candidate but loses to Republican contender Norm Coleman.

2003 Ice hockey coach Herb Brooks, best known for leading the US hockey team to a gold medal at 1980 Winter Olympics, is killed in a car crash. He is posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

2007 Astronomers at the University of Minnesota discover a huge hole in the universe with no stars or galaxies, six billion trillion miles in size.

2015 Minnesota draws national attention when one of its residents, a dentist, acknowledges that he hunted and killed a beloved lion, named Cecil, in Zimbabwe. Protesters, including those who suspect that the dentist had the lion illegally lured away from its sanctuary in a national park, regularly gather outside of his practice.

2020 Like other states, Minnesota declares a state of emergency and enacts stay-at-home orders amid the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In May, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, is killed in Minneapolis while under arrest when a police officer kneels on his neck. The killing generates protests that grow into major demonstrations across the nation against police brutality and systemic racism in general.

2022 Derek Chauvin, the former Minnesota police officer accused of kneeling on George Floyd's neck resulting in his death, is sentenced to over twenty years in federal prison. The Minnesota National Guard is activated amid the federal trial of Chauvin and three other former Minnesota police officers involved in George Floyd's killing.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

The Andrews Sisters, [LaVerne, 1915–67; Maxine, 1918–95; Patti 1920–2013] (Minneapolis) , Singers.

Dean Barkley, 1950– (Annandale) , Founder of Minnesota Reform Party (later Minnesota Independence Party); US Senator.

Warren E. Burger, 1907–95 (St. Paul) , US Supreme Court Chief Justice.

William O. Douglas, 1898–1980 (Maine) , US Supreme Court Justice.

Bob Dylan, 1941– (Duluth) , Singer; Composer.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896–1940 (St. Paul) , Author.

Judy Garland, 1922–69 (Grand Rapids) , Singer; Actress.

Jean Paul Getty, 1892–1976 (Minneapolis) , Petroleum executive; Art collector.

James Hong, 1929– (Minneapolis) , Actor.

Garrison Keillor, 1942– (Anoka) , Radio entertainer; Writer.

Jessica Lange, 1949– (Cloquet) , Actor.

Sinclair Lewis, 1885–1951 (Sauk Center) , Writer.

Roger Maris, 1934–85 (Hibbing) , Professional baseball player.

Charles H. Mayo, 1865–1939 (Rochester) , Physician; Co-founder of Mayo Clinic.

William J. Mayo, 1861–1939 (Le Sueur) , Physician; Co-founder of Mayo Clinic.

Eugene J. McCarthy, 1916–2005 (Watkins) , US Senator.

Walter F. Mondale, 1928–2021 (Ceylon) , US Senator; Vice President of the United States.

Prince [Prince Rogers Nelson], 1958–2016 (Minneapolis) , Singer-songwriter; Actor.

Lauris Norstad, 1907–88 (Minneapolis) , US Air Force General; NATO commander.

Jane Russell, 1921–2011 (Bemidji) , Actress.

Charles M. Schulz, 1922–2000 (Minneapolis) , Cartoonist.

Yara Shahidi, 2000– (Minneapolis) , Actor.

Harold E. Stassen, 1907–2001 (Dakota) , Governor; Presidential candidate.

Toni Stone, 1921–1996 (St. Paul) , Baseball player; first woman to play in a men's professional sports league.

Jesse Ventura [James George Janos], 1951– (Minneapolis) , Navy SEAL; Pro wrestler; Actor; Governor.

Dave Winfield, 1951– (St. Paul) , Baseball Hall of Famer.

TRIVIA

• The weekly radio variety show Prairie Home Companion, broadcast from St. Paul, regularly included former host Garrison Keillor's comments on life in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota—his fictional hometown. The show, which began in 1974, featured humorous observations on Minnesota life. In 2016 musician Chris Thile replaced Keillor as host, and the show was renamed Live from Here.
• Harold E. Stassen, governor of Minnesota from 1938 to 1943, is remembered largely for his nine failed attempts to win the US presidency. He sought and failed to obtain the Republican nomination in every campaign from 1944 (while still in the Navy) through 1992.
• Musical performer Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson) established record label Paisley Park Records in his hometown of Minneapolis. The company actively sought out artists in the Minneapolis area. Prince died at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Chanhassen in 2016 at the age of fifty-seven.
• Bus company Greyhound Lines Inc. began business in 1914 as a bus line to carry workers between the mining towns of Hibbing and Alice, Minnesota.
• In Minnesota, the Democratic Party is technically named the "Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party," due to a merger with two smaller groups. The Minnesota Reform Party, under whose banner Jesse Ventura was elected governor in 1998, later changed its name to the Independence Party.
• Post-it notes were invented in Minnesota by the 3M company (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing).

Bibliography

"Economic Profile for Minnesota." Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce, 31 Mar. 2023, apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.

"Key Industries." Minnesota Department of Employment, mn.gov/deed/joinusmn/key-industries/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2022.

"Minnesota." Quick Facts, US Census Bureau, 1 July 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MN/PST045222. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.

"Minnesota: 2020 Census." United States Census Bureau, 25 Aug. 2021, www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/minnesota-population-change-between-census-decade.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2021.

Risjord, Norman K. A Popular History of Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society, 2005.

"State Profile and Energy Estimates: Minnesota." US Energy Information Administration, 17 Aug. 2023, www.eia.gov/state/?sid=MN. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.

Tester, John. Minnesota’s Natural Heritage: An Ecological Perspective. U of Minnesota P, 1996.

Eric Badertscher