160 Amazing Facts About Minnesota

160 Interesting Facts About Minnesota

Minnesota covers 86,000 square miles.
The stapler was invented in Spring Valley.
Minnesota has a population of over 5 million.
Minnesota's state nickname isn't just the Gopher State. It has earned many titles over the course of its history, including the Land of 10,000 Lakes and the North Star State.
Minnesota is located in the north-central USA and is landlocked by Manitoba and Ontario in Canada, Lake Superior, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota in the US.
The official state beverage of Minnesota is milk.
The legendary singer Prince was born in Minneapolis in 1958 as Prince Rogers Nelson.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, the writer of 'The Great Gatsby', grew up in Minnesota and was born in 1896 in Saint Paul.
Sing and activist Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1941.
Minnesota was home to July Garland who was born there in 1922. Garland starting acting from as young as two-years-old before she eventually appeared in the classic 'Wizard Of Oz'.
The creator of the famous 'Peanuts' comic, Charles Shulz was born in Minneapolis in 1922.
Aside from The Mighty Ducks franchise, many other films have been filmed in Minnesota, including Purple Rain (1984), Jingle All the Way (1996), Grumpy Old Men (1993) and much of the Coen Brothers’ oeuvre.
Meanwhile, famous show biz figures like Judy Garland, Terry Gilliam, Chris Pratt, and Winona Ryder were all born in Minnesota. (Ryder is actually named after the town of Winona, Minnesota.)
Die-hard hockey fans can pay a visit to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, which is located in Eveleth, Minnesota.
With more miles of bike trails than any other state, Minnesota is a cyclist’s paradise.
Minnesota has 52 native tree species that grow across the state. These include the American elm, quaking aspen, mountain maple, and white spruce.
The official state flower is the pink and white lady slipper. Most Minnesotans considered it to be the state flower years before it was written into the law.
In 1961, the common loon was named as Minnesota's official state bird.
The gemstones and minerals Minnesota is famous for are agate, binghamite and thomsonite which have very cool red tones.
The official Minnesota state gemstone was named in 1969 as the Lake Superior agate.
Garter snakes, prairie skinks, and timber rattlesnakes, red-back salamanders, western chorus frogs and northern map turtles can all be found in Minnesota.
Minnesota has many pretty and cool wildflowers such as doll’s eyes, which grow berries that look like eyeballs, black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, white meadowsweets and sweet peas.
Minnesota's motto is "L’Étoile du Nord" which means "star of the north".
The only stadium in the United States to have hosted the World Series, the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship is the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
In 1876, notorious outlaw Jesse James and his gang were thwarted from robbing a bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Several members of his posse were captured and killed, and in subsequent years the group slowly dissolved before Robert Ford finally assassinated Jesse James in 1882. Each September, the town celebrates the historic event in a five-day celebration called The Defeat of Jesse James Days. The showdown was also immortalized in films like The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) and The Long Riders (1980).
The world’s biggest ball of twine made by one person sits in Darwin, Minnesota. Each August, Darwin holds a “Twine Ball Day" to celebrate the 17,400-pound creation. Weird Al also immortalized Darwin’s twine ball in his 1989 song “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota.”
Northern Minnesota was once the nation’s richest source of iron ore. Today, the area is home to one of the world’s largest open pit mines, the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine in Hibbing, Minnesota.
There are 201 Mud Lakes, 154 Long Lakes, and 123 Rice Lakes commonly named in Minnesota.
The Hull-Rust mine in Hibbing became the largest open-pit mine in the world.
Minnesota’s waters flow outward in three directions: north to Hudson Bay in Canada, east to the Atlantic Ocean, and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
At the confluence of the Big Fork and Rainy Rivers on the Canadian border near International Falls stands the largest Indian burial mound in the upper midwest. It is known as the Grand Mound historic site.
Author Laura Ingalls Wilder lived on Plum Creek near Walnut Grove.
Akeley is birthplace and home of world’s largest Paul Bunyan Statue. The kneeling Paul Bunyan is 20 feet tall. He might be the claimed 33 feet tall, if he were standing.
The original name of the settlement that became St. Paul was Pig’s Eye. Named for the French-Canadian whiskey trader, Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant, who had led squatters to the settlement.
The world’s largest pelican stands at the base of the Mill Pond dam on the Pelican River, right in downtown Pelican Rapids. The 15 1/2 feet tall concrete statue was built in 1957.
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is the largest urban sculpture garden in the country.
The Guthrie Theater is the largest regional playhouse in the country.
Minneapolis??famed skyway system connecting 52 blocks (nearly five miles) of downtown makes it possible to live, eat, work and shop without going outside.
Bob Dylan, Prince, The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, and countless other famous musical acts hail from Minnesota.
Former professional wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura served as Minnesota’s 38th governor from 1999 to 2003.
With 4.3 miles of total store front footage, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is the biggest mall in the country.
Minnesota has a proud literary history. Sinclair Lewis, Tim O’Brien, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Garrison Keillor, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Neil Gaiman are just a sampling of writers who were born or have lived in the state.
The mighty Mississippi has humble roots: It begins in Lake Itasca, a small body of water in Northern Minnesota that’s less than two square miles in area.
Before the Europeans arrived in Minnesota in the late 1600s, the two main groups living in Minnesota were the Dakota and the Ojibwe, which are also known as Chippewa, Ojibway, or Ojibwa peoples.
The first European settlers to arrive in Minnesota in 1660 were Pierre Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart.
In 1679, the Minnesota region was claimed by the French explorer Daniel Greysolon on behalf of France.
In 1762, France lost some of its control in the area after they gave part of their land to Britain.
The United States took control of the area owned by Britain after the American Revolution in 1781.
In 1803, Louisiana was purchased from France by the the United States, giving them full ownership of what is present-day Minnesota.
In 1849, Minnesota gained legal existence as a territory.
On 11 May 1858 Minnesota officially became the 32nd state of the United States.
Believe it or not, SPAM isn’t manufactured in Hawaii. Hormel Foods Corporation, which is based in Austin, Minnesota, makes the popular canned meat product. Austin is also home to the Spam Museum, which has dubbed itself “the world’s most comprehensive collection of spiced pork artifacts.”
According to a Weather.com analysis, Minneapolis is the coldest major city in America, based on 30-year average temperatures from the NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center during December, January, and February. On average, the city experiences 23 to 25 subzero cold days each year.
When Minnesotans refer to mosquitos as their “unofficial state bird,” they’re only being half-sarcastic. The state is home to more than 50 different mosquito species—meaning you should pack plenty of bug spray before going camping or canoeing in one of its many state parks.
Scotch tape, the bundt pan, rollerblades, Milky Way candy bars, and the world’s first practical pair of water skis were all invented in Minnesota.
In 1956, Southdale, in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, was the first enclosed climate-controlled suburban Shop50states.
Private Milburn Henke of Hutchinson was the first enlisted man to land with the first American Expeditionary Force in Europe in WWII on January 26, 1942.
The first practical water skis were invented in 1922 by Ralph W. Samuelson, who steam-bent 2 eight-foot-long pine boards into skies. He took his first ride behind a motorboat on a lake in Lake City.
In Olivia a single half-husked cob towers over a roadside gazebo. It is 25 feet tall, made of fiberglass, and has been up since 1973.
The first Children’s department in a Library is said to be that of the Minneapolis Public Library, which separated children’s books from the rest of the collection in Dec. 1889.
Minnesotan baseball commentator Halsey Hal was the first to say ‘Holy Cow’ during a baseball broadcast.
The Mall of America in Bloomington is the size of 78 football fields — 9.5 million square feet.
Minnesota Inventions: Masking and Scotch tape, Wheaties cereal, Bisquick, HMOs, the bundt pan, Aveda beauty products, and Green Giant vegetables
The St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 allowing oceangoing ships to reach Duluth.
Minneapolis is home to the oldest continuously running theater (Old Log Theater) and the largest dinner theater (Chanhassan Dinner Theater) in the country.
Minneapolis has more golfers per capita than any other city in the country.
The climate-controlled Metrodome is the only facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World Series and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.
Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
The nation?? first Better Business Bureau was founded in Minneapolis in 1912.
The first open heart surgery and the first bone marrow transplant in the United States were done at the University of Minnesota.
Bloomington and Minneapolis are the two farthest north latitude cities to ever host a World Series game.
Madison is the “Lutefisk capital of the United States”.
Rochester is home of the world famous Mayo Clinic. The clinic is a major teaching and working facility. It is known world wide for its doctor’s expertise and the newest methods of treatments.
The Bergquist cabin, built in 1870 by John Bergquist, a Swedish immigrant, is the oldest house in Moorhead still on its original site.
For many years, the world’s largest twine ball has sat in Darwin. It weighs 17,400 pounds, is twelve feet in diameter, and was the creation of Francis A. Johnson.
The first Automatic Pop-up toaster was marketed in June 1926 by McGraw Electric Co. in Minneapolis under the name Toastmaster. The retail price was $13.50.
On September 2, 1952, a 5 year old girl was the first patient to under go a heart operation in which the deep freezing technique was employed. Her body temperature, except for her head, was reduced to 79 degrees Fahrenheit. Dr. Floyd Lewis at the Medical School of the University of Minnesota performed the operation.
The first Aerial Ferry was put into Operation on April 9, 1905, over the ship canal between Duluth to Minnesota Point. It had room enough to accommodate 6 automobiles. Round trip took 10 min.
Rollerblades were the first commercially successful in-line Roller Skates. Minnesota students Scott and Brennan Olson invented them in 1980, when they were looking for a way to practice Hockey during the off-season. Their design was an ice hockey boot with 3 inline wheels instead of a blade.
The first Intercollegiate Basketball game was played in Minnesota on February 9,1895.
In 1919 a Minneapolis factory turned out the nations first armored cars.
Tonka Trucks were developed and are continued to be manufactured in Minnetonka.
Hormel Company of Austin marketed the first canned ham in 1926. Hormel introduced Spam in 1937.
Introduced in August 1963, The Control Data 6600, designed by Control Data Corp. of Chippewa Falls, was the first Super Computer. It was used by the military to simulate nuclear explosions and break Soviet codes. These computers also were used to model complex phenomena such as hurricanes and galaxies.
Candy maker Frank C. Mars of Minnesota introduced the Milky Way candy bar in 1923. Mars marketed the Snickers bar in 1930 and introduced the 5 cent Three Musketeers bar in 1937. The original 3 Musketeers bar contained 3 bars in one wrapper. Each with different flavor nougat.
A Jehovah’s Witness was the first patient to receive a transfusion of artificial blood in 1979 at the University of Minnesota Hospital. He had refused a transfusion of real blood because of his religious beliefs.
Minnesota has one recreational boat per every six people, more than any other state.
Hibbing is the birthplace of the American bus industry. It sprang from the business acumen of Carl Wickman and Andrew “Bus Andy” Anderson – who opened the first bus line (with one bus) between the towns of Hibbing and Alice in 1914. The bus line grew to become Greyhound Lines, Inc.
The first official hit in the Metrodome in Minneapolis was made by Pete Rose playing for the Cincinnati Reds in a preseason game.
Polaris Industries of Roseau invented the snowmobile.
Twin Cities-based Northwest Airlines was the first major airline to ban smoking on international flights.
Alexander Anderson of Red Wing discovered the processes to puff wheat and rice giving us the indispensable rice cakes.
In 1898, the Kensington Rune stone was found on the farm of Olaf Ohman, near Alexandria. The Kensington Rune stone carvings allegedly tell of a journey of a band of Vikings in 1362.
It is believed by archaeologists that humans first entered Minnesota roughly 9,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is likely that this happened when they were following animals they could hunt.
The native people living in Minnesota roughly 1,000 years ago used waterways for food, transportation and even trade deals with other tribes. These items can still be found all the way along the Mississippi River.
Minnesota is the Sioux word for "cloudy water" or "sky-tinted water".
Minnesota is home to many inventions that you probably use. This includes scotch tape, pop-up toasters, water skis, in-the-ear hearing aids, and grocery bags with handles.
The famous Mars Bars company began in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1920, with the release of the Milky Way bar in 1923. Back then it was called Mar-O-Bar.
The capital city of Minnesota is Saint Paul.
The largest city and the city with the highest population is Minneapolis, with over 420,000 residents.
The Minnesota major cities, St Paul and Minneapolis are often referred to as the Twin Cities.
Most of Minnesota's land was formed by glaciers. Thousands and thousands of years ago, these glaciers carved out Minnesota's many plains and hills and even created the lakes across the state.
The lowest point of Minnesota is Lake Superior, sitting at 601 feet.
The highest point of Minnesota is Eagle Mountain, sitting at 2,301 feet. It is also the 37th highest point in the whole of the United States.
With more than 200,000 hectares of state-owned parks filled with forests, grasslands, rivers, marshes and lakes, Minnesota is perfect for anyone that enjoys boating, swimming, hiking, and sailing.
Minnesota is home to over 69,200 miles of rivers and streams across the state, which is enough water to circle the equator almost three times!
The official state tree of Minnesota is the red pine also known as the Norway pine.
Minnesota even have a state bee! This title goes to the rusty patched bumble bee after a bill was introduced in 2009.
The Walleye fish is the official state fish of Minnesota.
Some of the cutest mammals that can be found in Minnesota are martens, muskrats, raccoons, bobcats and white-tailed deer.
Minnesota is also home to some very cool birds including gyrfalcons, snipes and great horned owls.
The eleven Indian nations in Minnesota are Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, Red Lake, White Earth, Prairie Island, Shakopee, Lower Sioux, and Upper Sioux.
The largest mall in America is located in Minnesota. The Bloomington Mall of America is 9.5 million square feet or the size of 78 football fields!
Minnesota is famous for its incredible museums, especially in the Twin Cities. These include the Minneapolis Institute of Art and The Walker Art Center. The Walker Art Center is in the top five contemporary art museums in the whole of the United States. St Paul is also home to the Science Museum of Minnesota.
The state is home to the Mayo Clinic, a non-profit organisation that works to educate, research and provide care for anyone who needs it.
Minnesota even has an official state muffin. This title was given to the blueberry muffin in 1988.
While Minnesota is famous for its dense forests and plentiful bodies of water, it’s also home to two neighboring metropolitan centers: Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Minneapolis is the larger city, with a skyscraper-filled downtown. Meanwhile, Saint Paul is the state’s capital, and boasts old Victorian houses and stately civic architecture.
Speaking of the Twin Cities, the area is home to one of the highest concentrations of Fortune 500 Companies in the country, including Target, Best Buy, General Mills, and Land O’Lakes.
Then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt gave his now-famous “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick” speech at the 1901 Minnesota State Fair.
Long before it aired on Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Channel, cult TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered on Minneapolis public access television in the late 1980s.
Minnesota’s state bird is the loon, its state flower is the pink and white ladyslipper, and its state motto is "L'Etoile du nord," which is French for “The Star of the North.”
Although Minnesota is known for its Scandinavian and Germanic heritage, Minneapolis and Saint Paul are also home to the country’s largest Hmong and Somali populations.
Nicknames for Minnesota include The Gopher State, the North Star State, the Bread and Butter State, and the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Speaking of “Land of 10,000 Lakes,“ this nickname is misleading, as the state technically has more than 11,000 lakes.

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