Minnesota Info
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Capital City:
St. Paul
Economy: Agriculture, timber, industry, high technology
and tourism.
Population: 4,972,294
Time Zone: 6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (-6 GMT).
Daylight Saving Time is observed from the first Sunday in April to the last
Sunday in October
Minnesota's Flag:
The Minnesota state flag is royal blue, with a gold fringe. In the center
of the flag is the state seal. Around the state seal is a wreath of the
state flower, the lady slipper. Three dates are woven into the wreath:1858,
the year Minnesota became a state; 1819, the year Fort Snelling was established;
and 1893, the year the official flag was adopted. Nineteen stars ring the
wreath. The largest star represents Minnesota.
History of Minnesota:
Following the visits of several French explorers, fur traders, and missionaries,
including Jacques Marquette, Louis Joliet, and sieur de la Salle, the region
was claimed for Louis XIV by Daniel Greysolon, sieur Duluth, in 1679. The
U.S. acquired eastern Minnesota from Great Britain after the Revolutionary
War and 20 years later bought the western part from France in the Louisiana
Purchase of 1803. Much of the region was explored by U.S. Army Lt. Zebulon
M. Pike before the northern strip of Minnesota bordering Canada was ceded
by Britain in 1818. The state is rich in natural resources. A few square
miles of land in the north in the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Vermillion ranges
produce more than 75% of the nation's iron ore. The state's farms rank high
in yields of corn, wheat, rye, alfalfa, and sugar beets. Other leading farm
products include butter, eggs, milk, potatoes, green peas, barley, soybeans,
oats, and livestock. Minnesota's factory production includes nonelectrical
machinery, fabricated metals, flour-mill products, plastics, electronic
computers, scientific instruments, and processed foods. It is also one of
the nation's leaders in the printing and paper-products industries. Minneapolis
is the trade center of the Midwest; and the headquarters of the world's
largest super-computer and grain distributor. St. Paul is the nation's biggest
publisher of calendars and law books. These “twin cities” are
the nation's third-largest trucking center. Duluth has the nation's largest
inland harbor and now handles a significant amount of foreign trade. Rochester
is the home of the Mayo Clinic, an internationally famous medical center.
Today, tourism is a major revenue producer in Minnesota, with arts, fishing,
hunting, water sports, and winter sports bringing in millions of visitors
each year. Among the most popular attractions are the St. Paul Winter Carnival;
the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, the Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, and
Minnehaha Park, in Minneapolis; Boundary Waters Canoe Area; Voyageurs National
Park; North Shore Drive; the Minnesota Zoological Gardens; and the state's
more than 10,000 lakes.
Other Minnesota Links:
Association of Metropolitan Municipalities
(AMM)
League of Minnesota Cities
Minnesota Department of Children,
Families and Learning
Minnesota Office of Tourism
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce |
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