Higher Education  

Minnesota has more than thirty colleges and universities, and nearly thirty community colleges. The University of Minnesota has its main campus in the Twin Cities, and branch campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Waseca. The Minnesota State University system operates universities in Bemidji, Mankato, Marshall, Moorhead, St. Cloud, St. Paul, and Winona. Private institutions include Augsburg College and Minneapolis College of Art and Design, both in Minneapolis; Bethel College, Hamline University, Macalester College, and College of St. Thomas, all in St. Paul; Carleton College and St. Olaf College, both in Northfield; Concordia College, in Moorhead; Gustavus Adolphus College, in St. Peter; Northwestern College, in Roseville; College of St. Benedict, in St. Joseph; St. John's University, in Collegeville; St. Mary's College, in Winona; and College of St. Scholastica, in Duluth.

Geography

Covering an area of 218, 601 square kilometers, Minnesota is the largest of the Midwestern states. The state can be divided into four main geographic regions: the Superior Upland, the Young Drift Plains, the Dissected Till Plains, and the Driftless Area. Occupying the northeastern part of the state, the Superior Upland is mostly composed of hard rock; it includes Minnesota's highest point, Eagle Mountain. The Young Drift Plains cover about half the state, spreading over most of southern Minnesota and hugging the western border. The Dissected Till Plains is a small area in the southwest corner of the state covered with glacial till. The Driftless Area, in the southeast corner of the state, contains swift-flowing streams and deep valleys. Minnesota is known for its many lakes, which are estimated to number nearly twenty-two thousand. Important rivers that flow through Minnesota include the Mississippi River, the Rainy River, the Red River, and the St. Louis River. Major cities include Minneapolis, St. Paul (capital), Bloomington, Duluth, and Rochester. The state's population is around 4.4 million.

Climate

Minnesota's performing arts organizations include the Tyrone Guthrie Theater, the Children's Theater Company, and the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, all in Minneapolis; the Minnesota Opera Company and the Schubert Club, both in St. Paul; and the St. Olaf College Choir in Northfield. The state's many colleges and universities also regularly mount dramatic, dance, and musical productions.

Among Minnesota's museums are the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts and the Walker Art Center, both in Minneapolis; the Plains Art Museum, in Moorhead; the Minnesota Museum of Art, the Minnesota Science Museum, and the Minnesota Historical Society Museum, all in St. Paul; and the Lake Superior Museum of Transportation, in Duluth.

Cultural Profile

Minnesota has sixty-four state parks and forty-five state forests. Popular summer activities include camping, swimming, fishing, hiking, hunting, canoeing, tennis, and golf. In the winter the state offers skiing, tobogganing, ice fishing, and snowmobiling. Interesting places to visit include Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, near Thief River Falls; Indian Mounds Park, in St. Paul; Ironworld USA, in Chisholm; Itasca State Park, near Park Rapids; Minnehaha Falls, in Minneapolis; and Smokey Bear Park, in International Falls.

Recreation

Michigan has ninety-four state parks and recreations areas. Popular outdoor activities include boating, canoeing, fishing, hunting, scuba diving, skiing, snowmobiling, swimming, picnicking, and camping. Among the state's interesting places to visit are the Fort Wilkins Historical Complex at Copper Harbor, Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Iron Mountain Iron Mine, Old Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, Michigan Space Center in Jackson, and White Pine Village near Ludington.

Interesting Facts

Minnesota is the top state at mining iron ore and growing sugar beets. The cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which face each other from opposite sides of the Mississippi River, are known as the Twin Cities. Famous Minnesotans include Warren Earl Burger (US Supreme Court chief justice), Bob Dylan (singer and songwriter), F. Scott Fitzgerald (writer), Judy Garland (actress and singer), Garrison Keillor (humorist), Sinclair Lewis (writer), Charles M. Schulz (cartoonist, creator of "Peanuts"), and William Roy DeWitt Wallace (founder of Reader's Digest).