Minnesota

Minnesota is a state located in the Midwestern United States, and became the 32nd state on May 11, 1858. It has five million residents, sixty percent of whom live in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the latter being the state capital. The Twin Cities is the 13th largest metropolitan area in the United States. The state is often nicknamed the "North Star State", and borders Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. It is served by three major interstate highways: I-35, I-90 and I-94.

The current governor of Minnesota is Tim Pawlenty, a Republican. The state legislature is currently under the control of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). At the federal level, Minnesota is represented by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D) and Al Franken (D), and by eight congressional representatives: Tim Walz, John Kline, Jim Ramstad, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, Michele Bachmann, Colin Peterson and James Oberstar.

The state is home to a number of universities including the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State University, St. Cloud State University and others. In sports, Minnesota is home to the Minnesota Vikings NFL team, the Minnesota Twins MLB team, the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA team and the Minnesota Wild NHL team.

It is a state with a large medical industry, with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and companies like Medtronic headquartered in the state. Other large companies from Minnesota are retail giant Target, electronics company Best Buy, and the chemical corporation 3M.