Some fun facts about Minnesota!                                                                            

Capital City: St. Paul

Nickname: North Star State / Gopher State / Bread and Butter State

Motto:  L’Etoile du Nord (The star of the north.)

Statehood: May 11, 1858 (32th)

Origin of State’s Name: Based on the Dakota Sioux Indian word for “sky-tinted water,” referring to the Minnesota River or the state’s many lakes.

Largest Cities: Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Bloomington, Duluth, Rochester

Border States: Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Land Area: 79,617 sq. mi., 14th largest

State Bird: Common Loon ~ Dating back 60 million years, the common loon is one of the earth’s oldest living bird species. Its name comes from a Norwegian word that means “wild, sad cry.” Approximately 12,000 make their homes in Minnesota. Loons are large black and white birds with long black bills. Clumsy on land, they are excellent divers, underwater swimmers, and high-speed flyers.

State Fish: Walleye ~ A favorite fishing catch, inhabit waters in all parts of the state, but mainly the large, cool lakes in northern Minnesota. Their eyes are sensitive to light, so they go to deep dark waters during the day and move to shallow lake areas at night. The record walleye in Minnesota weighed 17 pounds 8 ounces. 

State Flower: Pink and white lady’s-slipper ~ The pink and white lady slipper is one of Minnesota’s rarest wildflowers. Thriving in swamps, bogs, and damp woods, they grow slowly, taking 4 to 16 years to produce their first flower. Sometimes they live for 50 years and grow four feet tall. They bloom in late June or early July. It is illegal to pick the lady slipper. 

State Tree: Red Pine or Norway Pine ~ The Norway pine, also called the red pine because of its reddish brown bark, stands 60 to 100 feet tall, with a trunk 3 – 5 feet wide. Its needles are 4 – 6 inches long and grow in pairs. The tallest Norway pine in Minnesota is in Itasca State Park. It is over 300 years old and stands 120 feet high. 

State Song: Hail! Minnesota

State Grain: Wild Rice ~ Wild rice grows naturally in the shallow waters of lakes in central and northern Minnesota. For many years, all the wild rice produced in the world came from Minnesota. It is harvested from lakes in the traditional Anishinabe Indian way, from canoes. It is also planted as a farm crop. 

State Muffin: Blueberry ~ Wild blueberries are native to northeastern Minnesota, growing in bogs, on hillsides, and in cut over forested areas.

State Mushroom: Morel ~ A spongy-topped mushroom that pops up in fields and forests in spring time, are considered a rare delicacy by mushroom hunters. 

State Gemstone: Lake Superior Agate ~ These unusually beautiful quartz stones are banded with rich red and orange colors derived from iron ore in the soil. Found in northeastern and north central Minnesota, they are often polished to make jewelry. 

State Drink: Milk ~ Minnesota produces about 10 billion pounds of milk a year and ranks fifth in dairy production among the states. 

The “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” Minnesota got its nickname because there are more than 12,000 lakes throughout the state. Its name comes from the Dakota (Sioux) word for the Minnesota River’s “sky-tinted waters.” The Minnesota Territory was formed in 1849 from what had been part of the Northwest Territory, and Minnesota joined the Union in 1858. The state flower is the pink and white lady’s slipper, and the capital is St. Paul.

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