Claim: Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota.

Minnesota -LRB- -LSB- -LSB- ˌmɪnəˈso̞ɾɐ -RSB- help = no -RSB- -RRB- is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States . Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U.S. state on May 11 , 1858 , created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory . The state has a large number of lakes , and is known by the slogan `` Land of 10,000 Lakes '' . Its official motto is L'Étoile du Nord -LRB- French : Star of the North -RRB- .   Minnesota is the 12th largest in area and the 21st most populous of the U.S. states ; nearly 60 percent of its residents live in the Minneapolis -- Saint Paul metropolitan area -LRB- known as the `` Twin Cities '' -RRB- , the center of transportation , business , industry , education , and government and home to an internationally known arts community . The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture ; deciduous forests in the southeast , now partially cleared , farmed and settled ; and the less populated North Woods , used for mining , forestry , and recreation .   Minnesota is known for its progressive political orientation and its high rate of civic participation and voter turnout . Until European settlement , Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota and Ojibwe/Anishinaabe . During the 19th and early 20th centuries , a large number of European settlers entered the state who had mainly emigrated from Scandinavia and Germany . The state remains today a center of Scandinavian American and German American culture . In recent decades , immigration from Asia , the Horn of Africa , and Latin America has broadened its historic demographic and cultural composition . Minnesota 's standard of living index is among the highest in the United States , and the state is also among the best-educated and wealthiest in the nation .