page_title: Minnesota
hierarchical_section_title: Minnesota
caption_attribution_description: Removed background, cropped, and converted to PNG with Macromedia Fireworks. This image depicts a unit of currency issued by the United States of America. If this is an image of paper currency or a coin not listed here, it is solely a work of the United States Government, is ineligible for US copyright, and is therefore in the public domain in the United States.Fraudulent use of this image is punishable under applicable counterfeiting laws. As listed by the United States Secret Service at money illustrations, the Counterfeit Detection Act of 1992, Public Law 102-550, in Section 411 of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations (31 CFR 411), permits color illustrations of U.S. currency provided:1. The illustration is of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of the item illustrated;2. The illustration is one-sided; and3. All negatives, plates, positives, digitized storage medium, graphic files, magnetic medium, optical storage devices, and any other thing used in the making of the illustration that contain an image of the illustration or any part thereof are destroyed and/or deleted or erased after their final use. Certain coins contain copyrights licensed to the U.S. Mint and owned by third parties or assigned to and owned by the U.S. Mint [1]. For the United States Mint circulating coin design use policy, see [2]; for the policy on the 50 State Quarters, see [3]. Also: COM:ART #Photograph of an old coin found on the Internet
context_page_description: Minnesota is a state in the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, 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 many lakes, and is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". Its official motto is L'Étoile du Nord.
  Minnesota is the 12th largest in area and the 22nd most populous of the U.S. states; nearly 55% of its residents live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. This area has the largest concentration of transportation, business, industry, education, and government in the state. Urban centers in "Greater Minnesota" include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester and St. Cloud.
  The geography 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.
  For thousands of years before Europeans arrived, Minnesota was inhabited by various indigenous peoples.
context_section_description: Minnesota (/ˌmɪnɪˈsoʊtə/ (listen)) is a state in the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, 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 many lakes, and is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". Its official motto is L'Étoile du Nord (French for The Star of the North).
  Minnesota is the 12th largest in area and the 22nd most populous of the U.S. states; nearly 55% of its residents live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area (known as the "Twin Cities"). This area has the largest concentration of transportation, business, industry, education, and government in the state. Urban centers in "Greater Minnesota" include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester and St. Cloud.
  The geography 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.
  For thousands of years before Europeans arrived, Minnesota was inhabited by various indigenous peoples. French explorers, missionaries, and fur traders began exploring the region in the 17th century, encountering the Dakota and Ojibwe/Anishinaabe tribes. Much of what is now Minnesota was part of the vast French holding of Louisiana, which was purchased by the United States in 1803. Following several territorial reorganizations, Minnesota in its current form was admitted as the country's 32nd state on May 11, 1858. Like many Midwestern states, it remained sparsely populated and centered on lumber and agriculture. 
  During the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, European immigrants began settling the state. Many of them came from Scandinavia, Germany, and Central Europe (e.g., Czechs and Slovaks). To this day, Minnesota remains a center of Scandinavian American, German American, and Czech American cultures (e.g., Kolach Days or Kolacky Days in Montgomery, and Bohemian Flats in Minneapolis). Historical evidence suggests that many people immigrated to Minnesota as a result of the failed European Revolutions of 1848. 
  Minnesota's standard of living index is among the highest in the United States, behind only Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the state is also among the best-educated and wealthiest in the nation. In recent years, its economy has greatly diversified, shifting from traditional activities such as agriculture and resource extraction to services and finance. While Minnesota's population is still largely dominated by Scandinavian- and German-Americans, domestic migration and immigration from Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America have broadened the demographics of the state.
caption: Released in 2005
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