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Learn About Minnesota
First Inhabitants	Early History	Geography & Landforms	Economy
Capital: Saint Paul	Entered the Union: 5/11/1858	Population: 4,919,479	Area (square miles) 86,939
State Bird: Common Loon	State Flower: Pink and white Lady's-slipper	Nickname: North Star State, Land of 10,000 Lakes	Governor: Tim Pawlenty
Web Links: State Home Page	Home Page for Students	Members of Congress

Places to Visit in Minnesota: (Click the links to learn more.)

Hormel’s Spam Museum - Austin
Visitors can participate in interactive games, see exhibits, and learn more about the famous luncheon meat known as “Spam.”

Mall of America - Bloomington
One of the largest malls in the world, this attraction includes “Camp Snoopy” the largest indoor theme park in the US, Minnesota’s largest aquarium, a four-story LEGO Imagination Center, an indoor stock car race track, 14 theatre screens, along with 520 retail stores, and 12,000 employees. The Mall hosts more visitors each year than Disney World, the Grand Canyon and Graceland combined.

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Mille Lacs Indian Museum - Onamia
Offers exhibits dedicated to telling the story of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians. Trace their journey to settle in Northern Minnesota, learn about their fate during a period of treaties made and broken, and follow their story up to the present. Videos, computer interactives, listening stations and objects reveal information about the Band's life today, from how dance traditions are carried on to members' interests in music to sovereignty issues.

Fort Ridgely - Fairfax
In 1851, the Eastern Dakota (Eastern Sioux) sold 35 million acres of their land across southern and western Minnesota, and moved onto a small reservation along the Minnesota River. In 1853, the U.S. military started construction on Fort Ridgely, near the southern border of the new reservation and northwest of the German settlement of New Ulm. The fort was designed as a police station to keep peace as settlers poured into the former Dakota lands. Nine years later, tensions between the Dakota and white settlers led to the U.S.-Dakota war. Dakota forces attacked the fort twice-on Aug. 20 and Aug. 22. The fort that had been a training base and staging ground for Civil War volunteers suddenly became one of the few military forts west of the Mississippi to withstand a direct assault. Fort Ridgely's 280 military and civilian defenders held out until Army reinforcements ended the siege.

Famous Citizens:

Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, the grandson of Jewish-Russian immigrants. He grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, and became fascinated with the early rock and roll and folk music scene. His high school yearbook shows his goal in life was “to join Little Richard.” He moved to New York’s Greenwich Village and began performing and composing music, and is generally recognized as one of the founders of rock and roll. His son, Jakob, is now the leader of a popular band (“The Wallflowers”).

Sinclair Lewis
Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, Sinclair Lewis was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Lewis wrote novels that satirized middle class life in the 1920s, including Main Street and Babbitt. He also satirized the medical profession in his novel Arrowsmith, and religious revivals in Elmer Gantry.

Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale was born in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka), and became the 42nd Vice President of the United States. He began his career by practicing law in Minneapolis, and became active in Democratic politics. He was appointed state attorney general in 1960. He was appointed to a seat in the US Senate in 1964 when Hubert Humphrey was elected Vice President. Jimmy Carter chose Mondale as his running mate in the Presidential campaign of 1976. In 1984, he ran unsuccessfully for President himself.

Charles Schulz
Charles Schultz was born in Minneapolis. After seeing a “Do You Like to Draw?” advertisement, he decided to take a correspondence course in art. After serving in World War II, he began drawing a church cartoon. In 1950, he began drawing his comic strip, “Peanuts,” which would become the most popular comic strip in history. His characters, including Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy, were world famous, and inspired such well known phrases as, “Good Grief,” “Security Blanket,” and “Happiness is a Warm Puppy.” His television special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” has aired every year since 1965.

Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura was born John Janos in 1941 in South Minneapolis. After high school, he joined the Navy and became a SEAL and served in Vietnam. After leaving the military, he began a successful pro wrestling career using the nick name Jesse “The Body” Ventura, and then starred in films. In 1998, he shocked the political establishment by defeating Hubert H. Humphrey III in the race for Minnesota governor, and is the only Reform Party candidate to hold the position of governor.