Though MINNESOTA
is more than a thousand miles from either coast, it's virtually
a seaboard state, thanks to Lake Superior , connected to the
Atlantic via the St Lawrence Seaway. The glaciers that, millions
of years ago, flattened all but its southeast corner gouged out
more than 15,000 lakes , and major rivers run along the eastern
and western borders. Ninety-five percent of the population lives
within ten minutes of a body of water, and the very name Minnesota
is a Sioux word meaning "land of sky-tinted water."
French explorers in the
sixteenth century encountered prairies to the south and, in the
north, dense forests whose abundant waterways were an ideal breeding
ground for beavers and muskrats. Fur trading, fishing and lumbering
flourished, and the Ojibway and Sioux were eased out by waves
of French, British and American immigrants. Admitted to the Union
in 1858, the new state of Minnesota was at first settled by Germans
and Scandinavians, who farmed in the west and south. Other ethnic
groups followed, many drawn by the massive iron ore deposits
of north central Minnesota, which are expected to hold out for
two more centuries.
Minnesota still thrives
on its natural resources and on a progressive social outlook
typified by such Democratic heavyweights as Hubert Humphrey,
Walter Mondale and Eugene McCarthy.
More than half of Minnesota's
hardy inhabitants, who endure some of the fiercest winters in
the nation, live in the southeast, around the so-called Twin
Cities of Minneapolis and St
Paul . These attractive
and basically friendly rivals together rank as the Midwest's
great civic double act for their combined cultural, recreational
and business opportunities. Smaller cities include the northern
shipping port of Duluth , the gateway to the Scenic Hwy-61
lakeshore drive, and Rochester , near pretty river towns like
Red
Wing and Winona. The tranquil waters of Voyageurs National
Park lie halfway
along the state's boundary with Canada.
In recent years, the state
has earned a reputation as the "Hollywood of the North,"
thanks to its increased use as an affordable, talent-rich filmmaking
locale. Internationally acclaimed fraternal filmmakers Joel and
Ethan Coen, responsible for the Oscar-winning, Minnesota-set
Fargo , were raised in the Twin Cities' suburb of St Louis Park.
THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA