Minnesota is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to 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. Roughly a third of the state is covered in forests, and it is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" for having over 14,000 bodies of fresh water covering at least ten acres each. More than 60% of Minnesotans live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the "Twin Cities", the state's main political, economic, and cultural hub. With a population of about 3.7 million, the Twin Cities is the 16th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Other minor metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas in the state include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud.
Saint Paul is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center of Minnesota's government. The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices all sit on a hill close to the city's downtown district. One of the oldest cities in Minnesota, Saint Paul has several historic neighborhoods and landmarks, such as the Summit Avenue Neighborhood, the James J. Hill House, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Like the adjacent city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers.
The University of Minnesota system is a public university system with five campuses spread across the U.S. state of Minnesota.
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities after the area's two largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The area is Minnesota's economic, cultural, and political center.
The history of the U.S. state of Minnesota is shaped by its original Native American residents, European exploration and settlement, and the emergence of industries made possible by the state's natural resources. Early economic growth was based on fur trading, logging, milling and farming, and later through railroads and iron mining.
St. Catherine University is a private Catholic university in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was established as one of the first institutions of higher learning specifically for women in the Midwest and was known as the College of St. Catherine until 2009. St. Kate's offers baccalaureate programs for women as well as graduate and associate programs for women and men.
Dayton's was an American department store chain founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. It operated several local high end department stores throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for almost 100 years. Although it was regionally known as a high-quality shopping destination, Dayton's is best remembered for starting the discount shopping chain Target. The company was also instrumental in the history of shopping malls; opening the first indoor shopping mall in the United States, Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota, in 1956.
Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center and safety net hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County. The primary 484-bed facility is on six city blocks across the street from U.S. Bank Stadium, with neighborhood clinics in the Minneapolis Whittier and East Lake neighborhoods, and the suburban communities of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, St. Anthony and Richfield. A new clinic in the North Loop neighborhood downtown opened in 2017. HCMC has recognized trauma surgery specialists, transplant services, stroke specialists, advanced endoscopy/hepatobilliary center, and hyperbaric oxygen chamber. A new outpatient clinic building opened in 2018. In March 2018, the provider that operates HCMC was rebranded as Hennepin Healthcare. However, the hospital retained the name HCMC.
The University of Saint Francis (USF) is a private Catholic university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The university promotes Catholic and Franciscan values. The school's 2022–23 enrollment was 1,903 undergraduate and graduate students, the majority of whom come from states in the Midwest, primarily Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio.
Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation was an American fitness club chain. At its 2007 peak, prior to the filing of the first of two Chapter 11 bankruptcies, Bally operated nearly 440 facilities located in 29 U.S. states, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, China, and the Caribbean under the Bally Total Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Gorilla Sports, Pinnacle Fitness, Bally Sports Clubs, and Sports Clubs of Canada brands.
The Twin Cities Assembly Plant is a former Ford Motor Company manufacturing facility in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1912, Ford's first assembly and sales activities in Minnesota began in a former warehouse in Minneapolis. By 1925, Ford had relocated its local operations to the bluffs above the Mississippi River in the Highland Park neighborhood of Saint Paul. In 2006, Ford officials announced plans to close the factory, though it operated for three years past the 2008 closure date initially announced. At the time of its closure, it was the oldest Ford plant in continuous operation. The plant's final truck was completed on December 16, 2011. All of the facility's buildings were demolished and the site underwent extensive environment remediation in the late 2010s, paid for by the Ford company. Following a multi-year planning and community engagement process, the site was sold to the Ryan Companies, who began redevelopment of the site in 2020 as Highland Bridge, a 122-acre residential and commercial district.
Lund Food Holdings, Inc is an American supermarket operator. Headquartered in Edina, it owns the upscale supermarket chain Lunds & Byerlys. The company opened its first supermarkets in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. In 2015, it changed its name from Lunds to Lunds & Byerlys. It operates 28 stores in Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of Minnesota.
Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues. Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
Minneapolis, officially the City of Minneapolis, is a city in the state of Minnesota and the county seat of Hennepin County. As of the 2020 census the population was 429,954, making it the largest city in Minnesota and the 46th-most-populous in the United States. Nicknamed the "City of Lakes", Minneapolis is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks, and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins as the 19th century lumber and flour milling capitals of the world, and, to the present day, preserved its financial clout. It occupies both banks of the Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota.
Life Time, Inc. is a chain of health clubs in the United States and Canada.
Northtown Mall is a shopping mall located in Blaine, Minnesota, United States. The mall's anchor stores are Hobby Lobby, LA Fitness, Best Buy, 2 Becker Furniture World stores, and Burlington. In addition, Northtown Mall features over 100 stores and restaurants, as well as a food court and Paladin Career and Technical High School public charter school which was open in September 2002. The mall is owned by Washington Prime Group. Over 5.5 million people visit the mall every year.
The Daniel L. Ritchie Center is the home of athletics for the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, United States. There are 17 athletic programs for the Denver Pioneers which run out of the Ritchie Center. The 440,000 square feet (41,000 m2) building cost $84 million to construct. Each of the 17 athletic programs have offices located on the fourth floor, along with the Gottesfeld room, which hosts a great deal of dinners and meetings. In addition, the third floor has offices for athletic advisors and other faculty members.
Anytime Fitness is a franchise of 24-hour health and fitness clubs that is headquartered in Woodbury, Minnesota, United States. The company operates over 5,000 franchised locations in 50 countries. The gym facilities are open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Anytime Fitness was the fastest growing health club franchise in 2014. In 2015, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Anytime Fitness first on its global franchise list. Anytime Fitness is a subsidiary of Self Esteem Brands, LLC.
