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Minneapolis-St. Paul
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Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the most populous urban area in the state of Minnesota, United States, and is composed of 188 cities and townships. Built around the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers, the area is also nicknamed the Twin Cities for its two largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the state capital. The area is part of a larger U.S. Census division named Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, the country's 16th-largest metropolitan area composed of eleven counties in Minnesota and two counties in Wisconsin. This larger area in turn is enveloped in the U.S. Census combined statistical area called Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI with an estimated population of 3.5 million people in 2006, ranked the 13th most populous in the U.S.
To remind everyone there were actually two cities, people started using the phrase Dual Cities around 1872, which evolved into Twin Cities. Despite the "Twin" moniker, the two cities are independent municipalities with defined borders and are quite distinct from each other. Minneapolis, with its broad boulevards, easily navigable grid layout, and modern downtown architecture, has been referred to as the "first" (i.e. furthest east) city of the American West; Saint Paul, which sports narrower streets laid out much more irregularly, clannish neighborhoods, and a vast collection of well preserved late-Victorian architecture, is considered to be the "last" (i.e. farthest west) of the Eastern cities. Also of some note is the differing cultural backgrounds of the two cities: Minneapolis being affected by its early (and still influential) Scandinavian/Lutheran heritage, while St. Paul was touched by its early Irish and German Catholic roots.
Often, the area is referred to as simply "The Cities," both within Minnesota, but generally outside the metropolitan region, and even in the bordering states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Areas of Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities are collectively referred to as "outstate" by people from the Twin Cities metro area. Today, the two cities directly border each other and their downtown districts are about 9 miles (14 km) apart. The Twin Cities are generally said to be in "east central" Minnesota. The Cities draw commuters from as far away as Rochester, St. Cloud, Mankato and Eau Claire.
The regionThe U.S. Census Bureau defines the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area as a region of eleven counties in Minnesota and two in neighboring Wisconsin, an area which had a population of nearly three million people (2,968,805) in 2000. The area is growing rapidly; its population is projected to increase to four million in 20 years, and the Minnesota counties in this area were estimated to have a population of 3,090,377 as of April 1, 2005. Bloomington, Minnesota, home of the Mall of America, is the third-largest city in the metro area and is in close contention for third place in the state, coming in at just about the same size as Duluth and Rochester in the 2000 census. Most locals do not consider Bloomington to be a major city but a very large suburb. Since the 2000 Census it has been included as a named city in the MSA.
When speaking of the Twin Cities many locals are referring to an older seven-county area entirely within Minnesota, which is under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Council. The seven-county metro area contains a continguous urbanized area stretching from each core city with the exception of a few satellite cities. It is common for outstate Minnesotans to refer to the area as The Cities since the metro area is subdivided into distinct municipalities. The multiple "rings" of suburbs extending from the core area results from limited annexation powers in the early 20th century which halted the expansion of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Under current state legislation, an incorporated city status is more protected from annexation than townships (or towns). Presently, there are 188 municipalities in the seven-county region and 334 in the total eleven-county region ("Greater Twin Cities"). This differs from other major cities and associated metropolitan areas where the central city is the primary landholder.
The majority of Minnesota residents live in the Twin Cities region. However fewer than one in four people in the metro area lives in the two core cities--even though most metro area residents will indicate they are from Minneapolis (and to a lesser extent Saint Paul) on a national level. The Twin Cities share a common cultural lore through facets of arts, media, food, celebration, and history. Twin Citians also still primarily work in the two core cities. The metropolitan area is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota.
RivalryMinneapolis and Saint Paul have competed since they were founded, resulting in duplication of efforts such as building bigger or more extravagantly. Both cities have campuses of the University of Minnesota (though the Minneapolis one is now the primary campus), and after Saint Paul completed its elaborate Cathedral in 1915, Minneapolis quickly followed up with the equally ostentatious Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. In the late 19th and early 20th-centuries the rivalries became so intense that an architect practicing in one city was often refused business in the other.
The rivalry could occasionally erupt into inter-city violence, as happened at a 1923 game between the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints, both baseball teams of the American Association. In the 1950s, both cities competed for a major league baseball franchise (which resulted in two rival stadiums being built), and there was a brief period in the mid-1960s where the two cities could not agree on a common calendar for daylight saving time, resulting in a period of a few weeks where people in Minneapolis were one hour "ahead" of anyone living or traveling in Saint Paul.
The cities' mutual antagonism was largely healed by the end of the 1960s, aided by the simultaneous arrival in 1961 of the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, both of which identified themselves with the state as a whole (the former explicitly named for both Twin Cities) and not with either of the major cities (unlike the earlier Minneapolis Lakers). Since 1961, it has been common practice for any major sports team based in the Twin Cities to be named for Minnesota as a whole, with the Twins and Vikings followed by the Minnesota North Stars (1967–93), Minnesota Muskies (1967–68), Minnesota Moose (1994–1996), Minnesota Pipers (1968–69), Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–77), Minnesota Kicks (1976–81), Minnesota Strikers (1984–88), Minnesota Timberwolves (1989–present), Minnesota Thunder (1990–present), Minnesota Lynx (1999–present), Minnesota Wild (2000–present) and Minnesota Swarm (2005–present). In terms of development, the two cities remain distinct in their progress, with Minneapolis absorbing new and avant-garde architecture while Saint Paul continues to carefully integrate new buildings into the context of classical and Victorian styles.
Culture
Arts and entertainment
The Twin Cities area is considered the capital for the arts in the Upper Midwest, the lead region among others such as the Twin Ports, Madison, Wisconsin and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (though it is fair to say that Madison and Milwaukee are more easily grouped and identified with the Chicago-dominated region). There is a very high per-capita attendance of theatrical, musical, and comedy events across the area, which some believe may be boosted by the cold winters but can be more realistically attributed to the large number of colleges, universities, and a generally strong economy, providing strong supply and demand for arts. In 2000, 2.3 million theater tickets were sold in the region. There are more theatre seats per capita than in any other American city, besides New York City.
Minnesotan musicians from all genres have gained notoriety over the years, with the singing Andrews Sisters gaining worldwide prominence during World War II, followed most notably by Hibbing, MN native Bob Dylan (who launched his career playing free shows on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus), to the rise of punk rockers Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, the Replacements, and the rhythm and blues stylings of Morris Day and the Time and Prince in the 1980s. R&B mega-producing team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis have origins in the Twin Cities, and musicians Lester Young and Jonny Lang grew up in the Twin Cities.
These later sources brought the Minneapolis music scene to national attention; the period from about 1977 to 1987 was a period of incredible dynamism in the Minneapolis music scene, with offshoots in the punk scene including Soul Asylum, Babes in Toyland, the Clams and many other seminal favorites, while Prince's immense power in the industry (which peaked during this period) created a Rhythm and Blues mini-empire at his Paisley Park Studios, based in suburban Chanhassen.
While contemporary local artists continue to enjoy critical acclaim — examples include hip-hop duo Atmosphere and frontman Slug's label Rhymesayers Entertainment; South Minneapolis born hip hop artist Young Son and his hip hop/rap and soul based indie label Influential Melodiez, alternative metal band American Head Charge; and commercially successful pop-rockers Semisonic — things have slowed considerably, but the Twin Cities are still the region's musical hotbed. The area has also shown an unusual affinity for certain artists. For instance, while largely unnoticed on their home turf in New York City, the Twin Cities accounted for the majority of national sales for Soul Coughing's second album Irresistible Bliss during its first eight weeks of release; this followed from the fledgling fan that Soul Coughing found here while touring for their first effort, Ruby Vroom. The legendary First Avenue also is noted as the first venue to let the now worldwide famous Nickelback perform when they were turned down elsewhere.
There are a number of record labels located in the Twin Cities, including the hip-hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment (whose staff also operate a record store beneath their Uptown office) and 50 Entertainment (the best-staffed label in the Twin Cities, with 8 staff and 12 interns managing their two signed bands).
Minnesota and Wisconsin have also contributed significantly to comedy in its many different forms. Garrison Keillor is known around the country for resurrecting the old-style radio comedy with A Prairie Home Companion. Local television had the satirical show The Bedtime Nooz in the 1960s, while area natives Lizz Winstead and Craig Kilborn helped create the increasingly influential Daily Show decades later. The standup scene of Minneapolis-St. Paul during the 1980s and 1990s was a major force in national comedy. Joel and Ethan Coen have produced many films featuring dark comedy, and numerous others brought the offbeat cult shows Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Let's Bowl to the national cable-waves from the Twin Cities.
Outdoors
There are a number of lakes in the region, and cities in the area have some very extensive park systems for recreation. Organized recreation includes the Great River Energy bicycle festival, the Twin Cities Marathon, and the U.S. pond hockey championships. Some studies have shown that area residents take advantage of this, and are among the most physically fit in the country, though others have disputed that. Nonetheless, medicine is a major industry in the region and the southeasterly city of Rochester, as the University of Minnesota has joined other colleges and hospitals in doing significant research, and major medical device manufacturers started in the region (the most prominent is Medtronic). Technical innovators have brought important advances in computing, including the Cray line of supercomputers.
It is common for residents of the Twin Cities area to own or share cabins and other properties along lakes and forested areas in the central and northern regions of the state, and weekend trips "up North" happen through the warmer months. Ice fishing is also a major pastime in the winter, although each year some overambitious fishermen find themselves in dangerous situations when they venture out onto the ice too early or too late. Hunting, snowmobiling, ATV riding and numerous other outdoor activities are also popular. This connectedness with the outdoors also brings a strong sense of environmentalism to many Minnesotans.
Religion
Minneapolis-Saint Paul is also a major center for religion in the state, especially Christianity. The state headquarters of the missionary efforts of four churches are found here: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota the Presbyterian Synod of Lakes and Prairies and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) Minnesota Mission find themselves in, respectively, Saint Paul and Minneapolis; Minneapolis; and Bloomington (for both the Presbyterian and LDS(Mormon) Churches).
The headquarters of the former American Lutheran Church (TALC), Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lutheran Free Church and the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church were located in Minneapolis; the headquarters of Augsburg Fortress publishing house still is. The Minneapolis Area Synod and the Saint Paul Area Synod are the first and third largest synods of the ELCA, respectively.
The Evangelical Free Church of America has its headquarters in Bloomington.
The Twin Cities have always had a Jewish population and are home to several Jewish synagogues. There is also a strong Indian community and in 2006, the first Hindu temple opened in the Twin Cities suburb of Maple Grove. A recent influx of immigrants from Laos and Northern Africa has brought many more religions to the area. There are several Islamic Masjids in the area; however, the Twin Cities do not have a Mosque. There is a temple for the religion of Eckankar in the suburb of Chanhassen known as the Temple of Eck. In addition, Hmong and Tibetan Buddhist communities exist in Saint Paul; a Hmong Buddhist temple opened in suburban Roseville in 1995. The area's first Mormon temple opened in Oakdale, a suburb east of Saint Paul, in 2000. There are several very strong Unitarian Universalist communities such as the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, as well as several Pagan and Buddhist groups.
Sports
Some other sports teams gained their names from being in Minnesota. The Los Angeles Lakers get their name from once being based in Minneapolis, the "City of Lakes" (Minne-"lake" or "water" in Dakota, -polis-"city" in Greek). Minnesota is also known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". The Dallas Stars got their name from being a Minnesota team, the Minnesota North Stars, as Minnesota is also known as "The North Star State". To avoid favoring either of the Twin Cities, most teams based in the area use only the word Minnesota in their name, rather than Minneapolis or St. Paul.
The annual Twin Cities Marathon is held in the fall with a course running through Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minneapolis was the birthplace of Rollerblade and is a center for inline skating as well as home to the most golfers per capita of any city in the U.S.
PoliticsThe Republican National Committee has announced that they will hold their national nominating convention at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Prior, both cities combined to submit bids to host both the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the 2008 Republican National Convention. They competed against Denver and New York to host the Democratic Convention, and against New York, Cleveland and Tampa to host the Republican Convention.
History
The first European settlement in the region was near what is now known as the town of Stillwater, Minnesota. The city is approximately from downtown Saint Paul and lies on the western bank of the St. Croix River, which forms the border of central Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another settlement that began fueling early interest in the area was the outpost at Fort Snelling, which was constructed from 1820 to 1825 at the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi River.
Fort Snelling held jurisdiction over the land south of Saint Anthony Falls, thus a town known as Saint Anthony grew just north of the river. For several years, the only European resident to live on the south bank of the river was Colonel John H. Stevens, who operated a ferry service across the river. As soon as the land area controlled by Fort Snelling was reduced, new settlers began flocking across to the new village of Minneapolis. The town grew quickly, and Minneapolis and Saint Anthony eventually merged. On the eastern side of the Mississippi, a few villages such as Pig's Eye and Lambert's Landing developed and would soon grow to become Saint Paul.
Natural geography played a role in the settlement and development of the two cities. The Mississippi River valley in this area is defined by a series of stone bluffs that line both sides of the river. Saint Paul grew up around Lambert's Landing, the last place to unload boats coming upriver at an easily accessible point, some seven miles (11 km) downstream from Saint Anthony Falls, the geographic feature that defined the location of Minneapolis and its prominence as the Mill City.
The oldest farms in the state are located in Washington County, the eastern most county on the Minnesota side of the metropolitan area. Lake Elmo, just southwest of Stillwater, began with one farm in 1852 on the southwest corner of the intersection of what is now Manning Avenue and 30th Street, just east of downtown Lake Elmo. The barn, built in 1875, was restored in 1998 and still stands today, renovated as a house. The 1852 farmhouse was intentionally burned down in March 2007.
The Grand Excursion, a trip into the Upper Midwest sponsored by the Rock Island Railroad, brought more than a thousand curious travelers into the area by rail and steamboat in 1854. The next year, in 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published The Song of Hiawatha, an epic poem based on the Ojibwe legends of Hiawatha. A number of natural area landmarks were included in the story, such as Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Falls. Tourists inspired by the coverage of the Grand Excursion in eastern newspapers and those who read Longfellow's story flocked to the area in the following decades.
At one time, the region also had numerous passenger rail services, including both interurban streetcar systems and interstate rail. Due to the width of the river at points further south, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area was briefly one of the few places where the Mississippi could be crossed by railroad. A great amount of commercial rail traffic also ran through the area, often carrying grain to be processed at mills in Minneapolis or delivering other goods to Saint Paul to be transported along the Mississippi. Saint Paul had long been at the head of navigation on the river, prior to new lock and dam facilities being added upriver in Minneapolis.
Passenger travel hit its peak in 1888 with nearly eight million traversing to and from the Saint Paul Union Depot. This amounted to approximately 150 trains daily. Before long, other rail crossings were built farther south and travel through the region began to decline. In an effort by the rail companies to combat the rise of the automobile, some of the earliest streamliners ran from Chicago to Minneapolis/Saint Paul and eventual served distant points in the Pacific Northwest. Today, the only vestige of this interstate service comes by Amtrak's Empire Builder service, running once daily in each direction. That train is named after James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who settled on Summit Avenue in Saint Paul at what is now known as the James J. Hill House.
Geography and geology
Along with much of Minnesota, the Twin Cities area was shaped by water and ice over the course of millions of years. The land of the area sits on top of thick layers of sandstone and limestone laid down as seas encroached upon and receded from the region. Erosion caused natural caves to develop, which were expanded into mines when white settlers came to the area. In the time of Prohibition, at least one speakeasy was built into these hidden spaces—eventually refurbished as the Wabasha Street Caves in Saint Paul.
While a few of the caverns have been cleaned up and are safe places, most are not. Over the decades, many people have been injured and killed while exploring them. A number of these incidents involved asphyxiation, sometimes caused by smoldering fires which used up much of the oxygen in the caves and left deadly levels of noxious gases behind.
Because it is comparatively easy to dig through limestone and there are many natural and man-made open spaces, it has often been proposed that the area should examine the idea of building subways for public transportation. In theory, it could be less expensive in the Twin Cities than in many other places, but the cost would still be much greater than surface projects.
Lakes across the area were formed and altered by the movement of glaciers. This left many bodies of water in the region, and unusual shapes may appear. For example, Lake Minnetonka out toward the western side of the Twin Cities consists of a complex arrangement of channels and large bays. Elevations in the metropolitan area range from above sea level in the northwest metro to at the edge of the Mississippi River in the southeast.
Climate
Owing to its northerly latitude and inland location, the Twin Cities experiences the coldest climate of any major metropolitan area in the United States. However due to its southern location in the state and aided further by the urban heat island, | |
