| Minnesota
. . .
Minnesota's official flag was
adopted in 1893. The flag has
a blue background with a central
seal picturing a farmer plowing
a field and an Indian riding
a horse toward the sun which
are surrounded by ladyslippers,
Minnesota's state flower. The
red banner with yellow letters
has the state motto, "L'ETOILE
DU NORD," meaning "the
star of the north" in French.
Three dates are on the flag:
1858 which was the year Minnesota
became a state; 1819 which was
the year Fort Snelling was established
and 1893 when the flag was adopted.
Nineteen yellow stars surround
the seal on a white band which
symbolize that fact Minnesota
was the 19th state to enter
the union after the first 13.
Minnesota became a state on
May 11, 1858 as the 32nd state.
It's nickname, The "Land
of 10,000 Lakes," Minnesota
got this name because there
are more than 10,000 lakes throughout
the state, and actually more
than 12,000.
There are many things to do
in Minnesota including the Mall
of America, zoos, bike trails,
state parks, fishing, hunting,
camping, famous museums and
may other sites of interest.
Minnesota also relies on tourism
as a major revenue producer,
with arts, fishing, camping,
boating, hunting, and other
outdoor sports bringing in millions
of visitors each year.
Minnesota has four seasons.
The summers and hot and humid
and the winters are cold and
there is a lot of snow. Most
people who live in Minnesota
do not mind the snow and are
lovers of the winter sports,
ice fishing, ice skating, skiing,
sledding, and snowmobiling.
The fall and spring in Minnesota
are beautiful with nice temperatures.
Minnesota was ranked the nation’s
second Most Livable State in
2004 and has consistently been
near the top. Minnesota’s
unemployment rate is well below
the national and many people
move to Minnesota to find a
job. This is why Minnesota is
one of the few midwestern states
whose population is growing
faster than the overall national
average.
Minnesota is rich in natural
resources. It produces more
than 75% of the nation's iron
ore. The farms produce corn,
wheat, rye, alfalfa, and sugar
beets. Other leading farm products
include butter, eggs, milk,
potatoes, green peas, barley,
soybeans, oats, and livestock.
Minnesota has 87 counties:
Aitkin
Anoka Becker
Beltrami Benton
Big Stone Blue Earth
Brown Carlton
Carver Cass Chippewa
Chisago Clay
Clearwater
Cook Cottonwood Crow
Wing Dakota Dodge
Douglas Faribault
Fillmore Freeborn
Goodhue Grant
Hennepin Houston
Hubbard Isanti
Itasca Jackson Kanabec
Kandiyohi Kittson
Koochiching Lac qui
Parle Lake Lake
of the Woods Le Sueur
Lincoln Lyon
McLeod Mahnomen
Marshall Martin
Meeker Mille
Lacs Morrison
Mower Murray
Nicollet Nobles
Norman Olmsted
Otter Tail Pennington
Pine Pipestone
Polk Pope Ramsey
Red Lake Redwood
Renville Rice
Rock Roseau
St. Louis Scott
Sherburne Sibley
Stearns Steele
Stevens Swift
Todd Traverse
Wabasha Wadena
Waseca Washington
Watonwan Wilkin
Winona Wright
Yellow Medicine
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state - Minnesota