Minnesota Essays - MinneapolisSaint Paul, Minnesota, Minneapolis

Minnesota Hi! I'm Amanda. I chose to do my report on Minnesota because that's where I'm from. In fact, my whole family is from Minneapolis. I thought it would be interesting to know more about where I came from. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my report on Minnesota. Like all other states, Minnesota has many special qualities of its own. The Norway pine is the state tree. The loon is the state bird. The pink and white lady slipper is the lovely state flower. "Star of the North" is the state motto. Last but not least, the gopher is the state animal. They are all very interesting and unique to Minnesota. Minnesota is a weird name as many might think. That is because Indians made it up. In their language, minne means "water", and sotah means "sky-tinted". In that case, the nickname is "Land of Sky Blue Waters". There are over 4,757,757 people living in Minnesota. The four biggest cities are Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Bloomington. Minneapolis is the biggest, but St. Paul is the capitol. Minnesota is surrounded by the states of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota and Canada. I've visited many of these states, and I can tell you that some of the nicest people live in Minnesota. In Minnesota, there are many interesting places to go. Some of the most popular are the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the Mayo Clinic, Fort Snelling, the Glensheen Mansion, Ironworld USA, the Minnesota Zoo, Murphy's Landing, the Science Museum of Minnesota, Paul Bunyan Land, The Guthrie Theater, and one of the most popular of them all (especially me), the Mall of America. There are also many lakes, forests, state parks, and sporting events. I never knew there could be so many places to go in one state. Like many other states, Minnesota has its own ways of doing things. With natural resources of fertile soil, important minerals, and thick evergreen forests, the major industries are farming, mining, and the building of roads, office buildings and hotels. The crops farmers grow are corn, oats, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, peas, and many others. With all the big cities, I never knew there was so much farming in Minnesota. Minnesota's climate has four definite seasons. Temperatures average around 68 degrees F in July and 2 degrees F in January. Also, throughout the year, they get about 19 inches of rain and snow. It's a fun place to live if you like both summer and winter activities. There are many historical facts about Minnesota. Long ago glaciers covered most of the land that we now call Minnesota. Two famous French fur traders, Pierre Esprit Radisson and Medart Chouart were the first white men to set foot on this land. Before that, only Indians lived here. Another famous person, Sinclair Lewis (an American novelist) lived in Minnesota. Some other interesting facts about Minnesota are that it has the biggest mall in America (the Mall of America), and one of the most well known rivers in America (the Mississippi river) begins here. There are a lot of interesting things about Minnesota. When I chose to write about Minnesota, I just did it because that's where I was born. Until I did this report, I never knew how interesting one state could be. Now that I picked it, I feel I made a good choice. If I had to chose over again I wouldn't change my mind. After studying Minnesota, I'm very proud to say that's where I'm from.