Where are you?

When I told my friends and family I was moving shop to Minneapolis, the initial excitement lead to many questions. So..where is Minneapolis? Isn't it really, really, really cold there? Are you going to develop a Fargo accent? I had to bring up the good ol' U.S. map to point out where I was going. I don't think we should start blaming their 5th grade teachers in not instilling in them geography. We just get lost in our own world and forget our relation to other people/states/world.

Quick Facts about Minnesota 

Capitol: St. Paul
Population: 4.9 million
Statehood: May 11, 1858 (32nd State)
Highest point: Eagle Mountain at 2,301
Nickname: North Star State or Gopher State
State bird: Loon
State flower: Lady Slipper Orchid
State tree: Norway Pine
Governor: Mark Dayton

How we hold up:
#5 in Happiness
#10 for Coolness
#27 Cost of Living
See more here.

Famous peeps from MN:
Prince (a.k.a. Formerly Known As)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gabsy)
Bob Dylon (duh!)
Garrison Keillor (Prairie Home Companion)
Sinclair Lewis (The Jungle)
Judy Garland (Wizard of Oz)
Charles Shultz (Peanuts)
Vince Vaughn
See others here.

Quick Facts about Minneapolis 

Population: 387,753
Demographics: 63% white (yikes!)
Mayor: RT Rybek
Name meaning: City of Lakes
Five Fortune 500 businesses: Best Buy, Target, US Bancorp, Xcel Energy, Ameriprise, Thrivent Financial
From Minneapolis: Best Buy, Target, Aveda
Skyways: 8 miles connecting downtown businesses
Parks: 16% of city

How we rank:
#1 parks per person
#2 theaters per person
#2 most bike friendly
#3 most literate city
#9 most walkable city
#10 most dangerous city
#16 largest metro in U.S.