Minnesota was populated by the Anishinaabe, the Dakota, and other Native Americans. The first Europeans were French fur traders that arrived in the 1600s. The portion of the state east of the Mississippi River became a part of the United States at the end of the American Revolutionary War, when the Second Treaty of Paris was signed. Land west of the Mississippi River was acquired with the Louisiana Purchase, although a portion of the Red River Valley was disputed until the Treaty of 1818. The large majority of residents are of Nordic or German descent, but ethnic diversity has increased in recent decades. (wikipedia)

• State Capital: Minneapolis
• Statehood: May 11, 1858
• Official Site: www.state.mn.us