The state of Minnesota ‘s name comes from the river Minesota River. In the Dakota language, mni or mini means “water”. mnisota can be translated as “rather cloudy water”. When the first settlers came to the country, the Indians poured milk into water and then called it mnisota. Minnesota is part of the Midwest of the USA and is the twelfth largest state by area. With its forests, parks and untouched natural areas, this “land of ten thousand lakes” offers plenty of opportunities for leisure activities and relaxation in nature. More than half of the inhabitants live in the “Twin Cities”, the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, which lie on the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers and their surrounding areas. According to the US Census Bureau, it is arguably one of the wealthiest areas in the United States. In the rest of the state to the west are the great prairies which have become more and more cultivated for agriculture. The forested areas in the east of the state are heavily populated and also cultivated. The “North Woods,” which cover a large region of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, are less populated. The vast majority of Minnesota residents were originally Scandinavians or descended from German immigrants. Over time, however, other ethnic groups from Africa, Asia and Latin America have been added. The climate in Minnesota is characteristic of the continental region of North America with very high temperature differences from -51°C in winter to 45°C in summer. Extreme weather conditions with snowstorms (blizzards), strong thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes and hurricanes are not uncommon in the country. The part of the country east of the Mississippi River came to the United States at the end of the American Revolutionary War. The country west of the river was added in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase, in which the Americans bought a huge area from the French from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. In the years that followed, more and more settlers came into the country and the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul emerged. Minnesota became the 32nd member of the United States on May 11, 1858. Check topschoolsoflaw.com for brief history of the state of Minnesota.