This city has a twin. If combined with Saint Paul they would form the core of the 16th largest metropolitan area in the United States. Surrounded with plentiful water bodies, you would find no other restful place as the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This city is the largest City for Minnesota but as well as it is the county seat of Hennepin country. 2008 will be a great a memorable year for the two places, Minneapolis and the state Minnesota, as each will celebrate their sesquicentennials. Through time it has always been called the City of Lakes and Mill City



To live up to being the City of lakes, you can find around twenty lakes and wetlands surrounding the city. Some of these bodies of water are connected by parkways found in the Chain of Lakes and the grand Rounds Scenic byway. It has evolved from being merely the world's flour miller and the center for timber to a bustling city which is the center for theater, art and music for the state of Minnesota. The city is noted for many great hotels and restaurants of distinction. Some of the attractions are the Mall Of America with over 250 stores, it draws crowds from many surrounding states. The Minneapolis institute of arts and the Walker Art Center.

Minneapolis Minnesota was also known to be the most literate of all the cities in the United States. The name of the city came about when the first schoolmaster of the city mixed the two words "mni" and "polis". "Mni" is a Dakota word which means water and polis is the Greek word for city. The city has grown with the development of the River but the first settlers in the area were known to be the Dakota Sioux. This was overturned with the coming of French explorers around 1680. Forces were used in order to force the first settlers to sell their land to the eastern settlers for them to settle in the area. The city was then incorporated in the year 1867 with the coming of the railroad connecting Minneapolis, Chicago and the east bank of Saint Anthony. The single waterfall on the Mississippi river is located here. It is known as the Saint Anthony's falls which became the source of hydropower since 1st century BC. The area during the 1800's was also sourced of timber for the lumber industry. And in 1905, it became a flour and mill city as farmers planted grain in the Great Plains and shipped them in the flour mills in the city. During this time 10% of the Country's flour and grist was sourced in Minneapolis. At the peaked of their production 12 million loaves of bread can be created form the flour that they were producing. Currently the lake city, bases their economy on finance, rail, trucking and other industries. The industry mostly produces products of metal and automotive parts, electronics plastics and machinery. Distinctions such as the "Top Tech City" in the United States, Smart Places to live and one of the Seven Cool places to live for young professionals was given to the city to recognize it's above national average ranking as to the quality of their work force which has advanced degrees and availability of university researches among others.

The city has literally hundreds to offer those visiting it. The Minneapolis park system has been named for best designed and best maintained park in the U.S. as geographical landmarks, boulevards and parkways were preserved and incorporated in the States park system. They also have the Minnehaha falls and offer a popular marathon, the Twin Cities marathon every year. Minneapolis, Minnesota has a lot to offer for those visitors who want to combine work with pleasure.