Getting Acquainted With The Twin Cities

(CBS) 

Minneapolis and St. Paul are nicknamed "The Twin Cities" even though they are separate municipalities. The majority of Minnesotans live in the Twin Cities area. Their downtown areas are only nine miles apart.

The Xcel Center, the venue for the Republican Convention, is in St. Paul.

St. Paul is known for its more narrow streets and late-Victorian architecture and was referred to as the "last city of the east". Minneapolis is thought to be a more modern city and was referred to as the "first city of the west".

According to the U.S. Census, the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metropolitan area's population is projected to increase to four million in 20 years. The current population is just shy of three million.

Minneapolis' background is largely Scandinavian/Lutheran while St. Paul's is Irish and German Catholic.

Minneapolis was host to the Republican Convention in 1892 when Benjamin Harrison was nominated. Most delegates traveled to Minneapolis by stage coach or train.

The downtown area of Minneapolis is home to 30,000 people, which is more than Dallas, Denver, Houston and Indianapolis combined.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the median household income in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area was $54,304.

Minneapolis and St. Paul had a bit of a rivalry which was thought to have begun during a 1923 baseball games between the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints. The rift continued for some years, with arguments over MLB franchise teams and a disagreement over daylight savings time, but was ultimately healed in the 1960s when Minnesota acquired an MLB team and an NFL team which decided to represent not a city but the state itself: the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota is also home to the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the NHL's Minnesota Stars.

St. Paul's Summit Avenue was home to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis.

The Minnesota State Fair, which ends just before the Republican Convention is expected to attract 1.7 million visitors this year.

[agcummins0]

RE the columns introducing Minnesota to America, you state "Minnesota is also home to the NBA%u2019s Minnesota Timberwolves and the NHL%u2019s Minnesota Stars". Not completely right, the Stars are now the Dallas Stars. They were stolen away in what was bitter episode for Minnesotans. Now the, Minnesota Wild is our new NHL team and you should get this right because they play in St. Paul in the Xcel arena which is the site of the RNC, which prompted this article in the first place.