St. Paul, Minnesota

Lore & Background

The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices sit on a hill next to downtown Saint Paul overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River. Local cultural offerings include the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, and the Minnesota History Center. Three of the region's professional sports teams play in Saint Paul: the Minnesota Wild (at the Xcel Energy Center) and Minnesota United FC (at Allianz Field). The minor-league baseball team the St. Paul Saints play at CHS Field, an independent team not formally affiliated with the Minnesota Twins. The Legislative Assembly of the Minnesota Territory established the Town of Saint Paul as its capital near existing Dakota Sioux settlements in November 1849. Named after a log chapel established by Lucien Galtier, it remained a town until 1854. The city rose to prominence as the headquarters of 19th-century industrialist James J. Hill's railroad empire, with his transcontinental Great Northern Railway then one of the nation's most dominant. Saint Paul has a mayor–council government. The mayor is Melvin Carter, who took office in 2018.

In Their Own Story

The November air hits you like a cold slap as you push through the glass doors of Xcel Energy Center. Inside, the noise is a living thing—a low, rolling rumble of twenty thousand voices that builds and ebbs like a river in spring. You find your seat in the lower bowl, and the purple seats around you are a sea of hoodies, flannel, and the occasional vintage jersey. A kid in a too-big Wild hat sits two rows up, chewing a lollipop, completely unbothered by the fact that the puck hasn't even dropped yet.

The lights dim. The arena goes quiet in that electric, held-breath way that only a hockey crowd knows. Then the anthem hits, and the entire building sways. You feel it in your chest before you hear it. The puck drops, and the first slap shot cracks like a rifle across the ice, and the kid in the big hat screams so loud his lollipop flies out of his mouth. You laugh. You are home. This is St. Paul. This is Wild Nation. And the night is young, and the ice is cold, and nobody in this building wants to go anywhere else.

Reader's Guide

Saint Paul's history and growth as a landing port are tied to water. The city's defining physical characteristic, the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, was carved into the region during the last ice age, as were the steep river bluffs and dramatic palisades on which the city is built. Receding glaciers and Lake Agassiz forced torrents of water from a glacial river that served the river valleys. The city is situated in east-central Minnesota. The Mississippi River forms a municipal boundary on part of the city's west, southwest, and southeast sides. Minneapolis, the state's largest city, lies to the west. Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Roseville, and Maplewood are north, wi

Did You Know?

• The Minnesota Wild play at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
• The mayor of Saint Paul is Melvin Carter, who took office in 2018.
• Saint Paul was originally called 'Pig's Eye' after a bootlegger's tavern.
• The city's tallest building is Wells Fargo Place, constructed in the late 1980s.