What's Great About the Twin Cities

The Twin Cities is alive with activity and recreation all year long. In the metro area alone, there are 950 lakes and 136,900 acres of parkland. Come here to golf, boat, hike, fish (summer and winter), snowboard and cross-country ski. And Minneapolis' famed skyway system connects 52 blocks downtown — nearly five miles — so in the winter it's possible to live, eat, work and shop without ever going outside.

Minnesota is home to five professional sports teams: the Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx and Wild. If you prefer college sports, the University of Minnesota teams will keep you entertained. And our minor league baseball team, the St. Paul Saints, is also a popular summertime draw.

It's true: Minneapolis is second in the U.S. for theaters per capita. We're known for our art museums, for the Walker Art Center and for the sculpture garden with the cherry spoon near Loring Park. We are one of the few metropolitan areas in the country with two world-class orchestras: the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Minneapolis is also home to The Minnesota Opera and Minnesota Ballet.

Minneapolis ranks fifth in the country in total downtown retail sales, behind only New York City, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco. Downtown's Nicollet Mall has more retail outlets in a four-block radius than any other city in the country. And nearby Bloomington is home to the Mall of America, the nation's largest shopping center — at 9.5 million square feet, it's the size of 78 football fields.

Getting around the Twin Cities has never been more convenient. You can use the bus, carpool lane or the Hiawatha Light Rail to get to work, and the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport is just 20 minutes from downtown Minneapolis.

• Minneapolis has more golfers per capita than any other city in the country.
• The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is the largest urban sculpture garden in the country.
• The Guthrie Theater is the largest regional playhouse in the country.
• The climate-controlled Metrodome is the only facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World Series and an NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.
• Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.

Education
Whether you are searching for a school for your family or to expand your own education, Minnesota has excellent educational systems. Minnesota teachers are among the highest-ranked in the nation according to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. According to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Minnesota students' average ACT scores in 2005 were the highest in the nation. Minnesota also has the second highest high school graduation rate in the U.S.

There are numerous public and private higher-education institutions located throughout the Twin Cities, including the University of Minnesota and its Carlson School of Management, which boasts a top 25 ranking among MBA programs in the U.S.

Want to know more about Minneapolis? Visit these sites for further information.

• www.state.mn.us
• www.exploreminnesota.com
• www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us
• www.ci.stpaul.mn.us
• www.minneapolis.com