MINNESOTA

State of Minnesota

ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: Derived from the Sioux Indian word minisota, meaning "sky-tinted waters." NICKNAME: The North Star State. CAPITAL: St. Paul. ENTERED UNION: 11 May 1858 (32nd). SONG: "Hail! Minnesota." MOTTO: L'Etoile du Nord (The North Star). FLAG: On a blue field bordered on three sides by a gold fringe, a version of the state seal is surrounded by a wreath with the statehood year (1858) the year of the establishment of Ft. Snelling (1819), and the year the flag was adopted (1893); five clusters of gold stars and the word "Minnesota" fill the outer circle. OFFICIAL SEAL: A farmer, with a powder horn and musket nearby, plows a field in the foreground, while in the background, before a rising sun, an Indian on horseback crosses the plains; pine trees and a waterfall represent the state's natural resources. The state motto is above and the whole is surrounded by the words "The Great Seal of the State of Minnesota 1858." Another version of the seal in common use shows a cowboy riding across the plains. BIRD: Common loon. BUTTERFLY: Monarch. FISH: Walleye. FLOWER: Pink and white (or showy) lady slipper. TREE: Red (Norway) pine. GRAIN: Wild rice. MUSHROOM: Morel or sponge mushroom. DRINK: Milk. GEM: Lake Superior agate. LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Washington's and Lincoln's Birthdays, 3rd Monday in February; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Columbus Day, 2nd Monday in October; Veterans Day, 11 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December. By statute, schools hold special observances on Susan B. Anthony Day, 15 February; Arbor Day, last Friday in April; Minnesota Day, 11 May; Frances Willard Day, 28 September; Leif Erikson Day, 9 October. TIME: 6 AM CST = noon GMT.