Greater Minnesota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greater Minnesota, also known as Outstate, is the common name in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, for the regions of Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, that is to say, outside of the seven county Metro area comprising Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties. The areas are less urbanized than the Twin Cities, as well as not very homogenous as there are noticeable geographic and cultural differences between the farmlands of Southern Minnesota, the Iron Range, the lake country of Central Minnesota, and the plains of Western Minnesota. According to the 2000 Census, approximately two out of five Minnesotans live in Greater Minnesota.
[edit] Major Cities
The major population centers in Greater Minnesota include: Duluth, Rochester, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Mankato, and Winona.
[edit] Colleges and Universities
Outstate four-year colleges and universities include:
- Bemidji State University
- Carleton College, Northfield
- College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University, St. Joseph/Collegeville
- Concordia College, Moorhead
- Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter
- Minnesota State University, Mankato
- Minnesota State University Moorhead
- St. Cloud State University
- St. Olaf College, Northfield
- Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall
- University of Minnesota Crookston
- University of Minnesota Duluth
- University of Minnesota, Morris
- Winona State University
Residents of Greater Minnesota sometimes jokingly refer to the seven county Metro area as "Lesser Minnesota."
