Minnesota Saint Paul, in east-central Minnesota along the banks of the Mississippi River, has been Minnesota's capital city since 1849, first as capital of the Territory of Minnesota, and then as the state capital since 1858. Saint Paul is adjacent to Minnesota's most populous city, Minneapolis; they and their suburbs are known collectively as the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, and home to about 54 percent of the state's population. The remainder of the state is known as "Greater Minnesota" or pejoratively "Outstate Minnesota". The state has 17 cities with populations above 50,000 (as
Minnesota State Auditor Minnesota State Auditor The Minnesota State Auditor is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. The State Auditor is charged with overseeing more than $20 billion spent annually by local governments in Minnesota. The State Auditor does this by performing audits of local government financial statements and by reviewing documents, data, reports and complaints reported to the Office. The financial information collected is analyzed and serves as the basis of statutory reports issued by the Office of the State Auditor. The State Auditor is elected and serves a four-year term. The State Auditor's office