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 Highway 9 Breckenridge, Barnesville, Ada, and Crookston in west-central and northwest Minnesota. Monson Lake State Park is located west of Sunburg and west of the junction of 9 and MN 104. The park entrance is located off MN 9 via County Road 95 (CR 95). A portion of the route passes through the Red River Valley region in northwest Minnesota. The eastern terminus for MN 9 is its intersection with MN 23 in New London in west-central Minnesota. The western terminus for the route is its intersection with US 75 in Doran. The southern terminus for MN 9 is its second intersection