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 Guard Minnesota State Guard The Minnesota State Guard, also known previously as the Minnesota Defense Force, is the currently inactive state defense force of the state of Minnesota. The State Guard was organized with the purpose of replacing the Minnesota National Guard in protecting the state of Minnesota while the National Guard was federalized and deployed during World War II. The State Guard is authorized under Minnesota law, and is recognized as a component of the organized militia of Minnesota, along with the Minnesota National Guard. The Minnesota National Guard, along with the rest of the National Guard of the United