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 171 59", which intersects I-29 to Canada. In 2006, the closure became official of the nearby Noyes border crossing on U.S. 75. Minnesota and North Dakota have not yet petitioned AASHTO officials to change the definition of U.S. 75 to follow the routing of "171" and "ND 59". As of 2009, nearby U.S. 75 in Minnesota was still signed to what is now a dead-end at the old Noyes border crossing. Minnesota State Highway 171 Minnesota State Highway 171 (MN 171) is a short highway in the northwest corner of Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 59 at the North