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 Patrol Minnesota State Patrol The Minnesota State Patrol is the statewide police force in the state of Minnesota. While the State Patrol concentrates primarily on traffic enforcement and highway safety it also has a statewide law enforcement role. Troopers are also involved with accident reconstruction and commercial vehicle enforcement. The State Patrol capitol security division also handles the security for the Minnesota State Capitol grounds and the governor. Additionally, the State Patrol maintains a K-9 unit that focuses on drug enforcement interdiction, as well as a Special Response Team (SRT), that operates like a traditional SWAT Team. The State Patrol is