Twin Cities Who?!
An indication of the name, the Twin Cities are representative of two of the largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. This metropolitan area is the biggest urban community in the state, as well as the north-central portion of the US. The central point of industrial and manufacturing operations, these two cities are set along the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix Rivers. Minneapolis is the most populous city, and its eastern neighbor Saint Paul, the state capital, is the second-largest city in terms of the area in Minnesota.
Initially, the term "Twin Cities" was used for the two settlements on both sides of the Mississippi River. A suspension bridge was built eventually, linking the two cities and providing a sense of their geographical proximity. The two cities, along with the seven-county regions, are referred to collectively by the Minnesotan citizens living outside the area as "the twin cities" or simply "the cities."
The region of seven counties, administered by the metropolitan government department and management body called the Metropolitan Council, is referred to as the "twin cities" by some. While the "Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area" is officially designated 16 counties by the Office of Management and Budget. The entire region has a population of 4,014,593, making the Twin Cities population 16th highest in the US, according to the figures from the 2018 Census.
Founded by immigrants arriving from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and northern Germany, the history of Twin cities is majorly based upon Antony falls and Fort Snelling. The power generated by the natural falls allowed the setup of different industries and the military fort attracted merchants and settlers because of the safety of land. The history of Twin cities is interconnected with the history of Minneapolis as the existence of Minneapolis started everything. Opposite saint Antony falls, Minneapolis was founded in 1855 on the west bank. The town overgrew because of its industrial production and was merged with Saint Antony falls.
As Minneapolis expanded and grew on the west bank of the Mississippi river, the opposite side wasn't idle. The tiny villages like pig's eye and lamberts landing were being refurbished and started to form the shape of a city and flourish. The history of Saint Paul focuses on the harbor, which opened the city to river trade and aided to its establishment.
A strategically accessible location to unload commercial boats going upriver, Lambert's Landing is the reason because of which the community has grown and prospered. Even the stones lined on all sides of the valley of the Mississippi River play a role. It is because of these characteristics that St. Paul has flourished in achieving a reputation as a commercial and transport hub. It is one of the most common, foreign-known urban centers.
Minneapolis and St. Paul, like other Northern cities that formed and established due to the Industrial Revolution, endured economic changes as the heavy industry collapsed, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s. The demographic decrease in the main city regions also occurred along with the economic downturn of the 60s and 70s. Nevertheless, the cities were often listed as former Rust Belt cities by the 1980s and 1990s, which had undergone positive transformations into retail, high-tech, banking, and technology industries.