1. Approximately 12, 000 years ago, much of Northwestern
Minnesota was covered by a huge lake that was formed by glacial meltwater
as the ice age ended. Can you name it?
Lake Agassiz
2. Many archaeologists believe that the first people
to live in Minnesota migrated across the Bering Strait from Siberia and
entered what is now Canada and then the United States between 12,000 and
10,000 years ago. Named after the town in New Mexico where this culture's
artifacts were first discovered, their presence in Minnesota has
been documented by the discovery of characteristic spearheads. Who were
these people?
Clovis Man (also accept Paleo Indians)
3. Minnesota Native Americans come primarily form two
tribes. Can you name them?
Dakota (also Sioux) and Anishinabe (also accept
Chippewa, Ojibwe, or Ojibway)
4. Though early Native Americans did not leave
a written history, carvings of persons, animals, and symbols in rock tell
their stories. What are these carvings called?
Petroglyphs
5. Did Vikings visit Minnesota and have encounters
with native peoples long before other Europeans? Some think so, and they
base their beliefs on evidence such as the controversial runestone found
in 1898 near what Minnesota town?
Kensington
6. If the Vikings weren't the first Europeans to explore
Minnesota, from what country did the first Europeans to explore the state
come?
France
7. What were the names of the two famous European explorers
who first visited the upper portion of the Mississippi River?
Marquette and Joliet
8. This Catholic missionary after whom a Minnesota
county is now named discovered the Falls of St. Anthony at the present-day
site of Minneapolis and was held captive by the Dakota before returning
to Europe. Can you name him?
Father Hennepin
9. Much of what is now Minnesota became the property
of the United States in 1803 as part of this famous land deal. What was
this famous purchase called?
The Louisiana Purchase
10. Two years after this purchase, 21 men left Saint
Louis to explore the Upper Mississippi River as official representatives
of the United States of America. What famous explorer headed the expedition?
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
11. Completed in 1825, this fort built at the junction
of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers was the northwest link in a chain
of forts and agencies built to gain control over the valuable Northwest
frontier. Can you name it?
Fort Snelling
12. Minnesota's capital, Saint Paul, didn't always
have such a saintly name. In fact, it was was originally known by the nickname
of Pierre Parrant, a notorious whiskey merchant. Do you know what that
nickname was?
Pig's Eye
13. In what year did Minnesota became the thirty-second
state admitted to the union?
1858
14. In 1962, this conflict resulted in the death of
486 white settlers and an unknown number of Native Americans. Can you name
it?
The Dakota Conflict
15. The First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment
is best known for its courageous charge during what Civil War battle?
The Battle of Gettysburg
16. The 19th Century brought immigrants from many countries
to Minnesota, but particularly from which three European countries?
Germany, Norway, and Sweden
17. After arriving in Minneapolis in 1869, he turned
a run-down Minneapolis flour mill into a thriving business that today has
sales of $6 billion and employs more than 17,000 people worldwide. Can
you name him?
Charles Pillsbury
18. In 1878, almost 69% of tilled land in Minnesota
was devoted to the production of what crop?
Wheat
19. First shipped from the Vermilion Range in 1884,
Minnesota is the largest producer of this type of mineral ore. What is
it?
Iron (also accept taconite)
20. Opening in 1889, this hospital in Rochester, Minnesota
evolved gradually into what world-famous medical facility?
Mayo Clinic
21. Taking office in 1905, he became Minnesota's first
native-born governor. Who was he?
John A. Johnson
22. In 1927 this Little Falls Minnesota native was
the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Can you name him?
Charles Lindbergh
23. The famous Armistice Day blizzard hit Minnesota
with nearly 17 inches of snow and left 49 Minnesotans dead. In what year
did this occur?
1940
24. In 1968 this Minnesotan lost the presidential election
to Richard Nixon. Can you name him?
Hubert H. Humphrey
25. It seems like Minnesotans always come in second,
at least in national politics. Can you name the Minnesotan who lost the
1984 presidential election to Ronald Reagan?
Walter Mondale