City Spotlight

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Population: 297,640

Nickname: Saintly City, Pig's Eye

Motto: The Most Livable City in America

Saint Paul is the capital of the state of Minnesota and home to the Xcel Energy Center, the Science Museum of Minnesota and is the second most populous city in the state. The city has a rich history and is home to a mix of historic architecture and cutting edge businesses.

A variety of festivals happen every year in Saint Paul including the Minnesota State Fair, Grand Old Days, the Irish Fair of Minnesota and the free summer concert series Music in Mears. The biggest festival is the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, which has been running since 1886 and celebrates winter with an amazing assortment of great events.

Education

Saint Paul is home to a number of universities and post-secondary institutions offering a variety of programs including:

Businesses

Saint Paul is home to several major corporate headquarters and businesses in a variety of industries including:

Saint Paul was founded near Native American Settlements and named capital of the Minnesota Territory in 1849. A French Canadian fur trader and bootlegger named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant settled in the area and it became known as "L'Oeil de Cochon" or Pig's Eye. An 1837 treaty secured the city and it was named Saint Paul by French priest Father Lucien Galtier in 1841. More than 100 landmarks in the area are included on the National Register of Historic Places. Some popular historic destinations include the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Historic Fort Snelling. Saint Paul also has a rich history of gangster activity during the prohibition area where famous bootleggers like John Dillinger, Babyface Nelson and the Barker Gang spent time. Today Saint Paul offers a variety of ways to experience history while also being fully immersed in great opportunities for business, tourism and education.

Thanks to the renovated and beautiful transportation hub Union Depot, Saint Paul is continuing its legacy as a haven for train travel. Light rail lines connect Saint Paul with Minneapolis and the Amtrak Empire Builder has called Union Depot home since early 2014. A variety of projects are currently being developed using Union Depot as a hub. Trains have served Saint Paul thanks to the Milwaukee Road Railroad as far back as 1847 making the city an important part of both passenger and freight rail in the state of Minnesota and the United States.