Archive for October, 2010

10.12.10

Minnehaha Falls: A Secret Jewel

Posted in Parks and Recreation at 7:10 pm by www.beactiveminnesota.org

Nestled in the web of city streets and freeways in Minneapolis is one of the most coveted centerpeices of its resources Minnehaha Falls.The park’s urban location is not marred by its surrounding city development as the falls wind through their route to the Mississippi River. And this meandering is not by happenstance. The name Minnehaha is translated as “curling water” or

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10.11.10

Minnesota’s Native American Heritage

Posted in History and Heritage at 7:12 pm by www.beactiveminnesota.org

With its current population of over 5 million residents, it’s hard to imagine that Minnesota was once home to a vast array of Native American tribes.In order to truly appreciate all that Minnesota has to offer, sometimes it’s a good thing to look at the past.Following is a sample of some of the most notable Native American tribes that helped shape this state as it is known today.Arapaho were a Plains tribe living around the Red River Valley of northern Minnesota and North Dakota.Chippewa (also known as the Ojibwas) can be broken into 15 historic bands (divisions) located in Michigan, western Minnesota, and

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10.10.10

Minnesota Fun Facts

Posted in Fun Facts at 7:08 pm by www.beactiveminnesota.org

  • The Metrodome is the only sports venue where there has been a Super Bowl, a World Series, and an NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.
  • During the winter of 1888, residents of St. Paul built an ice palace that was considered one of the largest buildings in the world, measuring 14 stories high and covering an acre of land.
  • The Mall of America in Bloomington is over 9.5 million square feet in size and showcases 500 specialty stores, 50 restaurants, 7 nightclubs and 14 movie theaters.
  • Because of its thousands of lakes, Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline which is

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10.07.10

Spam, Spam, Spam

Posted in Historical Attractions at 7:06 pm by www.beactiveminnesota.org

Contrary to popular opinion, spam is not merely annoying electronic junk mail.It is a classic canned meat that has been around since 1936 when Jay Hormel developed a perfect way to package (“can”) sweet and tender pork shoulder meat so it wouldn’t spoil.Today, the classic SPAM product contains the simple ingredients of pork with ham, salt, water, potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrate and is the foundation for many a festival and recipe cook-off.Fortunately, the SPAM museum is located in Austin, Minnesota and houses 16,500 square feet of SPAM artifacts and memorabilia all for free and that’s something to spam about!

10.05.10

Four Incredible National Parks

Posted in Parks and Recreation at 7:06 pm by www.beactiveminnesota.org

When one first thinks of Minnesota they may think only of bitter cold winters. But guess what? Minnesota has four incredible parks that are just ripe for exploring on those days when being snowed-in is a distant memory.Grand Portage National Monument is located on the stunning shore and boreal forest of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota. The national monument preserves the vital heritage of Minnesota’s 18th, 19th, and 20th century fur trade activities as well as the Ojibwe (or Chippewa) Native American legacy. As the National park Service points out, it’s a great place to “travel into the past to discover the present.”Pipestone National Monument is a showcase of historical Plains Indian life. For generations the American Indians quarried the red pipestone found here, and many consider the grounds to be sacred since the carved pipestones were often used in prayer ceremonies. At an altitude of 1600 feet, the area is considered the “high plains” with summer temperatures averaging in the 80′s but occasionally peaking to

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