Saint Paul is the capital of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state’s largest city. Known as the “Twin Cities”, the two form the core of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.5 million residents.

The city rose to prominence when it was named the capital of the Minnesota Territory in 1849. St. Paul is known for the Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, and for the Science Museum of Minnesota. As a business hub of the Upper Midwest, it is the headquarters of companies such as Ecolab.

In the past few years, there has been a surge of new developments in downtown St. Paul. The Pioneer Press reported that “[number of downtown residents] is expected to skyrocket… by 2020, an 80 percent jump.”