by Matt McKee

The Orange Tour is always excited when it goes to a new city and this year Minneapolis happens to be one of those towns. Like anyone going to a new place we wanted to do some research on what to expect and to see what fun facts we could find. Below we will explore 15 reasons we are excited about the great city of Minneapolis.

15 Fun Facts about the Twin Cities (gathered from 50states.com)

1. Minneapolis—nicknamed the “Twin Cities” (together with the neighboring city of Saint Paul), “City of Lakes,” and the “Mill City,”—is the largest city in Minnesota.  And we like to go big or stay home.
2. Minnesota is home to 19 Fortune 500 companies—more than any other state. 15 of those are in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Notable names among these companies include UnitedHealth Group, Target, and Best Buy. Target’s logo is red and Best Buy has some yellow. When you combine them together you get Orange. Hmmm
3. Fore! Minneapolis has more golfers per capita than any other city in the US. We wish we were in town long enough to hit a little orange golf ball with all of these golfers.
4. These inventions were created near Minneapolis: Masking and Scotch tape, Wheaties cereal, Bisquick, and the bundt pan. We like the color of the Wheaties box, just saying.
5. Prince, the son of a jazz musician and a singer, is Minneapolis’ most famous musical offspring. Wonder if he wants to join us on Tour?
6. After being expanded to 11 acres, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden officially became the largest urban sculpture garden in the country. And to think that they don’t have one sculpture in the color Orange. We might need to change that.
7. Right behind New York and Chicago, Minneapolis is home to the third-largest theater market in the U.S. Can you say future tour stop?
8. The first automatic pop-up toaster, the Toastmaster, was marketed in 1926 by McGraw Electric Co. in Minneapolis. The retail price was $13.50. (Adjusted for inflation, that’s the equivalent to nearly $165 today.) Their first ad was done in the colors of yellow and red. Maybe just a coincidence.
9. The nation’s first Better Business Bureau was founded in Minneapolis in 1912. Random question, should there be a Better Church Bureau?
10. The climate-controlled Metrodome in Minneapolis is the only facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World Series, and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship. No team that has won a championship game in the building was wearing Orange. That is sad.
11. Minneapolis is tied with Seattle as America’s most literate city. We publish a lot of books. I think we might get along with the residence here quite well.
12. When the Minneapolis Public Library separated its children’s books from the rest of their collection in 1889, they were the first to do so, setting a trend that became common in libraries everywhere. We also put a high value on children and the next generation. We seem to have a lot in common.
13.  The Mall of America, located in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, is the size of 78 football fields. That’s 9.5 million square feet! We bet they have a ton of orange shoes we could buy there.
14. Minneapolis’ skyway system connects 52 blocks of downtown, making it possible to live, eat, work, and shop without ever having to go outside. We wonder if a church is also connected to this system so that you could also worship with others without having to go outside.
15. Emmanuel Christian Center is located in Minneapolis. Of course we are excited about this because this is where we will be having the tour. Thank you to an incredible host.

Join us in Minneapolis or any one of the remaining Orange Tour cities: www.OrangeTour.org. Lead Small training will take place the night before every Orange Tour stop. Anyone with a tour ticket can attend for free. Those without a tour ticket may attend for $19. For more information, please visit www.OrangeTour.org.