Short answers, pulled from the story.
Minneapolis was historically the flour and lumber milling capital of the world during the 19th century. In 1884, the value of its flour milling was the highest globally, and in 1899 it outsold every other lumber market on earth. The city is also the birthplace of General Mills, the Pillsbury brand, Target Corporation, and Thermo King.
The Dakota people inhabited the Minneapolis area since at least 1000 AD and trace their creation to Bdóte, the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. They are the only inhabitants of the area who claimed no other homeland. In 1863, the US abrogated all treaties with the Dakota and expelled most of them from Minnesota. In 2026, ownership of 5 acres of federal land around Saint Anthony Falls will transfer to a Dakota-led nonprofit called Owámniyomni Okhódayapi under a 2020 act of Congress.
During the Great Depression in the summer of 1934, Minneapolis truck drivers union members executed strikes in May and July-August after the Citizens' Alliance, an association of employers, refused to negotiate. The union's victory directly led to federal laws protecting workers' rights in 1935 and 1938.
George Floyd was killed on the 25th of May 2020 when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck and back for more than nine minutes. The murder, filmed by 17-year-old Darnella Frazier, sparked international protests and years of local unrest. By early 2024, the city had paid out $50 million for police conduct claims, and in 2024 a court-enforceable consent decree was agreed upon to reform policing practices.
According to the 2020 US Census, Minneapolis had a population of 429,954. Of that population, 58 percent identified as White alone, 18.9 percent as Black or African American alone, 10.4 percent as Hispanic or Latino, and 5.8 percent as Asian alone. As of 2022, approximately 20,000 Somalis and about 3,000 Ethiopians reside in the city.
Minneapolis is home to four professional sports teams: the Minnesota Vikings (NFL), the Minnesota Twins (MLB), the Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA), and the Minnesota Lynx (WNBA). The Twins won the World Series in 1987 and 1991, and the Lynx won four WNBA championships from 2011 to 2017. The 1,700,000-square-foot U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened in 2016 with 66,000 seats, was built for the Vikings at a cost of $1.122 billion.