Minnesota has lots of mosquitoes. In fact, there are over 50 different species of mosquitoes that live in the state. Mosquitoes are so common that they have been called Minnesota's "unofficial state bird."

An estimated 12,000 common loons (Gavia immer) reside in Minnesota. In 1961, it was designated the state bird of Minnesota, and a loon appears on the Minnesota State Quarter.

At 2,301 feet (701 m), Eagle Mountain is the highest natural point in Minnesota. It is only about 15 miles (24 km) from Minnesota's lowest elevation, Lake Superior, at 600 feet (183 m).

After narrowly defeating Republican Alexander Ramsey in the first state gubernatorial contest in 1858, Democrat Henry Hastings Sibley declared in his inaugural address, "I have no object and no interests which are not inseparably bound up with the welfare of the state."

Scotch tape, bundt pans, and the NERF ball were all invented in Minnesota. Other Minnesota inventions include Milky Way candy bars, the Better Business Bureau, and grocery bags with handles.

Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", Minnesota is actually home to 11,842 lakes of 10 acres or more. (If lake basins over 2.5 acres were counted, Minnesota would have over 21,000 lakes.) With that many lakes, there are bound to be some repeat names. There are more than 200 Mud lakes, 154 Long lakes, and 122 Rice lakes. Other common lake names include Bass, Round, Horseshoe, Twin, Island, Johnson and Spring.

In addition to its lakes, Minnesota has 92,000 miles of rivers and streams. That's enough to circle the equator more than 3 1/2 times!

The plainspoken, accordion-playing, Norwegian immigrant's daughter Coya Knutson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1954 and served two terms. She is remembered today for the notorious "Coya, Come Home" letter written by her then-estranged husband, Andy, urging her to give up her seat and not seek reelection in 1958. Political rivals had put him up to it, and it was seen as instrumental in her ensuing defeat.

According to the Star Tribune, the walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) is Minnesota's most popular fish and serves as "the mainstay of sport fishing" in the state. The walleye lives in every watery part of Minnesota, but prefers the cooler lakes of the northern part of the state.

Minnesota designated the blueberry muffin as the official state muffin in 1988. Representative Mary Murphy introduced the bill at the request of a third-grade class from South Terrace Elementary School in Carlton, Minnesota. Wild blueberries are native to northeastern Minnesota, growing in bogs, on hillsides, and in cut-over forested areas.