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- Anderson, Richard Dean (Minneapolis) actor - MacGyver
- Anderson, Loni (St. Paul) actress, WKRP fame
- Anderson, Louie (Minneapolis) comedian, also host of the game show Family Feud
- Anderson, Alexander (Red Wing) scientist - discovered the process to puff wheat and rice; think rice cakes!
- Andrews Sisters (Minneapolis) musicians - entertained Allied troops during WWII and appeared in several films
- Arness, James (Minneapolis) actor - Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke and brother of actor Peter Graves
- Bakken, Earl (Minneapolis) scientist - invented the first small, portable, battery-powered pacemaker in 1957; founded Medtronic
- Bakker, Tammy Faye (International Falls) evangelist - former wife of Jim Bakker known for her tear-streaked mascara
- Bancroft, Ann (St. Paul) adventurer - first woman to cross the ice to the North and South Poles
- Bly, Robert (Madison) poet - also author of Iron John: A Book About Men
- Brooks, Herb (White Bear Lake) coach - led the US Olympic hockey team in 1980 to gold
- Bugliosi, Vincent (Hibbing) attorney - prosecutor in the Charles Manson case and author of the novel Helter Skelter
- Burger, Warren Earl (St. Paul) judge - Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1969 to 1986
- Cochran, Eddie (Albert Lea) musician - rockabilly singer of "Summertime Blues" fame
- Coen, Joel and Ethan (Minneapolis) directors - known for films, Fargo and O Brother Where Art Thou, and Oscar winner No Country for Old Men
- Dahl, Arlene (Minneapolis) actress - mother of actor Lorenzo Lamas
- Dahm Triplets (Minneapolis) entertainers - Playboy centerfolds
- Day, Morris (Minneapolis) musician - lead of the band, The Time, featured in Prince's movie, Purple Rain
- Demarest, William (St. Paul) actor - Uncle Charley on My Three Sons
- Densmore, Frances (Red Wing) historian - recorded the voices of hundreds of American Indians, including Geronimo
- Duffy, Julia (Minneapolis) actress - played Stephanie on Newhart
- Dylan, Bob (Duluth) musician - considered the greatest American bard
- Elise, Kimberly (Minneapolis) actress - star of the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman
- Enger, Leif (Sauk Centre) writer - Peace Like a River, the Book Sense Book of the Year for Fiction 2002
- Erdrich, Louise (Little Falls) writer - Love Medicine, the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award winner
- Farrell, Mike (St. Paul) actor - played Hunnicut on M*A*S*H
- Fitzgerald, F. Scott (St. Paul) writer - The Great Gatsby, considered one of the greatest American novels
- Friedman, Thomas (Minneapolis) writer - New York Times columnist
- Garland, Judy (Grand Rapids) actress - immortalized as Dorothy in The Wizard of the Oz
- Getty, J. Paul (Minneapolis) entrepeneur - founder of Getty Oil Company and art collector
- Gilliam, Terry (Minneapolis) director - Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brazil, 12 Monkeys
- Graves, Peter (Minneapolis) actor - played Jim on TV series Mission Impossible; brother of actor James Arness
- Gruchow, Paul (Montevideo) writer - also a conservationist; penned The Necessity of Empty Places
- Hampl, Patricia (St. Paul) writer - recipient of MacArthur "genius grant" in 1990
- Hedberg, Mitch (St. Paul) comedian - stand-up comic known for his odd subject matter
- Hedlund, Garrett (Roseau) actor - performs in Troy and Four Brothers
- Hedren, Tippi (New Ulm) actress - lead in Hitchhock's The Birds; also mother of actress Melanie Griffith
- Hill, George Roy (Minneapolis) director - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting
- Holm, Bill (Minneota) writer - The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth
- Hong, James (Minneapolis) actor - the ubiquitous, all-purpose Asian actor
- Isbin, Sharon (Minneapolis) musician - 2001 Grammy Award winning guitarist
- Jam, Jimmy (Minneapolis) producer - has more No. 1 hits than anyone except Beatles producer George Martin
- Johnson, Ben Patrick (St. Paul) – signature voice of CBS, Fox and numerous movie trailers
- Kaine, Tim (St. Paul) politician - the Catholic Democratic governor of Virginia (2006 to present)
- Keillor, Garrison (Anoka) writer - creator of The Prairie Home Companion and the imaginary town Lake Wobegon
- Kilborn, Craig (Hastings) entertainer - former host of CBS The Late Late Show
- Krause, Peter (Alexandria) actor - plays Nathan in the HBO series Six Feet Under
- Kroc, Joan (St. Paul) billionaire - wife of Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's
- LaFontaine, Don (Duluth) – the deep bass voice you usually hear in Hollywood movie trailers
- Lange, Jessica (Cloquet) actress - two-time Oscar winner for Tootsie and Blue Sky
- Lehman, Tom (Austin) athlete - 1996 British Open winner
- Leigh Cook, Rachel (Minneapolis) actress - Baby-Sitters' Club, Get Carter, Josie and the Pussycats
- Lewis, Sinclair (Sauk Centre) writer - first American to win Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930
- Lillehei, C. Walton (Minneapolis) scientist - the "Father of Open Heart Surgery"
- Lowe, Edward (St. Paul) inventor - Kitty Litter
- Madden, John (Austin) coach - also NFL broadcaster
- Maris, Roger (Hibbing) athlete - broke Babe Ruth's season home run record with 61 in 1961 and held it until 1998
- Mars, Frank (Newport) entrepeneur - his company Mar-O-Bar became Mars Inc., originator of Milky Ways and M&Ms
- McCarthy, Eugene (Watkins) politician - US Representative and Senator from 1949 to 1971
- McHale, Kevin (Hibbing) athlete - Boston Celtics player
- McKay, Harvey (unknown) entrepeneur - author of inspirational businesss books and CEO of Mackay Envelope Corp.
- Miles, Alexander (Duluth) inventor - innovated elevators
- Molitor, Paul (St. Paul) athlete - inducted in to Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004
- Mondale, Walter (Ceylon) politician - 42nd US Vice President from 1977 to 1981; nickname is Fritz
- Moran, George "Bugs" (St. Paul) gangster - Al Capone's archenemy
- Morris, Jack (St. Paul) athlete - pitched a 10-inning shutout against the Atlanta Braves to win 1991 World Series
- Morrow, Barry (St. Paul) writer - Oscar-winning screenwriter of Rain Man in 1989
- Neiman, Leroy (St. Paul) artist - known for stylized, modern paintings of sports figures
- O'Brien, Tim (Austin) writer - authored The Things They Carried and other works touching upon the Vietnam War.
- Ostroushko, Peter (Minneapolis) musician - mandolin/fiddle player makes regular appearances on A Prairie Home Companion
- Paulucci, Jeno (Hibbing) entrepeneur - started Chung King, Jeno's Pizza and Luigino's
- Pedersen, Wiliam (St. Paul) architect - Shanghai World Financial Center, which will be the world's tallest building when completed
- Pirsig, Robert (Minneapolis) writer - cult classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
- Prince (Minneapolis) musician - considered to be a musical genius; birthname is Prince Rogers Nelson
- Puckett, Gary (Hibbing) musician - frontman of the Gary Puckett & The Union Gap band - popular in the late 1960s
- Quimby, Fred (Minneapolis) producer - Tom & Jerry cartoons
- Reisner, Marc (Minneapolis) writer - Cadillac Desert was about the environmental impact of Western water projects
- Ross, Marion (Albert Lea) actress - played Mrs. C from Happy Days
- Russell, Jane (Bemidji) actress - brunette bombshell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
- Ryder, Winona (Winona) actress - named after the town she was born in
- Samuelson, Ralph (Lake City) inventor - waterskiing
- Schneider, Maria (Windom) musician - nominated for 2004 Grammies in jazz
- Schulz, Charles (St. Paul) cartoonist - Peanuts creator
- Sears, Julia (Mankato) suffragette - first woman in the US to head a public college in 1872
- Sherman, Patsy (Minneapolis) inventor - Scotchgard
- Shield, Leroy Bernard (Waseca) - musician - wrote theme music used in the Little Rascals and Laurel and Hardy films for the Hal Roach Studios.
- Solem, Phil (Duluth) musician - half of the band, The Rembrandts, known for the Friends theme song "I'll Be There For You"
- Sondergaard, Gale (Litchfield) actress - won first-ever Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1936
- Sorbo, Kevin (Mound) actor - Hercules
- Spencer, LaVyrle (Browerville) writer - romance novels
- Stassen, Harold E. (West St. Paul) politician - youngest governor in US history at age 31; ran for president 9 times (1948-1992)
- Steger, Will (Richfield) explorer - led the first team to cross Antarctica by dogsled
- Taylor, Glen (Worthington) billionaire - 306th richest person in the world in 2004 according to Forbes
- Thompson, Lea (Rochester) actress - played Lorraine in Back to the Future
- Tiegs, Cheryl (Breckenridge) model - 1970s poster girl
- Todd, Mike (Minneapolis) producer - married to Elizabeth Taylor, won an Oscar for producing Around the World in 80 Days in 1956
- Ueland, Brenda (Minneapolis) writer - If You Want to Write (1938)
- Vaughn, Vince (Minneapolis) actor - Swingers, Old School
- Ventura, Jesse (Minneapolis) pro wrestler - elected to be Minnesota's 38th governor from 1999 to 2003
- Volstead, Andrew (Kenyon) politician - US Congressman; launched the Prohibition Act in 1919
- Wallace, DeWitt (St. Paul) publisher - co-founded Reader's Digest with his wife Lila in 1922
- Weisman, Alan (Minneapolis) author, professor, journalist – his most popular work is The World Without Us about a post-human scenario.
- Westerberg, Paul (Minneapolis) musician - lead singer of The Replacements; went solo in 1993
- Widmark, Richard (Sunrise) actor - screend debut as a giggling, homicidal gangster in Kiss of Death (1947)
- Winfield, Dave (St. Paul) athlete - one of seven players in baseball history to reach both 3,000 hits and 400 home runs
- Young, Gig (St. Cloud) actor - won an Oscar in 1969 for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
- Zahn, Steve (Marshall) actor - Reality Bites
- Franken, Al (St. Louis Park) entertainer - currently Air America's host; played Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live
- Hartnett, Josh (St. Paul) actor - Black Hawk Down, The Virgin Suicides
- Hoag, Tami (Harmony) writer - popular suspense/thriller novelist
- Hutchinson, Doug (Minneapolis) actor - played Percy, the cruel prison guard, in The Green Mile with Tom Hanks
- Ingalls Wilder, Laura (Walnut Grove) writer - Little House on the Prairie books; lived along the banks of Plum Creek
- Larsen, Libby (Minneapolis) composer - one of most prolific and most performed living composers in the US
- Lindbergh, Charles (Little Falls) aviator - piloted the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927
- Music, Lorenzo (Duluth) entertainer - voice of Garfield and Carlton the Doorman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Nagurski, Bronko (International Falls) athlete - Hall of Fame football player
- Parks, Gordon (St. Paul) director - Shaft was only one accomplishment of this Renaissance man
- Vaughn, Robert (Minneapolis) actor - The Man from U.N.C.L.E. went to North High School
- Wellcome, Henry Solomon (Garden City) entrepeneur - made his fortune in pharmaceuticals and invented invisible ink at age 16
- Buettner, Dan (St. Paul) explorer - has three Guinness World Records in long distance bicycling
- DiCamillo, Kate (Minneapolis) writer - The Tale of Despereaux won the 2004 Newbery Medal
- Guest, Judith (Edina) writer - her novel, Ordinary People, was adapted into a film that won 4 Oscars in 1981
- Henke, Milburn (Hutchinson) resident - first enlisted man to land in Europe in WWII on January 26, 1942
- Hill, James J. (St. Paul) tycoon - his Great Northern Railway fosterd Northwestern expansion in the 19th century
- Humphrey, Hubert H. (Waverly) politician - 38th US Vice President from 1965 to 1969
- Jennings, Mason (Minneapolis) musician - produced and released his first two albums himself
- Kottke, Leo (Wayzata) musician - one of the most innovative folk-rock acoustic guitarist
- LaDuke, Winona (White Earth Reservation) politician - 2000 Green Party VP candidate
- LeMond, Greg (Medina) athlete - three-time Tour de France winner
- McFerrin, Bobby (Minneapolis) musician - became the Creative Chair of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in 1994
- Moua, Mee (St. Paul) politician - first Hmong-American legislator in the nation
- Nolte, Nick (Minneapolis) actor - started his career in Minneapolis at the Eleanor Moore Agency as a print model
- Olson, Sigurd (Ely) writer - also an influential conservationist; best known work is The Singing Wilderness
- Page, Alan (Twin Cities) judge - former Minnesota Viking, now MN Supreme Court justice
- Patch, Dan (Savage) athlete - famous horse* (ok, not a person) who never lost a harness race, lived in Hamilton, renamed Savage for his owner
- Ross, Percy (Minneapolis) philanthropist - gave millions to people who read his newspaper column, Thanks a Million
- Rowley, Coleen (Minneapolis) civil servant - Time's 2002 Person of the Year; recently retired from the FBI
- Shepard, Sam (Stillwater) actor - lived in Stillwater from 1995 until 2004; married to Jessica Lange
- Tiny Tim (Minneapolis) entertainer - moved to the Twin Cites in the 1990s and now buried in Lakewood Cemetary
- Veblen, Thorstein (Nerstrand) economist - coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption" & wrote The Theory of the Leisure Class
- Vee, Bobby (St. Cloud) musician - teen music idol from the 1960s
- Wellstone, Paul (St. Paul) politician - popular, progressive US Senator from 1991 to 2002
- Weyerhaeuser, Frederick (St. Paul) tycoon - ruled his lumber empire from MN starting in 1891
- Wilson, August (St. Paul) writer - Pulitzer Prize winner founded the Black Horizons Theatre in 1968
- Albert, Eddie (Minneapolis) actor - Green Acres, attended U of Minnesota
- Annan, Koffi (St. Paul) politician - UN Secretary General graduated from Macalester College in 1961
- Brando, Marlon (Faribault) actor - after being expelled from Shattuck Military Academy in 1940, he moved to NYC
- Earhart, Amelia (St. Paul) aviator - she attended Central High School in 1913
- Fonda, Henry (Minneapolis) actor - The Grapes of Wrath and On Golden Pond; attended U of Minnesota from 1923 to 1925
- GrandPre, Mary (Minneapolis) illustrator - Harry Potter books, graduated from Minneapolis College of Art + Design (MCAD)
- Hudson, Ernie (Minneapolis) actor - played Winston in Ghost Busters, U of Minnesota
- Karim, Jawed (St. Paul) entrepeneur - YouTube co-founder graduated from Central High School
- Osborne, Barrie M. (Northfield) producer - Oscar winner for The Return of the King, graduated from Carleton College
- Otto Lawrence, Shawn (St. Paul) writer - House of Sand and Fog screenwriter graduated from Macalester College
- Perlman, Ron (Minneapolis) actor - Hellboy, graduated from U of Minnesota
- Reasoner, Harry (Minneapolis) journalist - 60 Minutes, studed journalism at the U of Minnesota
- Spencer, Carol (Minneapolis) designer - Chief Barbie Designer at Mattel holds a BFA in Fashion Design from the Mpls College of Art & Design
- Susanka, Sarah (Minneapolis) architect - best known for the book The Not So Big House; M.S. from the U of Minnesota in 1983
- Wilkins, Roy (Minneapolis) - executive director of the NAACP from 1955 to 1977
- Yanni (Minneapolis) singer - earned a B.A. in psychology from the U of Minnesota
- Cloud Cult (Minneapolis) - the indie rock band who does everything environmentally friendly as possible
- Hüsker Dü (St. Paul) - the punk rock trio influenced the pop-punk hybrid sound that came out in the early 1990s
- Low (Duluth) - indie rock group
- Semisonic (Minneapolis) - alternative rock; "Closing Time" was their 1998 hit
- Soul Asylum (Minneapolis) - their album, Grave Dancers Union, went multiplatinum; they played at Clinton's inaugural in 1992
- The Jayhawks (Minneapolis) - they blend country, folk, and bar band rock
- The Replacements (Minneapolis) - influential alternative rock group known for their loud, drunken performances
- The Time (Minneapolis) - led by Morris Day and featured in Purple Rain
- 3M (Maplewood) - the three Ms stand for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing
- Andersen Windows (Bayport) - founded in 1903 Hudson, WI; moved to Minnesota in 1913
- Arctic Cat (Thief River Falls) - the snowmboile and ATV maker
- Art Instruction Schools (Minneapolis) - famous for "Draw Me"; founded in 1914 in Minneapolis
- ArtSpace (Minneapolis) - nation's leading nonprofit real estate developer for the arts
- ATK (Edina) - country's largest ammunitions manufacturer
- Automotive Information Systems (AIS) (St. Paul) - nation's largest source of automotive repair knowledge
- Aveda (Blaine) - founded in 1978 in Minneapolis and sold to Estee Lauder in 1997
- Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS), (South St. Paul) - makes aircraft emergency parachute systems
- Best Buy (Richfield) - Richard Schulze opens Sound of Music store St. Paul in 1966
- Better Business Bureau (Minneapolis) - nation's first BBB was founded in 1912
- Betty Crocker (Minneapolis) - invented in 1921 to personalize letters to customers
- Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (Minneapolis) - HQ in the Twin Cities for over 50 years; recently relocated to Charlotte, NC
- Bisquick (Minneapolis) - the baking mix was a revolutionary product when introduced in 1931
- Breathe Right strips (Minneapolis) - Bruce Johnson tinkered for 3 years before applying for a patent in 1991
- Buca (Minneapolis) - they own 77 Italian-styled restaurants, Buca di Beppo and Vinny T's of Boston
- Buffets, Inc. (Eagan) - runs 400 buffet restaurants across the US, including Old Country Buffet
- Bundt cake pan (Minneapolis) - invented by Nordic Ware in 1950 by Dave and Dotty Dalquist
- Capella University (Minneapolis) - one of the biggest online universities in the US
- Cargill (Wayzata) - the largest private corporation in the US
- Caribou Coffee (Minneapolis) - 2nd largest US coffee chain, now owned by First Islamic Investment Bank
- Carlson Companies (Minnetonka) - private corp. owns Radisson, TGI Friday's, Country Kitchen, Country Inn & Suites
- Cheerios (Minneapolis) - introduced as CheeriOats in 1941 by General Mills; marketed as first ready-to-eat cereal
- Cirrus (Duluth) - world's 2nd largest manufacturer of single-engine, piston-powered aircraft
- Control Data Corp. (Minneapolis) - pioneering supercomputer company
- Cray Supercomputer (Chippewa Falls) - Seymore Cray, the chief designer, set up a lab in his hometown in 1962
- Cursor (Minnepolis) - educates the public on the relationship between media and society
- Dairy Queen (Edina) - began in 1938 in Illinois, but their American corporate HQ is now in Minnesota
- Dayton's (Minneapolis) - department store
- Deluxe (Shoreview) - the checkmaker
- Duluth packs (Duluth) - sturdy packs first made in 1882 by French Canadian Camille Poirer
- Dunn Bros Coffee (Minneapolis) - the coffeehouse franchise now has locations in 6 states
- Eckankar (Chanhassen) - new religious movement; some call it a cult
- Ecolab (St. Paul) - commercial cleaning and sanitizing since 1923
- Fair Isaac (Minneapolis) - developed FICO, one of the most used credit scoring measures
- Famous Dave's (Minnetonka) - chain of BBQ restaurants in almost 30 states
- Fingerhut (Minnetonka) - once the country's second largest catalog retailer
- Ford Ranger trucks (St. Paul) - a plant by the Mississippi River assembled them
- Gander Mountain (Bloomington) - outdoor specialty retailer in 14 states
- Geek Squad (Minneapolis) - the computer repair service started in 1994 and acquired by Best Buy in 2002
- General Mills (Golden Valley) - started by the banks of the Mississippi in the 1860s as flour mills
- Gentle Leader (Twin Cities) - dog collars developed in the 1980s by a veterinarian and a dog obedience trainer
- Global Volunteers (St. Paul) - sends volunteers around to world to work on development projects
- Golf Galaxy (Eden Prairie) - large golf retailer in 16 states
- Grain Belt Beer (Minneapolis) - one of the last of the classic regional brands still produced in the area where it was born
- Great American Think-Off (New York Mills) - televised event where ordinary people debate serious issues
- Great Clips (Minneapolis) - haircutter chain founded in Minneapolis in 1982
- Green Giant (LeSeur) - founded as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company in 1903
- Green Mill Restaurant (St. Paul) - the pizza franchise now in 4 states dates back to the 1930s
- Greyhound Lines (Hibbing) - started in 1914 to transport miners in northern Minnesota
- H.B. Fuller (St. Paul) - they make the adhesives that keep cereal boxes closed for example
- Hamm's Beer (St. Paul) - the pale ale made even more popular by its bear mascot in ads
- Herberger's (St. Cloud) - about 40 department stores acquired by the Bon-Ton Stores in 2006
- Historical Remedies (St. Paul) - maker of homeopathic medicines and lozenges
- Honeywell (Minneapolis) - founded in 1885, Honeywell instruments helped US astronauts land on the moon in 1963
- Hormel Foods (Austin) - founded in 1891; called Geo. A. Hormel & Company for 102 years
- Imation (Oakdale) - spun off of 3M in 1996; develops and manufactures storage media
- Jacob Wetterling Foundation (St. Paul) - organization to educate families and communities to prevent the exploitation of children
- Jefferson Lines (Minneapolis) - a bus service from a family-based company
- Jerome Foundation (St. Paul) - gives grants to artists living in MN and NYC
- Jostens (Bloomington) - the class ring king
- Kitty Litter (St. Paul) - first cat litter to use clay instead of sand. See Edward Lowe
- Lake Wobegon (nowhere) - a fictitous town in Minnesota created by Garrison Keillor
- Lakes Entertainment (Minnetonka) - their business is to manage tribal casinos
- Land O' Lakes (Arden Hills) - national agricultural cooperative; began in 1921
- Lawson Software (St. Paul) - enterprise software company
- Log Cabin syrup (St. Paul) - St. Paul grocer Eugene Towle created the syrup, which became a huge hit in the early 1900s.
- Magnepan (White Bear Lake) - makes speakers for audiophiles
- magnetic poetry (Minneapolis) - writer's block turns into entrepeneurial gold; check your fridge
- Malt-O-Meal (Northfield) - roots as a hot wheat cereal company in 1919
- Manhattan Group (Minneapolis) - toy maker of the popular Groovy Girls
- Mariner Software (Minneapolis) - produces alternatives to Microsoft Office for the Mac platform
- Mar-O-Bar Company (Minneapolis) - started in 1920 and introduced the Milky Way chocolate bar in 1923. See Frank Mars
- Masking Tape (St. Paul) - 3M engineer Richard Drew invented it in 1925.
- McKnight Foundation (Minneapolis) - one of the largest American philanthropic foundations
- Medtronic (Fridley) - world's largest company in medical technology
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Minneapolis) - widely used test of adult psychopathology
- Minnesota Public Radio (St. Paul) - largest producer of national public radio programs
- Minnetonka Moccasin (Minneapolis) - the private footwear company began in 1946; most popular style is the Thunderbird
- MoneyGram (St. Louis Park) - Travelers Expresss, founded in 1940, bought the 2nd largest money transfer in the world in 1998 and renamed itself in 2005
- Music Go Round (Minneapolis) - franchise for used musical instruments. See Winmark
- Musicland Group (Minnetonka) - owns Sam Goody, Suncoast and MediaPlay stores
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Eden Prairie) - the tv show on Minnesota's public access channel became a cult hit
- Nada-Chair (St. Paul) - makes back-supporting slings for sitting
- National Arbitration Forum (Minneapolis) - alternative dispute resolution provider
- Nobel Peace Prize Forum (various) - an annual collegiate event with cooperation from the Norweigan Nobel Institute
- Nordic Track (Excelsior) - inventor Ed Pauls filed for a patent in the mid 70s
- Northwest Airlines (Bloomington) - first major airline to ban smoking on international flights
- Nutrisoda (Minneapolis) - a line of nutrient-infused sodas from Ardea Beverage Co.
- Old Dutch, (St. Paul) - the Mid-West's potato chip maker
- Once Upon A Child (Minneapolis) - franchise for used childrens' goods. See Winmark
- Pearson's Candy (St. Paul) - the confectioner known for its Nut Roll
- Pillsbury (Minneapolis) - once a company, now a brand under General Mills
- Pillsbury Doughboy (Minneapolis) - used to be called Poppin' Fresh Doughboy...tee-hee
- Piper Jaffray (Minneapolis) - this financial institution got its start in 1895 from George Lane
- Plato's Closet (Minneapolis) - franchise for used clothing. See Winmark
- Play It Again Sports (Minneapolis) - franchise for used sporting goods. See Winmark
- Polaris Industries (Roseau) - a pioneer in the production of snowmobiles
- Post-it notes (St. Paul) - 3M strikes again with this invention in 1968
- Rainforest Cafe (Hopkins) - the theme restaurant that started up 1994 is now a Houston-based company
- Red House Records (St. Paul) - label specializing in acoustic performances
- Red Wing Shoes (Red Wing) - Charles H. Beckman starts his company in 1905
- Regis Corp. (Edina) - world's largest salon industry company founded in Minneapolis in 1922
- Retek (Minneapolis) - sells retail business software; sold to Oracle
- Riedell Skates (Red Wing) - well-known manufacturer of ice skates
- Rollerblades (Minneapolis) - two brothers, who played hockey, refined the inline skate design in 1980
- Sam Goody (Minnetonka) - first store opened in Minneapolis in 1956. See Musicland Group
- Schwan's (Marshall) - the largest, branded frozen-food company in the US
- Select Comfort (Plymouth) - the mattress maker has your Sleep Number, too
- Shakers Vodka (Benson) - premium vodka made with Minnesotan grain
- SkyWeb Express (Fridley) - Taxi 2000 Corp. develops Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) systems
- Smarte Carte (St. Paul) - Jim Muellner of White Bear Lake designed the now ubiquitous luggage carts
- SPAM (Austin) - ingredients = chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added, salt, water, sugar and sodium nitrite.
- St. Paul Companies (St. Paul) - merged with Travelers in 2004 to form the nation's second largest insurer
- St. Paul Saints (St. Paul) - minor league baseball team co-owned by actor Bill Murray
- Summit Brewing Co. (St. Paul) - tasty premium "crafted" beer
- Sun Country Airlines (Mendota Heights) - privately owned airlines flies to 30 cities
- Supervalu / CubFoods (Eden Prairie) - largest publicly-held food wholesaler in the US; started in 1870
- Target (Minneapolis) - first store of the discount big box retailer opened in Roseville in 1962
- Tennant Co. (Minneapolis) - leading manufacturer of floor cleaning products and floor coverings, sweepers, and scrubbers
- Thermo King (Minneapolis) - Frederick Jones invented the first refrigerated truck in 1938
- Tilt-a-Whirl (Faribault) - the classic and popular amusement park ride was invented in 1926 by Herbert Sellner
- Tonka Trucks (Mound) - first one was made in 1947 in a basement near Lake Minnetonka
- Toro (Bloomington) - they call themselves the turf specialists
- Totino's (Minneapolis) - a frozen pizza brand owned by General Mills that had its origins in a Minneapolis restaurant
- United Health Group (Minnetonka) - one of the largest US healthcare corporations
- US Bancorp (Minneapolis) - sixth largest financial services holding company in the US
- Utne Magazine (Minneapolis) - founded in 1982 as a digest of articles from alternative media sources
- Valspar (Minneapolis) - sixth largest paint company in the world; in operation since 1806
- Water Gremlin (White Bear Lake) - manufacturing fishing sinkers since 1949
- Wenonah Canoes (Winona) - one of the largest canoe makers; established in 1968
- West Publishing (Eagan) - founded in 1872 in St. Paul; became one of the largest law publishing companies
- Wheaties (Minneapolis) - The Breakfast of Champions was made in 1924
- Willie's American Guitars (St. Paul) - Retailer Dick Youngblood sells to Billy Joel and Mick Jagger et al
- Winmark (Minneapolis) - parent company of Play It Again Sports, Once Upon a Child, Music Go Round, Plato's Closet
- World Poker Tour (Minnetonka) - televised tournament owned by Lakes Entertainment
- Xcel Energy (Minneapolis) - fourth largest electricity and natural gas energy company in the US
- Zubaz (unknown) - a fad; animal print bodybuilder/workout pants in the 1980s
- A Prairie Home Companion (St. Paul) - Robert Altman directs an ensemble cast about the homegrown radio favorite
- A Simple Plan (various) - Sam Raimi film features Bridget Fonda and Billy Bob Thornton
- Airport (Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport) - won 10 Oscars in 1970
- American Dream (Austin) - 1991 Oscar-winning documentary about striking Hormel employees
- Aurora Borealis (various) - a 2005 film about a young man struggling after his father's death
- Beautiful Girls (various) - Uma Thurman and Natalie Portman in an ensemble cast
- Catch Me If You Can (St. Cloud) - a 1989 film about fundraising high schoolers
- D2: The Mighty Ducks (various) - the follow-up to The Mighty Ducks
- D3: The Mighty Ducks (various) - more from The Mighty Ducks franchise
- Drop Dead Fred (various) - Phoebe Cates (remember her?) has an imaginary friend
- Drop Dead Gorgeous (various) - Kirstie Alley with a horrible Minnesotan accent
- Equinox (various) - evil twin/good twin played by Matthew Modine
- Factotum (various) - Matt Dillon as a guy who tries to find jobs that don't interfere with his personal life
- Far North (Duluth) - directed and written by Sam Shepard and starring Jessica Lange
- Fargo (various) - directed and written by the Coen brothers; won 2 Oscars in 1997
- Feeling Minnesota (various) - Cameron Diaz and Keanu Reeves flop
- Graffiti Bridge (various) - the sequel to Purple Rain
- Grumpier Old Men (various) - sequel to Grumpy Old Men with Sophia Loren
- Grumpy Old Men (various) - Walter Malthau, Jack Lemmon and Ann Margaret made this a sleeper hit
- Heartbreak Kid (Minneapolis) - Newlywed Charles Grodin wants Cybill Shepherd instead
- Herman USA (New Germany) - 78 bachelors from a small town advertise for brides
- Ice Castles (various) - Robby Benson helps an ice skater realize her dreams
- Iron Will (various) - a young man joins a cross-country race to support his family
- Jingle All the Way (various) - Arnold Schwarzenegger does Christmas
- Joe Somebody (various) - comedian Tim Allen wants to be somebody
- Little Big League (various) - a 12-year-old boy becomes the owner of the Minnesota Twins
- Mallrats (Eden Prairie) - Kevin Smith directs Shannen Doherty
- North Country (various) - fictionalzed story of the first major sexual harrassment US lawsuit-Jenson vs Eveleth Mines
- Patti Rocks (various) - two men roadtrip to visit a woman one of them impregnated
- Purple Rain (various) - semi-autobiographical story of Prince's life
- Rachel River (various) - tale about a young journalist returning home; written by Judith Guest
- Strange as Angels (St. Paul) - a painter tries to blend her need for independence with romance
- Sweet Land (various) - a Norweigan woman travels to MN to meet her husband
- The Emigrants (Marine on St. Croix) - Swedish film won best foreign-language Oscar in 1972
- The Mighty Ducks (various) - Emilio Estevez coaches a pee wee hockey team
- The Personals (Minneapolis) - A local 1989 romantic comedy about a divorced man loving for love
- Untamed Heart (Mendota) - Christian Slater, with a baboon heart, falls in love with Marisa Tomei
- Youngblood (Mendota) - Rob Lowe stars as a budding hockey player
