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- 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
