Based or created in MN (A-B)

• 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

Based or created in MN (C-D)

• 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

Based or created in MN (E-F)

• 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

Based or created in MN (G-H)

• 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

Based or created in MN (I-J)

• 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

Based or created in MN (K-L)

• 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.

Based or created in MN (M-N)

• 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.
  

Based or created in MN (O-P)

• 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

Based or created in MN (Q-R)

• 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

Based or created in MN (S-T)

• 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

Based or created in MN (U-V)

• 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

Based or created in MN (W-Z)

• 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