Minnesota trivia questions are a great way to test your knowledge of the state's history, culture, and landmarks.
From famous residents to iconic foods, there's much to learn about the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."
Whether you're a native Minnesotan or just passing by, there's always something new to learn about the state.
Here's a warm-up question to get you started:
Question: Which Minnesotan lake is considered the main source for the Mississippi River?
Answer: Lake Itasca
Before we dive into the questions and answers, we just want to briefly tell you about Water Cooler Trivia.
Each week, Water Cooler Trivia can deliver fresh trivia quizzes straight to your inbox.
You pick the categories and we'll send you the trivia.
It's like placing your trivia night on autopilot and putting an end to those last-minute Google searches for engaging trivia.
With our four-week free trial, you can explore all Water Cooler Trivia has to offer with no catches.
126 Minnesota Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
Let's see what you make of these:
- Most people know about the Rochester, Minnesota campus, but Mayo also has a couple of other notable locations: Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Jacksonville in what sunny state?
Answer: Florida
- When he retired in 1975, Harmon Killebrew had the fourth most home runs in major league history after spending most of his career with the Minnesota Twins. In what sport did Killebrew ply his trade for more than two decades?
Answer: Baseball
- Large swaths of Minnesota are considered to be in the biome known for plants in mid- to high latitudes shed their leaves as temperatures drop in autumn. What is the d-word for this type of foliage?
Answer: Deciduous
- In 2021 Minnesota priest Mike Schmitz launched a daily podcast which, over the course of a year, discussed the entirety of which book?
Answer: The Bible
- At “Sioux Chef” Sean Sherman’s award-winning Minneapolis restaurant Owamni, diners enjoy dishes made entirely from Indigenous ingredients, including sweet potatoes, wild rice, and ribeye steaks from what 3,000-lb.bovine?
Answer: Bison
- Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was born in Minneapolis in 1922 and grew up in nearby St. Paul. Name the most famous dog drawn by Schulz.
Answer: Snoopy
- Every July on Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, a pageant is presented honoring which children's author?
Answer: Laura Ingalls Wilder
- What four-letter “L” word is a bobcat or a member of Minnesota’s WNBA team?
Answer: Lynx
- What manufacturer of toy trucks was originally the Mound Metalcraft Company, making metal garden tools out of the basement of a Minnesota schoolhouse before turning to making metal toys? Their toy truck would eventually land on Time Magazine's list of History's Best Toys.
Answer: Tonka
- Although her family moved frequently during her childhood, actress Jessica Biel is a native Minnesotan who was born in what three-letter city with a population of only 3,000 but well known as an entry point to the Boundary Waters?
Answer: Ely
- What 1992 sports movie starred Emilio Estevez, was produced entirely in Minnesota, and followed a team of ragtag young Minneapolis athletes?
Answer: The Mighty Ducks
- Minnesotan baseball commentator Halsey Hal was the first man to use what sacred mammal expression to express awe?
Answer: Holy Cow
- Unsurprisingly, Saint Paul is the largest city in Minnesota with the word "Saint" in its name. What city in central Minnesota is the second largest by population that includes the word "Saint" in its name?
Answer: Saint Cloud
- Minnesota hosts the largest state fair in the U.S. as measured by average daily attendance, and it also features the tag-line "The Great Minnesota Get-Together." Located near, but not in the Twin Cities, you'll instead find the fairgrounds in what city?
Answer: Falcon Heights
- Democratic candidates in the state of Minnesota compete in elections not on the "Democratic" party ticket but that of the DFL. The "D" in "DFL" stands for "Democrat," and the "F" and "L" stand for what two professional words?
Answer: Farmer, Labor
- Which Minnesota-based S&P 500 company has the NYSE ticker symbol "MMM"?
Answer: 3M
- According to World Population Review, Minnesota's most-populous city is the 46th biggest in the United States. Minnesota's next most populous is what 64th biggest city?
Answer: St. Paul
- Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, what airline was a large force in the US aviation industry until being acquired by Delta Air Lines in a 2008 merger?
Answer: Northwest Airlines
- With rides including "Pepsi Orange Streak", "Shredder's Mutant Masher", and "Avatar Airbender", what is the name of the indoor theme park found inside Minnesota's Mall of America?
Answer: Nickelodeon Universe
- Allan Page and Gary Larsen were a couple of members of the Purple People Eaters, the '60s and '70s defensive line of what NFL team?
Answer: Minnesota Vikings
- One summer day in July 1922, in Lake City, Minnesota, Ralph Samuelson used household items to invent what water-surface sport? Samuelson went on to perform and teach the sport for over 20 years.
Answer: Water skiing
- What Minnesota-born actress left the television show "7th Heaven" in 2006 and had earlier starred in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Rules of Attraction?"
Answer: Jessical Biel
- "Starfish and Coffee" is a lesser-known song from the 1987 album "Sign O' the Times," by what late, great, one-named Minnesotan?
Answer: Prince
- Minnesota's junior Senator Tina Smith first moved to the state in 1984 for a marketing job at what multinational consumer packaged goods company that can trace its history in the state back to 1856?
Answer: General Mills
- Name the current or immediately prior coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Answer: Mike Zimmer or Leslie Frazier
- What Minnesota city was named after a French city near Paris which itself was named after the 6th-century French monk Clodoald?
Answer: St Cloud
- Lift Bridge, Boom Island, and Canal Park are all Minnesota companies that focus on the production of what?
Answer: Craft beer
- What coffee company/coffeehouse chain was founded in Edina, Minnesota, and in 2021, merged with Panera Bread and Einstein Bros. Bagels to form Panera Brands? (Hint: Its name was inspired by a trip to Alaska.)
Answer: Caribou Coffee
- The giant Canada Goose is the largest subspecies of Canada Goose. Although widespread now, it had once been thought extinct until a small group was found in what Midwestern state in 1962?
Answer: Minnesota
- To train for a race back in the 1970s, Ed Pauls built a static cross country skiing machine in his Chaska, Minnesota garage. That's the origin of what exercise equipment company based in Utah, not Sweden?
Answer: NordicTrack
- A pair of filmmaking brothers born in Minnesota in the 1950s have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards together, including a handful of wins for "No Country for Old Men." What is the surname of these brothers?
Answer: Coen
- What canine bus service began with a single route serving miners in Hibbing, Minnesota?
Answer: Greyhound
- Although the statue is located more than 60 miles from its company headquarters, the city of Blue Earth, MN is home to a 55-foot-tall statue of what verdant vegetable mascot?
Answer: Jolly Green Giant
- If you had tickets to the Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in 2011, what Big 4 professional sports franchise would you be watching play a home game? Note that one of the Big 4 franchises calling the stadium home had left for Target Field 2 seasons prior.
Answer: Minnesota Vikings
- Officially adopted in 1988, what fruit is the crux of the Minnesota state muffin?
Answer: Blueberry
- "L'Étoile du Nord," the state motto of Minnesota, was the state's first official named symbol when designated in 1861. What does this phrase mean in English?
Answer: Star of the North
- The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry regiment played an important role in winning what battle against Confederate soldiers on July 2, 1863? The regiment was on the front lines of the battle and suffered casualties >80%.
Answer: Battle of Gettysburg
- Founded by art collectors Raymond and Susan Johnson, TMORA is a non-profit museum in Minneapolis that is the only major institution in North America devoted entirely to art and culture from what massive nation's history?
Answer: Russia
- Within 5 years, in what year was Minnesota admitted to the U.S. as a state?
Answer: 1858 (1853-63 acceptable)
- The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of what U.S. city is notable for having the country's largest concentration of Somali Americans? This city also represented by Ilhan Omar, the U.S.'s first and only Somali-American representative.
Answer: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- This year, the Packers, Lions, Commanders, Cowboys, 49ers, and Seahawks will be the six NFL teams playing on Thanksgiving. However, if the league prioritized picking teams who are eligible answers to this week’s trivia, what TWO NFL teams would square off? And don’t try to tell us it’s the “Saint!”
Answer: Vikings and Giants
- Blu is a brilliantly colored Spix's Macaw who doesn't know how to fly because he's been raised in a cage in Minnesota, in what 2011 animated movie?
Answer: Rio
- Minnesota shares a border with four U.S. states. Which of these shared borders is the shortest?
Answer: South Dakota
- Polaris Industries of Roseau, Minnesota is known for inventing what wintertime vehicle?
Answer: Snowmobile
- What is the largest city by population in Minnesota that begins with the letter B? As of August 2018, the mayor of this city is Gene Winstead.
Answer: Bloomington
- "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" is by which funnyman-turned-Minnesota senator?
Answer: Al Franken
- The Mayo Clinic is located in what southeastern Minnesota city? Over 15 US states have a city with this name; the most populous is in New York and Minnesota's is the second most populous.
Answer: Rochester
- In the early 1990s, what pioneer in the manufacturing of wrought and cast iron moved from its Minneapolis headquarters to Tennessee? The company's name brings to mind the kitchen more so than a blacksmith shop.
Answer: Flour City
- What famed American author was born in St Paul in 1896, married a woman named Zelda, and released 4 finished novels during his lifetime?
Answer: F Scott Fitzgerald
- What is the name of the first designated state park in Minnesota? This park famously contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
Answer: Itasca State Park
- What multinational manufacturer based in Minnesota was once named the Washburn-Crosby Company?
Answer: General Mills
- The St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota is actually not within St. Paul city limits but is rather in what neighboring municipality?
Answer: Falcon Heights
- What currently serving Minnesota politician wrote a senior thesis in college titled "Uncovering the Dome" with over 250 pages on the decade of politics surrounding the Metrodome in Minneapolis?
Answer: Amy Klobuchar
- Launched on June 10, 2010, what is the name of the public-private partnership that operates the docked bike share system in Minneapolis-St Paul?
Answer: Nice Ride Minnesota
- Peggy Flanagan is the 50th person to hold what statewide office in Minnesota? She is the second Native American woman to ever be elected to statewide executive office in U.S. history. The office sounds vaguely militaristic.
Answer: Lieutenant Governor
- Grand Rapids, Minnesota has an annual festival dedicated to what hometown actress, singer, dancer, and vaudevillian?
Answer: Judy Garland
- Summit, Lift Bridge, and August Schell are all names of what type of company located in Minnesota? They are all part of an industry that has exploded in popularity across the US in the 2010s.
Answer: Brewery
- From 1961 to 1981 the Minnesota Vikings called a multi-sport stadium its home. That stadium has since been replaced by what famous retail complex?
Answer: Mall of America
- Minnesota is the 36th most densely populated state in the United States. What is the *most* densely populated?
Answer: New Jersey
- What annual Minnesota festival had 176 shows and 895 performances over 11 days in 2013 and features shows 60 minutes of less across a wide variety of performing arts disciplines? The alliterative festival has other incarnations throughout the US.
Answer: Fringe Festival
- Pierre Parrant was the first person of European descent to live in the area that would eventually become Saint Paul. His swine-referencing nickname at what point even was the namesake of the burgeoning village where he lived. What was this ocular nickname?
Answer: Pig's Eye
- Gopher 5 and Daily 3 are both Minnesota contests administered and marketed by what state agency?
Answer: State Lottery
- According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 36% of Minnesotans fish. This ranks second highest of any state—what is the one state higher?
Answer: Alaska
- The Mainroom is the colloquial name for what Minneapolis music venue that feature hundreds of stars on the exterior of the building indicating past performers at the venue?
Answer: First Avenue
- What Minnesota commuter rail route began passenger service on November 16, 2009?
Answer: NorthStar Line
- The word comes from the Dakota word for waterfall and is the name of a female character from a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem. The word is also a park, creek, and academy in Minnesota. What is the word?
Answer: Minnehaha
- What long-serving politician from Minnesota was known as "Mr. Environment" and has a namesake recreational trail that runs between Hinckley and Duluth?
Answer: Willard Munger
- Minnesota and Mississippi both considered the same name for their state, but both ultimately rejected it. A different state, admitted to the Union in 1889 as the 42nd state used this name (and continues to). What is the state?
Answer: Washington
- Current Minnesota governor Tim Walz earned his master's degree from what Minnesota school that was established as Second State Normal School in 1858?
Answer: Minnesota State University Mankato
- This is a map of Minnesota's population distribution. Name the city circled in blue in the attached image.
Answer: Rochester
- What Minnesota city features the only all-freshwater aquarium in the US, the Aerial Lift Bridge, the world's longest freshwater baymouth bar (Park Point)?
Answer: Duluth
- The largest city by population in northwest Minnesota was named for an official of the Northern Pacific railroad, and the city is bordered on the west by the Red River of the North and the city of Fargo. What is this city?
Answer: Moorhead
- International Falls is a Minnesota city that is, unsurprisingly, on the border of another nation (Canada). It is also nicknamed "Icebox of the Nation” because it averages more than 100 days per year with a high temperature below 32 °F (0 °C). What is the name of the Canadian city directly across the river from International Falls?
Answer: Fort Frances
- St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota. Which other capital of a US state is closest in distance to St. Paul? We're using "as the crow flies" or haversine distance, rather than driving distance.
Answer: Madison
- The precursor to Charles Schulz's famous Peanuts comic strip was a comic named Li'l Folks which appeared mainly in what Minnesota newspaper from 1947 to 1950?
Answer: St. Paul Pioneer Press
- Applegate, Columbus Craft Meats, Dinty Moore, Jennie-O and Skippy are all brands owned and managed by what food processing company founded in Austin, Minnesota in 1891?
Answer: Hormel
- Husband and wife team Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen designed the centerpiece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in the 1980s. What is the common food that is part of their design?
Answer: Cherry (Spoonbridge and Cherry)
- What Minneapolis-based manufacturer of paint and coatings has over 11,000 employees in 25 countries, is one of the 10 largest paint and coating corporations in the world, and took its name from a namesake clear varnish?
Answer: Valspar
- Although the majority of the movie "Fargo" takes place in Minnesota, the movie's title references a city in what other state?
Answer: North Dakota
- Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but only one can take the prize as the largest lake within Minnesota's borders. Which lake is it?
Answer: Red Lake
- The Mall of America is technically within city limits of what Twin Cities suburb?
Answer: Bloomington
- Assuming office in January 2019 alongside Tim Walz, who is the current Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota?
Answer: Peggy Flanagan
- What three-season NBC television show was set in Minnesota and featured FBI profiler Will Graham, behavioral scientist Jack Crawford, and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Lecter?
Answer: Hannibal
- "The Great Minnesota Get-Together" is the official slogan for what Minnesota-based event that has been ongoing since 1859 and had a record 2.1 million attendees in 2019?
Answer: Minnesota State Fair
- The Minnesota State Fair holds a yearly competition as part of the Minnesota Dairy Princess Program, wherein one woman is appointed to serve as a good-will ambassador for the state's dairy industry. What is the title given to the winner?
Answer: Princess Kay of the Milky Way
- What is the name of the legendary Minneapolis music venue which was featured in Prince's film "Purple Rain?"
Answer: First Avenue
- What retail giant is the eighth largest retailer in the United States and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota?
Answer: Target
- An observation deck on a tower in Cincinnati’s Hilton Netherland Plaza is the Carew Tower Observation Deck. The last name is the same as Rod Carew, a Hall Of Fame baseball player who played for the Angels and what Minnesota MLB franchise?
Answer: Minnesota Twins
- Prior to their move to Dallas in the 1993-1994 NHL season, the Dallas Stars were the North Stars and played home games in Bloomington in what U.S. state?
Answer: Minnesota
- In 1999, Jesse Ventura became the first actor from the movie Predator to serve as governor. What state did Ventura govern?
Answer: Minnesota
- In 1989, which football player and later failed politician (in 2022) was traded by the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings for four players and many draft picks, thus letting the Cowboys build their dynasty team of the 1990s?
Answer: Herschel Walker
- In 1975, which city in Minnesota became the first in the U.S. to pass a civil rights ordinance that included protections for transgender citizens?
Answer: Minneapolis
- Each year, Minnesota's "Princess Kay of the Milky Way" has her likeness sculptured in what agricultural product, millions of pounds of which are produced each year in the state?
Answer: Butter
- Garden City was first staked out by which Minnesota born surveyor? It was around the same time the post office was established in the general store
Answer: W. D. Twichell
- Although Jesse Ventura's election as governor of Minnesota is probably its greatest achievement, what third party is most closely associated with two-time presidential also-ran Ross Perot?
Answer: Reform Party
- Founded in Minnesota in 1891, what food processing company was known throughout the 20th century as the manufacturer of Spam? Today, the company owns and distributes brands such as Jennie-O and Skippy.
Answer: Hormel
- Known for sporting the letters “T” and “C” on their official caps, what MLB team was founded in Washington D.C. as the Washington Senators in 1901?
Answer: Minnesota Twins
- The Minnesota DFL is a political party in its namesake state affiliated with the US Democratic Party. The D stands for Democratic. The L stands for Labor. What does the F stand for?
Answer: Farmer
- The BWCA is a 1 million acre wilderness area in the northeastern part of Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. A mixture of forests, glacial lakes, and streams, the area is a popular destination for both canoeing, hiking, and fishing, and is one of the most visited wildernesses in the United States. What does BW stand for?
Answer: Boundary Waters
- Before the franchise relocated to the Twin Cities from the East Coast, what was the name of the team now known as the Minnesota Twins?
Answer: Washington Senators
- Many named places throughout the state of Minnesota have “Minne” as part of the name: Minnehaha, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, and more. This word “Minne” derives from a word in the Dakota language meaning what?
Answer: Water
- Lizzo name-checks the Minnesota Vikings and asks "Why men great till they gotta be great?" in what 2019 #1 hit song?
Answer: Truth Hurts
- What former Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots wide receiver has the NFL records for single season touchdown receptions, as well as the rookie record in that category? He’s also known for his tempestuous attitude, demanding multiple trades in his career.
Answer: Randy Moss
- Lake Wobegon is a fictional, small rural town created by what famous Midwestern author and storyteller?
Answer: Garrison Keillor
- Which Minnesotan lake is considered the main source for the Mississippi River?
Answer: Lake Itasca
- After losing 49 states in the 1984 presidential election and then a last-minute Minnesota Senate race in 2002, what man became the first and, so far, only person to lose a statewide election in every U.S. state?
Answer: Walter Mondale
- The MMPI is a standardized psychological test that assesses personality traits and psychopathology. The first “M” in MMPI stands for which U.S. state, the location of the university where the test was first developed?
Answer: Minnesota
- Two states share the record for most Iditarod wins - unsurprisingly Alaska is one of those states, but mushers from which other state have also won on nine occasions (with "King of the Iditarod" Rick Swenson accounting for over half of those victories)?
Answer: Minnesota
- The gneisses in Minnesota are some of the oldest in the world, clocking in at 3.6 billion years old. What is the more general term for these structures?
Answer: Metamorphic Rocks
- Randy Moss is 2nd place all-time in total receiving yards for the Minnesota Vikings. Who is 1st?
Answer: Cris Carter
- The 7th-biggest city by population in Minnesota was once named Medicine Lake but the current name is shared with one of the most famous granite boulders in the U.S. What is this city?
Answer: Plymouth
- Minnesota has a long history of popular third parties, including the Reform Party, which was able to elect former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura as governor in 1998. By what name is the Reform Party now known?
Answer: The Independence Party
- What chain of 45 retail stores across the Midwest that sells outdoor equipment and appliances was founded in Minnesota, features an orange-and-black color scheme, and has an alliterative F name?
Answer: Fleet Farm
- What intelligent-sounding Minnesota city was named in 1870 after the wife of Northern Pacific railroad president John Gregory Smith and is today the county seat of Crow Wing County?
Answer: Brainerd
- The largest circulated newspapers of New Jersey, Indiana, Minnesota all contain what four-letter word in their names?
Answer: Star (The Star-Ledger in New Jersey, the Indianapolis Star in Indiana, and the Star Tribune in Minnesota)
- Who was the President of the United States at the time the land that ultimately became Minnesota became part of the United States?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
- What is the name of the large cavern found in Harmony, MN that, fittingly, includes a large waterfall?
Answer: Niagara Cave
- As of September 9, 2019, how many former governors of Minnesota are living?
Answer: 5
- In the 2016 Presidential election, the state of Minnesota had the highest share of voter turnout (from the eligible voting population) of any of the 50 states. What was the % turnout in Minnesota? Answers accepted if within 4% of the actual voter turnout.
Answer: 75% (71 - 79 accepted)
- At the age of 57, Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in what Minnesota city?
Answer: Chanhassen
- What American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor, comedian and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe was born in Minnesota, spent his teen years in Los Angeles, and is now only a citizen of the United Kingdom?
Answer: Terry Gilliam
- 16 years apart, two Minnesotan politicians ran a losing campaign as the Democratic nominee for US President. Both men were a former US Vice President. Name the man who preceded the other.
Answer: Hubert H Humphrey
- What was the last name at birth of legendary Minnesota musician Prince?
Answer: Nelson
- At the height of Frank Lloyd Wright's career in 1927, he surprised contemporaries by designing what type of retail outlet? The design was part of his utopian city concept and although intended for Buffalo, NY the structure was eventually built in Cloquet, MN where it remains in business.
Answer: Gas Station
- What native Minnesotan won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel “Main Street”?
Answer: Sinclair Lewis
- The University of Minnesota has a school named after Hubert H. Humphrey that focuses on what area of study?
Answer: Public Affairs
Minnesota Trivia Quizzes (FAQs)
What makes Minnesota trivia so engaging?
For those who think they know about Minnesota, a brief trivia quiz will quickly put their knowledge to the test.
A trivia quiz is a fun way to compete with others to see who knows the most about Minnesota.
Where can you find Minnesota trivia questions?
While you can easily search the web for some Minnesota trivia questions, those participating in your trivia event have likely heard these all before.
If you want to genuinely engage trivia participants, you will need to dig a little deeper.
This is where Water Cooler Trivia comes in.
Our team of trivia nerds is your secret weapon for success.
Tough crowd to impress?
Don't panic, we've got you covered with engaging trivia questions on Minnesota.
How can you create the perfect Minnesota trivia quiz?
Using Water Cooler Trivia, you can create the perfect Minnesota trivia quiz for your event.
The best bit? You can leave all the heavy lifting to us.
We'll source the trivia questions and present everything to you in the format of your choice.
Get started with a free four-week trial today!
You may also like:
245 Oil & Gas Trivia Questions (Ranked From Easiest to Hardest)
231 US History Trivia Questions (Ranked From Easiest to Hardest)
About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.