It has been a weird weather season in southern Wisconsin, including snow for Halloween followed by the usual cloudy, drab November. Then we get sunshine in December and temperatures resembling what we would expect in early November and, finally, some sunshine. We escaped the snow that other regions received, with bare ground for Christmas. So we traveled north to the Twin Cities for Christmas to see Sherry’s kids, and had a white Christmas in the Minnesota tundra. Not much between there and the North Pole but a three-strand barbed wire fence, and two of those are down, or so it seems.

There are several definitions of the Twin Cities, generally referring to Minneapolis, the most populous city in the state, and its neighbor to the east, St. Paul, the state capital. A broader reference is to the seven-county metro area. While these cities, suburbs and counties are separate entities, they are under the aegis of the Metropolitan Council, a regional governmental agency and planning organization.

In contrast to the seven counties, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget officially designated 16 counties, including two Wisconsin counties, as the “Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.” In 2013, OMB revised its delineation of MSAs, adding three additional counties to this MSA, making it 19 counties. OMB also designates a “Combined Statistical Area,” adding the City of St. Cloud and two additional counties for an estimated population of over 4 million for the 14th largest in the U.S.

When I first arrived in the Twin Cities in 1967 to join the University of Minnesota faculty, the Foshay Tower in Minneapolis was the tallest building. That building still stands, but is now dwarfed by the skyscrapers characterizing downtown Minneapolis. St. Paul has grown, but is still characterized by quaint neighborhoods and well-preserved late-Victorian architecture. 

Minneapolis was influenced largely by its early Scandinavian and Lutheran heritage. It was basically a milling town at the head of navigation of the Mississippi River. St. Paul was influenced by its early French, Irish and German Catholic roots. Whereas Minneapolis was a milling town, St. Paul was a packing town, once home of the giant St. Paul stockyards.

The first European settlement in the region was near the present town of Stillwater, on the west bank of the St. Croix River forming the border between central Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is home of the state prison, and it has become a scenic river town favored by artists.

Another early settlement was Fort Snelling, constructed in the early 19th century at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. Sherry’s father, a World War II Navy veteran, is buried at Ft. Snelling Cemetery.

Geography played a major role in the settlement and development of the two cities. St. Anthony Falls at the head of Mississippi River navigation furnished the water power for industry, especially for milling the flour from grain grown on the Midwestern prairies.

St. Paul grew up around Lamberts Landing, the last place at an easily accessible point to unload boats coming upriver.

In 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published “The Song of Hiawatha,” an epic poem based on Ojibwe legends of Hiawatha. Natural landmarks in the story include Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Falls.

Like many Northern cities that grew with the Industrial Revolution, Minneapolis and St. Paul changed as heavy industry declined, especially during the 60s and 70s. Minneapolis-Moline farm equipment went out of business and the closed GM plant once producing Ford Ranger pickups are examples of industrial decline. During the 1980s and 90s, the Cities made the successful transition to high-tech, finance, information and service economies. The region is now flourishing.

During the 1960s, St. Paul and Minneapolis each had a morning and afternoon newspaper. Jim Klobuchar was a prominent columnist for the evening Minneapolis Star. His daughter, Amy Klobuchar, is now a U.S. Senator and candidate for the U.S. presidency. 

The two Minneapolis papers have combined as the Star-Tribune. The paper still features legendary sports writer, Sid Hartman who claims every prominent athlete as “his close personal friend,” now age 99 and still going strong.

The St. Paul papers have combined to form the Dispatch-Pioneer Press. The original Pioneer Press, also serving west-central Wisconsin, featured an entertaining sports writer, Don Riley, who made his living bashing Wisconsin in every way imaginable. While it infuriated Badger and Packer fans, it sold papers. Vince Lombardi’s wife once demanded that the Pioneer Press fire Riley for his insulting comments about Lombardi and the Packers. Lombardi counseled her to relax — Riley was doing a great job, fomenting the developing Vikings-Packers rivalry, and selling tickets. 

As usual with adjoining cities, there has been some rivalry. In 1923, a baseball game between the Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Saints erupted in violence. In the 1950s both cities competed for a major league baseball franchise. That source of antagonism was resolved by the arrival in 1961 of the former Washington Senators, renamed the Minnesota Twins, and the arrival of the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, both of which were named for the state as a whole.

As son Johnny was growing up during the 1970s, he became a loyal Twins fan. Free agency caused owner Calvin Griffith to lose his talented players. But during those losing days you could buy a ticket at the outdoor Metropolitan Stadium, sit close right along the third base line, and have a couple of beers purchased from colorful hawkers, all for a few measly bucks. That’s all changed now.

The Badgers-Gophers football rivalry is the most-played NCAA rivalry, with 129 meetings. Football great Tony Dungy was the Gopher’s quarterback during the early 70s. As a UW graduate, I have to favor the Badgers. But as the UM gave me steady employment for 23 years before I left for NMSU, Minnesota is a close second favorite. 

Though it will be uphill battles for both, here’s hoping they both can win their New Year’s Day bowl games. 

— John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Saturdays in the Monroe Times.