Minnesota Free Public Records Directory

One of the states in the Great Lakes region of the United States is the state of Minnesota. Minnesota is the northernmost contiguous state. It is the 12th largest state in the U.S. at 86,936 sq. miles with 87 counties. Minnesota shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and a land and water border with Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota to the west and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba to the north.

Much of Minnesota is gently rolling hills with 11,842 lakes over 10 acres in size. The state’s large number of lakes gives Minnesota its nickname as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Minnesota also has 6,564 natural rivers and streams. The Mississippi River begins its journey from the headwaters at Lake Itasca. Minnesota has approximately 10.6 million acres of wetlands within its borders, the most of any state except Alaska. The climate in Minnesota is characteristic of cold winters and hot summers. It experiences rain, snow, blizzards, thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes and high-velocity straight-line winds.

The state’s high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet which is only 13 miles away from the low of 601 feet at the shore of Lake Superior. Itasca State Park, established in 1891, is Minnesota’s first state park. It has 72 state parks and recreation areas, 58 state forests and numerous state wildlife preserves.

Minnesota was populated by a subculture of the Sioux Tribe called the Dakota before the European settlement of North America. As the east coast was settled by the Europeans, Native American tribes moved into the Minnesota area. The portion of the state east of the Mississippi River became part of the U.S. at the end of the American Revolutionary War. Land west of the Mississippi River was acquired with the Louisiana Purchase. The Minnesota Territory was formed on March 3, 1849. It became the 32nd state of the U.S. on May 11, 1858. During the 19th and 20th centuries, a large number of European settlers from Scandinavia and Germany entered the state. The state remains a center of Scandinavian and German culture. It also currently has America’s largest Somali population outside of East Africa.

The population of Minnesota is estimated at 5,489,594, making it the 22nd most populated state. There are 17 cities in Minnesota with populations above 50,000. The capital of the state is Saint Paul and it lies adjacent to the city of Minneapolis, the state’s largest city. The two cities and their metropolitan areas are known as the “Twin Cities,” and are home to 60% of the state’s population.

Minnesota’s early economy was based on logging and farming. With the discovery of iron ore in the 1880s, the state’s iron-mining industry was established. The iron was shipped by rail and then loaded onto ships and transported eastward. Minnesota’s population gradually shifted from rural areas to cities during the 20th century. Minnesota is the largest producer of sugar beets, sweet corn, green peas and turkeys in the U.S. It is also a large producer of corn and soybeans. Minnesota’s economy has transformed to finished products and services in addition to agriculture. The state’s manufacturing sector includes technology and biomedical firms. In 2008, 33 of the top 1,000 publicly traded companies in the U.S. were headquartered in Minnesota. The state is currently among one of the best educated and wealthiest in the nation. It is also home to the nation’s largest shopping mall, Bloomington’s Mall of America.^[1]

The below list of available public records for the state of Minnesota are sorted by category. The categories include such records as property records, vital records, licensing records, crime records, and more, and can be searched by specific record type.

Abbreviation	MN, Minn.
Capital	Saint Paul
Population	5,576,606 (2017 est.)
Area size	86,936 sq. mi.
Demonym	Minnesotah
Primary languages spoken	English
Governor	Mark Dayton
Lieutenant Governor	Michelle Fischbach
U.S. Senators	Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith
U.S. House Delegation	3 Republicans, 5 Democrats
Time Zone	Central: UTC -6/-5

*The map and data in the table are from Wikipedia.

Browse by Public Record Category

There are two types of public records; 1) personal public records that document major life milestones such as birth certificates, death certificates, divorce records, and marriage records, etc.; and 2) government records that are made public such as property tax records, recorded land records, voter records, crime data, jail inmate records, and court records. The Freedom of Information Act is a national law that releases government agency public records and makes it possible to view most public records. ^[2] The Minnesota Data Practices Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels. ^[3]

Since there are a multitude of records available, it can be difficult to know how or where to access them. When you are ready to start your search, you’ll find our Public Records Directory website easy to use since all of the records can be searched by federal, state, county, city, town or type of record. The links provided will connect you to the best website for the record search, provide details about the record, or provide contact information for those records without search capabilities.