Minnesota Judicial Center

The Minnesota State Law Library is a law library operated by the judicial branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is currently housed in the ground level of the Minnesota Judicial Center, which was built in 1915. An expansion of the building was completed in 1990. The Minnesota Judicial Center is adjacent to the State Capitol in St. Paul. As cited in the Minnesota Constitution, the State Law Librarian is appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court. In its long history, the library has benefitted from the contributions of 25 State Librarians/State Law Librarians, who have come from many walks of life. Doctors, journalists, teachers, legislators, mayors, and in recent years, attorneys have held the office. Some of the more colorful State Law Librarians have been Gen. Samuel P. Jennison, who later served in the Civil War. Louisa Goodwin, widowed by the Civil War, served as the nation's first female state librarian. Captain DeWitt Smith and Melissa Smith were the first husband and wife to hold the same state office in Minnesota. William Henry Harrison Taylor was a grandson of William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States. Margaret S. Andrews was the last person to be referred to as State Librarian and the first to be called State Law Librarian.

The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It began operating on November 1, 1983.

A bronze statue of Christopher Columbus was installed on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1931. The 10-foot statue was created by Italian American Carlo Brioschi. In June 2020 American Indian Movement activists toppled the statue as part of the series of protests following the murder of George Floyd.

The Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial, located in the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota, commemorates 25 women whose achievements were important to the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA).

Progress of the State is the title of a group of sculptural figures that sits above the south portico, at the main entrance to the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, the state capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The allegorical statuary group representing civilization is in an arrangement known as a quadriga, consisting of a chariot pulled by four horses. Three human figures, two women and a man, are included. The sculpture, made by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, was based on their earlier Columbus Quadriga statuary, at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. It was completed and raised to the roof of the capitol in 1906. The underlying armature is steel covered in copper. The exterior copper surface is gilded in 23 karat gold leaf and requires re-gilding approximately every 20 years.

The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennial redistricting, members run for one two-year term and two four-year terms each decade. They are elected for four-year terms in years ending in 2 and 6, and for two-year terms in years ending in 0. Representatives are elected for two-year terms from 134 single-member districts formed by dividing the 67 senate districts in half. It is the only state legislature in the country to be split, with the Republicans controlling the state Senate and the Democrats controlling the state House. Both houses of the Legislature meet between January and the first Monday following the third Saturday in May each year, not to exceed 120 legislative days per biennium. Floor sessions are held in the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul.

The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office of the Governor. The building also includes a chamber for the Minnesota Supreme Court, although court activities usually take place in the neighboring Minnesota Judicial Center. There have been three State Capitol buildings. The present building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert and completed in 1905. Its Beaux-Arts/American Renaissance design was influenced by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and by McKim, Mead & White's Rhode Island State House. From 2013 to 2017 the building underwent an extensive restoration. This included replacing existing infrastructure; adding new mechanical systems; replacing or repairing tens of thousands of pieces of marble on the exterior; cleaning historic paintings, murals, and sculptures; and adding safety and accessibility features. The building is set in a landscaped campus with the Capitol Mall on its south front, Leif Erikson Park on its west, and Judicial Plaza to its east. Various monuments and memorials are located in these green spaces.

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Paul. Offices for members and staff, as well as most committee hearings, are located in the nearby State Office Building.

The Minnesota State Capitol Mall includes eighteen acres of green space. Over the years, monuments, and memorials, have been added to the mall. The mall has been called Minnesota's Front lawn and is a place where the public has gathered for celebrations, to party, to demonstrate and protest, and to grieve. The mall is overseen by the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB), a small state agency consisting of twelve members, with responsibilities to preserve and enhance the dignity, beauty, and architectural integrity of the capitol, the buildings adjacent to it, the capitol grounds, and the capitol area.

Robert Street (called Capitol East until November 2011) is a light rail station along the METRO Green Line in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is located on the west side of Robert Street between 14th Street and Columbus Avenue. This is in an area of government buildings a short distance from the Minnesota State Capitol.Construction in this area began in August 2010. This station opened along with the rest of the line in 2014.

The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are held in the west wing of the State Capitol in Saint Paul. Committee hearings, as well as offices for senators and staff, are located north of the State Capitol in the Minnesota Senate Building. Each member of the Minnesota Senate represents approximately 80,000 constituents.