Spreading out from the banks of the Mississippi River, in the north-central state of Minnesota, Minneapolis and St Paul are colloquially known as the Twin Cities. In Americans and Nothing Else (1980), Trevor Fishlock observes that these cities ‘are divided by the Mississippi River, and united by the belief that the inhabitants of the other side of the river are inferior’.

It is true that there is a friendly rivalry between them, which dates back to the 19th century, when each city padded the 1890 census report in an attempt to be bigger than the other. Today, with a combined population of 2.9 million, the Twin Cities form the 15th largest metropolitan area in the United States and they flourish in happy symbiosis.

St Paul was established in 1837 and christened with the dubious name of Pig’s Eye, after a saloonkeeper who set up downstream from the Fort Snelling military outpost. Four years later, a chapel was erected and the town adopted its name instead – St Paul.

Minneapolis was founded in 1855, on the west bank of the river, opposite the falls of St Anthony. Between 1860 and 1900, immigrants from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and northern Germany poured in to settle the Minnesota Territory.

St Paul was the gateway to this new frontier and it became the state capital in 1858.

The mighty Mississippi River was the key to the Cities’ growth. The falls of St Anthony provided power for sawmills and flourmills and by 1870, Minneapolis had become the flour milling capital of the world. Although the mills are now gone, food processing remains a leading industry and the Twin Cities metropolitan area ranks first in the nation for agricultural commodity and food product export sales.

Electronics, medical and computer manufacturing, retail and professional services are among the other businesses that boost the thriving economy and make it one of the largest commercial centres between Chicago and the West Coast.

Minneapolis has emerged as the more ‘modern’ of the twins, due to its policy of razing most of its old buildings. The Downtown area contains many striking contemporary buildings designed by leading architects. St Paul has more of a preservationist instinct, with many restored 19th- and early 20th-century buildings. Minneapolis appears more slick and sassy, while St Paul is a laid-back elder brother.

Residents of the Twin Cities enjoy prosperity and a high quality of life – a clean environment, education and good health care are top priorities. With 949 of Minnesota’s 12,000 lakes lying within the Twin Cities area, outdoor recreation is a given. Miles of bicycle and jogging paths surround south Minneapolis’s ‘chain of lakes’.

Both cities are rich in the arts and cultural entertainment, with the quality, diversity and number of productions and facilities far surpassing the norm for the size of the city.

It has been estimated that over the past two decades the Twin Cities have constructed or renovated their arts and culture venues for more than US$1 billion, and within the space of five weeks in May and June 2006 alone, more than US$300 million worth of new arts and cultural facilities opened. The Walker Art Center and Guthrie Theater are among the top venues in the nation.

Winter in the Twin Cities can be rather cold, with lots of ice and snow. Still, winter can be the most beautiful time of year, with the lakes alive with skaters, skiers hitting the slopes and shoppers and diners making the most of city life. Both cities have an extensive system of enclosed ‘skyways’ that connect Downtown buildings and enable pedestrians to move about easily, without braving the weather.

The Twin Cities are somewhat conventional, long known for the so-called ‘Puritan work ethic’. They lie not on the cutting edge of style or trends but on a firm foundation of family orientated Christian values.

But while largely conservative, they occasionally surprise onlookers with an independent bent, such as in 1998, when residents elected the outspoken pro wrestler Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura, as governor of Minnesota.

Pundits called Minneapolis a ‘solid block of ice’ (a reference not to the weather but to its strong investment potential) as the continued good fortune of the Twin Cities seems assured.