This is a draft (I'll probably edit it in place) of what I'm working on to post to CFB before /u/hythloday1 puts up her long study. Please let me know if things don't make sense or I need to explain things in better ways.
Review and History. The Port of Minneapolis is the northernmost port on the Mississippi River System. Located near the convergence of the Mississippi and the Minnesota Rivers, the Port of Minneapolis is about 17 nautical miles upriver (20 kilometers or 12 miles northwest by air) of its sister city, St. Paul. Seat of Hennepin County, Minnesota, the Port of Minneapolis and St. Paul form the Twin Cities conurbation.
When the Minnesota Territory was formed, the three existing cities were St. Paul, St. Anthony (present day Minneapolis), and Stillwater. The cities competed for the home of the three most important institutions. St. Paul became the capitol, St. Anthony gained the university (University of Minnesota), and Stillwater gained the prison. in 1856, a small group of citizens decided that a school district must be established.