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We've been hearing a lot lately about possible violent threats at all fifty state capitals, so it's good news that Minnesota's state capital has just made a list of the Top States for Capital Safety.

After the deadly insurrectionist surge at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 6th, security at not just the national capital but at all state capitals across the country has been something we've all seen, heard and read a lot about. And, now, the crew over the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2021's Best State Capitals for Safety & More.

And, there's good news for those of us here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes: Minnesota has made WalletHub's Top 20 List. Now, keep in mind that this survey isn't just looking at security measures specific to the actual capitol buildings, but more so at the cities themselves that are the capital of each state.

For us here in Minnesota, of course, it's St. Paul. And according to the new WalletHub survey, St. Paul is ranked 20th on the list of Best State Capitals for Safety. The survey actually looked at several different quality of life categories to compile their rankings, everything from affordability and economic well-being, to quality of education and health, and overall quality of life.  It also included the cost of living, the K–12 school-system quality as well as COVID-19 cases.

The top-ranked capital is the Texas capital of Austin, while the lowest-ranked state capital was Lousiana's capital, down in Baton Rouge. Here in the Midwest, my home state of Wisconsin and its capital city of Madison actually placed 2nd on the list, while down in Iowa, the capital city of Des Moines came in slightly ahead of St. Paul, coming in at #14 on the list.

While we're ranked below both Madison and Des Moines, Minnesota's capital city of St. Paul is still higher-ranked than 30 other state capitals when it comes to safety. (And St. Paul was rated #8 in the Quality of Life category too.) You can read more about the survey and check all the rankings HERE.

And speaking of capitals, how much do you know about the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul? The capitol complex (though locked down now ahead of threats leading up to President-Elect Biden's inauguration) is home to several different statues, all pertaining to some aspect of life in Minnesota. Keep scrolling to see how many you know!

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

NEXT UP: Can You Name These 10 Minnesota State Capitol Statues?

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