Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - Break out the cake, ice cream, and candles. It’s time to party like it’s- 1858.

The greatest state in the country is celebrating a birthday Saturday with 161 candles on its cake.

It was on May 11, 1858, when Minnesota officially became a state, becoming the 32nd star on the U.S. flag. The paperwork to make the state official began the year before and it took almost that long before the process was finalized.

There was so much bickering between Democrats and Republicans during the state's constitutional convention that two documents were actually adopted. One was later dropped. And to add more drama during those dawning moments of Minnesota’s statehood, legislation to make Saint Peter the state capitol was passed but the bill making the formal designation disappeared and wasn't found in time to be filed with the federal government so Saint Paul retained the title.

When Minnesota officially became a state, it had a population of 150,000 but its land size made it the 3rd largest at the time, trailing only Texas and California. The most recent headcount put the state’s population at just over 5.6-million, the 22nd highest of all 50 states.

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