Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center of Minnesota's government. The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices all sit on a hill close to the city's downtown district. One of the oldest cities in Minnesota, Saint Paul has several historic neighborhoods and landmarks, such as the Summit Avenue Neighborhood, the James J. Hill House, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Like the adjacent and larger city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers. According to census estimates, in 2021 the city's population was 307,193, making it the 67th-largest city in the United States, the 12th-most populous in the Midwest, and the second-most populous in Minnesota. Most of the city lies east of the Mississippi River near its confluence with the Minnesota River. Minneapolis is mostly across the Mississippi River to the west. Together, they are known as the "Twin Cities" and make up the core of Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the third most populous metro in the Midwest. The Legislative Assembly of the Minnesota Territory established the Town of St. Paul as its capital near existing Dakota Sioux settlements in November 1849. It remained a town until 1854. The Dakota name for where Saint Paul is situated is "Imnizaska" for the "white rock" bluffs along the river. The city has two sports venues: Xcel Energy Center, home to the Minnesota Wild, and Allianz Field, home to Minnesota United. Saint Paul has a mayor–council government. The current mayor is Melvin Carter III, who was first elected in 2018. History Burial mounds in present-day Indian Mounds Park suggest the area was inhabited by the Hopewell Native Americans about 2,000 years ago. From the early 17th century to 1837, the Mdewakanton Dakota, a tribe of the Sioux, lived near the mounds after being displaced from their ancestral grounds by Mille Lacs Lake from advancing Ojibwe. The Dakota called the area Imniza-Ska ("white cliffs") for its exposed white sandstone cliffs on the river's eastern side. The Imniza-Ska were full of caves that were useful to the Dakota. The explorer Jonathan Carver documented the historic Wakan tipi in the bluff below the burial mounds in 1767. In the Menominee language St.