Outstanding Twin Cities National Night Out Participation in 2008

Once again, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul were ranked at the top when it comes to resident participation in National Night Out events. The City of Minneapolis ranked at No. 1 in the category for cities with a population of 300,000 or more. Saint Paul was also ranked No. 1 for communities with populations between 100,000 and 299,999.

This year is the sixth time in eight years that Minneapolis has finished at the top in its category of 300,000 or more residents. On August 5th, 2008, more than 60,000 residents assembled at 1,111 events held to increase neighborhood unity and bring people together to develop anti-crime and drug programs. San Antonio, Texas, was No. 2 for this category. The Washington DC area was No. 3.

St. Paul residents have increased their involvement in National Night Out.  Saint Paul moved up into first from its third-place finish in 2007. Rochester moved up to No. 3 this year after ranking No. 5 in 2007. Orlando, Florida, came at No. 2.

Minnesota's high turnout, with at least one city in the top 10 in each of the five population categories, was not enough to win the National Night Out Award awarded by the National Association of Town Watch, the event’s sponsoring organization. It bestowed the highest award in the state category to Texas. Last year, Minnesota and Texas tied for the top position.

To discover how other Twin Cities communities and other throughout Minnesota fared, read here.  To see all of the categories and all of the winners of the National Night Out award, read here.