You have the right idea on having her take the MSF course and get proper gear. This gear should ideally be helmet, jacket, gloves, pants, boots. In Minnesota it might get cool enough that you can get her some "three season" type gear and be alright. I can make some recommendations, but as a summary I have a jacket with a zip-out liner. It works great for fall, winter, and spring. It really is alright in summer, provided I don't have to spend much time sitting around and the temperatures are below 90F.
Now to the bike: Whatever you get, I would say don't get something bigger than 600ccs at the absolute max. Also buy a used bike - she will drop it at some point, and this way you haven't bought a new bike only to have her break it. If she's like me, she'll drop it at low speed and the bike will come out effectively unscathed.
If she's shorter like many women, the biggest concern is going to be something that she can actually keep her feet on the ground with at a stop. Generally, the cruiser-style bikes are better in this department. The 250cc motorcycles we used when I took the MSF course were great for people of about any height, just as an example. I would recommend anything Japanese. Honda is my favorite as far as motorcycles go, but Kawasaki and Suzuki make good products, too. Yamahas I suppose are fine, but they don't seem to have as good handling characteristics.
Really it comes down to what she likes and what she's comfortable with, especially in terms of seating position. Honda seems to have the best suspension, though, and that is a big plus. The under 600cc is a limitation that I add because it doesn't take much for a motorcycle to have enough power to get out of hand for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.
If she's going to work, something with side bags would probably help (although you can also wear a backpack and that works fine), and engine guards are also a plus for when she drops it.
