Born and raised in Iowa, I regarded my move to Minnesota as a major upgrade. Late in life I moved to Oregon and then to Michigan. They are nice places, but I was delighted to return to where I belong: Minnesota. Thanks for the report and the respect for this state I love.
i’m a proud minnesotan and i have to say sure we may have high income tax as well as other taxes but we don’t tax on things we deem necessities such as clothing, food, and medications. i feel like minnesota is a state the rest of the country doesn’t really know about but we have a little bit of everything and we are really welcoming of all kinds of people. really good summary!
Food Clarify Minnesota does tax ready to eat food. Go to the store and buy ingredients for a sandwich. No tax. Pickup a premade or made to order sandwich. taxed. Restaurant food. Taxed. Alcohol. Everywhere. Taxed.
Wow, you did your research! I appreciated all of the cool information! I find it really pretty here, even the flat farmlands, and the winters aren't so bad once you get used to it and you've been through it a couple years, and you wear the right clothing! It's worth it to wake up to snow falling peacefully in the morning and the icy snow-laden trees are sparkling in the morning sun. From a Minnesotan, thank you and good job!
The way to handle winter around here - first snow, go out and get a mocha. Walk around a park and enjoy the beauty. For the rest of winter you'll feel warmer. You'll set the narrative that you are enjoying life in winter rather than taking the shut in narrative.
Duluth is my favorite city there, by far. Driving into it from Wisconsin is really impressive when you reach that hill and see the city off in the Distance. I was quite young when I first went there and I’ll never forget it. Would love to go again.
Nice/ comprehensive presentation. Also brought back great memories driving US 61 which hugs the Lake Superior shore from Duluth to Grand Marais, awe inspiring drive. keep up the good work.
Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities is home to the largest Somali population outside of Somalia. There's even a neighborhood in Minneapolis that has the nickname "Little Mogadishu". Minnesota is also home to the most NHL players in America, surpassing Massachusetts and Michigan. It also has the best state fair in the country with amazing food!
Adding on to the land of 10,000 lakes. Wisconsin likes to point fun at our number, 11,842, because their DNR counts them as having 15,084. But, they call just about anything a lake, while Minnesota has standards. In Minnesota, only bodies of water over 10 acres are counted as a lake. If you apply that standard to Wisconsin, they only have 5,898. It really shows just how much water there is here- as well as how far we’ll go to prove we’re superior to Wisconsin.
I'm from Wisconsin, and yeah our definition is not as good :( I'm not part of the hate though I appreciate Minnesota, it has a very similar cultural feel to Wisconsin, at least we can both agree that we don't like Illinois right?
Yep I’m from Minnesota and moved to Wisconsin many years ago and that’s all I kept hearing is how Wisconsin actually has more lakes... wrong just look at Wisconsins map vs Minnesota’s map.
Great job as usual, Geo King! You packed a lot of info into this in a concise way. Minnesota is clearly the nation's most public minded state. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce does several voluntary surveys and of all 50 states, Minnesota has the high response rate. Minnesotans believe in cooperating and they tend to think how their efforts benefit us, not just me. And that has brought them the best economy in the Midwest by far. Moreover, in a recent study, Minnesota had the highest economic confidence of all 50 states. That tells us much about how high tax rates and sharing of resources are not per se the evils they are often made out to be.
Minnesota certainly does things a little different than the other midwestern states. If a state does the right things with taxes you get what you pay for. Illinois on the other hand has high taxes but no one knows where it goes!
The thing I like about the northeast part is the forests and rocks. Generally the breathtaking views are limited, but at a small scale like walking through the woods, you can see how dense, complex, and diverse the forest is. It feels like you’re walking through an enchanted forest.
As a Californian who now lives in Minnesota, I tell people I moved here for the weather. And it's true! Can winter suck? Yes, of course, but it can be really beautiful and fun too. And I love having all four seasons, fall being my favorite. People think I am crazy leaving "sunny California" for the frozen north, but I love it here. It gets boring with sunshine all the time. And you always have a conversation starter with the weather changes.
We get weather bragging rights because basically any weather phenomena short of hurricanes (we're working on that) can happen here. Any time another part of the country gets cold and/or snow and descends into anarchy, it is met with wither confusion, bemusement, or laughter. The times when it's colder here than in Alaska are a great feeling
My sister in law felt the same. She lived in San Diego for a number of years and hated it because of a lack of seasons. Her and my brother live in Virginia now and love it. California, even the weather, isn't for everyone.
Also, Embarrass, MN, which is where my FINNISH grandmother is from, often gets mentioned on the news as the coldest place in the entire US, including Alaska. I believe their current record is -53° F. Amd that's without windchill... We had a family reunion there, back on the summer of '91. It was awesome. We did a 2 day canoe trip from Ely up almost into Canada...
If I remember correctly, the record is actually in the -60s. Charlie Fowler, who was in the weather station to report the record, is an old family friend on my Dad's side. Still talks about it occasionally
Hey Geo King, lifelong Minnesotan here, I really like this video! You did a really great job summing up the State, and thanks for showing our sports teams some love!
Really love this video. I just discovered your channel the other day and I've been binge watching. Re: MN -- Ojibwe and Chippewa are the same (Chippewa is the anglicized version of Ojibwe) and they tend to be in the north half. The south half tends to have the Lakota/Dakota (anglicized to Sioux). And the reason so many Hmong settled in Minnesota is because of all the Lutheran churches that sponsored them as refugees here. Lutherans did that for the Liberians and Somalis too and that's why we have the largest concentration of those folks in the country.
I caught that too. I'm from Michigan. Here they are called Chippewa in the Lower Peninsula and Ojibwa in the Upper. The story I heard is that they were originally called Ochipwa (spelling?) which was interpreted as either Ojibwa of Chippewa, depending on region.
I didn’t realize that the Lutheran Churches are to thank for the Hmong population in the cities. I recently moved from Minnesota and loved visiting the Hmong markets
I stumbled into this video from your "side" channel... I was born and raised in Fullerton, CA and found myself with my family here in St. Paul, MN. LOVE it here. You did a great job with this video! My personal pet peeve about visitor-UA-camrs who talk about food is that they rarely mention wild rice and walleye. They are my favorite things to eat that you don't find in the same way anywhere else in the country. Just in case you ever return!
Random additional fact, but Owl City (the band that released “Fireflies”) is also from Owatonna Minnesota. I learned this fact from my orchestra teacher, who was always disgruntled that Owl City was the most significant thing to come from his city.
There's also a surprisingly large Hmong population in rural southwest Minnesota! Walnut Grove, childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, is about 40 percent Hmong.
First video I have come across of yours. I’m from MN and I have to say, AMAZING job with the video. You really hit on all the big aspects of Minnesota. The video was detailed and accurate. I’ve noticed some people nit picking you on here about this and that, but I think you really nailed it. Subscribed!
almost a year later and NOW youtube recommends this to me...I am a Minnesota lifer and of course I hit that👍 ...I am guessing all the dislikes comes from Wisconsin 😂🤣
If you ever decide to go to the Boundary Waters area, one place you can go is Ely, Minnesota. They have a dog sledding trip that you can pay for and a man named Scott takes you 4 hours into the wilderness with huskies and the likes pulling a dogsled you conduct. It’s super fun because you go to the border of Canada and there are wild beaver dams, bears, wolves, eagles, and more. You can go in the wintertime (obviously) and you’ll be able to walk on the icy lake and venture to small islands that would otherwise be inaccessible. I went once and had a great time
You should check out southeast MN; it's part of the driftless area. Winona is a good example of the difference in scenery as well as Whitewater state park.
Recently stopped in Winona via the Empire Builder train and absolutely *loved* the city. Gorgeous little riverfront city with a great train station and the driftless area is certainly best enjoyed from the top level of a Superliner observation car!
The mountains in the NE area of the state were pretty serious mountains...a couple billion years ago. It's some of the oldest exposed ground on earth, that hasn't been buried by plate tectonics over the eons. Also, hotdish is great, and tater tot hotdish is among the best.
Grew up 30 miles from Canada and currently 40 miles from Iowa. I mostly notice the weather difference. You can be mowing lawns in April in the southern part and still ice fish in the northern part.
I’m from Mankato right in the southern center part of the state and almost everything around us is boring flat farmland except we’re in the Minnesota river valley and it’s really pretty there especially in the fall.
Try lutefisk on boiled potatoes with white sauce before you condemn it. It's frequently served at the holidays. And a number of churches have lutefisk dinners as fund raisers at that time of the year. A couple real beauties he neglects are The North Shore of Lake Superior and the St. Croix River, which is along the boundary with Wisconsin. It is one of the first nationally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers in the country. Even the "boring" southern part of the state has its glories when you dare get your keister off the freeway and do some exploring. Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne in the southwest part of the state is pretty impressive as are the ancient pipestone quarries near Pipestone, MN, which are a designated National Monument. There's more. You can google it. I'd tell you to come visit, but I actually don't like people very much...
The Driftless Area in the SE corner is an interesting geographical area as well. Considering it escaped the last glacial retreat it's really hilly and bluffy, with lots of natural springs!
Yep. Also why there’s a lack of lakes. I grew ip in that part of the state, and honestly I think it’s one of the most beautiful areas of Minnesota. So many people have no idea there is terrain like this in Minnesota.
Great profile! Proud to be from MN and we love our state! Lutefisk is awful. The only way to consume is if it’s drowned in butter. Lefse is a holiday tradition which we make from scratch with families. There’s a VERY passionate golfing community MN has the highest number of high school sponsored hockey programs. More than any other state.
Nice profile of my home state. Minnesota is an awesome place to live, but you really need to embrace winter sports (like skating, x-country skiing, hockey) to really get the most out of living there. Although I now live in Columbus, Ohio, I wouldn’t mind moving back to the Twin Cities some day. Just an FYI: your picture of new development in Minneapolis at time point 7:19 is actually in downtown Los Angeles. PS: very few people I knew eat lutefisk, though my dad tried it at Christmas each year. Swedish Sausage is awesome though.
I saw more backyard ice skating rinks then basketball courts when I visited Duluth.....which is fine with me! I live about 45 miles south from Columbus
This was a good analysis of Minnesota. It's true that Minneapolis is growing. Ive seen so many condos in downtown Minneapolis some are reasonably priced.
I used to drive I-90 in Southern MN 80 miles round trip daily (Fairmont to Lakefield and back). You are correct. It's a really boring drive. I've been told the only one worse is I-80 in Iowa, but there's a song about that.
I've been to both parts. And honestly. I think it matters where you're from. Because I thought it was beautiful but I see how people think it's boring.
I have a ritual I undergo when entering Minnesota at Albert Lea, namely stopping for the night and having pizza and root beer. It's a leftover from family trips up to northern Minnesota when I was a child. PS: If you dislike flat, treeless plains, I-70 from Salina to Denver is NOT for you!
Living in Oregon, recently drove from Spokane to Niagra/Nyc to La, there’s something about the sky in those empty great plain states, when there’s not a single tree around you. High grass, The winds and how the clouds are shaped . It’s better than anything. The peaceful loneliness. The pure extent of your gratefulness. I swear
This is an excellent description. I have always loved the big, open skies of southern and western MN, and North Dakota as well. On those partly cloudy, sunny summer days it is spectacular.
MN has the widest temperature range- in one year you can see negative 60 in February and 100 in August. And the shoreline of Lake Superior can get lake effect snow, but only below the hills- most notably Minnesota Point AKA Park Point in Duluth which is right on the water whereas the Duluth international airport, which is behind the hills, gets snow a bit more in line with plains states
I drove through Minnesota on I-90 about 20 years ago and it didn’t strike me as boring at all. Perhaps because I drove through South Dakota too and SD to me was very boring along that route until you get to the Black Hills area. Had a beautiful river crossing over the Mississippi, and I was amused by all the billboards advertising for the Spam museum (“come in and find out what’s REALLY inside!”). Nicest drivers I’ve ever seen, and didn’t spot a single highway patrol vehicle the entire way through in both directions.
Love your stuff. Just discovered the channel recently so I have lots to keep me entertained. Don't live in the U.S. but I visit regularly and find it great for planning future itineraries.
I was born, raised, and still live in MN and you did a really good job with this! The only thing I would add on is the significant Somali population. You mentioned the Hmong population, and they would generally be located in Saint Paul, and the Somali population would generally be located in Minneapolis.
I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for 6 yrs now and you get used to the winter. It’s not actually that bad. It gets to -40 sometimes but that doesn’t happen a lot, maybe 3-4 days out of the year. Most of the winter it’s above zero.
The SouthEastern part of Minnesota was not glaciated and therefore is very hilly and topographically very interesting. Tremendous bike trails wind through the hills and along the rivers. Great trout streams. The glaciated period was not 126,000 years ago. It was much more recent. When the glaciers melted the water run off was gigantic. The Minnesota river was well over a mile wide then, as was the Mississippi. In Winona Mn you can see how wide the river was.
Grew up near Rochester and all I can say is; Rochester IS the Mayo Clinic Even a lot of the small towns surrounding have many employees working at Mayo. Honestly without Mayo, Rochester would probably be similar in size to Owatonna or Austin.
I enjoyed the description and appreciate that you did this. It seems that you spent more time describing separate cities/metro areas in Wisconsin than in Minnesota (about ten minutes more). Although most of the smaller communities in Minnesota are either associated with farming/recreation, you did miss some interesting small cities. 1) Hibbing is where the iron range is located (which you mentioned). They mined about a 60 year supply of iron from the iron range during the years of World War II. With all the tax money generated by the iron range at that time, an amazing palace of a high school with marble and other stone was built in Hibbing. Despite the industrial/mining association with Hibbing, ít was probably one of the best school systems in Minnesota. Nearby is a Soudan Mine state park where you can go to the bottom of an underground iron mine-2,300 feet underground. 2) St. Cloud originally was populated by many Germans. (There are many Somalis and others that have more recently moved into the area, making it much more diverse now). The quirkiness and charm of Lake Wobegon by Garrison Keillor is based on that area. the largest Benedictine monestary in the world is in the area (associated with St. John’s University). St. Cloud is located at the boundary of good farm land (to the south), and the lake/recreation country (to the north). Cold Spring Granite Company is located there. It is the third largest quarrier in the world, and many monuments and building stones (used throughout the United States) come from there. A local reformatory at St. Cloud had the prisoners build the granite wall for the prison. The granite wall around the prison is about a mile long-reportedly the longest granite wall in the world. Also famed pilot Lucky Lindy grew up in that area. 3) Stillwater is the birthplace of Minnesota. It was founded on the lumber industry and there are many historical buildings there.
This video was my first state profile video and the first few were much shorter than the more recent ones. I was reluctant to post videos over 20 minutes but have since gone over 20 for the state profile videos. I do have a more recent video called an Ode to Minnesota where I go over a little more about the state.
I was fortunate to go the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with the Scouts when I was in high school. One of my lasting boyhood memories is sitting with my brother on some park benches in Grand Marais after our trip, looking out over Lake Superior. Btw, Northern Wisconsin is also an excellent place to go on a canoe trip (did that twice). Since you like meteorological stuff, after Grand Marais we camped out along Lake Superior when there was a heavy rain storm and when we stopped in Duluth for breakfast, the storm drains were maxed out causing the manhole covers to pop up 10-20 feet in the air like geysers. I miss the wild weather of the Midwest.
Great video. The reason why the sports team names all go by Minnesota ____ is because there has always been a bit of a rivalry between St Paul and Minneapolis. This also how the Minnesota Twins got their name, as a way of uniting fans from the "twin cities" of Minneapolis and St Paul.
Back when the section of I-94 between Mpls and St. Paul opened up, a major (Minneapolis) TV station announced that "100,000 cars used the new road in the first day -- 98,000 going to Minneapolis and 2,000 going to St. Paul." No competitiveness.
In Minnesota we have Hot dish and Casserole. The primary difference is that a hot dish (like tater tot hot dish) is made with red meat (mainly hamburger). Casserole as made with non red meat, like tuna. Hope this helps!
im from chicago and last winter in late november i did a 4 day road trip across northern minnesota. i spent two nights in the bwcaw camping on the ground near beautiful yet eerily creepy lakes seeing the stars with nobody for miles. I then drove past duluth but stopped to walk through the park there where the christmas lights were in full display. plus it was free. the next day i made my way home but stopped by to check out the bell musem near st paul which was so cool as somebody who loves early human history and pleistocene megafauna. such a neat state and i want to visit again. especially the coast. i never even checked out the coast!
Originally from MN. My dad grew up in Ely, and spent most of his childhood in what is now the BWCAW, when it was filled with railroads and resorts. And if you go up there and poke around, most campsites have evidence of previous "civilizations," e.g., foundations of old buildings, portages that are flatter than you'd expect for such "pristine" wilderness, etc. But I'm glad they protected it. I was lucky enough for my dad to take me out there for week-long canoe trips during three successive summer in the 90s when I was a teenager. He gave me his cheaper canoe a couple weeks ago, and my son (9) is suddenly expressing interest in spending some time up there. Also, thank you for mentioning hotdish. Nailed it.
We are from St Cloud, MN. This was a fun, informative video to watch. I want to add that we are the only state that plays duck, duck, grey duck not duck, duck, goose.
What makes the twin cities different from the rest of the rust belt is that we never were a heavy manufacturing center. Even though Minnesota is the iron capital of the US most of the iron from the iron range shipped out of the great lakes. While much of the Midwest doubled down on that heavy industry Minneapolis was known as mill city. It never had that extremely specialized economy and by the time milling began to fall off it was too late to hop aboard the industry train. Instead it shifted towards tech and business.
If you're from Minneapolis, you call Minneapolis "Minneapolis" and St. Paul "St. Paul". Likewise if you're from St. Paul. Outside of the two, rural folks may call it the Cities.
@@procrastinator9 About the only time you’d actually specify is when you’re referring to something downtown. Target center is in Minneapolis. The science museum is in St. Paul. Otherwise, it’s the cities, since most people don’t actually live in either of the two. 3 million people live in the twin cities, but the actual population of Minneapolis and St. Paul combined is about 500,000.
We might not get as much snow, but we still get a lot, and blizzards can be brutal. We’ve been subjected to some of the worst blizzards in the US, from the Armistice Day blizzard in 1940 to the Halloween blizzard in 1991 to the Schoolhouse blizzard in 1888.
We also say things like “hey, how ya doin there?” The word “there” in Minnesota is like “eh” in Canada. We throw it on at the end of a sentence for no reason. Also, “Ope!” Is a good one. If you’re rounding a corner and almost bump into someone walking the other way, the common practice is to give a surprised but friendly “Ope!” This is usually followed by something like “sorry imma sneak right past ya there”
speaking of Best Buy. Do you remember the delightfully quirky fascades they used to have on their buildings? The recent building keeps only a hint of the original facades----an oddly angled blue insertion at the front entrance. I worked in Minnesota for a few weeks many decades ago and enjoyed the experience. Part of my time there was in the winter and a local pal took me to see Minnehaha water fall---it was a frozen column of ice. Another time i was there to help a friend relocate from Boston to take up a job at 3M. I noticed all the deep drainage ditches along the sides of the roads to handle the cloudburst type of rain events that are apparently frequent there. I also remember a sign on the western edge of town that said: Next stop Butte Montana! The sign gave me the feeling that i was on the edge of the universe and i couldnt wait to get back to Boston.
@Geography King If ya drive up Hwy61 along the Mississippi River in SW Minn, it's not boring parries. It's all forest, bluffs, valleys & actually pretty cool geographically
Its the whole western half of the state that is heavy on farm land use not just the south west. Up in the Red River Valley they grow more sugar beats than anywhere else in the country (with the North Dakota side as well)
It depends. If they're on the water, they're bluffs. All the cliffs on the Mississippi are bluffs, and where there's cliffs on the shore of Superior they might be called bluff, but the actual north shore range wouldn't be called bluffs. Mountains are a bit of a stretch, but it's the best option. They're very old and worn down, and there's not much left of them, but they're the last of the mountain range that used to be there
Interesting Minnesota fact is that there is a continental divide between water flowing to the Hudson Bay arctic ocean and water going through the great lakes to the Atlantic ocean and obviously the Mississippi to the golf of Mexico
Not bad. But, fyi, the Chippewa and the Ojibway are one and the same, Chippewa being a frenchification of Ojibway from way back in the voyageur days. Can't blame you for saying lutefisk is nasty, but there are quite a few people who love it. Luckily for the rest of us, it is rarely encountered except in numerous Meatball and Lutefisk Dinners during late fall throughout the region. Interesting fact: Minnesota processes and exports the vast majority of lutefisk eaten in Scandinavia. Had a great-uncle from Norway who said that back in the old days the stores would stack the dried lutefisk like cordwood outside their entrances and the dogs would come around and piss on it. Greatly improved the flavor, he said.
Minnesotan expat in CA here. Howdy! I'll put forward that hot dish isn't just casserole by another name in MN. Hot dish has a certain composition that makes it a "real" hot dish: cream of mushroom soup, a protein (usually meat), a starch, a veggie (often times canned), and cheese. This is what I know from experience and also from a hazy memory of reading something about hot dish long ago.
I'm from that boring southwest part of Minnesota. And yeah. That's pretty much it. We don't play hockey, very few lakes, flat but beautiful during the fall, and yeah we have corn and JBS in Worthington. SMSU D2 in marshal. And alot of nothing everywhere else. And we love it.
Thanks for this Kyle. The reason I - 90 exists is to keep people moving on. Nothing to see here. On the other hand, you really do need to spend a week or two in the BWCA. One of the best things about the place is there are no motors allowed. I would also suggest driving up to Grand Marais, on the north shore, and driving the Gunflint trail. There's some good short hiking trails along the way too. As far as snow goes, snow doesn't mean cold. It just means you have to shovel.
I’ve lived near Minneapolis pretty much my whole life. I hadn’t heard of the first two signature dishes, but tater tot hot dish...that’s some good stuff don’t ya knooo. We do use the word casserole for other things though.
You get out to the smaller scandinavian towns and you'll see them for sure. A lot of smaller towns north of the cities will have lutefisk dinners around Christmas for the older folks that still partake lol.
What is your thoughts on southeastern Minnesota (driftless area/bluff country). It’s nothing like all of the rest of the southern half of the state. I like this part of the state almost more than the northern part.
Also I will note I don’t agree with I90 being boring from Madison to Sioux Falls Sd. While I do think I 90 from Rochester/Stewartville to Sioux Falls is pretty much boring drive I don’t think that east of there. All of Wisconsin in my opinion is pleasant to drive through. You have Wisconsin Dells you Also have Lacrosse/Onalaska which that part of I 90 from there to Tomah is called the coulee region which I find really scenic. Also you have the Mississippi River too. One unique thing about 90 in Minnesota is when you go into the Mississippi River valley there’s homes in the median of the highway which is very unusual.
I love my home state! I moved away for 5 years, but made my way back, and don't want to leave again... Unless I can afford a warm place to spend January through March... ;). But even that isn't as bad as people think.
think i read in some national publication once about how Twin Citians are basically a people who'd always rather be "at the lake", and have built a city reflecting that. living here for nearly 20 years now, that struck me as a great way to characterize the vibe. also, and maybe this is a stretch, but i always thought it was interesting how it seemed the Scandinavian tendency toward bigger government seemed to emigrate here along with the people. it is one of the highest taxed states, and we have the results to show for it. sound like somewhere else you know??
It's interesting how the best states in the country get the least amount of attention. I hardly knew anything about Minnesota other than the coldness and that 3M was from there. I personally live in NH, which is another state that hardly anybody knows anything about, yet has nothing especially bad about it.
I’m a Minnesotan and I thought this was an excellent profile of my state. Even learned a few things too!
Born and raised in Iowa, I regarded my move to Minnesota as a major upgrade. Late in life I moved to Oregon and then to Michigan. They are nice places, but I was delighted to return to where I belong: Minnesota. Thanks for the report and the respect for this state I love.
We’re glad to have you here!
I moved back to Ohio because of family when I retired. I miss northern Minnesota every day. I am thinking about moving back.
i’m a proud minnesotan and i have to say sure we may have high income tax as well as other taxes but we don’t tax on things we deem necessities such as clothing, food, and medications. i feel like minnesota is a state the rest of the country doesn’t really know about but we have a little bit of everything and we are really welcoming of all kinds of people. really good summary!
Food
Clarify
Minnesota does tax ready to eat food.
Go to the store and buy ingredients for a sandwich. No tax.
Pickup a premade or made to order sandwich. taxed.
Restaurant food. Taxed.
Alcohol. Everywhere. Taxed.
Yeah, Minnesota has high taxes for the rich, but low taxes for the poor, which is how it should be.
This is a great summary! As a lifelong Minnesotan this is exactly how I feel!
Wow
How I wish ,, my usa dream
Wow, you did your research! I appreciated all of the cool information! I find it really pretty here, even the flat farmlands, and the winters aren't so bad once you get used to it and you've been through it a couple years, and you wear the right clothing! It's worth it to wake up to snow falling peacefully in the morning and the icy snow-laden trees are sparkling in the morning sun. From a Minnesotan, thank you and good job!
The way to handle winter around here - first snow, go out and get a mocha. Walk around a park and enjoy the beauty. For the rest of winter you'll feel warmer. You'll set the narrative that you are enjoying life in winter rather than taking the shut in narrative.
Duluth is my favorite city there, by far. Driving into it from Wisconsin is really impressive when you reach that hill and see the city off in the Distance. I was quite young when I first went there and I’ll never forget it. Would love to go again.
It's a feeling there isn't it!
Nice/ comprehensive presentation. Also brought back great memories driving US 61 which hugs the Lake Superior shore from Duluth to Grand Marais, awe inspiring drive. keep up the good work.
Thanks!
I always loved the northernmost Midwestern states. Wisconsin and Michigan are very beautiful too. Cold places breed sensible people, I've found.
Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities is home to the largest Somali population outside of Somalia. There's even a neighborhood in Minneapolis that has the nickname "Little Mogadishu". Minnesota is also home to the most NHL players in America, surpassing Massachusetts and Michigan. It also has the best state fair in the country with amazing food!
Is this Somali fact supposed to be good or bad?
“Minnesota doesn’t have that lake effect” people from Duluth: fight me
Thundersnoooowww
Houghton michigan versuses duluth is night and day
I'm pretty sure that Lake of the Woods sometimes generates the humidity for localized lake-effect snow.
bullshit! look a meterolgical map!
Faxxx
Adding on to the land of 10,000 lakes. Wisconsin likes to point fun at our number, 11,842, because their DNR counts them as having 15,084.
But, they call just about anything a lake, while Minnesota has standards. In Minnesota, only bodies of water over 10 acres are counted as a lake. If you apply that standard to Wisconsin, they only have 5,898. It really shows just how much water there is here- as well as how far we’ll go to prove we’re superior to Wisconsin.
I'm from Wisconsin, and yeah our definition is not as good :( I'm not part of the hate though I appreciate Minnesota, it has a very similar cultural feel to Wisconsin, at least we can both agree that we don't like Illinois right?
ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ Punster!
Yep I’m from Minnesota and moved to Wisconsin many years ago and that’s all I kept hearing is how Wisconsin actually has more lakes... wrong just look at Wisconsins map vs Minnesota’s map.
I’m from Wisconsin and both states suck. It’s like comparing two terds
In Finland we have about 200 000 lakes
Great job as usual, Geo King! You packed a lot of info into this in a concise way. Minnesota is clearly the nation's most public minded state. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce does several voluntary surveys and of all 50 states, Minnesota has the high response rate. Minnesotans believe in cooperating and they tend to think how their efforts benefit us, not just me. And that has brought them the best economy in the Midwest by far. Moreover, in a recent study, Minnesota had the highest economic confidence of all 50 states. That tells us much about how high tax rates and sharing of resources are not per se the evils they are often made out to be.
Minnesota certainly does things a little different than the other midwestern states. If a state does the right things with taxes you get what you pay for. Illinois on the other hand has high taxes but no one knows where it goes!
I think we often lead the US in voter turnout as well.
@@Mark-sk6om Both voter turnout and census response :).
@@GeographyKing AMEN!
Still LOTS of room for improvement in government spending and taxes in Minnesota, since the urban/rural gap in living standards is getting larger!
The thing I like about the northeast part is the forests and rocks. Generally the breathtaking views are limited, but at a small scale like walking through the woods, you can see how dense, complex, and diverse the forest is. It feels like you’re walking through an enchanted forest.
As a Californian who now lives in Minnesota, I tell people I moved here for the weather. And it's true! Can winter suck? Yes, of course, but it can be really beautiful and fun too. And I love having all four seasons, fall being my favorite. People think I am crazy leaving "sunny California" for the frozen north, but I love it here. It gets boring with sunshine all the time. And you always have a conversation starter with the weather changes.
We get weather bragging rights because basically any weather phenomena short of hurricanes (we're working on that) can happen here. Any time another part of the country gets cold and/or snow and descends into anarchy, it is met with wither confusion, bemusement, or laughter. The times when it's colder here than in Alaska are a great feeling
My sister in law felt the same. She lived in San Diego for a number of years and hated it because of a lack of seasons. Her and my brother live in Virginia now and love it. California, even the weather, isn't for everyone.
I'm with you! Born and raised in So. Cal... living in St. Paul since 2006. Love it here. ❤
Also, Embarrass, MN, which is where my FINNISH grandmother is from, often gets mentioned on the news as the coldest place in the entire US, including Alaska. I believe their current record is -53° F. Amd that's without windchill...
We had a family reunion there, back on the summer of '91. It was awesome. We did a 2 day canoe trip from Ely up almost into Canada...
If I remember correctly, the record is actually in the -60s. Charlie Fowler, who was in the weather station to report the record, is an old family friend on my Dad's side. Still talks about it occasionally
@@brownleelogan1 my mom will need to get an updated quilt with the lower number, lol
Hey Geo King, lifelong Minnesotan here, I really like this video! You did a really great job summing up the State, and thanks for showing our sports teams some love!
😂 they certainly need it! Former Minnesotan here.
Really love this video. I just discovered your channel the other day and I've been binge watching.
Re: MN -- Ojibwe and Chippewa are the same (Chippewa is the anglicized version of Ojibwe) and they tend to be in the north half. The south half tends to have the Lakota/Dakota (anglicized to Sioux). And the reason so many Hmong settled in Minnesota is because of all the Lutheran churches that sponsored them as refugees here. Lutherans did that for the Liberians and Somalis too and that's why we have the largest concentration of those folks in the country.
Thank you for the info. I always like to learn more about places.
And that's why taxes are so high! Welfare!
Yeah...no.
I caught that too. I'm from Michigan. Here they are called Chippewa in the Lower Peninsula and Ojibwa in the Upper. The story I heard is that they were originally called Ochipwa (spelling?) which was interpreted as either Ojibwa of Chippewa, depending on region.
I didn’t realize that the Lutheran Churches are to thank for the Hmong population in the cities. I recently moved from Minnesota and loved visiting the Hmong markets
However groceries, clothing, shoes, and prescription drugs are exempt from the Minnesota sales tax
We get killed on sales tax here in the SE. I really wish we'd make some of these restrictions.
Notice that shopping at Duluth trading post
@@lowlifeangler Duluth Trading isn't a Minnesota company -- it's based in Wisconsin (Madison I think?).
Excellent point. To think that clothing is taxed anywhere always blows my mind.
Minnesota also has localized taxes on gravel (yup, what you use for roads, etc.) and "wheelage," on top of the vehicle taxes you find elsewhere!
ಠಿ_ಠ
BWCA is beautiful...that whole area is just heaven on earth...in the summer of course
Winter time is awesome too. Skiing and snowshoeing across the lakes is a lot of fun.
only if you like mosquitoes
Magical in the winter (most of mn is!) if you are as tough as people should be.
BWCA is my favorite place. My first trip in was a 10-day 50-mile loop through 14 different lakes. Life-changing experience, no doubt.
Summer and winter heavenly, huh? I suppose spring and fall are terrible there?
I stumbled into this video from your "side" channel... I was born and raised in Fullerton, CA and found myself with my family here in St. Paul, MN. LOVE it here. You did a great job with this video! My personal pet peeve about visitor-UA-camrs who talk about food is that they rarely mention wild rice and walleye. They are my favorite things to eat that you don't find in the same way anywhere else in the country. Just in case you ever return!
Thank you for sharing good things about Minnesota. I miss northern Minnesota every day and am thinking about moving back there.
I'm from Northeastern Minnesota, and I'm happy to see a video about it.
Been Duluth and Sax-Zim Big in the winter. They know how to take care of the roads.....unlike Ohio. They go on a panic mode after 4" of snow LoL
Went to Grand Marais earlier this summer. I liked that town a lot! I think the north shore is a beautiful area
@@w0nderward Agreed. It's gorgeous up there.
The northern half of Minnesota is one of my favorite parts of the U.S. I love Duluth for it's size and location. Boundary waters is a MUST!
We enjoyed a our few days in Minneapolis a couple years ago traveling through the upper Midwest. Will definitely come back someday.
Random additional fact, but Owl City (the band that released “Fireflies”) is also from Owatonna Minnesota.
I learned this fact from my orchestra teacher, who was always disgruntled that Owl City was the most significant thing to come from his city.
It's weird thinking I might have walked past Adam Young in my life
There's also a surprisingly large Hmong population in rural southwest Minnesota! Walnut Grove, childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, is about 40 percent Hmong.
First video I have come across of yours. I’m from MN and I have to say, AMAZING job with the video. You really hit on all the big aspects of Minnesota. The video was detailed and accurate. I’ve noticed some people nit picking you on here about this and that, but I think you really nailed it. Subscribed!
Thank you! Welcome to the channel.
almost a year later and NOW youtube recommends this to me...I am a Minnesota lifer and of course I hit that👍 ...I am guessing all the dislikes comes from Wisconsin 😂🤣
Yah, all 13 of us
Yup, but they all come here for work...
hehe, man do we minnesotans hate the cheese head
We hate the Illinois people more. Especially the south eastern wisconsinites seeing an Illinois driver makes our blood boil.
only southern & eastern wisc.
If you ever decide to go to the Boundary Waters area, one place you can go is Ely, Minnesota. They have a dog sledding trip that you can pay for and a man named Scott takes you 4 hours into the wilderness with huskies and the likes pulling a dogsled you conduct. It’s super fun because you go to the border of Canada and there are wild beaver dams, bears, wolves, eagles, and more. You can go in the wintertime (obviously) and you’ll be able to walk on the icy lake and venture to small islands that would otherwise be inaccessible. I went once and had a great time
You should check out southeast MN; it's part of the driftless area. Winona is a good example of the difference in scenery as well as Whitewater state park.
Recently stopped in Winona via the Empire Builder train and absolutely *loved* the city. Gorgeous little riverfront city with a great train station and the driftless area is certainly best enjoyed from the top level of a Superliner observation car!
The mountains in the NE area of the state were pretty serious mountains...a couple billion years ago. It's some of the oldest exposed ground on earth, that hasn't been buried by plate tectonics over the eons. Also, hotdish is great, and tater tot hotdish is among the best.
Just found your channel, very cool so I subscribed. Fellow geography nerd here!
Thank you!
same here
I love that you mentioned Hmongs in this ...you should look into Minnesota’s huge Somali population / culture as well!
Grew up 30 miles from Canada and currently 40 miles from Iowa. I mostly notice the weather difference. You can be mowing lawns in April in the southern part and still ice fish in the northern part.
I’m from Mankato right in the southern center part of the state and almost everything around us is boring flat farmland except we’re in the Minnesota river valley and it’s really pretty there especially in the fall.
I have to prepare a presentation about Minnesota for school and this helps me a lot. Thank you!!!
You're welcome. Heve fun with the presentation
Try lutefisk on boiled potatoes with white sauce before you condemn it. It's frequently served at the holidays. And a number of churches have lutefisk dinners as fund raisers at that time of the year. A couple real beauties he neglects are The North Shore of Lake Superior and the St. Croix River, which is along the boundary with Wisconsin. It is one of the first nationally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers in the country. Even the "boring" southern part of the state has its glories when you dare get your keister off the freeway and do some exploring. Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne in the southwest part of the state is pretty impressive as are the ancient pipestone quarries near Pipestone, MN, which are a designated National Monument. There's more. You can google it. I'd tell you to come visit, but I actually don't like people very much...
Im so glad i found this channel! Greets from Finland (or finnesota)
The Driftless Area in the SE corner is an interesting geographical area as well.
Considering it escaped the last glacial retreat it's really hilly and bluffy, with lots of natural springs!
Yep. Also why there’s a lack of lakes. I grew ip in that part of the state, and honestly I think it’s one of the most beautiful areas of Minnesota. So many people have no idea there is terrain like this in Minnesota.
I think this is the prettiest part of the state.
Just learned what a driftless area was not too long ago...SE Minnesota is very scenic.
I was hoping he would mention it in this video. Some of the best trout fishing in the country is in the corner where MN, WI, Illinois, and Iowa meet
Going to the headwaters, it is crazy how that little creek you can literally walk across turns into one of the longest rivers in the world.
I live just north of Minnesota in Ontario Canada
Thunder Bay area?
Hello fellow brother!
You want a metal or something?
I falls!
@@alexb6713 you must be thinking of medal 🏅
Great profile! Proud to be from MN and we love our state!
Lutefisk is awful. The only way to consume is if it’s drowned in butter.
Lefse is a holiday tradition which we make from scratch with families.
There’s a VERY passionate golfing community
MN has the highest number of high school sponsored hockey programs. More than any other state.
Good job on this! I'm a born and raised Minnesotan and I love it here! Appreciate the video! Skol!
I’m from Minnesota and you’re right on with everything. Except with food they also love walleye
Nice profile of my home state. Minnesota is an awesome place to live, but you really need to embrace winter sports (like skating, x-country skiing, hockey) to really get the most out of living there. Although I now live in Columbus, Ohio, I wouldn’t mind moving back to the Twin Cities some day.
Just an FYI: your picture of new development in Minneapolis at time point 7:19 is actually in downtown Los Angeles.
PS: very few people I knew eat lutefisk, though my dad tried it at Christmas each year. Swedish Sausage is awesome though.
I saw more backyard ice skating rinks then basketball courts when I visited Duluth.....which is fine with me! I live about 45 miles south from Columbus
thank u! minnesotan here who LOVES the hold steady. great representation of my home :)
Just found this channel loving it so far so much great info thanks geography king!!
This was a good analysis of Minnesota. It's true that Minneapolis is growing. Ive seen so many condos in downtown Minneapolis some are reasonably priced.
“Driving from Madison to Sioux Falls, SD is pretty boring”
*The drive from Salina, KS to Denver would like to know your location*
I used to drive I-90 in Southern MN 80 miles round trip daily (Fairmont to Lakefield and back). You are correct. It's a really boring drive. I've been told the only one worse is I-80 in Iowa, but there's a song about that.
Wall,SD to La Crosse,WI was long
@@amandawebbputz5530 i also used to drive from lakefield to fairmont a few years back, just opposite order as you. small world huh
I've been to both parts.
And honestly. I think it matters where you're from. Because I thought it was beautiful but I see how people think it's boring.
I have a ritual I undergo when entering Minnesota at Albert Lea, namely stopping for the night and having pizza and root beer. It's a leftover from family trips up to northern Minnesota when I was a child.
PS: If you dislike flat, treeless plains, I-70 from Salina to Denver is NOT for you!
Glad to hear you're another Hold Steady fan!
Living in Oregon, recently drove from Spokane to Niagra/Nyc to La, there’s something about the sky in those empty great plain states, when there’s not a single tree around you. High grass, The winds and how the clouds are shaped . It’s better than anything. The peaceful loneliness. The pure extent of your gratefulness. I swear
Like being on top of a never ending mountain.
This is an excellent description. I have always loved the big, open skies of southern and western MN, and North Dakota as well. On those partly cloudy, sunny summer days it is spectacular.
MN has the widest temperature range- in one year you can see negative 60 in February and 100 in August. And the shoreline of Lake Superior can get lake effect snow, but only below the hills- most notably Minnesota Point AKA Park Point in Duluth which is right on the water whereas the Duluth international airport, which is behind the hills, gets snow a bit more in line with plains states
I drove through Minnesota on I-90 about 20 years ago and it didn’t strike me as boring at all. Perhaps because I drove through South Dakota too and SD to me was very boring along that route until you get to the Black Hills area. Had a beautiful river crossing over the Mississippi, and I was amused by all the billboards advertising for the Spam museum (“come in and find out what’s REALLY inside!”). Nicest drivers I’ve ever seen, and didn’t spot a single highway patrol vehicle the entire way through in both directions.
I love it here, thanks for the great video about our state.
Love your stuff. Just discovered the channel recently so I have lots to keep me entertained. Don't live in the U.S. but I visit regularly and find it great for planning future itineraries.
I was born, raised, and still live in MN and you did a really good job with this! The only thing I would add on is the significant Somali population. You mentioned the Hmong population, and they would generally be located in Saint Paul, and the Somali population would generally be located in Minneapolis.
And St. Cloud
I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for 6 yrs now and you get used to the winter. It’s not actually that bad. It gets to -40 sometimes but that doesn’t happen a lot, maybe 3-4 days out of the year. Most of the winter it’s above zero.
The SouthEastern part of Minnesota was not glaciated and therefore is very hilly and topographically very interesting. Tremendous bike trails wind through the hills and along the rivers. Great trout streams. The glaciated period was not 126,000 years ago. It was much more recent. When the glaciers melted the water run off was gigantic. The Minnesota river was well over a mile wide then, as was the Mississippi. In Winona Mn you can see how wide the river was.
Grew up near Rochester and all I can say is;
Rochester IS the Mayo Clinic
Even a lot of the small towns surrounding have many employees working at Mayo.
Honestly without Mayo, Rochester would probably be similar in size to Owatonna or Austin.
This channel is my latest quarantine obsession
I actually feel productive when I binge this channel
I enjoyed the description and appreciate that you did this. It seems that you spent more time describing separate cities/metro areas in Wisconsin than in Minnesota (about ten minutes more). Although most of the smaller communities in Minnesota are either associated with farming/recreation, you did miss some interesting small cities. 1) Hibbing is where the iron range is located (which you mentioned). They mined about a 60 year supply of iron from the iron range during the years of World War II. With all the tax money generated by the iron range at that time, an amazing palace of a high school with marble and other stone was built in Hibbing. Despite the industrial/mining association with Hibbing, ít was probably one of the best school systems in Minnesota. Nearby is a Soudan Mine state park where you can go to the bottom of an underground iron mine-2,300 feet underground. 2) St. Cloud originally was populated by many Germans. (There are many Somalis and others that have more recently moved into the area, making it much more diverse now). The quirkiness and charm of Lake Wobegon by Garrison Keillor is based on that area. the largest Benedictine monestary in the world is in the area (associated with St. John’s University). St. Cloud is located at the boundary of good farm land (to the south), and the lake/recreation country (to the north). Cold Spring Granite Company is located there. It is the third largest quarrier in the world, and many monuments and building stones (used throughout the United States) come from there. A local reformatory at St. Cloud had the prisoners build the granite wall for the prison. The granite wall around the prison is about a mile long-reportedly the longest granite wall in the world. Also famed pilot Lucky Lindy grew up in that area. 3) Stillwater is the birthplace of Minnesota. It was founded on the lumber industry and there are many historical buildings there.
This video was my first state profile video and the first few were much shorter than the more recent ones. I was reluctant to post videos over 20 minutes but have since gone over 20 for the state profile videos. I do have a more recent video called an Ode to Minnesota where I go over a little more about the state.
@@GeographyKing I just saw it. Thanks!
Let's not forget the famous Eelpout fishing festival.
I'm from Illinois. When on vacation as a kid, my brother caught an eelpout. We had to ask one of the locals what the hell it was.
Yup... there's no place like Walker in February. I've heard that some folks drink a beer or two at the eelpout festival..... is that really true?
That's my old house at 4:24. It's Groveland playground. We take our hockey seriously- there is a zamboni garage there!
I was fortunate to go the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with the Scouts when I was in high school. One of my lasting boyhood memories is sitting with my brother on some park benches in Grand Marais after our trip, looking out over Lake Superior. Btw, Northern Wisconsin is also an excellent place to go on a canoe trip (did that twice). Since you like meteorological stuff, after Grand Marais we camped out along Lake Superior when there was a heavy rain storm and when we stopped in Duluth for breakfast, the storm drains were maxed out causing the manhole covers to pop up 10-20 feet in the air like geysers. I miss the wild weather of the Midwest.
I hope to get up there soon. Maybe this fall
Great video. The reason why the sports team names all go by Minnesota ____ is because there has always been a bit of a rivalry between St Paul and Minneapolis. This also how the Minnesota Twins got their name, as a way of uniting fans from the "twin cities" of Minneapolis and St Paul.
Back when the section of I-94 between Mpls and St. Paul opened up, a major (Minneapolis) TV station announced that "100,000 cars used the new road in the first day -- 98,000 going to Minneapolis and 2,000 going to St. Paul." No competitiveness.
I love that you mention aunt Tana's cassarole,!
Yeah when I saw that tater tot casserole it definitely reminded me of it.
In Minnesota we have Hot dish and Casserole. The primary difference is that a hot dish (like tater tot hot dish) is made with red meat (mainly hamburger). Casserole as made with non red meat, like tuna. Hope this helps!
im from chicago and last winter in late november i did a 4 day road trip across northern minnesota. i spent two nights in the bwcaw camping on the ground near beautiful yet eerily creepy lakes seeing the stars with nobody for miles. I then drove past duluth but stopped to walk through the park there where the christmas lights were in full display. plus it was free. the next day i made my way home but stopped by to check out the bell musem near st paul which was so cool as somebody who loves early human history and pleistocene megafauna. such a neat state and i want to visit again. especially the coast. i never even checked out the coast!
I've lived in Minnesota my whole life. Good video! I had tater tot hotdish for dinner last night!
Gotta love tater tot hot dish!
Originally from MN. My dad grew up in Ely, and spent most of his childhood in what is now the BWCAW, when it was filled with railroads and resorts. And if you go up there and poke around, most campsites have evidence of previous "civilizations," e.g., foundations of old buildings, portages that are flatter than you'd expect for such "pristine" wilderness, etc. But I'm glad they protected it. I was lucky enough for my dad to take me out there for week-long canoe trips during three successive summer in the 90s when I was a teenager. He gave me his cheaper canoe a couple weeks ago, and my son (9) is suddenly expressing interest in spending some time up there.
Also, thank you for mentioning hotdish. Nailed it.
Love the shout out to Minnesota bands. Especially The Hold Steady! Stay Positive!
Holly and Charlemagne approve of your comment.
We are from St Cloud, MN. This was a fun, informative video to watch. I want to add that we are the only state that plays duck, duck, grey duck not duck, duck, goose.
What makes the twin cities different from the rest of the rust belt is that we never were a heavy manufacturing center. Even though Minnesota is the iron capital of the US most of the iron from the iron range shipped out of the great lakes. While much of the Midwest doubled down on that heavy industry Minneapolis was known as mill city. It never had that extremely specialized economy and by the time milling began to fall off it was too late to hop aboard the industry train. Instead it shifted towards tech and business.
That's because Minnesota is not in the Rust Belt. Lest you consider rusty cars from salty roads as such!
Everyone just calls it “cities” here “the cities”
Thank you. I always appreciate learning things like that.
Maybe this is personal taste, but I use “the Twin Cities” for people from out of state and “the cities” for people in state
If you're from Minneapolis, you call Minneapolis "Minneapolis" and St. Paul "St. Paul". Likewise if you're from St. Paul. Outside of the two, rural folks may call it the Cities.
@@procrastinator9 if by rural you mean suburb lol
@@procrastinator9 About the only time you’d actually specify is when you’re referring to something downtown. Target center is in Minneapolis. The science museum is in St. Paul. Otherwise, it’s the cities, since most people don’t actually live in either of the two. 3 million people live in the twin cities, but the actual population of Minneapolis and St. Paul combined is about 500,000.
Pretty okay video on our state. You betcha!
Best state in the country and it's not even close
It's my home state. Although, I've lived in Arkansas for 20 years, I still call it home!
5:27 WOW!
My home town of St Peter (Gustavus Adolphus College campus to be exact) after the '98 tornado. It changed the whole area forever.
We might not get as much snow, but we still get a lot, and blizzards can be brutal. We’ve been subjected to some of the worst blizzards in the US, from the Armistice Day blizzard in 1940 to the Halloween blizzard in 1991 to the Schoolhouse blizzard in 1888.
My mom mentions that 1991 Halloween blizzard all the time
I don’t know why but I love learning about different states. Great video.
We also say things like “hey, how ya doin there?” The word “there” in Minnesota is like “eh” in Canada. We throw it on at the end of a sentence for no reason.
Also, “Ope!” Is a good one. If you’re rounding a corner and almost bump into someone walking the other way, the common practice is to give a surprised but friendly “Ope!” This is usually followed by something like “sorry imma sneak right past ya there”
We would say "Oops" rather than "Ope", so there then.
Rude
speaking of Best Buy. Do you remember the delightfully quirky fascades they used to have on their buildings? The recent building keeps only a hint of the original facades----an oddly angled blue insertion at the front entrance. I worked in Minnesota for a few weeks many decades ago and enjoyed the experience. Part of my time there was in the winter and a local pal took me to see Minnehaha water fall---it was a frozen column of ice. Another time i was there to help a friend relocate from Boston to take up a job at 3M. I noticed all the deep drainage ditches along the sides of the roads to handle the cloudburst type of rain events that are apparently frequent there. I also remember a sign on the western edge of town that said: Next stop Butte Montana! The sign gave me the feeling that i was on the edge of the universe and i couldnt wait to get back to Boston.
The best all around best state Winner! 2021!
@Geography King If ya drive up Hwy61 along the Mississippi River in SW Minn, it's not boring parries. It's all forest, bluffs, valleys & actually pretty cool geographically
Ojibwe and Sioux, Chippewa/Ojibwe are same. 👍🏽
Love my state, cool vid, I'll check out more. 👍🏽
Its the whole western half of the state that is heavy on farm land use not just the south west. Up in the Red River Valley they grow more sugar beats than anywhere else in the country (with the North Dakota side as well)
Kyle, you should definitely experience the BWCA at least once. It will blow your mind !
We tend to call those "mountains" Bluffs. More or less rocky hills.
It depends. If they're on the water, they're bluffs. All the cliffs on the Mississippi are bluffs, and where there's cliffs on the shore of Superior they might be called bluff, but the actual north shore range wouldn't be called bluffs. Mountains are a bit of a stretch, but it's the best option. They're very old and worn down, and there's not much left of them, but they're the last of the mountain range that used to be there
Always nice to see videos about my amazing state!
Interesting Minnesota fact is that there is a continental divide between water flowing to the Hudson Bay arctic ocean and water going through the great lakes to the Atlantic ocean and obviously the Mississippi to the golf of Mexico
Yup, the Laurentian Divide
BTW my favorite thing about Minnesota is its climate, especially the winters. I would love to visit it in the winter; I bet its beautiful out there.
Not bad. But, fyi, the Chippewa and the Ojibway are one and the same, Chippewa being a frenchification of Ojibway from way back in the voyageur days.
Can't blame you for saying lutefisk is nasty, but there are quite a few people who love it. Luckily for the rest of us, it is rarely encountered except in numerous Meatball and Lutefisk Dinners during late fall throughout the region.
Interesting fact: Minnesota processes and exports the vast majority of lutefisk eaten in Scandinavia.
Had a great-uncle from Norway who said that back in the old days the stores would stack the dried lutefisk like cordwood outside their entrances and the dogs would come around and piss on it. Greatly improved the flavor, he said.
Fun fact: if you stretch the definition of "Lake", We have near 30,000 in MN
Minnesotan expat in CA here. Howdy! I'll put forward that hot dish isn't just casserole by another name in MN. Hot dish has a certain composition that makes it a "real" hot dish: cream of mushroom soup, a protein (usually meat), a starch, a veggie (often times canned), and cheese. This is what I know from experience and also from a hazy memory of reading something about hot dish long ago.
I'm from that boring southwest part of Minnesota. And yeah. That's pretty much it. We don't play hockey, very few lakes, flat but beautiful during the fall, and yeah we have corn and JBS in Worthington. SMSU D2 in marshal. And alot of nothing everywhere else.
And we love it.
I grew up in southern minnesota but moved north about 40 years ago winters are hard but love the summers
I seen a new A&W on hwy 60.
Thanks for this Kyle. The reason I - 90 exists is to keep people moving on. Nothing to see here. On the other hand, you really do need to spend a week or two in the BWCA. One of the best things about the place is there are no motors allowed. I would also suggest driving up to Grand Marais, on the north shore, and driving the Gunflint trail. There's some good short hiking trails along the way too.
As far as snow goes, snow doesn't mean cold. It just means you have to shovel.
I’ve lived near Minneapolis pretty much my whole life. I hadn’t heard of the first two signature dishes, but tater tot hot dish...that’s some good stuff don’t ya knooo. We do use the word casserole for other things though.
You get out to the smaller scandinavian towns and you'll see them for sure. A lot of smaller towns north of the cities will have lutefisk dinners around Christmas for the older folks that still partake lol.
@@cody6678 I've loved lutefisk my whole life. I'm 55. Does that make me older folks...?
@@robertmcmanus636 yes.
@@robertmcmanus636 and don't forget the Swedish meatballs and boiled potatoes and lingonberries!
What is your thoughts on southeastern Minnesota (driftless area/bluff country). It’s nothing like all of the rest of the southern half of the state. I like this part of the state almost more than the northern part.
Also I will note I don’t agree with I90 being boring from Madison to Sioux Falls Sd. While I do think I 90 from Rochester/Stewartville to Sioux Falls is pretty much boring drive I don’t think that east of there. All of Wisconsin in my opinion is pleasant to drive through. You have Wisconsin Dells you Also have Lacrosse/Onalaska which that part of I 90 from there to Tomah is called the coulee region which I find really scenic. Also you have the Mississippi River too. One unique thing about 90 in Minnesota is when you go into the Mississippi River valley there’s homes in the median of the highway which is very unusual.
Red Wing to Wabasha is maybe the best scenery in the state. I got married in Red Wing. It so beautiful down there.
I love my home state! I moved away for 5 years, but made my way back, and don't want to leave again... Unless I can afford a warm place to spend January through March... ;). But even that isn't as bad as people think.
think i read in some national publication once about how Twin Citians are basically a people who'd always rather be "at the lake", and have built a city reflecting that. living here for nearly 20 years now, that struck me as a great way to characterize the vibe.
also, and maybe this is a stretch, but i always thought it was interesting how it seemed the Scandinavian tendency toward bigger government seemed to emigrate here along with the people. it is one of the highest taxed states, and we have the results to show for it. sound like somewhere else you know??
We're so much more evolved. The other 49 are dragging us down.
@@paulengstrom432 Yeah dont worry the somali community is coming in to help you become equal to the other 49
It's interesting how the best states in the country get the least amount of attention. I hardly knew anything about Minnesota other than the coldness and that 3M was from there. I personally live in NH, which is another state that hardly anybody knows anything about, yet has nothing especially bad about it.
I was hoping that you would mention The Hold Steady and you did! Thanks