This guy dives in deep, hard to argue with his final results, but I will live and die with Iowa as quintessential Midwest.
Which state is most Midwestern?
- Thread starter qwerty
- Start date
I can’t get on board with Minnesota being number one.
Minnesota has too many lakes, their roads are too windy and their corn is for ****. Not more midwestern than Iowa. Sorry.
Southern Minny is essentially Iowa North. North of Twin Cities is totally different culture. This was the initial proposed map for the state of Iowa. That would have been interesting. I would argue THAT area defines Midwest.
A state that has an international border is not in the middle of anything.
Minnesota resident here. The answer is Iowa. Every bit of Iowa is midwestern. Northern MN is not.
I've heard it said Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, 1,000 fish, and 10 million mosquitoes.
All I had to do was look at his shirt. Didn't have to watch the video.
From my experience, Minnesota outside the Cities is Wisconsin with just a little less alcoholism and seasonal depression.
Minnesota is not "midwestern"... they are 10x better than that.
By the traditional definition of the Midwestern states Iowa is the only one completely surrounded by other Midwestern states. All the others border a foreign country, a Western State, a Southern State, or an Eastern State. (Colorado and Wyoming have never been Midwestern States.)
Last edited:
Same with states that fall outside of the central time zone.
I'd make a case for Illinois or Indiana over Minnesota, but go far enough south in those states and you can feel like you're in Dixie.
Iowa has some variation between north and south, but not to that degree.
Iowa has some variation between north and south, but not to that degree.
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas are all Dixieland adjacent in the south end.
Iowa in the south end is something indescribable.
I think a big part of being midwestern is corn fields, river towns, a blue collar work ethic, and is definitely not southern. If you get 50-100 miles west of I29, I think that is more Great Plains which eliminates the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have too many lakes and trees. The southern parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana are Appalachia. Eastern Ohio is Rust Belt. So Iowa wins by default.
Tell me you’ve never visited non-Minneapolis Minnesota without telling me.
