North Or Midwest? Minnesotans Are Pretty Clear With The Answer!

Growing up in Minnesota I have always said that I'm from the Midwest.  It seems odd to me to even consider saying I'm from the North.  Sure, we're in the North but there is more to it than that, right?

I've been away from Minnesota, living in California, for a long time so I had no idea that there have been efforts to rebrand Minnesotans as being in the North instead of the Midwest. Again, that just feels weird.

The Midwest to me has always embodied Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas as well as North Dakota and South Dakota.  You could add a couple more states depending on who you ask.

There is concern about the history of the Midwest and that it's being overlooked.  Also that the rich history of the Midwest is not being taught in schools.  So a study of 11,000 people in 22 states was recently conducted and the findings were published last week in the Middle West Review

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Turns out that the findings could put into question the belief that the South has the strongest regional identity.  The study found that 97% of Minnesotans and Iowans consider themselves as living in the Midwest.  11 states believe by 80% or more that they are from the Midwest.

So according to this map Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana all agree they are living in the Midwest.

The study states:

"These intriguing results underscore the strength of Midwestern identity, despite what some have claimed, and further justify the efforts being made to study the Midwest and its history,” said Jon Lauck, the editor of Middle West Review and the author of the new book The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest.

They are still crunching numbers and will have a more in depth review coming.

More from the StarTribune HERE.