Minnesota Explainer
Minnesota Explainer
With Walz officially the VP now, what things do we need to explain to those who only see MN as a flyover state? The DFL party? Duck, Duck, Grey Duck? Our pride in our confederate flag? Lutheran sushi? Hotdish? Talking about the ‘91 Halloween blizzard? Ice fishing?
The DFL party - In the 40’s, our state Democratic Party merged with our Farmer-Laborer Party.
Duck, Duck, Grey Duck - it may be closer to the original game imported from Sweden also, we like that you can have fun with fakeouts like “Green Duck”
Our pride in our confederate flag - MN was the first state to commit an infantry to the US Civil War. During Gettysburg we captured the 28th Virginia battle flag. We refuse to return it.
Lutheran sushi - it’s a delicious and ubiquitous snack here.
Hotdish - usually, the casserole is the dish, hotdish is the meal item itself. Tator Tot hotdish is a classic of the art.
Talking about the ‘91 Halloween blizzard - if they are Gen X or Elder Millennial it was a foundational moment growing up.
Ice fishing - drill a hole in the ice on a lake and bullshit with friends while waiting for fish to bite. Often alcohol is involved.
Minnesotans tend to be polite, which results in continually leaving half of whatever bit of food is left, since we don't want to eat the last of it. Since Prince has passed away, we've taken to calling this "leaving some for Prince".
Also, at the potluck you put your plate in the garbage with the food side down so Aunt Margaret doesn’t see that you didn’t touch the Ramen salad she made again this year.
Also, even if you did eat everything, you help others out by maintaining the practice.
Juuust can't hang with these weird orange jello fruit whipped cream marshmallow fluff Frankenstein monster concoctions of yours either, Aunt Marge... Nothing personal!
Minnesota is my newishly adopted home.
I've been here for a little less than a year now.
Everybody's real chatty. And I thought I came from a pretty chatty place.
Like I'll have a five minute convo with the cashier at the grocery store. This is a lot for me lol.
If you're polite you can easily get the skinny on the best restaurants and/or where to get coats, etc.
Edit: adding more things as I think of them...
This blew my mind driving out to Rochester one day: https://religionsmn.carleton.edu/exhibits/show/wattmunisotaram/introduction
You're just driving out in the sticks and then BAM! BUDDHIST TEMPLE!
Also we have Mayo, which I don't think enough people know about.
There's also Wat Promwachirayan up in the cities, which has a lovely Sunday market
Welcome! We appreciate having you here.
Thank you, I appreciate being here. I also eagerly anticipate welcoming other new Minnesotans.
I started looking at houses in MN. I work remote, so I can live pretty much anywhere.
I moved to the St Cloud region last year, same deal. Remote work, etc.
I found an awesome little plot out here. We love it.
You really won't go wrong anywhere in the state. People might tell you, or you might see stuff online bad mouthing one city or another, but I haven't found a bad spot yet, and I've been living around "one of the worst ones."
I’m happy to help or answer questions if I can. I’m partial to Mankato, but I have traveled to a good portion of the state.
You probably don't call it this name, but also explain the Minnesota Standoff. It's like a Mexican Standoff, but it's when multiple parties try to out-polite each other. Often seen at 4-way stop street intersections.
Don't forget about the post standoff muttering
When we need to scoot past someone, you're likely to hear an "ope" or even a "just gonna sneak right by ya there." Although ope is much more functional as a word and applies to a multitude of situations.
My favorite local bumper stickers are Keep St Paul Weird & Make Minnesota bigger.
Home of the Juicy Lucy, and 2nd biggest state fair (behind Texas).
The first time I saw the ocean I said "woah, it looks like Lake Superior!"
MN Nice is both a nod to our good side, like pushing each other's cars when they get stuck in snow, and a nod to our gripping passive aggression.
The weather tries to kill you for a good chunk of the year, so we sit inside and learn to play music. This contributes to our incredible local music scene. From all over the spectrum, even niche biz, there's a discotheque for whatever you're into.
We clique'y af tho, and it can feel icy as an outsider unless you're naturally quite good at disarming folks and making friends. Or, so I've heard from my transplants, and even locals trying to swim in new circles.
We love us some cabin time like a mfer.
Haven't been to Minnesota in over a decade. Is Mall of America still a big deal?
It’s still super busy regularly. The amusement parks area in the middle is Nickelodeon now and not Camp Snoopy. There’s an IKEA across the street. Still fun to go if that’s your kind of thing.
If I had to pick a different state to live in, MN would be in my top three.
I'm a fan of good food, good beer, socialism, and cold weather. Minnesota seems to have all of those going for it.
Another to add, Howard Mohr put together a great informative video on Minnesota cultural and linguistic practices that is really valuable.