Why "Nobody" Lives In Northern And Western Minnesota 

Can you cover my home province of Manitoba because it’s just north from there.

You should do one of these videos for Wisconsin. Similarly but to a lesser extent majority of Wisconsins population is in the south east of the state

Can you do a population density video like this of my home state of Pennsylvania?

The Canadian Shield doesn't have poor soil. It has a ton of rocks. The joke is people farm rocks in the area because every spring more rocks surface. It's expensive either in time or money to deal with the rocks but some people do farm in the region. Soil quality isn't the problem.

@@jimmymcinerney1950a lot of people in Philly a lot of people in Pittsburgh and a small amount of people scattered in between

The iron ore mined on the Iron Range of Minnesota was pivotal in the industrial revolution and two world wars. One could argue our iron mining has made the biggest impact on the country and world history of anything that has come from the state.

Did the mining companies leave the lands scarred after they were gone, with big gaping holes or acres of land covered with refuse? I live in the Anthracite coal region in eastern Pennsylvania and it's been a mess here over the years. The coal barons back in the day just took off and left the lands scarred: holes of various sizes with some filled with lifeless mine waters; many square miles of land covered with coal refuse and culm banks; and polluted mostly lifeless creeks from the acid mine drainage from the mines. I hope it was different in northern Minnesota than it was in Pennsylvania.

@@michaelp4218 the open pit mining of taconite iron has definitely changed the land scape. There are a number of man made lakes and valleys that did not exist naturally. This whole area was mostly flattened by the glaciers of the last ice age, so in some ways the iron mining has added topography. The ancient forests are long gone, but forestry companies plant a lot of trees in the area. So, I would say the biggest environmental impact is the pollution in the release of “tailings” that used to be dumped into the lakes and rivers. This is waste product that contains lead, mercury and other heavy metals. This practice was stopped back in the 1970’s so the industry has become less polluting. A number of retired pit areas are now parkland, so my impression is the iron mining industry is better than coal and other forms of resource extraction at leaving the areas in pretty good shape.

Don’t forget toothpicks and hockey sticks!

@@user-otzlixr we had a governor that promoted a chopstick factory be built in northern Minnesota, intending to export them to Asia. . They built it and went into production, but it didn’t last.

I got pretty confused by water flow when I was younger because in MN water goes wherever the hell it wants

which 3 rivers flow in diffferent directions? i live in rocheser

@@ryansteffl Its not just 3 rivers, Minnesota has 3 divides going through it so that depending on where in the state you are the rivers flow in different directions

Yup, we have the Great Lakes/St Lawrence, Mississippi, and Hudson Bay watersheds. The northeast drains into Lake Superior (and thus out the St Lawrence River). Most of the state -- including the center and the entire southern half -- drains into the Mississippi (and thus to the Gulf of Mexico). And the northwest drains toward Lake Winnipeg in Canada (and from there to Hudson Bay in the Arctic).

​@@PixelPolaris Right! As a kid, my dad often took us fishing at Lake of the Woods. The resort we stayed at was on the Rainy River. I assumed the river started at the lake and flowed south, but that wasn't adding up. I later learned it flows north into the lake. That's actually how I learned about a continental divide. The Red River flows north as well. Crazy state!

Came here for this, thank you 😂

Migwitch!!

mind giving the phonetic spelling of that word? I get A-knee-shin-ah-AH-Bay?

@@amettill the language is tricky I agree. I've lived next door to the nation for 10 years. I thought learning French was easier.

@@amettill close! It’s ahn-ih-shin-AH-bay

*Moorhead, but yes. (Is this a "duck you autocorrect" moment? 🙃)

@AaronOfMpls : No, that was my own non-proofread misspelling -- thanks, sincerely, for the correction

Fargo-Moorhead is also routinely referred to as the "FM Area" via shorthand by the media and residents on both sides of the river.

Twin cities is Minneapolis and st Paul all that other just you just talkin

Only people will say this are people not from the city . Get real

Yeah it’s full, they wouldn’t like it

Family has a cabin on Rainy Lake. Love that area, especially the fact that there aren’t many people up there. The solitude is nice.

they do not live there year round cause the winters are too cold and too extreme.I can see people visiting in the summer

so true!

Northern part is best part of the state. Whether summer or winter. Not way up on the border but 3 hours N of the cities gets you away from the hustle and bustle. Even with no running water in the middle of winter, a weekend away refreshes oneself!!

I figured a lot of the Swedes (and Finns) would live in the northern part. :) It must have felt just like home when they arrived from the old world. One of the most famous books (actually a series of four) in Sweden is about a family moving from then poverty ridden Sweden to Minnesota. You make the state sound amazing. If I ever visit the US, it’ll be on my list.

@@empebee I assume you’re referring to Vilhelm Moberg. I actually grew up in the area he writes about, he visited here in 1948. The “Ki-Chi-Saga” lake that he refers to is located about 15 miles from my childhood home, and is the basis for our county name of “Chisago.”

@@MinnesotaSvensk You assume correctly. :) I figured you might know about it, but hopefully other people learned something. That's interesting, I didn't know that. I love histories about place names, even if it sometimes feel like half of America is filled with misheard or misunderstood native American names. :)

Lutefisk, lutefisk, Lefse, lefse, vare from Minni-SOE-tah, yah, you bet-ch'a

The Catholic Church where my mother grew up and I still live near is almost completely Polish descent and regularly held mass in full Polish when I was little

This RU-vidr is a complete disgrace!

Nobody here too. Wouldn’t give it up for somebody for nuthin!

People vote, not land. I am all for doing away with the electoral college as well. Just remember, that all those city people pay taxes too that help fund road repair, school funding and other infrastructure spending in your neck of the woods too. I grew up in a town of under 3k in northern Minnesota. Everyone complains about the 'State' and 'those people down in the Cities' until the State puts funding into the local construction company or other spending. Good luck funding that with local taxes only. The weekenders and spring/fall crowds bring a lot of money to those areas as well, resorts are not staying in business with locals only. Those cabins still pay property taxes, local business when people are up there and probably some construction/repair spending as well. We are all in this together, no matter how independent some like to envision themselves.

Agreed.

yup I'm a "nobody" also....and to be honest I like that I have open space where I can be in areas where the nearest person is 30 mi away(red river valley)

The Laurentian Divide is a beautiful area for snowmobiling and hiking.

Its interesting but these rivers are not navigable at these areas.

More bridges cross Mississippi in MN than rest of it's length

Hey! Shout out to Brown's Valley! Not much there, it is a 500 little thorpe, but it is my family's hometown. Great fishing in the area, and a beautiful church service.

I would also mention a neat fact that my Minnesota geography/history teacher taught me - a storm cloud in Hibbing will send water three directions - to the Hudson Bay, to the Atlantic Ocean, and to the Gulf of Mexico. There is a three-way continental divide in that location. Other fun facts - it’s the birthplace of Bob Dylan, it is one of the largest historic sources of taconite, and in nearby Eveleth is the USA Hockey Hall of Fame.

Sounds beautiful. I hope you get to visit again soon. Cheers form Minnesota

@@ZarsiArt thanks.., someday will have to visit again

It's a great place to live.

About 20 degrees celcius warmer than average this year! We are loving it up in manitoba

mennonites cool.. old apostolic lutherans on the other hand..

I know some folks from Wyoming who feel fairly claustrophobic in Minnesota, due to the widespread dense tree cover.

I also live in Minnesota and have been to all those places but no way can you call the "mountains" in the Northeastern part of the State real mountains. They're just like little hills compared to real mountains out West. The North Shore from Duluth to Grand Portage is very beautiful, but it's no match for the California coast.

@@NATEG01 They are REAL Mountains.....It's the Messabi Mountain range! I'm not trying to compare your Mountain Range in California or any other Mountain Range. I have been from Maine to Washington and Georgia to California and just because they aren't like the Mountains in California doesn't mean they aren't Mountains. I have Skied in Minnesota and in The Colorado Rockies and yes there is a big difference, just like there is a big difference in the Smokey Mountains and the Rockies, but they are mountains none the less! Minnesota is not flat!

@@jannette3404 Nah just because they're called mountains doesn't make them mountains. I've hiked up Eagle Mt, Carlton Peak, and Lookout Mt in Northeastern MN and these aren't mountains they're just little hills. The mountain ranges out west have foothills that are taller than these "mountains"

LOL - I have lived the majority of my life in Minnesota but have also lived in numerous other places....it's relatively flat here 😂

@@soil-play That's an opinion......Not a Fact

This sounds like a story from a history book yet just happened it’s kind of blowing my mind actually!

The ice road used to be done every year, but it's expensive to construct and maintain. Angle Inlet school only goes through 5th grade. Most of the middle and high school kids live in Warroad during the school weeks, with relatives, etc That's the high school for the nw angle.

*Plandemic

@@joeharris3878 Interesting. I'd never heard that.

Americans used that ice road during the winter to sneak across the border to get to their cabins and properties during the border lockdown. During the summer, they also snuck across by boat, sometimes early in the morning or late at night. A special team of Canadian customs and immigration officers were brought in to patrol the area and evict the the "Border Runners". Some of the ones they caught were fined heavily with breaking the Quarantine Act and illegal entry. Some just got off with a warning if they were lucky. There were hundreds of them that were caught and escorted back over the border. One of the offenders was a US Customs Officer with a long career and who was just a couple of years away from retirement, who ended up being fired. I live in the area and was witness to what went on during the Border Closure during the COVID Pandemic.

I miss west 2 rivers it's beautiful there used to fish there for northern every summer when I lived up there.

But I don't miss the blizzards and the snow 🤣😂

When it gets to 30 below in the Twin Cities, people freak out. When it's 30 below in Ely, they say it's a little chilly.😂

I was born in the Range, and lived there until I was almost 11. I had already left by the time you were born, though I still have cousins in the area. Dad worked in the mines. All of my grandparents came from Finland (between 1883-1906). Both Mom and Dad spoke Finnish and often conversed in it( Didn't teach it to us kids however).

I used to play hockey on the outdoor rink in Sparta. Good times.

I grew up in northern MN, and the closest traffic light (still today) is 40 miles away. I once determined that there were 3 paved roads between me and the north pole. (They have since paved more roads that were previously gravel, it's hard to give a number now).

@MacNerfer we have one stop sign, but closest traffic light is only 30 miles away. Not sure which direction to go to find the closest billboard.

How do people survive the temps? I mean what if you can't get heat and how do you dress to travel in those temps? Sorry if those seem like dumb questions. I just imagine loss of lives in those conditions.

@@sapiophile545 There's a few common-sense things you learn if you grow up there. Stay dry, stay out of the wind, dress sensibly. Really it's about 40% clothing, 10% behavior, and 50% attitude. If you're convinced it's freezing and dangerous, yeah, you'll make yourself cold. If you know you can survive it, you won't even really think about the temperature. Growing up on a farm we had to feed the animals every day whether it was warm or it was -40'F. It's just something you do. The safety-minded people do keep a good blanket in the car, just in case you get stuck in a snowdrift or a blizzard and you might be there for hours. On rare occasions we lost electricity at home for a day or so, but our houses are pretty well insulated, I don't remember the house temperature ever getting below 50 (we heated with wood we cut ourselves, but needed electricity for the blower to move the air). In that case you put on a sweater and walk some laps inside the house every so often to keep warm. Worst case, you go someplace for help. A couple times when I was young and foolish, in the days before cell-phones, I got stuck in a road ditch. I walked to the nearest farmer and explained the situation, at a minimum they would let you in to get warm and make a phone call. If you were lucky (and they figured you to be a local), they would fire up the tractor and go pull you out of the ditch. But they would never just turn you away if the weather was bad.

@sapiophile545 Definitely you could lose your life, but it's also pretty simple if you think about it. You have to balance insulation with output from heat source(s) to maintain your core temperature. Let's say you go out ice fishing and get trapped in the woods. Your insulation is clothes you brought...plus material from the woods, which could be snow, pine boughs, branches, canopy of tree branches such as a cedar swamp, cattail weeds, etc. Possible heat sources are: you, anyone you're with, fire, rotting vegetation in a swamp (huge source), ground if you can get down six/eight feet into it (perhaps under a big pile of branches?), engine..... Can stay active to generate heat too. Arrange the insulation and heat...relax. Normally, just extra clothes and normal movement is plenty. Dress in layers for easy adjustments.

lived here my whole life. and learned a couple things. COOL!

​@@andromeda45188 like, gave them casino's and made them filthy rich?

@@andromeda45188 that happened everywhere in the US. Not just here. and I really don't think that they got the short end of the stick either. I mean no disrespect to them, but it's not like EVERY native got "forced" into reservations, There's 2 native families that live on my road and I don't live anywhere near a res

You betcha

Have you watched “fall of Minneapolis”? I too am part of the “rocks and cows” of the state

​@@Wannabefarmerinmnpowerful truth about how the state is being destroyed by its leadership and fringe interests.

Thank Walz and Frey for doing nothing to help them. I guess you get what you vote for and they are suffering from it

agreed , thats why moved south of St. Paul (cottage grove) but, maybe not far enough.

Maybe visit once in a while and see what its actully like instead of getting all your information from the news

And had the start of the Greyhound Bus Line

I moved to the driftless three years ago….love it

Used to deer hunt the driftless when my old man was working in Lanesboro.

As a Minnesotan, there still exists plenty of land to explore, and settle on. With global warming, I have definitely noticed that the Winters are overall, more mild than 30-50 years ago. This trend will continue. Our soils are good for agriculture, crop specific in sandy areas. Seasons have extended. It’s going to be 48 degrees here tomorrow, a half hour west of Minneapolis, here in the suburbs. The “Driftless Area” is known for monster bucks, and is desirable property.

Stay outta The Cities; crime. There’s plenty to do and see in the suburbs and outward.

Nope. Stay outta the driftless. Nothing cool to see down there. Avoid at all costs

Had a good friend in Ely. Bob Carrey

Some the best of both in this area. Wouldn’t trade it for anything

The US government did a lot of embarrassing things all across the country.

Can you name a few of your favorite parts to live?

Well that makes sense. Los Angeles isn't exactly known for all the lakes here.. lol

I grew up in the Los Angeles area in the '50s and '60s and now live in central MN. The Laker's name finally makes sense...

And Jazz music doesn't hail from Utah...They really should change team names after moving with geographic specific names.

@@wilson8378 At least the Texas flag has a star.

I vividly remember being at the final North Stars games and chanting "Norm Sucks!" after he sold our hockey team. I'm happy the Wild are a thing... but my sentiment still remains the same about Norm. That was just wrong.

Being from New Ulm, I was surprised to hear it was burned to the ground (which it wasn’t).

But it was attacked. Interesting reads are first person histories from that time. They give personal insight to the events of 1862.

Yah. This guy just ignored the actual story and left in "Americans bad"

CGP Grey went into a bit more detail in this. Not only was that part of North America still _very_ poorly mapped in 1783, but the map the diplomats were using (the 1775 John Mitchell map) had an _inset_ that covered everything west of Lake of the Woods and north of (highly misshapen and somewhat mis-located) Mille Lacs Lake. So they _really_ had no idea the Mississippi didn't go far enough north to even _be_ "due west" of Lake of the Woods. - "Canada & The United States's Bizzare Border" by GCP Grey, starting at 2m 16s -- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qMkYlIA7mgw.html - the Mitchell Map on Wikipedia -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Map (article) -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mitchell_Map-06full2.jpg (file; 97 MB if you view the full-res version)

I believe he used the census area metro area population in his map (Duluth might be St Louis and Douglas County population combined).

Yeah, it would seem that he was referring to the surrounding areas in aggregate.

Is it fair to use a wisconsin county for a minnesota video? Lol Including Douglas County would still not come up with these numbers. Same with St Cloud and Rochester. It would be nice to know how these numbers were decided on. And thanks for saying so. I could not believe that no one seemed to notice lol

Lake Irving and lake Bemidji are natural lakes and are the first on the Mississippi !

He is off on all his populations.

For sure. I moved down south for 7 years. But after coming back, Duluth has been growing. I also came here for the "small city" part. Great balance of many things to do, great work opportunities, and just a great area overall. If you can get used to the hills and lake effect

Yeah, people are leaving the really rural areas and moving to local cities. But often not the downtown part, they still want a half acre or more, so they buy something on the edges of the local cities. My very rural home town (and the county) has been steadily losing people since the 1970's, they go to Bemidji or Grand Rapids or farther away.

@@MacNerfer Yup. I moved from Little Falls to Duluth. But I live in the city, closer to work

@@MacNerfer My family migrated from Duluth (north, on Lake Superior) to Mizpah and then to Bemidji. For work I landed in Arizona. Bemidji has bot not changed and changed a LOT. .it’s funny when you go for a visit and cannot find a room nearby due to all the events!

Do you know the best thing coming out of Iowa? I-35

Well.... that's the perspective of somebody from the Twin Cities. I grew up in far northern MN, and we felt that anything south of Brainerd was "southern MN".

@@MacNerfer No, not Twin Cities here. South Central Minnesota, and for us anything at 212 to 94 was central Minnesota and north of 94 was northern Minnesota. The Cities are technically in central or southern Minnesota but they're really their own region of the state.

@MacNerfer I grew up in West Central MN. Southern MN was pretty much anything south of our farm. 😀

@@Manetho72 Culturally you might have an argument, but not by geographic distances or forest type (oak/maple vs birch/spruce).

Same here, I’m up north of Park Rapids close to Itasca state Park !

I’m 15 miles south of Alexandria. It’s a gorgeous area that I really do love, but it’s boring as shit lol.

Maybe you can help me but, don't the Sioux prefer to be called Lakota and not Dakota? And wouldn't you say another result of the lower populations in western Minnesota is due to the push toward the big cities for jobs and the effects of BIG farming? BTW I'm originally from Lake Lillian right down the road on Highway 7 from Montevideo. When we you mayor? My best friend moved there when he was 16 and graduated in 1989. Last name was Moe.

Read the book Red Lake Nation by Anton Treuer. It discusses Minnesota history in general. He consulted mmany historical documents from both Ojibwe and state. Yes, it's primarily about the formation of Red Lake Reservation. But he discusses why they wanted White people in the middle of the state. The Dakota and Ojibwe were constantly at war. My great great grandfather was instrumental in treaties. Also read The Assassination of Hole in the Day by Treuer. That has White Earth information.

I have relatives that belong to that tribe and I used to work for them. They just call themselves Sioux with the designation of which reservation they're from. For instance, Mdewakanton Sioux near Red Wing, MN. Ojibwe also do this. I'm Red Lake Ojibwe but live on the White Earth reservation. Around here we just say "I'm Red Lake " or "I'm White Earth". There are people from other tribes not from this tristate area. (MN, ND, SD) They'll say theyre Choktaw or Navajo, etc. Just some local information.

I do have a friend who says she's Blackfoot Sioux. That's in Montana. So it's not set in stone.

One other story is that they did not like being called Sioux is because it means "enemy". The Calgary would have scouts from nations they had already subdued and when they asked the scout what tribe it was they said, "Sioux" because they had been at war in the past. Don't know but maybe just an old wives tale. We need new history books!

Yes, I thought that was a major mistake that he didn’t mention the Iron Range area of Minnesota because it was actually the second largest populated and economically vibrant area that began in the late 1800’s early 1900’s with the iron mining explosion. Back then the Iron Range was second to Minneapolis St. Paul. I live in the Iron Range area and it is definitely a huge area of the state because of the forest and lakes. Thousands and thousands of people come up here to vacation every summer. But the Iron Range history is very sad because in order for the iron or to get from the mining pits to the Great Lakes, we need trains. The rich tycoons ran the railroad industry, eventually learned of the Iron Range area and vast amount of money to be made, and choked out the original mining families that built mining towns and villages and supported, the area were choked out by the tycoons in order to use their railroads.

Mining was a major cause of environmental destruction, and why hibbing feels like an alien planet. It poisoned gitchigumi, too. The only things that destroyed MN more is agriculture.

Minnesota was also known for its lumber industry in the early 1900s. My grandpa and great uncle both worked on the green Chain in Akeley Minnesota where they raised their families and still reside there. Population was over 30,000 when the town burned down and is now 486 people but it was a great place to grow up and be a woodsman

i’m looking at going to college in duluth. is it actually as hilly as it looks?

@@nacl2858 it is on a hillside yes and there are some steep roads.

I live in Manitoba just a border away

Most geography geeks have heard of Point Roberts and the Northwest Angle. The Alburgh Tongue is much less famous though, largely because it's connected with bridges on the US side (forming part of the overland route between Burlington, VT and Plattsburgh, NY) and doesn't have the logistical problems of the other two.

Winnipegger here

there was NO BORDER when my Rousseau county grandparents literally walked in to Canada to homestead in 1905.

@@nlpnt I drove to Point Roberts a few years ago. To me it's the most fascinating part of the State of Washington - isolated from the rest of the state, but just a short drive from Vancouver, so doesn't have the feel of total isolation like the Northwest Angle. Oh, and the gas stations on Point Roberts sell gas by the liter instead of by the gallon. High school students have to be bussed through Canada to Blaine, Washington.

Yes, and now every summer in Minnesota the Wild Fire 🔥 Smoke drifts down from nearby Canada making it miserable, Let alone people with Asthma.

That’s how I’ve always viewed it too. Once you get out of that metro, it’s a beautiful place to live.

Very much so.

Yes and that’s where 80 % of the crime is happening unfortunately in the best of neighborhoods also. I can’t imagine how dangerous it is to live in lower class areas like St.Paul and North Minneapolis. Let’s put it this way in the Minneapolis/ St.Paul area people have no respect for other people’s property and routinely vandalize and steal everything that isn’t bolted down to a property.

​@@jasonknight5863Live there 30 years, never seen anything you mentioned

@@jasonknight5863I love this insensitive energy you're giving off... Any who, yes, it's true a crime wave IS being faced in the Twin Cities much like every other American city. However, it is nowhere to the scale of other most smaller, similarly, and larger sized cities. Yes, we still have issues that we still face today but it's not a hell hole, destruction city, riot city, fire city, don't go here city, stay out of here city, gun city, you'll regret coming here city, whatever city. We can't solve issues if we just complain and paint a false narrative.

​@@nobueno3514😂😂😂😂😂 my bro lives he loves it,and were African American!

@@nobueno3514lived there from 2000 to 2021. I’m not making any of this up out of thin air. Sounds like you are just triggered and trying to sweep my information under the carpet. It’s also very racist. My wife whom is Latina was always constantly bothered and harassed by the “Police force” scared her many times. Even though she has a crystal clean record and so do I.

The center of the Universe? Another ancient fairy tale resurrected by hustlers with just one aim - $'s.

Isn't that the black hills?

​@@donaldcarey114Well there have been many creation stories. Some are a bit more interesting than apple's and snakes. I am keen to hear them all. Obviously these were all put together before science so anything goes...

@@emceeboogieboots1608 That one about everything popping into existence from nothing by itself is a ripper.

@@morefiction3264 -- You must mean when God created the flat Earth, and the dome holding back the waters, by just "popping" it into existence? Eh? You can't mean the scientific explanation of the singularity, as that wasn't "nothing."

I have lived in the Twin Cities for the bulk of my adult life. I maintain an Excel spreadsheet where I keep adding the monthly average temperatures (high and low) for major cities in North America. I have a column which calculates the difference between the July and January averages for each city. It really shows which regions have the most continental climate. Most cities swing with a range between 35F and 45F. Minneapolis swings through a range of 63F for average temperatures. The only cities that have a larger swing are in central Canada. (Winnipeg 's average high temperatures swing 66F between January and July.) Interestingly, Fargo has a slightly larger swing in average monthly temperatures and tends to be 5F to 9F degrees colder than Minneapolis.

Joe WolfArth Says: I loved the State of Minnesota during the years I Lived There (1995-2000) - and I have said ever since, "I Left a piece of my heart ❤️ in Minnesota!" Though I resided in The Twin Cities (originally in a Suburb south of St. Paul, then in South Minneapolis, where I experienced a profound spiritual awakening in 1997) I DID have some opportunities to travel to different parts of the state, and I was truly fascinated by the Geography as well as the human beings who made their homes there. I learned that the sweep of glaciers had gouged out thousands of lakes, that industrial barons had become very rich mining the "iron range" during America's Gilded Age (the historic high school in Duluth blew my mind; I was informed that the amazing structure had been built with money donated by one of these industrialists, like the one whose lakeside mansion we toured) - I found a job managing a small community-based group home for people with intellectual disabilities, and my bosses and I laughed about our shared genetic heritage (though I am a Florida native - and have lived in my Home State Again since the year 2000 - German and Swedish ancestry in my family tree made me fit in very well in Minnesota - where I joked that back home I had grown up as the "largest, palest kid in the classroom") - the landscapes of Minnesota, whether a Winter Scene straight out of a vintage Currier & Ives Christmas Card, the Sweet vistas of Summer, complete with weeping willows and rushing waters, and the intense colors of Autumn (especially in and around the Twin Cities themselves, rich with a landscape full of deciduous trees - I once rode my bike 10 miles, staring at the splendors of the foliage, until an old knee injury I had completely forgotten about reminded me that I am only a frail human being and physical activity Must have limits! When I couldn't reach my significant other, I called my boss, who reassured me that I - AND My Bicycle - could get a ride back home via the city bus system - "There's a place on the bus where you can put your bike.") My memories of those years - and my 2 subsequent visits as a "Tourist" to my "Spiritual Home" - are Golden. My heart fills with Gratitude for this.

The temp swings in most of Minnesota are not for the faint of heart. Summers are muggy and gross and winters can be brutal. Here in the Twin Cities last winter we ALMOST broke the all time snowfall record. Something like 93". It was brutal if you did not own a car with AWD!

Yeah, one mistake in an otherwise very good video. Obviously long ago it was mispronounced a different way and became Chippewa (jib -> chip).

Around here it’s pronounced O-jib-way

@@MacNerfer No it wasn't. I lived next to an Ojibwe Chief for years. "Jib" is how he pronounced it. Fairly sure he knew better than we do.

@@gpeckoltia3256 Maybe I wasn't clear, but that's what I meant. It was _mispronounced_ and became Chippewa as known by others.

Rode past that many times as a kid. Grandpa and I were going to take his axe and chop the thing down because of what it did to the AM Radio as we drove by. :D

I know!! You could here it coming through the grocery store speakers. I'm sure you're happy it's gone. Baudette was a great duty station, though, if only for one year. Thanks!! @@erickleven1712

Also, I'm glad you grandpa didn't. If he grounded that antenna, he would have been vaporized! That thing pumped out almost a megawatt!! Peace@@erickleven1712

I met my wife in Baudette in 1974. I was stationed at the NORAD RADAR site till it closed in 1979. We lived on 3rd street. 6 blocks from the Canadian border. My oldest daughter was born in the Baudette hospital. My in-laws had a farm near Carp on the Wilderness Trail. The last farm before Beltrami forest. Hunting, Fishing, water and snow skiing, snowmobile was an alternate method of daily transportation. Everyone knew everyone else. Look up Willie the Walleye.

@@tadroid3858 lol, yeah, Grandpa had a sense of humor. They took that tower down about five years back. All the sections are stacked up. The lawn under it has grown up a lot.

Many of the Rainy Lake Cabins are slowly transitioning into year round lake homes, especially by retired people either returning to the area they grew up in, or have visited our area, liked the lifestyle and decided to spend their retirement years there.

Born in brained and lived in cross lake.

Why would you move to St. Cloud?

I don't reccomend Saint Cloud, especially for a Texan (and _absolutely_ not a right wing Texan). Although their businesses have improved, there is still a lot of crookedness from consumers and businesses alike. If you are left wing, dealing with crooked people and high housing prices for what you get is probably the worst of it. For a rightwingers, it is furthermore the embodiment of every part of left wing smugness and intolerance rightwingers can't stand. I do get the vague impression the crookedness isn't quite as bad as it was around 2012-2014 or so. If you want the best Minnesota has to off, I'd reccomend some place like Bemedji, less so Brainard but they are great to. That is of course if your heart is set on cities and not more rural areas.

We have a large summer population of Texans in the Clearwater Lake area and Nestor Falls on Lake of the Woods in Ontario. You might meet someone you know from Texas in those areas.

My uncle, a Grand Marais native, said that there was a main trunk line (telecom) that ran along the North Shore, so internet has always been pretty good in the area. One thing you mention is the ore ships carrying ore from the mines to the cities, implying Mpls and StP, when the ore ships have no direct access to the rivers to take them there; the ore ships typically ply the Great Lakes, traditionally taking the ore to mills in OH, but really they could be anywhere with the use of the St. Lawrence Seaway with access to the Atlantic Ocean. I'm pretty sure you know all this, it's just some extra info for any drive by readers.

Interesting. I'm in NW Minnesota. My Ojibwe and Metis ancestors were originally from Montreal. The French settled there. Then the trapper men married Ojibwe women, making the Metis. My recent ancestors came from Pembina. My easternEuropean ancestors didn't come until 1909.

My grandmother too. From Duluth and Bemidji area. Her last name was Robideau. Thelma Louise Robideau married George Franklin Ames They lived in Bezanson Alberta all of their lives.

My first 18 years were in the MSP area too. I went east for college and settled in New England. But I still consider Minnesota to be my homestate.

I know I live in the Iron Range area town of Virginia, Minnesota, which is about an hour north west of Duluth and I cannot believe that he did not mention the Iron Range Masaba mining industry. It is the countries largest iron ore producer which feeds into the production of steel in the Pennsylvania area. in the early days of Minnesota, Virginia, Minnesota was the second populated area Iron iron, mining, and steel production was huge. The men that discovered Iron ore in northern Minnesota, also were the inventors of the open mining pit. The largest open mining pits are here in Minnesota.

That iron ore from the Mesabi Iron Range was loaded onto the famous freighter the "Edmund Fitzgerald" in Superior Wisconsin, that sunk so tragically back in November 10th, 1975 in Lake Superior. Gordon Lightfoot created a famous ballad about the event.

Where is that old British trading post ?

@@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123 It's just off of US Hwy 75 several miles north of Moorhead.

Nothing has changed! Hello from Roseau!

Very little has changed except for the closure of the area's major employer on the Canadian side, the Resolute Pulp & Paper Mill. Now we have a large gold mine operating on the Canadian side north of Barwick and an Orientated Strand Board Mill along Rainy River in the same area continues to be productive. Lost a bit of our population when the Mill closed, but Boise Cascade Mill in International Falls continues to do well. Hello from Fort Frances, Ontario!

That guy was featured in Readers Digest...I dint recall his name

Agreed even Detroit in the southern half of Michigan is very similar to St. Paul.

I'm from Minnesota and drove across the UP then over the Mackinac bridge then all the way south though the lower peninsula of Michigan earlier this year. It did occur to me as well that the two states are geographically very similar.

What you don’t like meth amphetamine?

My great uncle William Robideau was the first American soldier from International Falls to be killed in WW1... He is buried in the cemetery there.They named an American Legion after him. Please remember him on Veterans day.

International Falls is the coldest point in the country.

I think he’s already done a video on West Virginia and he talks about the pan handle in that one. I’m not sure about the rest.

you missed Oklahoma and technically Pt. Roberts in Washington state!!

West Virginia has two panhandle's one north and one east. It is due to the civil war, they wanted to include the steel producing area north and the federal Armory east in the new state.

I noticed that too!

I can’t remember how he said it… all I know is that I can’t go to deer camp or on a fishing trip without making a “small” donation to one of their casinos. Get me almost every time lol.

Pig iron?

@@MarinCipollina Iron Ore. The stuff they smelt into steel for bridges, skyscrapers, cars. Any steel you see is likely to have it's origin from the Mesabi Iron Range in NE Minnesota.