Although I was born in Minnesota more than 70 years ago
(yikes!), I have not lived in the state since 1981. However, over the years, I
have come to appreciate why people who still live in the state are fortunate.
I’m in the process of reading Al Franken’s latest book, “Giant
of the Senate”, and just got to the part where he mentions that Minnesota has
the highest voter turnout rate in the nation.
Naturally, I had to look it up, and found that Minnesota DOES
have the highest voter turnout rate in the country, at 73.2%. Wisconsin comes
in second, at 71.2%.
That, of course, leads to the next question, which is what states
have the LOWEST voter turnout? Arizona
is close to the bottom, at 58.4%, but it’s not the worst. That “honor” goes to
Hawaii, which has a voter turnout of only 50%.
Apart from the fact that Minnesota has a lot of conscientious
voters, why else would people live in a state that is the 4th
coldest in the country? (Only Alaska, North Dakota, and Maine are colder.)
For one thing, it is consistently one of the healthiest states
in the country, and is surpassed in that category only by Hawaii,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut. All of the unhealthiest states are in the Bible
Belt.
People that live in Minnesota are
also some of the most educated in the country. The state has consistently
ranked in the top 10 in the country. Mississippi is the LEAST educated state in
the country
Minnesota is also one of the best-run states in the country.
It has the 2nd highest high school graduation rate in the country,
one of the highest percentage of residents covered by health care, and among
the nation’s lowest crime and poverty rates. In addition, the state’s economy was strong, as well,
with a GDP growth rate of 3.5% in 2012, an unemployment rate of just 5.6%, and
a median income of nearly $59,000, all of which were among the best in the
nation. Officially, California is
ranked as the worst run state in the country.
Thanks to people like the Koch brothers or Grover Norquist,
many conservatives in this country hold the misconception that taxes are a bad
thing. For most of my life, Minnesota has been considered a high tax state, and
former Governor Bruce Dayton increased taxes dramatically in 2013. In fact, his
tax measure was one of the largest tax increases in the state’s history, but it
had very positive results. Ironically, Forbes magazine now ranks Minnesota as
one of the best states in the country for business, and it stands in stark
contrast to Wisconsin, which took the direct opposite approach, causing the
economy to tank.
If taxes are a bad thing, then why do 24 Fortune 500 companies
have their headquarters in Minnesota?
The answer is that Minnesota has some of the best educated
workers in the country, due to the fact that Minnesota exceeds the national
average in per-pupil public education funding. Arizona is the third worst in the country, and the state actually spends
less on education than Mississippi, which has the lease educated people in the
country.
There are only 4 states (New York, Texas, California, and
Illinois) that have more Fortune 500 company headquarters in their state than
Minnesota. Ironically, Chief Executive magazine ranks 3 of them as the WORST
states to do business in.
Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes (it’s actually 11,842) ,
so it is not surprising that Minnesota is #1 in the country in terms of per capita
boat ownership, which means there are a lot of fishermen in the state:
You probably are familiar with the term “Minnesota nice”, but what
does that term mean in reality? According to the website listed below,
Minnesota is ranked as the friendliest state in the nation.
Since Minnesota people are smart, there ARE a lot of them that
winter in Arizona. At the Mesa, Arizona resort where our Minnesota relatives
spend the winter, there are more “residents” from Minnesota than any other
state – but they are still surpassed by the Canadians.
I’m living proof that you can be exposed to winter
temperatures of -30 degrees and survive, but I’d recommend making your trips to
Minnesota during the more temperate months. Be aware, also, that Minnesota
people DO talk funny, so you would be wise to bone up on the “Minnesota
language system” before you go.
If you enjoy trivia questions, you may appreciate the fact
that Minnesota has more cows than there are people in 20 other states. The link
below also will give you 12 other fun facts about Minnesota.
and here are 50 more ..
I REALLY like living in Arizona in the winter, but am I glad
that I lived my formative years in Minnesota?
You betcha.
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