WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we are 00:00:02.899 --> 00:00:07.059 undertaking a really complex mission. We're peeling 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:09.839 back the layers of a state that, on the surface, 00:00:10.060 --> 00:00:14.019 seems like America's polite, stable heartland. 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:16.399 Right. Yet it's also a place that is constantly 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:18.579 pushing the envelope. We're talking technology, 00:00:18.899 --> 00:00:21.399 political experiments, and some really intense 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:24.300 cultural shifts. It's a land of deep contradictions. 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:27.359 Exactly. We're diving deep into Minnesota, the 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.539 star of the North, the land of the... Well... 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:33.439 Many, many lakes. It truly is a study in contrasts. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:35.579 And to really get a handle on the state, you 00:00:35.579 --> 00:00:37.659 have to look at its scale versus its population. 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:40.460 It's huge. It's the 12th largest state by area. 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:42.960 So you imagine these vast forests and prairies. 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:45.299 But then you see it's only the 22nd most populous 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:47.679 state with about, what, 5 .8 million residents? 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:49.840 That tells you there's a massive amount of wild 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:52.020 open space. And when we talk about that open 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:53.579 space, you just have to talk about the water. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:55.460 I mean, everyone knows the nickname, the land 00:00:55.460 --> 00:00:57.560 of 10 ,000 lakes. But that's not even close, 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:00.840 is it? No, not at all. Our sources give the true 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.560 and honestly astonishing count. Minnesota officially 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:09.579 has 14 ,420 bodies of fresh water that are at 00:01:09.579 --> 00:01:13.000 least 10 acres each. Wow. That density of water 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:15.299 just defines everything, the ecology, the culture, 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:18.219 everything. It really does. And that identity 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:20.700 is even baked into its official profile. The 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:23.120 state motto is totally unique. It's the only 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:25.579 one in French, right? Le 12 du Nord. Star of 00:01:25.579 --> 00:01:28.060 the North. And it makes perfect sense geographically. 00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:30.180 It's the northernmost state in the contiguous 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:32.829 U .S., touching Lake Superior in Canada. But 00:01:32.829 --> 00:01:34.950 with all that land and all that water, what's 00:01:34.950 --> 00:01:37.510 really fascinating is how centralized the population 00:01:37.510 --> 00:01:39.730 is. I mean, if you want to understand Minnesota, 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:41.950 you have to understand the Twin Cities. Absolutely. 00:01:42.010 --> 00:01:44.390 The urban core is basically the whole story for 00:01:44.390 --> 00:01:45.969 most of the people there. Right. Something like 00:01:45.969 --> 00:01:49.549 60 % of all Minnesotans, that's 3 .71 million 00:01:49.549 --> 00:01:52.349 people, live in the Minneapolis -St. Paul metro 00:01:52.349 --> 00:01:55.450 area. Which makes the Twin Cities the 16th largest 00:01:55.450 --> 00:01:58.420 metro area in the entire country. All the states, 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:01.200 economic, political, and cultural gravity is 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.599 just concentrated right there. Leaving the rest 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:07.000 of this enormous state vast and, well, pretty 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:09.159 sparsely populated. Okay, so let's unpack this 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:11.919 and start right at the foundation. The name itself. 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:15.180 It comes from the Dakota language. And the meaning, 00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:18.340 it captures that water identity perfectly. But 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:19.900 there's a little bit of ambiguity there, too. 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:21.879 It's a wonderful piece of linguistic geography. 00:02:22.569 --> 00:02:25.669 the name minnesota comes from the dakota from 00:02:25.669 --> 00:02:28.789 one of two very closely related phrases okay 00:02:28.789 --> 00:02:32.949 it's often cited as me sota which means clear 00:02:32.949 --> 00:02:35.949 blue water but it can also be interpreted as 00:02:35.949 --> 00:02:39.990 minnesota which means cloudy water so clear or 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:43.129 cloudy that duality Sort of speaks to what the 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:44.689 lakes actually look like, right? Sometimes they 00:02:44.689 --> 00:02:47.330 reflect that perfect blue sky. Other times they're 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:49.689 a bit churned up. Exactly. And I love the story 00:02:49.689 --> 00:02:51.409 of how the Dakota people actually demonstrated 00:02:51.409 --> 00:02:53.530 this for early settlers. They didn't just point 00:02:53.530 --> 00:02:55.629 and translate. They gave a visual aid. They did. 00:02:56.449 --> 00:02:58.610 Reportedly, they would drop a few drops of milk 00:02:58.610 --> 00:03:01.050 into a cup of water and then call the resulting 00:03:01.050 --> 00:03:04.770 milky, cloudy liquid misota. So not crystal clear, 00:03:04.810 --> 00:03:07.650 but what's the translation? Sky -tinted water. 00:03:07.909 --> 00:03:11.330 Sky -tinted water. It's beautiful. It means water 00:03:11.330 --> 00:03:13.789 that's been given a color, a presence. And once 00:03:13.789 --> 00:03:16.210 you know that root, knee for water, you start 00:03:16.210 --> 00:03:18.610 seeing it everywhere in the region. It connects 00:03:18.610 --> 00:03:20.810 the state's whole identity back to that original 00:03:20.810 --> 00:03:23.789 language. It's undeniable. The root knee is central 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:26.849 to so much of the local geography. You have Minnehaha. 00:03:27.389 --> 00:03:30.030 Curling water, a waterfall. Minnetonka, which 00:03:30.030 --> 00:03:32.810 is big water. And of course, the big one, Minneapolis. 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:35.990 Which is a hybrid name. Yeah, a hybrid. It takes 00:03:35.990 --> 00:03:38.050 the Dakotam knee and just sticks on the Greek 00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:41.150 suffix. Minneapolis for city. So it's literally 00:03:41.150 --> 00:03:43.129 the city of water. So the state is named for 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:45.169 water. The biggest city is named for water. And 00:03:45.169 --> 00:03:47.509 even the state seal has the phrase Minnesota 00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:50.210 Makoche on it. The land where the water reflects 00:03:50.210 --> 00:03:53.310 the skies. It's a remarkably cohesive identity, 00:03:53.669 --> 00:03:56.409 linking the modern state right back to its indigenous 00:03:56.409 --> 00:03:59.110 environmental past. And that connection is so 00:03:59.110 --> 00:04:00.550 important, especially when we talk about the 00:04:00.550 --> 00:04:03.550 next stage, the arrival of Europeans. Right. 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:07.379 the earliest europeans were french voyagers and 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:09.699 fur traders this was back in the 17th century 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:13.419 and they were you know expert navigators of all 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:15.819 those lakes and rivers, they encountered two 00:04:15.819 --> 00:04:19.100 major indigenous groups. The Dakota and the Ojibwe. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.379 Exactly. You had the long -established Dakota, 00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:24.139 especially eastern Dakota, and then the migrating 00:04:24.139 --> 00:04:26.920 Ojibwe or Anishinaabe. And their relationship 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:29.939 defined the territory for a long time. For centuries. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:32.779 The two nations had their own territories and 00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:36.560 often... contested resources along the waterways. 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:39.519 The Ojibwe were gradually migrating west and 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:41.800 south, pushing into traditional Dakota lands, 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:45.199 which led to localized conflict long before settlers 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.480 showed up and complicated things even more. And 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.360 when the United States finally acquired the land, 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:52.100 it wasn't just one clean transaction. It was 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:54.220 split by the Mississippi River. It was a total 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:56.240 patchwork. The territory east of the Mississippi 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:58.720 was gained after the American Revolutionary War. 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:01.620 But the huge area west of the Mississippi, that 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:03.800 only became U .S. property with the Louisiana 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:06.399 purchase in 1803. And even then, the northern 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:09.399 border wasn't set. No, it was contested by the 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:12.000 British Hudson's Bay Company. It was finally 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.759 settled at the 49th parallel with the Treaty 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:18.399 of 1818. So once that huge territory was claimed, 00:05:18.740 --> 00:05:22.000 the next move was to control the major waterways. 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:25.120 And that led to really the single most important 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:28.149 military post in the region. Fort Snelling, no 00:05:28.149 --> 00:05:31.389 question. It was established between 1819 and 00:05:31.389 --> 00:05:35.050 1825, right at that stunning confluence of the 00:05:35.050 --> 00:05:37.449 Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. A critical 00:05:37.449 --> 00:05:39.889 spot. The most critical spot. It was for controlling 00:05:39.889 --> 00:05:42.290 fur trade routes, monitoring indigenous movements, 00:05:42.569 --> 00:05:45.649 and just asserting U .S. sovereignty. But the 00:05:45.649 --> 00:05:48.089 fort became more than just a military outpost, 00:05:48.170 --> 00:05:50.810 right? It was really the seed for the whole economic 00:05:50.810 --> 00:05:53.269 engine of the Twin Cities. Precisely. The soldiers 00:05:53.269 --> 00:05:55.329 there had to be self -sufficient, so they built 00:05:55.329 --> 00:05:58.050 a gristmill and... and more importantly, a sawmill 00:05:58.050 --> 00:06:01.310 right at the nearby St. Anthony Falls. That waterfall 00:06:01.310 --> 00:06:03.649 became the power source for industry. And that's 00:06:03.649 --> 00:06:05.350 what created Minneapolis. What about St. Paul? 00:06:05.550 --> 00:06:08.509 St. Paul developed a little downriver. The military 00:06:08.509 --> 00:06:11.769 established a reservation in 1839, and they forced 00:06:11.769 --> 00:06:14.910 squatters off the fort lands. Those squatters 00:06:14.910 --> 00:06:16.870 moved and formed the settlement that eventually 00:06:16.870 --> 00:06:19.709 became the state capital. So the U .S. had the 00:06:19.709 --> 00:06:22.810 land. They had the strategic center at Fort Snelling. 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:26.060 And statehood followed pretty quickly in 1858. 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:29.379 But that period, just before and after statehood, 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:32.879 it was, well, it was poisoned by the pressure 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.319 on the Native population. And that leads directly 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:38.019 to a devastating conflict. This is where we have 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:40.420 to confront the dark foundation of Minnesota's 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:44.579 story, the Dakota War of 1862. What was the situation 00:06:44.579 --> 00:06:47.600 for the Dakota at that point? By the 1850s, the 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:49.399 eastern Dakota were confined to reservations, 00:06:49.660 --> 00:06:51.839 mostly because of these fraudulent and coercive 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:53.959 treaties, the treaties of Traverse de Sioux and 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:57.620 Mendota in 1851. And in exchange for 28 million 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.100 acres of their land, they were promised millions 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.439 in annuities and supplies. Promises that were 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:04.220 chronically broken. Our payments just didn't 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:06.759 come. Right. Agents and traders often withheld 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:10.240 them, and by 1862, the Dakota were facing actual 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.000 starvation. There's a famous quote from a trader 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:15.279 who told the starving Dakota, if they are hungry, 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:18.740 let them eat grass. Just brutal. So the tension 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:21.100 was like an open wound, and all it needed was 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:24.040 a spark. And that spark came in August of 1862. 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:28.000 On August 17th, four young Dakota men desperate 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.800 for food, killed a family of white settlers near 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:33.680 a town called Acton. And that one incident just 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.180 set everything off. Immediately. It prompted 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:38.279 a faction of the Dakota, led by Chief Little 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:41.060 Crow, to try and stage a full -scale expulsion 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:43.000 of settlers from the Minnesota River Valley. 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:46.240 They saw it as their last possible chance to 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.829 reclaim their land and feed their people. The 00:07:48.829 --> 00:07:51.350 conflict was short, only about six weeks. But 00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:53.670 the toll on civilians was horrific. Hundreds 00:07:53.670 --> 00:07:56.269 of settlers were killed, thousands fled. And 00:07:56.269 --> 00:07:58.449 when the U .S. military finally subdued the fighting, 00:07:58.689 --> 00:08:01.430 the state's response was just brutal vengeance. 00:08:01.730 --> 00:08:03.569 It was a horrific period. Roughly 400 Dakota 00:08:03.569 --> 00:08:05.470 men were tried by these military commissions. 00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:08.290 The proceedings were rushed with very little 00:08:08.290 --> 00:08:10.290 legal representation. And the sentences were 00:08:10.290 --> 00:08:13.389 extreme. Of those tried, 303 were sentenced to 00:08:13.389 --> 00:08:16.180 death by hanging. The scale of that proposed 00:08:16.180 --> 00:08:18.959 execution was completely unprecedented. And this 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:20.680 is where President Lincoln gets involved. It's 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:23.100 a complicated part of the story. It is. Lincoln 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:25.939 personally reviewed every single one of the trial 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:28.480 transcripts. He was trying to distinguish between 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:31.180 those who had participated in massacres of civilians 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:33.580 and those who had only fought in battles against 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:36.389 soldiers. And he reduced the number. He did. 00:08:36.509 --> 00:08:39.809 He approved only 39 death sentences, which was 00:08:39.809 --> 00:08:42.529 then reduced to 38 after a last minute reprieve. 00:08:42.570 --> 00:08:45.110 But even with that reduction, what happened in 00:08:45.110 --> 00:08:48.129 Mankato in December 1862 is still a chilling 00:08:48.129 --> 00:08:50.730 historical marker. The execution of those 38 00:08:50.730 --> 00:08:53.070 Dakota men remains the largest mass execution 00:08:53.070 --> 00:08:55.850 in U .S. history. It was an act of public justice, 00:08:56.090 --> 00:08:58.789 really, aimed at satisfying the outrage of the 00:08:58.789 --> 00:09:01.190 settlers. And it solidified the state's determination 00:09:01.190 --> 00:09:03.710 to just completely eliminate the indigenous presence. 00:09:04.090 --> 00:09:05.649 And the rhetoric for the political leaders at 00:09:05.649 --> 00:09:08.750 the time was, well, genocidal. It absolutely 00:09:08.750 --> 00:09:11.389 was. The governor, Alexander Ramsey, declared 00:09:11.389 --> 00:09:13.610 that the Sioux must be exterminated or driven 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:15.690 forever beyond the borders of the state. And 00:09:15.690 --> 00:09:19.420 that wasn't just talk. It became official. policy. 00:09:19.420 --> 00:09:21.960 They put a bounty on scalps. Ramsey established 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:25.580 a bounty of $25 on Dakota men's scalps. His successor, 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:28.600 Governor Henry Swift, later raised it to $200. 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:31.259 It's hard to even comprehend that. It is. And 00:09:31.259 --> 00:09:33.200 while the records show that surprisingly few 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:36.200 bounties were actually paid out. Only four, totaling 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:38.940 $325, including for the killing of Little Crow. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:42.240 The system itself formalized a state policy of 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:44.720 extermination. But what happened to the noncombatants? 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.399 The women, the children, the elderly? That's 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.539 where the human cost is just staggering. Over 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:52.720 1 ,600 Dakota noncombatants were forcibly marched 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.179 to an internment camp on Pike Island, right below 00:09:55.179 --> 00:09:57.559 Fort Snelling. The conditions were just abysmal. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:09:59.870 Through a Minnesota winter. Through a brutal 00:09:59.870 --> 00:10:02.789 Minnesota winter, and despite some efforts by 00:10:02.789 --> 00:10:05.230 one commander to build a protective wall, disease 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:08.889 and exposure just took a terrible toll. Estimates 00:10:08.889 --> 00:10:12.110 suggest anywhere from 125 to 300 died before 00:10:12.110 --> 00:10:14.129 the survivors were officially exiled from the 00:10:14.129 --> 00:10:16.850 state to the barren Crow Creek Reservation in 00:10:16.850 --> 00:10:20.370 what is now South Dakota. That context is, it's 00:10:20.370 --> 00:10:22.529 just vital. You can't talk about the land where 00:10:22.529 --> 00:10:25.210 the water reflects the skies without acknowledging 00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:27.090 the tragedy of the people who originally named 00:10:27.090 --> 00:10:29.129 it. That history is written on the land itself, 00:10:29.370 --> 00:10:31.850 which I think is a good transition. Let's shift 00:10:31.850 --> 00:10:33.690 our focus from the historical complex on the 00:10:33.690 --> 00:10:35.950 land to the foundational structure beneath it. 00:10:36.090 --> 00:10:38.409 Exactly. Let's move into part two and talk about 00:10:38.409 --> 00:10:41.649 Minnesota's incredible physical state. We can 00:10:41.649 --> 00:10:43.690 start with the timeline written in its rocks. 00:10:44.090 --> 00:10:47.529 And what's astonishing here is the age. We are 00:10:47.529 --> 00:10:49.330 talking about rocks that are nearly as old as 00:10:49.330 --> 00:10:51.889 the Earth. We really are. Minnesota has some 00:10:51.889 --> 00:10:54.629 of the planet's oldest rocks, specifically gneisses 00:10:54.629 --> 00:10:57.779 that have been dated to roughly... 3 .6 billion 00:10:57.779 --> 00:11:00.120 years old. Just to put that in perspective for 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:03.179 you, the listener, that's about 80 % as old as 00:11:03.179 --> 00:11:05.679 the planet itself. These are among the most ancient 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:07.799 materials ever found on Earth's surface. Yeah, 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:10.320 let me just synthesize that for you. We are talking 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:13.940 about foundational crust, 3 .6 billion years 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:16.679 old, right next to land that was carved out just 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:20.419 12 ,000 years ago by glaciers. That is an insane 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:24.000 contrast of geological timescales in one state. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.509 It is. And those ancient rocks are directly tied 00:11:27.509 --> 00:11:30.850 to the major economic future of the North. The 00:11:30.850 --> 00:11:33.210 Iron Range. Right. The Iron Range is part of 00:11:33.210 --> 00:11:36.230 that massive Canadian shield structure. The iron 00:11:36.230 --> 00:11:38.750 deposits themselves formed about 2 .7 billion 00:11:38.750 --> 00:11:41.990 years ago as these immense basaltic lava flows 00:11:41.990 --> 00:11:44.450 poured out, creating a primordial ocean floor 00:11:44.450 --> 00:11:46.629 where iron accumulated. So we have the birth 00:11:46.629 --> 00:11:48.509 of the continent and then much, much later, the 00:11:48.509 --> 00:11:50.730 Ice Age comes and just completely redefines the 00:11:50.730 --> 00:11:53.009 landscape. It's crept down and deposits all that 00:11:53.009 --> 00:11:55.809 famous glacial drift. The glaciers were the sculptures 00:11:55.809 --> 00:11:58.330 of modern Minnesota. The last big event, the 00:11:58.330 --> 00:12:00.850 Wisconsin glaciation, retreated about 12 ,000 00:12:00.850 --> 00:12:03.009 years ago. It covered and reshaped almost the 00:12:03.009 --> 00:12:05.809 entire state. Almost the entire state. There's 00:12:05.809 --> 00:12:08.210 one critical area that it missed, which we call 00:12:08.210 --> 00:12:11.269 the Driftless Zone. What exactly is the Driftless 00:12:11.269 --> 00:12:13.350 Zone? Why did the ice skip it? Well, the Driftless 00:12:13.350 --> 00:12:16.049 Zone is this area in the southeastern corner 00:12:16.049 --> 00:12:18.970 of the state. It also extends into Wisconsin, 00:12:19.409 --> 00:12:22.149 Iowa, and Illinois that was never covered by 00:12:22.149 --> 00:12:25.000 that last ice sheet. The main lobe of the ice 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.200 just sort of divided and flowed around the region, 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.360 probably due to some subtle underlying geology. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:32.799 And what does that mean for the landscape there? 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:34.940 How is it different? It's totally different. 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.919 Instead of the gentle rolling hills covered in 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:40.399 glacial till that you see everywhere else, the 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:43.840 driftless zone has these steep, unglaciated bluffs. 00:12:44.490 --> 00:12:47.149 deep river valleys and streams that cut sharply 00:12:47.149 --> 00:12:49.769 right into the bedrock. It's rugged, dramatic, 00:12:50.029 --> 00:12:52.190 a complete contrast. You know, for a state that 00:12:52.190 --> 00:12:54.970 seems so flat and defined by lakes, I was surprised 00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:57.409 to see it has real elevation extremes. It does. 00:12:57.629 --> 00:13:00.289 While most of the state is a gently rolling peneplain, 00:13:00.529 --> 00:13:02.990 the highest point is Eagle Mountain, which gets 00:13:02.990 --> 00:13:06.529 up at 2 ,301 feet. The low point is the shore 00:13:06.529 --> 00:13:09.389 of Lake Superior at 601 feet. And they're right 00:13:09.389 --> 00:13:11.529 next to each other. They're only 13 miles apart. 00:13:11.750 --> 00:13:14.850 It just shows that dramatic drop off. Right near 00:13:14.850 --> 00:13:17.789 the massive, deep basin of Lake Superior. OK, 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:20.289 let's get back to the water, because beyond just 00:13:20.289 --> 00:13:22.909 the sheer number of lakes, Minnesota has this 00:13:22.909 --> 00:13:26.909 truly profound hydrological phenomenon, the triple 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:29.620 watershed. The triple watershed is a genuine 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:32.440 geographical rarity. It's a statement of continental 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:35.580 centrality. There is a precise point near the 00:13:35.580 --> 00:13:38.840 town of Hibbing where a drop of rain can ultimately 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:41.700 flow into three different major ocean basins. 00:13:41.940 --> 00:13:44.220 Okay. Walk us through those three routes. Certainly. 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:46.659 So water can flow south through the Mississippi 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:48.659 River system and eventually empty into the Gulf 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:51.539 of Mexico. It can flow east through the Great 00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:53.980 Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway all the way 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:56.139 to the Atlantic Ocean or, and this is the critical 00:13:56.139 --> 00:13:58.769 third one, It can flow north into the Red River 00:13:58.769 --> 00:14:01.389 of the north, which leads to the Hudson Bay watershed, 00:14:01.529 --> 00:14:04.509 and from there to the Arctic Ocean. It literally 00:14:04.509 --> 00:14:07.029 sits at the hydrological nexus of North America. 00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:09.529 It absolutely does. And of course, Lake Itasca 00:14:09.529 --> 00:14:11.789 is where one of the world's great rivers begins 00:14:11.789 --> 00:14:14.470 its journey. Yes. The mighty Mississippi starts 00:14:14.470 --> 00:14:17.629 its 680 -mile trip across the state right there. 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:19.879 And beyond the rivers and lakes, we have to talk 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.340 about the wetlands. Minnesota has something like 00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:25.899 10 .6 million acres of wetlands. Which is the 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:28.559 most of any state besides Alaska. Exactly. It 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:30.759 means the state is basically this massive natural 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.620 water filter, which is crucial for maintaining 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:35.840 that clear blue water identity we talked about. 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:38.320 And how do all these features translate into 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:41.120 the ecosystems? Well, Minnesota is this critical 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:44.460 transition zone. It spans four distinct ecological 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:47.639 provinces. You move from Prairie Park. in the 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:49.960 west, through the big woods, which is an eastern 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:53.159 broadleaf forest, and then up into the Laurentian 00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:55.340 mixed forest in the north, which is a mix of 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:58.039 coniferous, boreal, and deciduous hardwoods. 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:00.120 Now given that logging was such a huge early 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:02.759 industry, And we'll get to that. I imagine a 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:05.000 lot of that original forest was destroyed. Oh, 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:07.539 a ton of the old growth forest was cleared in 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:11.039 the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But regrowth 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:13.460 and really diligent conservation have been very 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:16.320 successful. About a third of the state is forested 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.360 today. And crucially, there are pockets of true 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:22.120 old growth forest preserved in the massive federal 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:24.779 lands up north. You're talking about the Superior 00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:27.340 National Forest and the Boundary Waters. Exactly. 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:30.039 The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness alone. 00:15:30.250 --> 00:15:32.549 is a million acres with over a thousand lakes. 00:15:32.769 --> 00:15:35.669 It's got about 400 ,000 acres of unlogged land. 00:15:35.889 --> 00:15:37.909 It's one of the largest protected wilderness 00:15:37.909 --> 00:15:40.590 areas in the lower 48. And what kind of wildlife 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:43.389 thrives there? Minnesota is notable for having 00:15:43.389 --> 00:15:45.590 the largest population of timber wolves outside 00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:48.490 of Alaska. It also has the largest number of 00:15:48.490 --> 00:15:50.809 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48, 00:15:51.029 --> 00:15:54.629 at least as of 2007. And it supports huge populations 00:15:54.629 --> 00:15:57.450 of moose, black bears, and a ton of migratory 00:15:57.450 --> 00:15:59.990 birds. Okay, finally, let's address the elephant 00:15:59.990 --> 00:16:01.809 in the room, or maybe the snowbank in the room, 00:16:01.870 --> 00:16:05.409 the climate. People define Minnesota by its cold. 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:08.240 And for good reason. It's an extreme continental 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.919 climate. We are talking about a massive range. 00:16:11.179 --> 00:16:13.539 The lowest official temperature ever recorded 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:16.700 was a shocking minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit in 00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:20.539 Tower back in 1996. Minus 60. And the high. The 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:24.100 highest was 114 degrees in Moorhead in 1936. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:28.399 That is a 174 degree temperature swing. It just 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.720 speaks to the complete lack of any moderating 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:33.240 ocean influence. And that has a huge impact on 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:35.200 agriculture, right? Yeah. The growing season 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:36.940 must be really short. It's incredibly short. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.679 It ranges from only about 90 frost -free days 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:42.419 in the far northeast near Lake Superior to a 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:44.919 more comfortable 160 days down in the southeast. 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:47.440 That dictates everything about what you can grow 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.000 and when. And now. Now, climate change is starting 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.059 to impact the state's most fundamental identity, 00:16:52.299 --> 00:16:54.500 the water itself. Yeah, the impact is subtle, 00:16:54.539 --> 00:16:56.960 but it's significant. Rising lake temperatures 00:16:56.960 --> 00:16:59.940 are forcing shifts in the ecosystems. Cold water 00:16:59.940 --> 00:17:02.419 species like lake trout, they're losing their 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:04.359 habitat, being pushed further north. And warm 00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:07.039 water fish are taking over. Exactly. Species 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:09.640 like bass and sunfish are thriving and expanding 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:11.640 their range. It's a huge deal for the future 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:14.519 of the state's iconic fishing culture. That connection 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:17.519 between geology, water, and climate really sets 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:20.160 the state... for the economic engine. So moving 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.660 into part three, let's trace Minnesota's economic 00:17:22.660 --> 00:17:25.450 evolution. It's a classic American story. You 00:17:25.450 --> 00:17:28.509 start with raw materials and then you pivot aggressively 00:17:28.509 --> 00:17:31.329 into high tech and services. The earliest economy 00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:34.109 was all about resource extraction. Logging was 00:17:34.109 --> 00:17:36.509 first and foremost, made possible by all those 00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:39.589 rivers for transport. Sawmills popped up at key 00:17:39.589 --> 00:17:42.849 points like St. Anthony Falls, Pine City, Stillwater 00:17:42.849 --> 00:17:45.650 and Winona, just processing the vast northern 00:17:45.650 --> 00:17:48.549 forests. And St. Anthony Falls gave Minneapolis 00:17:48.549 --> 00:17:51.730 its first identity, flower power. Absolutely. 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:54.559 The falls provided incredible hydropower for 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.859 milling, and it turned Minneapolis into the world's 00:17:56.859 --> 00:17:59.400 leading flour producer by the late 19th century. 00:17:59.660 --> 00:18:02.079 But the key wasn't just volume. It was innovation. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:04.359 Right. They developed Minnesota patent flour. 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:07.299 What made it so special? It was a quality revolution. 00:18:07.539 --> 00:18:10.140 Traditional milling often left fine particles 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:12.259 of the wheat kernel's middlings in the flour, 00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:15.319 which made it kind of dark and lower grade. Minneapolis 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:17.700 millers adopted new roller mills and purifying 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:20.059 tech to strip all that away. So you get a whiter, 00:18:20.140 --> 00:18:24.059 finer, higher... Exactly. And this Minnesota 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:27.140 patent flour was so superior that it commanded 00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:29.579 almost double the price of the old baker's flour. 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:32.740 It made Minnesota the epicenter of the global 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:34.880 grain trade. And this is where we get the giants 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.660 we know today. Pillsbury, Northwestern and the 00:18:37.660 --> 00:18:40.099 Washburn Crosby Company, which eventually became 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:42.920 General Mills. Their dominance was built on this 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:46.680 one innovation. By 1900, Minnesota mills were 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.839 grinding 14 .1 percent of all the grain in the 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.240 United States. That's incredible dominance. So 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.859 then we shift north to the Iron Range, back to 00:18:54.859 --> 00:18:57.930 those ancient... 2 .7 billion year old rocks. 00:18:58.069 --> 00:19:00.650 The discovery of high grade ore really defined 00:19:00.650 --> 00:19:02.670 the early 20th century for this state. Yeah, 00:19:02.789 --> 00:19:05.089 the discovery of iron ore in the Vermilion and 00:19:05.089 --> 00:19:07.930 Mesabi ranges in the 1880s kicked off an absolute 00:19:07.930 --> 00:19:11.250 boom. This high grade, easily accessible ore 00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:14.390 was shipped by rail to Duluth, loaded onto massive 00:19:14.390 --> 00:19:16.690 ships and sent through the Great Lakes to steel 00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:19.430 mills in the east. It was the backbone of American 00:19:19.430 --> 00:19:22.069 industrialization. But that high grade ore is 00:19:22.069 --> 00:19:23.990 finite. What happened when it started to run 00:19:23.990 --> 00:19:25.819 out after World War II? That should have been 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:28.339 an economic disaster. It should have been. But 00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:30.700 this is where Minnesota's innovative spirit, 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:33.380 the same spirit that created patent flour, kicked 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:36.109 in again. The problem was that the remaining 00:19:36.109 --> 00:19:39.230 iron was a low -grade ore called taconite. So 00:19:39.230 --> 00:19:41.289 what exactly is taconite? It's harder to process. 00:19:41.549 --> 00:19:44.130 It's very hard, low -grade iron ore embedded 00:19:44.130 --> 00:19:46.410 in rock. You can't just ship it and smelt it. 00:19:46.450 --> 00:19:48.710 It looked like the end of the iron range. But 00:19:48.710 --> 00:19:51.569 a guy named Dr. E .W. Davis at the University 00:19:51.569 --> 00:19:55.170 of Minnesota, he pioneered a process in the 1940s. 00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:58.029 What was that process? You crush the taconite 00:19:58.029 --> 00:20:00.990 rock into a fine powder, use magnets to separate 00:20:00.990 --> 00:20:03.670 the iron particles, and then you bind that powder 00:20:03.670 --> 00:20:06.099 into... these hard marble -sized pellets. So 00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:08.960 the technology of pelletization literally saved 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.160 the iron range. It saved the entire industry. 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:13.480 It allowed them to use this previously worthless 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.019 material. Today, even though the high -grade 00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:18.380 ore is mostly gone, taconite mining continues. 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:22.339 As of 2016, Minnesota still accounted for about 00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:25.680 60 % of the country's usable iron ore. It's a 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:28.000 testament to innovation, and that sets the stage 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:30.380 for the real pivot, the post -war boom that shifted 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:32.500 the state from raw materials into high technology. 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:35.599 The shift was systematic and rapid. Minnesota 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:37.759 became a tech hub almost overnight, focusing 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:40.539 first on computing. The whole lineage starts 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:43.000 with a company called Engineering Research Associates, 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:46.140 or ERA. It was formed right after the war in 00:20:46.140 --> 00:20:49.359 1946 to build specialized computers for the Navy. 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:51.779 And that DNA eventually evolved into the supercomputer 00:20:51.779 --> 00:20:55.880 industry. Exactly. ERA merged into Sperryrand. 00:20:56.380 --> 00:20:59.680 Then a key figure, William Norris, left Sperry 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.680 in 1957 to form Control Data Corporation, or 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:05.759 CDC, which became a global leader. And then most 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:09.160 famously, Seymour Cray left CDC to form Cray 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:11.259 Research, dedicating himself to building the 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:13.619 world's fastest supercomputers. So for decades, 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:15.339 if you wanted the bleeding edge in computing 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:17.960 power, you looked to Minnesota. You did. And 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:20.160 at the same time, the state was pioneering medical 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:23.200 technology. Medtronic. Medtronic. It was founded 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:26.000 in the Twin Cities in 1949, initially focusing 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:28.880 on battery -powered pacemakers. This really established 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:31.559 the state as a major center for biomedical tech. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:33.519 And anchoring all of this is probably the most 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:36.680 famous nonprofit medical institution in the world. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.519 The Mayo Clinic, founded in Rochester back in 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:42.880 1864. What's often overlooked is that the Mayo 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.240 Clinic grew in a pretty rural setting. It was 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:47.240 built on this partnership between the Mayo family 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:49.839 and the Franciscan sisters, and it leveraged 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.700 this early focus on teamwork and research to 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:56.380 become a global leader. And today, it's Minnesota's 00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:59.339 largest private employer. By far. And it's consistently 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:02.240 ranked number one on major hospital honor rolls. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:04.519 Looking at the modern economy, the corporate 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:07.519 cloud of Minnesota is just phenomenal for a state 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:10.859 that people sometimes dismiss as, you know, flyover 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:13.279 country. The diversity of these corporate headquarters 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:16.160 gives it incredible resilience. The state's GDP 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:20.720 was $383 billion in 2019, and it ranks 13th in 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:23.180 the nation for per capita personal income. You've 00:22:23.180 --> 00:22:26.160 got 33 of the top 1 ,000 publicly traded companies 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:28.259 headquartered there. So who are the big names 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:30.440 defining that modern clout? Well, you're talking 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:32.980 about massive retailers like Target, industrial 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:36.180 giants like 3M, health service powerhouses like 00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:38.059 United Health Group, and of course, the legacy 00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:40.440 food companies like General Mills, plus Best 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.059 Buy and Electronics. And the single largest privately 00:22:43.059 --> 00:22:46.039 owned company in the whole U .S. is based there, 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:48.880 reinforcing that dominance in agribusiness. That 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.180 would be Cargill. So when you look at that list, 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:55.589 food, health. retail, science, high tech. It's 00:22:55.589 --> 00:22:58.490 a fundamentally diversified, high value economy. 00:22:58.849 --> 00:23:00.990 It's not just about digging things out of the 00:23:00.990 --> 00:23:03.309 ground anymore. Right. And before we move on 00:23:03.309 --> 00:23:05.670 to culture, let's just quickly touch on modern 00:23:05.670 --> 00:23:07.970 agriculture and energy because Minnesota still 00:23:07.970 --> 00:23:10.809 leads in some very specific niches. They're huge 00:23:10.809 --> 00:23:13.609 agricultural players, but often in specialized 00:23:13.609 --> 00:23:16.349 processing. Minnesota is the largest national 00:23:16.349 --> 00:23:19.029 producer of sugar beets, sweet corn and peas 00:23:19.029 --> 00:23:21.910 for processing. And a fun fact, they're the number 00:23:21.910 --> 00:23:23.960 one. producer of farm -raised turkeys. And there's 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:26.500 a strong cultural emphasis on collaboration in 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:29.740 food. Yes. Minnesota has the most food cooperatives 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:32.059 per capita in the entire U .S., which really 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:34.519 reflects that deep -rooted populist and communal 00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:37.180 culture from its Scandinavian and German farming 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:39.460 heritage. And finally, they were pioneers in 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:41.819 biofuel. They were the first state to mandate 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:45.700 a 10 % ethanol mix, or E10. Beyond that, they've 00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:48.579 become a major clean energy player, ranking in 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:52.000 the top 10 for wind energy production. Wind generates 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.819 nearly one -fifth of the state's total electricity. 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:57.619 It's a compelling blend of tradition and forward 00:23:57.619 --> 00:24:00.599 -looking policy. It really is. Okay, moving seamlessly 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:02.920 into part four, let's talk about the people, 00:24:03.099 --> 00:24:05.380 the culture, and the intensely interesting political 00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:08.319 profile of Minnesota. And let's start with demographics, 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:11.140 because the stereotype of a state that is just 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:14.200 monolithically Scandinavian is rapidly dissolving. 00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:16.299 The historical narrative is certainly dominated 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:18.880 by those massive waves of German and Scandinavian 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:21.779 immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:24.759 And today, the top ancestries are still German 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:29.480 at 33 .8 % and Norwegian at 15 .3%. That heritage 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:31.859 forms the core identity. But the state has gone 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:33.779 through a dramatic demographic transformation 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:36.460 over the last few decades. A profound one. The 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:39.160 white population has dropped from over 98 % in 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:42.920 the mid -20th century to 77 .5 % by 2020. And 00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:44.559 this transformation is... really unique compared 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:46.339 to his Midwestern neighbors, largely because 00:24:46.339 --> 00:24:48.920 Minnesota became a kind of refugee central. That's 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:50.779 a critical detail that often gets missed. It 00:24:50.779 --> 00:24:54.720 is. As of 2018, Minnesota had the largest refugee 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:58.140 population per capita of any state. It hosted 00:24:58.140 --> 00:25:00.660 13 percent of the country's refugees, despite 00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:02.740 having only 2 percent of the country's population. 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:05.799 This was due to deliberate resettlement policies 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:08.700 and strong social services that made it a supportive 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:10.819 environment. So who are the major communities 00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:14.430 defining this new? global Minnesota. Well, Minnesota 00:25:14.430 --> 00:25:16.990 is now home to the nation's largest Somali -American 00:25:16.990 --> 00:25:19.789 population, who were primarily resettled in the 00:25:19.789 --> 00:25:22.529 Twin Cities after fleeing civil war. It also 00:25:22.529 --> 00:25:24.690 has the second largest Heishmon community in 00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:26.849 the country who started arriving after the Vietnam 00:25:26.849 --> 00:25:28.849 War. And there are other significant groups, 00:25:28.950 --> 00:25:32.049 too. Oh, yeah. Ethiopians, Vietnamese, Liberians 00:25:32.049 --> 00:25:35.029 and recently Ukrainians. This influx has created 00:25:35.029 --> 00:25:37.829 a truly multicultural core that is both challenging 00:25:37.829 --> 00:25:40.470 and enriching that older, homogenous culture. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:43.200 And this blend of cultures is reflected in its 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:46.319 surprisingly vibrant arts scene. For a Midwestern 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:48.700 state, the Twin Cities have this outsized, almost 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:51.500 East Coast reputation for performing arts. It 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:54.559 punches way above its weight. Minneapolis ranks 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:57.019 second only to New York City in the sheer number 00:25:57.019 --> 00:25:59.900 of theater companies. And as a measure of engagement, 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:03.420 the Twin Cities sold 2 .3 million theater tickets 00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:06.460 annually back in 2006. And they have the country's 00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:08.900 largest non -juried performing arts festival. 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:11.819 Minnesota Fringe Festival, yeah. It's huge. The 00:26:11.819 --> 00:26:14.420 literary tradition is equally strong. And what's 00:26:14.420 --> 00:26:16.920 great is how Minnesota is portrayed in literature 00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:19.920 in these wildly conflicting ways. You see this 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:22.779 fascinating dual nature. On one hand, you have 00:26:22.779 --> 00:26:26.180 the heroic, often tragic pioneer hardships in 00:26:26.180 --> 00:26:28.640 books like Ollie Rollvog's Giants in the Earth 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:31.559 or the tales of Laura Ingalls Wilder. And on 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:33.700 the other hand, you have the famous small town 00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:36.599 critiques. Like Sinclair Lewis, he was a native 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:39.220 and he painted this grim picture of stifling 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:41.539 conformity in his. novels like Main Street. He 00:26:41.539 --> 00:26:44.380 contrasts so sharply with the later, much gentler, 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:47.000 almost nostalgic portrayal of Lake Wobegon by 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:49.160 Garrison Kyler. So it's this cultural debate 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:52.140 over small town life. Is it stifling or is it 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:54.819 sweetly communal? Exactly. And we can't forget 00:26:54.819 --> 00:26:57.220 the titans of American music and literature from 00:26:57.220 --> 00:27:00.079 the state. F. Scott Fitzgerald. A St. Paul native, 00:27:00.220 --> 00:27:02.079 he drew heavily on the social circles of the 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:04.460 young city. And of course, Bob Dylan, born in 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:07.140 Duluth, who won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:10.299 Then you have Prince, who changed music forever. 00:27:10.660 --> 00:27:13.500 And the Andrews sisters of Boogie Woogie Bugle 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:16.619 Boy fame. And in terms of unique media, you have 00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:19.240 Peanuts, created by St. Paul's own Charles M. 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:21.720 Schultz, and the cult classic Mystery Science 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:24.680 Theater 3000. Which brings us to the most defining 00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:28.359 and often parodied cultural trait. Minnesota 00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:32.440 nice. Ah, Minnesota nice. It's a famous but complicated 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:35.039 stereotype. It refers to this tendency towards 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:37.680 courtesy, conflict avoidance, and a general lack 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:40.500 of overt emotional display. So it's politeness 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:43.039 taken to an extreme, sometimes at the expense 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:45.539 of honesty. That's often the critique. It can 00:27:45.539 --> 00:27:48.240 manifest as indirect communication or even passive 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:50.400 aggression. It's often paired with that distinctive 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:53.099 north -central American English accent, with 00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:55.640 its Scandinavian intonation sprinkled with phrases 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:58.799 like ufda or you betcha. And if you want to understand 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:00.380 the community heart of the state, you have to 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:02.519 look at the food, and specifically the state 00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:05.250 fair. The local food culture is all about comfort 00:28:05.250 --> 00:28:07.910 and community. You have hot dishes, these creamy 00:28:07.910 --> 00:28:10.750 casseroles, and lutefisk dinners. But the Minnesota 00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:12.970 State Fair, the great Minnesota get -together, 00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:15.589 is an institution unto itself. How big of an 00:28:15.589 --> 00:28:17.390 institution are we talking about? It's enormous. 00:28:17.750 --> 00:28:21.609 In 2014, in a state of 5 .5 million people, it 00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:25.710 drew over 1 .8 million visitors in 12 days. It's 00:28:25.710 --> 00:28:28.529 legendary for its quirky traditions, intricate 00:28:28.529 --> 00:28:31.490 seed art, huge butter sculptures of the Dairy 00:28:31.490 --> 00:28:34.430 Princesses, and most famously, its relentless 00:28:34.430 --> 00:28:36.789 dedication to serving dozens of varieties of 00:28:36.789 --> 00:28:39.410 food on a stick. That focus on community and 00:28:39.410 --> 00:28:42.269 consensus seems so at odds with Minnesota's progressive, 00:28:42.609 --> 00:28:45.589 often fiery political reputation. So let's shift 00:28:45.589 --> 00:28:47.410 to that unique political landscape, which is 00:28:47.410 --> 00:28:49.930 incredibly high participation. This is maybe 00:28:49.930 --> 00:28:51.750 the most critical distinction for Minnesota. 00:28:52.029 --> 00:28:54.430 They consistently have the highest voter turnout 00:28:54.430 --> 00:28:57.230 in the nation. In the 2020 election, participation 00:28:57.230 --> 00:29:01.109 hit an astonishing 79 .96%. And they make it 00:29:01.109 --> 00:29:02.769 easy with things like Election Day registration. 00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:06.200 Right. Removes a key barrier. And what's fascinating 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:09.140 is where that active electorate places its presidential 00:29:09.140 --> 00:29:12.140 loyalty. They have an unmatched streak of supporting 00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:13.940 the Democratic nominee. They hold the longest 00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:16.539 current streak. Right. Going back to 1976. It 00:29:16.539 --> 00:29:18.839 is. And to highlight how deep that loyalty runs, 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:21.319 Minnesota is the only state in the nation that 00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:23.640 did not vote for Ronald Reagan in either of his 00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:25.819 campaigns, though they did vote for Nixon in 00:29:25.819 --> 00:29:29.720 72. So why is Minnesota such a liberal bastion 00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:32.099 compared to its culturally similar neighbors? 00:29:32.599 --> 00:29:36.460 The root is in history. Specifically, the history 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:39.900 of populist agrarian movements. A lot of European 00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:42.339 immigrants who were involved in the failed liberal 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:45.859 revolutions of 1848 settled here. That fostered 00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:48.460 a really strong early center of labor and social 00:29:48.460 --> 00:29:51.039 activism. Which led directly to the formation 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:53.099 of the unique Democratic Farmer Labor Party. 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:56.440 Exactly. The DFL is an alliance formed in 1944 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:59.440 when the Democratic Party merged with the powerful, 00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:01.880 historically progressive Farmer Labor Party. 00:30:02.019 --> 00:30:04.579 This cemented a coalition between urban labor 00:30:04.579 --> 00:30:07.240 unions and agrarian populist interests, giving 00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:09.460 the party this unique breadth of support. And 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:12.259 that DFL party has been incredibly effective 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:16.039 recently, achieving a trifecta in 2023. They 00:30:16.039 --> 00:30:18.359 did. For the first time in many years, the DFL 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:20.660 gained control of all three branches of government, 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:23.619 the governor's office, the House and the Senate. 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:27.140 And this led to just a rapid, massive wave of 00:30:27.140 --> 00:30:29.559 progressive reforms. And we should detail those 00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:31.640 reforms. What were some of the landmark changes 00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:35.759 passed in that 2023 session that show this political 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:38.720 shift? It was an explosion of governance. The 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:40.880 D .F .L. controlled legislature passed several 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:44.099 huge laws. For instance, they implemented mandatory 00:30:44.099 --> 00:30:46.720 paid family and medical leave for almost all 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.940 workers. Wow. That's big. It is. They also codified 00:30:49.940 --> 00:30:52.400 sweeping environmental legislation requiring 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:54.940 the state's electricity to be 100 percent carbon 00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:57.940 free by 2040. And they dramatically expanded 00:30:57.940 --> 00:31:00.539 social programs, including instituting universal 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:03.240 free school meals for all K -12 students. It 00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:05.480 was just a tidal wave of progressive policy after. 00:31:05.769 --> 00:31:07.390 decades of divided government. Which shows that 00:31:07.390 --> 00:31:09.710 extreme political tension in the state, a highly 00:31:09.710 --> 00:31:12.069 progressive core versus a more conservative outstate 00:31:12.069 --> 00:31:14.009 region. How's that reflected in their federal 00:31:14.009 --> 00:31:16.390 delegation? It's perfectly balanced in the House. 00:31:16.589 --> 00:31:19.170 The delegation is split four DFL representatives 00:31:19.170 --> 00:31:22.329 and four Republican representatives. But both 00:31:22.329 --> 00:31:24.569 U .S. Senate seats are currently held by Democrats. 00:31:25.089 --> 00:31:27.710 It's a purple state defined by polarized regions, 00:31:27.950 --> 00:31:30.470 but the Twin Cities power often tips statewide 00:31:30.470 --> 00:31:33.009 races. OK, finally, in part five, let's explore 00:31:33.009 --> 00:31:35.710 how all these factors, the wealth, the social 00:31:35.710 --> 00:31:39.089 activism, the strong educational history, culminate 00:31:39.089 --> 00:31:41.150 in a quality of life that is consistently rated 00:31:41.150 --> 00:31:43.509 among the best in the nation. Let's start with 00:31:43.509 --> 00:31:46.099 health. Minnesota is routinely ranked among the 00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:48.319 healthiest states. The indicators are really 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:51.579 strong. Low rates of premature death, low infant 00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:54.319 mortality, high life expectancies, and critically, 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:57.200 very high rates of physical activity. That ties 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:59.559 directly back to that outdoor recreation culture. 00:31:59.819 --> 00:32:02.359 But those high overall rankings can often hide 00:32:02.359 --> 00:32:05.339 disparities, right? It does, and Minnesota confronts 00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:07.509 that. While the state performs excellently on 00:32:07.509 --> 00:32:10.150 average, it faces significant and persistent 00:32:10.150 --> 00:32:13.029 health disparities within its minority and new 00:32:13.029 --> 00:32:16.109 immigrant populations. It's a major policy focus, 00:32:16.349 --> 00:32:18.650 recognizing that those high rankings need to 00:32:18.650 --> 00:32:21.170 be equitable for everyone, especially with the 00:32:21.170 --> 00:32:23.109 growth of the Somali and Hechmon communities. 00:32:23.309 --> 00:32:25.509 And we have to reiterate the sheer weight of 00:32:25.509 --> 00:32:28.000 the Mayo Clinic. in this health profile. The 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.960 Mayo Clinic is a foundational powerhouse. U .S. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:33.099 News and World Report ranked it first on its 00:32:33.099 --> 00:32:36.799 Best Hospitals Honor Roll for 2020 -21. But its 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:39.200 impact isn't isolated. It's linked through partnerships 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:41.519 with the University of Minnesota, focusing on 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:43.799 critical research into things like cancer and 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:45.980 Alzheimer's disease. And moving on to education, 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:49.359 the commitment there seems just as strong. Educational 00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:52.019 attainment is exceptionally high. Minnesota has 00:32:52.019 --> 00:32:53.779 the second highest proportion of high school 00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:57.900 graduates nationally at 91 .5%, and the 10th 00:32:57.900 --> 00:32:59.960 highest proportion of people with bachelor's 00:32:59.960 --> 00:33:02.339 degrees. And that translates into civic outcomes. 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:04.940 Minneapolis was named the most literate city 00:33:04.940 --> 00:33:08.960 in 2015. With St. Paul ranking fourth. And their 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:11.240 K -12 students measure up exceptionally well 00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:14.740 on a global scale. In a 2013 international study 00:33:14.740 --> 00:33:17.220 of eighth grade math and science, Minnesota students 00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:20.019 ranked eighth globally and third in the U .S., 00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:22.900 behind only Massachusetts and Vermont. And Minnesota 00:33:22.900 --> 00:33:25.039 was the birthplace of the charter school movement. 00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:27.859 They opened the nation's very first charter school 00:33:27.859 --> 00:33:31.859 in 1991. That high quality of life feeds right 00:33:31.859 --> 00:33:34.700 into the outdoor recreation culture, which just 00:33:34.700 --> 00:33:37.720 defines daily life for so many Minnesotans. The 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:40.569 state seems built for year -round activity. It's 00:33:40.569 --> 00:33:42.710 a key part of the culture. Minnesotans have high 00:33:42.710 --> 00:33:45.049 levels of physical activity, which often revolves 00:33:45.049 --> 00:33:47.440 around water in the summer. The weekend trip 00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:49.940 to the cabin on a lake is a core cultural ritual. 00:33:50.140 --> 00:33:51.940 It's no surprise that water skiing was invented 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:54.299 in Minnesota. But the real test is how they embrace 00:33:54.299 --> 00:33:57.220 the long, harsh winters. They turn the cold into 00:33:57.220 --> 00:33:59.759 an asset. They absolutely do. Ice fishing is 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:02.019 hugely popular, a tradition from Scandinavian 00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:04.400 immigration. Hockey is practically a religion, 00:34:04.539 --> 00:34:07.119 and the state maintains nearly 20 ,000 miles 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:09.860 of snowmobile trails. And you mentioned a very 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:12.449 specific, unique sport they play there. Yes, 00:34:12.449 --> 00:34:15.050 Bandy. It's a form of field hockey played on 00:34:15.050 --> 00:34:18.610 ice, often called soccer on ice skates. Minnesota 00:34:18.610 --> 00:34:21.389 is the only U .S. state where organized Bandy 00:34:21.389 --> 00:34:23.610 is played, maintaining that unique connection 00:34:23.610 --> 00:34:26.349 to its Scandinavian roots. That's a fascinating 00:34:26.349 --> 00:34:29.210 detail. And speaking of sports culture, the state 00:34:29.210 --> 00:34:31.429 has teams in all the major professional leagues. 00:34:31.650 --> 00:34:34.449 They do. The Vikings, the Twins, the Timberwolves, 00:34:34.449 --> 00:34:37.489 the Wild, the Lynx. But there's that unique distinction 00:34:37.489 --> 00:34:40.369 about the Twins World Series wins. Right. There 00:34:40.369 --> 00:34:43.869 are two wins in 1987 and 1991. What was the unique 00:34:43.869 --> 00:34:46.610 fact there? In both of those World Series, both 00:34:46.610 --> 00:34:48.730 of them went to seven games. The home team won 00:34:48.730 --> 00:34:51.619 every single game. Wow. It suggests this incredible 00:34:51.619 --> 00:34:54.000 home field advantage, probably driven by the 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:56.519 deafening environment of the old Metrodome and 00:34:56.519 --> 00:34:58.780 that fervent fan culture we talked about. And 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:00.659 on the amateur side, you can't talk about winter 00:35:00.659 --> 00:35:03.840 sports without the miracle on ice. That gold 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:06.539 medal winning 1980 U .S. Olympic hockey team, 00:35:06.699 --> 00:35:09.280 coached by Minnesota native Herb Brooks, was 00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:11.780 a testament to the state's talent pipeline. Off 00:35:11.780 --> 00:35:14.059 of 12 players on that team were Minnesota natives. 00:35:14.340 --> 00:35:17.440 The state just consistently produces world class 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:20.230 winter athletes. Okay, let's bring our deep dive 00:35:20.230 --> 00:35:22.710 to a close. We started with Minnesota's deep 00:35:22.710 --> 00:35:26.909 foundations, 3 .6 billion years of geology, its 00:35:26.909 --> 00:35:29.989 unique triple watershed hydrology, and the tragic, 00:35:30.110 --> 00:35:33.550 violent history of the Dakota War of 1862 that 00:35:33.550 --> 00:35:36.110 led to the largest mass execution in U .S. history. 00:35:36.250 --> 00:35:38.849 We tracked its economic genius, that ability 00:35:38.849 --> 00:35:41.670 to pivot from extraction timber, flour, iron, 00:35:41.809 --> 00:35:44.409 into specialized innovation, particularly with 00:35:44.409 --> 00:35:46.570 the post -war computer revolution led by Cray, 00:35:46.730 --> 00:35:49.309 and its anchor in global health with the Mayo 00:35:49.309 --> 00:35:52.659 Clinic. out is that political resilience the 00:35:52.659 --> 00:35:55.380 dfl coalition maintaining that presidential blue 00:35:55.380 --> 00:35:58.420 streak since 76. and we noted the cultural markers 00:35:58.420 --> 00:36:01.539 the complex reality of minnesota nice the rich 00:36:01.539 --> 00:36:04.380 literary tradition the unique state fair all 00:36:04.380 --> 00:36:06.400 wrapped up in a high quality of life framework 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:09.139 with excellence in health and education the state 00:36:09.139 --> 00:36:11.679 is defined by that dakota phrase minnesota makoche 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:14.059 the land where the water reflects the skies. 00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:16.940 But the state is evolving so rapidly. We noted 00:36:16.940 --> 00:36:18.760 that the white population has dropped dramatically, 00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:21.440 largely because Minnesota became this major hub 00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:23.880 for refugee resettlement. It's now home to the 00:36:23.880 --> 00:36:26.179 nation's largest Somali population and second 00:36:26.179 --> 00:36:28.719 largest H -Mong community. So what does this 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:30.659 all mean for the future, especially given that 00:36:30.659 --> 00:36:33.989 dramatic political shift in 2023? Given Minnesota's 00:36:33.989 --> 00:36:36.090 consistently high quality of life rankings, coupled 00:36:36.090 --> 00:36:38.849 with its status as a major hub for refugee resettlement, 00:36:39.030 --> 00:36:41.969 how might this blend of deeply rooted Scandinavian 00:36:41.969 --> 00:36:44.730 heritage and fast -growing global diversity shape 00:36:44.730 --> 00:36:47.110 the state's political and social trajectory over 00:36:47.110 --> 00:36:49.989 the next generation? Will that progressive wave 00:36:49.989 --> 00:36:53.570 symbolized by the huge DFL reforms in 2023 like 00:36:53.570 --> 00:36:55.849 mandatory paid family leave and the clean energy 00:36:55.849 --> 00:36:58.289 mandate be embraced by this increasingly diverse 00:36:58.289 --> 00:37:00.889 populace? Or will the cultural friction in the 00:37:00.889 --> 00:37:03.110 vast outstate region define the next chapter 00:37:03.110 --> 00:37:04.909 for the Star of the North? That is the question 00:37:04.909 --> 00:37:05.789 you are left to ponder.