The facts of Minnesota Superiority

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Go Gophers Rah

Go Gophers Rah

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People vote with their feet.

The most recent US Census analysis of interstate migration (http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-8.pdf) shows that a net amount of 33,000 people left Iowa between 1995 and 2000, while at the same time, a net amount of more than 29,000 people moved into Minnesota.

Of the 33,000 people leaving Iowa, guess where nearly 90% of them went? To Minnesota! Over 29,000 Iowans moved to Minnesota between 1995 and 2000 (http://www.demography.state.mn.us/DownloadFiles/MN-Migrants90s.pdf)

Iowa does have a few things going for them: high elementary & high school testing scores is one of them. But what do these smart kids do? Most of them leave. This University of Iowa study "shows that Iowa experienced the second highest net out-migration rate of young, single, and college educated residents (only behind North Dakota) from 1995 to 2000." http://www.uiowa.edu/~ican/Papers%202006/braindrain122806.pdf

Why do they leave? Largely because of the culture (or lack thereof) in Iowa; According to another Iowa study, Minnesota ranks 6th in the nation in per capita spending on the arts and culture whereas Iowa ranks 45th. http://www.state.ia.us/government/dca/media/dca_press_releases/2008/dca_brings_chat_to_cr_thursday.html


What about natural resources?
Minnesota has over 14,000 natural lakes. How many does Iowa have? According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa has 132 recreational lakes. Ottertail County alone has 203 recreational lakes.

The fact is that people leave Iowa in droves to come to Minnesota, so they must think its better.
 

Recopying my research from the Myth thread to here as well...

1.Minneapolis was the most literate city in the country in 2008 and St. Paul was the fourth most literate, according to a study by Central Connecticut State University. No Iowa cities on that list. http://web.ccsu.edu/AMLC08/overall_10.htm

2. Out of 50 cities, Minneapolis-St. Paul ranks seventh nationwide for “fun,” according to Bizjournal.com. Again..no Iowa cities on the list. http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/138.html

3. 2008 US Sustainable Cities rankings: Minneapolis #7. Iowa cities....unlisted http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-r...erall-rankings

4.Thedailybeast.com- America's smartest Cities 2008. #4- Minneapolis-St. Paul. Iowa?? MIA
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...ery=787;page=1

5.Travel and leisure.com. America's favorite cities list. Theater rankings- Minneapolis- #3 behind New York and Chicago....Iowa...once again missing... http://www.travelandleisure.com/afc/...ubcategory/69/

6. America's health rankings. Minnesota- 6th Healthiest State. Iowa- 15.
Prevelence of Obesity. Minnesota ranked 13th best. Iowa....26th.
Occupational Fatalities- Minnesota...#1 safest...Iowa...37th. Damn hog farming be killing people..
Just a few more to wrap up...you are going to like these:

You're thinking, well Minneapolis is the big bad city, of course its going to have some advantages, but Iowa is small town people...we are good, polite, law abiding people...
Air Pollution: Minnesota 13th best. Iowa 22...
Cardiovascular deaths: Minnesota- least deaths in nation, Iowa= 23
and my favorite:
Violent Crime: Minnesota 13th safest. Iowa 17th.
http://www.americashealthrankings.or...009/IA/MN.aspx

I rest my case your honor....Minnesota is better then Iowa.
 


Go Gophers Rah said:
People vote with their feet.

The most recent US Census analysis of interstate migration (http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-8.pdf) shows that a net amount of 33,000 people left Iowa between 1995 and 2000, while at the same time, a net amount of more than 29,000 people moved into Minnesota.

Of the 33,000 people leaving Iowa, guess where nearly 90% of them went? To Minnesota! Over 29,000 Iowans moved to Minnesota between 1995 and 2000 (http://www.demography.state.mn.us/DownloadFiles/MN-Migrants90s.pdf)

Iowa does have a few things going for them: high elementary & high school testing scores is one of them. But what do these smart kids do? Most of them leave. This University of Iowa study "shows that Iowa experienced the second highest net out-migration rate of young, single, and college educated residents (only behind North Dakota) from 1995 to 2000." http://www.uiowa.edu/~ican/Papers%202006/braindrain122806.pdf

Why do they leave? Largely because of the culture (or lack thereof) in Iowa; According to another Iowa study, Minnesota ranks 6th in the nation in per capita spending on the arts and culture whereas Iowa ranks 45th. http://www.state.ia.us/government/dca/media/dca_press_releases/2008/dca_brings_chat_to_cr_thursday.html


What about natural resources?
Minnesota has over 14,000 natural lakes. How many does Iowa have? According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa has 132 recreational lakes. Ottertail County alone has 203 recreational lakes.

The fact is that people leave Iowa in droves to come to Minnesota, so they must think its better.
Click to expand...

This annual argument is pretty stupid.

People move to Minnesota because there are more jobs.

There are more jobs due to it having a major metro area and large population center much greater than any in Iowa.

The reason it has that is due to the decision by the railroads in the 1800s to cross the country from Chicago and other rust belt cities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, etc. via two routes - one northern through the then nascent Twin Cities and the other southern through St. Louis - which already had a reputation as the "gateway to the west" due to being an embarkation point for pioneers, gold rushers and other internal immigrants.

These historical and geographical decisions resulted in Iowa, unlike it's northern and southern neighbors Minnesota and Missouri, not having a major metro area.

As someone who grew up in Madison (allegedly one of the best cities in the U.S. if you believe in the sorts of articles that appear in magazines) who now resides in the Quad-Cities - I frankly don't see a huge lifestyle difference in living in any mid to large-sized upper Midwest metro area.

And I guess it comes from living near the Mississippi River, but I don't feel short-changed in terms of natural beauty, fishing and other recreational activities that I enjoyed in Madison. Although it would be nice to have a FEW more lakes down here!

So, congratulations, I guess?:rolleyes:
 

Torbee said:
This annual argument is pretty stupid.

People move to Minnesota because there are more jobs.

There are more jobs due to it having a major metro area and large population center much greater than any in Iowa.

The reason it has that is due to the decision by the railroads in the 1800s to cross the country from Chicago and other rust belt cities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, etc. via two routes - one northern through the then nascent Twin Cities and the other southern through St. Louis - which already had a reputation as the "gateway to the west" due to being an embarkation point for pioneers, gold rushers and other internal immigrants.

These historical and geographical decisions resulted in Iowa, unlike it's northern and southern neighbors Minnesota and Missouri, not having a major metro area.

As someone who grew up in Madison (allegedly one of the best cities in the U.S. if you believe in the sorts of articles that appear in magazines) who now resides in the Quad-Cities - I frankly don't see a huge lifestyle difference in living in any mid to large-sized upper Midwest metro area.

And I guess it comes from living near the Mississippi River, but I don't feel short-changed in terms of natural beauty, fishing and other recreational activities that I enjoyed in Madison. Although it would be nice to have a FEW more lakes down here!

So, congratulations, I guess?:rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Well put.
 


gopherguy05 said:
Recopying my research from the Myth thread to here as well...

1.Minneapolis was the most literate city in the country in 2008 and St. Paul was the fourth most literate, according to a study by Central Connecticut State University. No Iowa cities on that list. http://web.ccsu.edu/AMLC08/overall_10.htm
.
Click to expand...

From the methodology from the material you used:

Cities were selected based on their 2006 U.S. Census population figures. The study was limited to those cities with a population of 250,000 or larger as of July 1, 2006.

That's fair - no Iowa Cities even in the running!

I guess I will have to settle for Iowa City as being only one of three UNESCO "Cities of Literature" on the entire globe.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated Iowa City, Iowa, the world's third City of Literature, making the community part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Iowa City joins Edinburgh, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia, as UNESCO Cities of Literature. Other cities in the Creative Cities Network -- honoring and connecting cultural centers for cinema, music, crafts and folk arts, design, media arts and gastronomy, as well as literature -- include Aswan, Egypt; Santa Fe, N.M.; Berlin, Germany; Montreal, Canada; Popayan, Colombia; Bologna, Italy; Shenzhen, China; and Seville, Spain.

"This is at once a celebration of the literary riches and resources of Iowa City and a spur to action," said University of Iowa International Writing Program Director Christopher Merrill, who led the committee that submitted the city's proposal. "The University of Iowa offers the largest and most diverse creative writing programs in the world, including the highly regarded Writers' Workshop with its list of famous graduates and the International Writing Program whose past participants include the Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk. Recently we've developed the Writing University to consolidate the work of our literary city, and are looking to the future. We look forward to working with our new partners in the Creative Cities network -- to forging dynamic relationships with writers, artists and others committed to the life of discovery. This is a great day for Iowa City."
 

Torbee said:
This annual argument is pretty stupid.

People move to Minnesota because there are more jobs.

There are more jobs due to it having a major metro area and large population center much greater than any in Iowa.

The reason it has that is due to the decision by the railroads in the 1800s to cross the country from Chicago and other rust belt cities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, etc. via two routes - one northern through the then nascent Twin Cities and the other southern through St. Louis - which already had a reputation as the "gateway to the west" due to being an embarkation point for pioneers, gold rushers and other internal immigrants.

These historical and geographical decisions resulted in Iowa, unlike it's northern and southern neighbors Minnesota and Missouri, not having a major metro area.

So, congratulations, I guess?:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You get a C- for effort. The raildroads began coming to Minneapolis in the 1800's because our flour mills produced most of the countries flour and then by mid century we had our own railroad tycoon James J. Hill. Minnesota made itself a metropolitan area, you cannot argue that 'the powers that be' gave Minnesota big cities and screwed Iowa.

And when people move to Minnesota to go to the U of M they stay after they graduate, unlike Iowa.
 

I will concede that Iowa has had the better college football team since 1993, but any rational person who looks at the facts would conclude that Minnesota has far more cultural and natural resources than Iowa and is a much greater attractor of tourists and residents.

Personally, I find either of the Dakotas to be vastly superior to Iowa. They have roughly the same positives, but at least the half of the Dakotas west of the Missouri River are beautiful. Other than the 1.5 miles of Iowa lying directly east of the Mississippi River, there is no part of Iowa that I find attractive. There are some other areas that could be nice, but they smell like either cereal factories, dog food factories or pig farms, so they are still unbearable.
 

Torbee said:
This annual argument is pretty stupid.

People move to Minnesota because there are more jobs.

There are more jobs due to it having a major metro area and large population center much greater than any in Iowa.

So, congratulations, I guess?:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You are saying that the only reason Iowa is 2nd in brain-drain only to North Dakota is because there are more jobs in Minnesota?

So the other 48 states have better and more and higher-paying jobs?

Well, sir, to you I say congratulations :rolleyes:
 




Yes, there are some meat packing plants, cereal industries, stockyards, and vast areas of agricultural industries. There is no denying that.
Sometimes the smell of pig farms and Quaker Oats (think Cedar Rapids and Clinton) can get to you - I'll give you that.

Consider this, there are many outstate cities and towns in Minnesota that are very similar to the cities and towns in Iowa. There are a lot of farmers, small business owners, and laborers in those Minnesota towns who live a very similar lifestyle to their counterparts in Iowa (except they are closer to lakes). Two of my favorite Minnesota cities (Northfield and St Peter) are very similar to Decorah and Grinnell, Iowa.

As far as geographical diversity goes, Iowa doesn't have it like Minnesota does (Great Lakes, Boundary Waters, huge pine forests, and on and on). You can call Iowa boring or ugly if you wish, but on your way to Iowa City this weekend, take a look at the geography around I35 south of Owatonna; you will see that it is almost exactly the same as it is once you cross into Iowa and continue on the Avenue of the Saints. The next time you drive across the great state of Minnesota on I90, consider that the landscape you will see is again similar to what you would see if you were 30 miles South and travelling across Northern Iowa on Highway 9.

It would seem that the argument presented here is that the Twin Cities Metro is better than Iowa and most of Southern Minnesota. Is that correct?
 

"It would seem that the argument presented here is that the Twin Cities Metro is better than Iowa and most of Southern Minnesota. Is that correct? "

More likely the argument here is that it's Iowa week and while they've got a better football team......;)
 

StPaulHawkeye said:
It would seem that the argument presented here is that the Twin Cities Metro is better than Iowa and most of Southern Minnesota. Is that correct?
Click to expand...

Of course the Twin Cities Metro is better than Southern Minnesota, it's farther from Iowa! ;)
 



Think of it this way: Iowa was the original flyover country.

The railroads went to St. Louis and St. Paul/Minneapolis because there were valid reasons to do so (STL had the river trade to New Orleans, MSP was the head of navigation and had the water-powered industry at the Falls of St. Anthony). The only reason the transcontinental railroad went across Iowa was because it was the shortest distance between Chicago and the major passes in the Rockies, not because it had any redeeming features.
 

I love this thread it can be summed up nicely:

Minnesotan: Iowa Sucks

Iowan: It's not our fault we suck so therefore we don't suck.
 

People vote with their feet...people from Iowa EAT with their feet
 

StPaulHawkeye said:
Yes, there are some meat packing plants, cereal industries, stockyards, and vast areas of agricultural industries. There is no denying that.
Sometimes the smell of pig farms and Quaker Oats (think Cedar Rapids and Clinton) can get to you - I'll give you that.

Consider this, there are many outstate cities and towns in Minnesota that are very similar to the cities and towns in Iowa. There are a lot of farmers, small business owners, and laborers in those Minnesota towns who live a very similar lifestyle to their counterparts in Iowa (except they are closer to lakes). Two of my favorite Minnesota cities (Northfield and St Peter) are very similar to Decorah and Grinnell, Iowa.

As far as geographical diversity goes, Iowa doesn't have it like Minnesota does (Great Lakes, Boundary Waters, huge pine forests, and on and on). You can call Iowa boring or ugly if you wish, but on your way to Iowa City this weekend, take a look at the geography around I35 south of Owatonna; you will see that it is almost exactly the same as it is once you cross into Iowa and continue on the Avenue of the Saints. The next time you drive across the great state of Minnesota on I90, consider that the landscape you will see is again similar to what you would see if you were 30 miles South and travelling across Northern Iowa on Highway 9.

It would seem that the argument presented here is that the Twin Cities Metro is better than Iowa and most of Southern Minnesota. Is that correct?
Click to expand...

I think what makes Minnesota so great to me is that from north to south, east to west it is so different. You have rural/farm country throughout the state but you also have a huge metro area. You have the plains in the south/southwest, the forests to the north. Lakes and rivers everywhere. So many different landscapes throughout the state.
 

To me one of the real reasons Iowa sucks is their lack of decent hotel rooms. Not sure if there is a hotel in the State of Iowa that was built or remodeled after 1982. Come to downtown Minneapolis and you have such a nice selection....no wonder Sconies and Hawkees love coming to Minnesota, our hotels are nicer than their homes.
 

All I know is I've lived half my life in Wisconsin and half in Iowa - and I have relatives in Coon Rapids, Cross Lake and Victoria, Minnesota - and for the most part - it all feels like typical Midwestern living to me.

But I am always bemused by Minnesotans' massive self-satisfaction and delusions of superiority.

Keep at it boys.
 

Torbee said:
All I know is I've lived half my life in Wisconsin and half in Iowa - and I have relatives in Coon Rapids, Cross Lake and Victoria, Minnesota - and for the most part - it all feels like typical Midwestern living to me.

But I am always bemused by Minnesotans' massive self-satisfaction and delusions of superiority.

Keep at it boys.
Click to expand...

Considering your pedigree, I am not surprised you run into many people who exhibit a sense of superiority.
 



Torbee said:
But I am always bemused by Minnesotans' massive self-satisfaction and delusions of superiority.
Click to expand...

As a native Minnesotan and one who also lived a significant portion of my life in a neighboring state that receives Minnesota condescension , I too am bemused by Minnesota pomposity. Maybe its a complex having to do with how the rest of the country views the midwest and particularly Minnesota because its a state up here they've heard of?

All that being said. Iowa really does suck.
 

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