Minnesota comes from the Dakota language name for Minnesota River(mnisota). The root(mini) means water. It can be translated entirely as “cloudy water”. I think we Minnesotans live in a pretty unique place. We live just outside of the great outdoors. We get to enjoy all 4 seasons at their fullest. Rain drops and flower buds in the spring. Long hot summer days spent out at the lake. All the lovely colors that fall brings. And those cold frigid winters and all the snow. We’ve got lots of trails for mountain biking, road biking, hiking, running, etc. Lots of places to spend some time nordic skiing. Up north and now in the cites. Downhill skiing and snowboarding hills all over the state. A yearly plunge into a frigid lake in January? Got it. Skiing in spandex? Oh yea. Fishing on ice? Most definitely. Riding a bicycle when its 10 below zero? It happens more then you think. From fishing and hunting up north, to downtown night life, we’ve got it all. Of course you can’t think Minnesooootan withooout that accent.
I would like to thank Coen brothers for their wonderful work in the movie Fargo. Granted, it exaggerates our accent, but its still hilarious. So yA, we went up nort last weekend up to da lake to do some fishing. From “you betchya’s”, to “oh yea’s”, even the adopted “eh” from the Canadians is heard around here. Its still a unique accent. Its only heard in its fullest in the heart of Minnesota, Wisc, and parts of the Dakota’s. I know some people from Iowa and they don’t have a lick of it. They’ve got more of a southern accent to me. Welcome to Minnesota. Home of long pronounced “O’s” and “A’s”, and conversations to some that just wouldn’t make sense. You can’t think our accent without incorporating hockey. We are the State of Hockey.
Did you know the great Howard Cosell used to cover the High School boys state hockey championships? He used to come up and cover it on TV. Sold out games at the Civic Center. It was a playoff atmosphere. Its tough to beat that tournament. Even to this day. What the hell was Norm Green thinking when he moved the North Stars to Dallas? Crazy. Our hearts were ripped apart when he took the North Stars away. Then finally, we got the Wild. I’ll never forget that first home game against the Flyers and all those “Norm Green still sucks” signs on TV. It was only fitting that a hometown player by the name of Darby Hendrickson scored the first wild goal at home. Every Wild game to this day has been a sellout. I have never been to a more exciting, electric sporting event then a Wild game. Every Minnesotan or even a hockey fan should see a game at the “X”.
We’re home to some famous and interesting people. We’ve got Prince, who made 1st Ave famous. I think he put on one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows we’ll ever see. Bob Dylan was born in Duluth and raised in Hibbing. Al Franken is from here as well and is running for U.S. Senate. Hubert Humphrey was close to being the President of the U.S. Kirby Puckett was a hero to many, including me. R.I.P. John Madden, the famous football coach and sportscaster was born in Austin Mn. Jesse the “body” or “mind” Ventura. We elected a former wrestler to be our Governor. I think its those cold winters that may have had something to do with that. Yes, we did indeed “shock the world”.
People always ask me, “why don’t you move out west like you’ve been saying for years?” As much as I would like doing that, I love this state. I know I would like living out west, but I would not be as happy as I am here. Thats a fact.
Yes, Minnesota has a lot to offer. The number one thing I love about this state is the people. We respect each other, and we respect the outdoors. In this fast paced world we live in, we still find time to get out and enjoy what we’re really all about. Being one with the great outdoors is something you can’t really explain. You need to experience it, and I think we, as Minnesotans can relate to that.

daily quote – “
All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.” ~Gordie Howe