In case I forget why I live here...

I interrupt your regularly scheduled blog browsing to deliver the following announcement:

So once upon a time I became involved in a discussion about my native state with an all-too-ignorant co-worker. Why I bother to even waste my breath talking with such people continues to perplex me.

This guy – young, cocky, disheveled, uneducated and living under the terribly misguided premise that he knew everything – traveled to Minnesota to work for a few days. He proceeded to spend those days bad-mouthing my beloved state and driving me crazy.

The weather is terribly here. The land is flat here. The taxes are high here. The women are fat and ugly here.

I repeatedly heard him proclaim such things in front of me. I was offended.

Normally, I would vehemently disagree with everything he said. A full-scale dissertation of all Minnesota has to offer typically would follow, complete with pie charts, footnotes and reams of statistical evidence about its prestigious standing among our 50 states. Instead, I offered only a few tidbits of information for this idiot. I knew any more than that would be superfluous. He resided in, of all places, Alabama.

I had the pleasure of visiting Alabama and much of the South in the weeks prior to this yahoo’s visit to Minnesota. (See how well I can make nice when talking of someone else’s residence?) I purposefully ignored all preconceived stereotypes I had of Southerners before visiting there. My travels, however, quickly confirmed all of those stereotypes.

Still, I didn’t speak negatively of the South while I was there or when I was in the presence of anyone fond of the area. I wish this guy took a similar stance while in Minnesota.

I also wish I had been armed with the sort of ammunition I’ve accidentally stumbled upon recently. There could’ve been a battle of wits. Except the guy was defenseless in any such battle. He seemed incapable of processing anything more complex than a brightly colored pop-up book. And I didn’t have facts I could readily cite.

I do now.

Check out some of this information about Minnesota, in general, and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, specifically. It’s where I call home. The following data reminds me of the reasons why it remains my home.

Minnesota ranks as America’s “healthiest state,” according to the United Health Foundation, for the 10th time in the past 15 years (http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/shr2005/states/AllStates.html).
It’s the fourth-healthiest, according to another ranking (http://www.morganquitno.com/hcrank05.htm).

Minnesota ranks as the second “most-livable” state (http://www.morganquitno.com/sr05mlrnk.htm).

Minnesota ranks as the sixth-smartest state based on education rankings (http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm).

Minnesota ranks seventh in personal per capita income (http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank29.html).

Minnesota is the 15th-safest state (http://www.morganquitno.com/dangsaf05.htm).

Additionally, Minnesota has been the birthplace of many things we now find indespensible, including Scotch tape, the thermostat, the stapler, and the first super computer, the first Better Business Bureau, to name a few (http://www.50states.com/facts/minn.htm).

Praise for the Twin Cities includes the following:

“Most Fun City In America” by Money magazine

“Best City for Children” by USA Today

“Cities That Rock,” No. 3 by Esquire magazine

“Third-best City for Families” by Child magazine

“Cleanest City” by AOL Travel and Travel + Leisure

“#1 City for Entrepreneurs” by Entrepreneur magazine

And, of course, I would be remiss as a marathon runner if I didn't add that the Twin Cities Marathon is "America's Most Beautiful Urban Marathon."

Alabama, incidentally, consistently ranks near the bottom of every livability index encompassing major socioeconomic factors.

Now, having finally gotten that off my chest after a couple of years, I'll patiently wait for a kickback from the Minnesota Office of Tourism.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.