Minnesota is a state in the Midwest of the USA. Known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it technically has well over 15,000. The northern tip of Minnesota that juts into Lake of the Woods is the most northern point in the lower 48 states of the USA.

Regions

---

Twin Cities

Northwestern Minnesota

Northeastern Minnesota

Southern Minnesota

Cities

---

Bloomington

Duluth

Mankato

Minneapolis

Northfield

Pipestone

Rochester

St. Cloud

St. Paul

Other destinations

---

Mall of America

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Flandrau State Park

Itasca State Park

Lake Superior

Minnesota Zoo

Pipestone National Monument

Voyageurs National Park

Talk

---

The stereotypical Minnesotan dialect as popularized in the film Fargo is more prevalent in northern (Iron Range) and rural parts of the state than it is in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, but it is by no means non-existant even there. The dialect is characterized by long vowels (especially Os as found in the word "boat"). The sing-songy intonation is less common with each generation removed from the Scandinavian ancestors. Typically words ending with 'ag' have a long 'a', eg. 'bag' rhymes with 'bake' not 'back'. Other vowels are sometimes affected as well. Native Americans (primarily Ojibwe) have an accent of their own.

In addition to a unique dialect, Minnesota also has several phrases and colloquial expressions that can be overheard somewhat frequently. These include:

Uff-da (Norwegian exclamation meaning "Off it!" Typically used as a response to surprising or exasperating circumstances.

You betcha (You bet/of course)

Hot dish (Casserole)

Oh yah (Yes)

Lutefisk (A traditional Scandinavian food of dried white fish soaked in lye, lutefisk is known for its smell and is very good with butter)

Choppers (leather mittens with wool inserts, used for the really cold days)

Twenty below (shorthand for 20 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit), or -30'C (without windchill), which is when choppers start becoming necessary)

Sorels (brand name of preferred winter boots, leather/rubber exterior, felt inserts)

boughten (adjective for a store-bought item, as opposed to home-made, as in 'boughten bread')

sled (slang term for a snowmobile)

popple (aspen or poplar tree, one of the most common trees in northern Minnesota and important part of the logging industry)

the forty (40 acres, or quarter-mile by quarter-mile of land, about 16 hectares)

Acrost (Scandinavian influenced regional pronunciation of "across")

A soft drink is typically called 'pop' although people in metropolitan areas may call it 'soda'. Rural areas almost never call it soda, even in newspaper advertisements.

Sentences frequently end with a preposition, such as "Are you coming with?". If the sentence doesn't end with a preposition, the filler word 'then' may be appended, as in "So how's the car been running then?" Pronouns are dropped when assumed to be understood, "Took the car to the dealer, told me it just needed a new battery". People tend to speak modestly without extra superlatives or direct commands "Most folks turn off their cell phones before church starts, you know." Garrison Keillor, a radio personality and humorist, often plays this up in his "Prairie Home Companion" which takes place in the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, somewhere near St. Cloud.

Get in

---

Three Interstate Highways travel through Minnesota. I-90 and I-94 travel East-West, while I-35 travels North-South. Several other national and...