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If your state doesn't have a B10 team, then your midwestern status is subject to revocation.
The Big 10, while still associated with the Midwest, sort of lost that "exclusive" Midwest classification when Rutgers and Maryland were entered into it.
The Big 10, while still associated with the Midwest, sort of lost that "exclusive" Midwest classification when Rutgers and Maryland were entered into it.
Not really.
I'm old enough to remember the Big 10 as ten schools that are basically marquee names within their own states and regionally.
The Big 10, while still associated with the Midwest, sort of lost that "exclusive" Midwest classification when Rutgers and Maryland were entered into it.
Hey, some of us traditionalists thought the same when Penn State and Nebraska were invited in to the fold. Nebrtaska's conference should have been called the Great Plains Eight, an honor for a region where the winds come sweeping down the plains that flags make 180 degree swings and UN becomes NU, UM becomes MU and UO becomes OU.
The Midwest basically has two subregions, Great Lakes and Plains. It basically follows the Mississippi River
Great Lakes states: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana
Plains states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa
Toss up: Minnesota
Minnesota is really a split between the two and most will probably put it Great Lakes due to it's presence along Superior, iron ore mining, logging industry, and the University of Minnesota's ties to the Big 10. But much as the Mississippi River runs through the state, so does the Plains/Lakes divide. Minneapolis got it's start as a grain milling center for crops grown in southern/western Minnesota and the Dakotas. In the 1860's, Minnesota was home to the Sioux Uprising, where one of the most well known Plains Native American tribes clashed with the federal government as they were being removed from the area. It was definitely the Wild West in the not-that-distant past. It's a state that really has valid, strong connections to both regions.
Iowa is sometimes associated with the eastern Midwest because the University of Iowa was a flagship member of the Big 10. However, until Nebraska was added, it was the only one west of the Mississippi. At the same time, Iowa State (the largest university in Iowa) has always been a member of the Big 8/12, a conference based decidedly in the Plains region. Des Moines, Iowa's largest city, is more tied to Omaha and Kansas City than any place east of the Mississippi. Iowa's landscape is open, and predominantly either gently rolling or quite flat (with a handful of notable exceptions), and it is dominated by agriculture - not industry. The far eastern part of the state has a lot in common with points east of the Mississippi, but that fades quickly as you go west. Iowa too was the Wild West at one point. The James Gang robbed their first train in Adair, and a fall out from the Minnesota Sioux Uprising was the infamous Spirit Lake Massacre, where a band of Sioux clashed with settlers in NW IA.
Missouri is the oldest Midwest state west of the Mississippi, and St Louis is known as the Gateway to the West. It has some Rust Belt characteristics and history that sometimes associate it with points east, but I again think it belongs more to the Plains. The James Gang originated here. The Pony Express started here. The University of Missouri spent most of it's history associated with the Big 8/12. Kansas City is all but universally recognized as a Great Plains city.
And these areas have bordering areas of other regions that share a lot of commonality. Western Pennsylvania, parts of western New York, and parts of West Virginia have a lot in common with Ohio. Eastern Montana, eastern Colorado, and northern Oklahoma are very similar to North Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas respectively.
The Midwest basically has two subregions, Great Lakes and Plains. It basically follows the Mississippi River
Great Lakes states: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana
Plains states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa
Toss up: Minnesota
Minnesota is really a split between the two and most will probably put it Great Lakes due to it's presence along Superior, iron ore mining, logging industry, and the University of Minnesota's ties to the Big 10. But much as the Mississippi River runs through the state, so does the Plains/Lakes divide. Minneapolis got it's start as a grain milling center for crops grown in southern/western Minnesota and the Dakotas. In the 1860's, Minnesota was home to the Sioux Uprising, where one of the most well known Plains Native American tribes clashed with the federal government as they were being removed from the area. It was definitely the Wild West in the not-that-distant past. It's a state that really has valid, strong connections to both regions.
Iowa is sometimes associated with the eastern Midwest because the University of Iowa was a flagship member of the Big 10. However, until Nebraska was added, it was the only one west of the Mississippi. At the same time, Iowa State (the largest university in Iowa) has always been a member of the Big 8/12, a conference based decidedly in the Plains region. Des Moines, Iowa's largest city, is more tied to Omaha and Kansas City than any place east of the Mississippi. Iowa's landscape is open, and predominantly either gently rolling or quite flat (with a handful of notable exceptions), and it is dominated by agriculture - not industry. The far eastern part of the state has a lot in common with points east of the Mississippi, but that fades quickly as you go west. Iowa too was the Wild West at one point. The James Gang robbed their first train in Adair, and a fall out from the Minnesota Sioux Uprising was the infamous Spirit Lake Massacre, where a band of Sioux clashed with settlers in NW IA.
Missouri is the oldest Midwest state west of the Mississippi, and St Louis is known as the Gateway to the West. It has some Rust Belt characteristics and history that sometimes associate it with points east, but I again think it belongs more to the Plains. The James Gang originated here. The Pony Express started here. The University of Missouri spent most of it's history associated with the Big 8/12. Kansas City is all but universally recognized as a Great Plains city.
And these areas have bordering areas of other regions that share a lot of commonality. Western Pennsylvania, parts of western New York, and parts of West Virginia have a lot in common with Ohio. Eastern Montana, eastern Colorado, and northern Oklahoma are very similar to North Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas respectively.
I would add “Heartland” to your list of sub-regions. The Great Plains are much different than say the corn or soy fields of inland Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. I tend to distinguish these inland regions as heartland. I would also say Minnesota is uniquely straddled on those regions with MSP, lusher farmland, and southeastern MN as heartland, the Red River valley as Great Plains, and the Arrowhead as Great Lakes.
Midwest also includes the small amounts of what I would consider western mountains in SD.
Much like picking or being picked as a spouse or partner, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I suppose some of us are still "dating" or like harems, having more than one place we love and find attractive. Sooner or later we settle down and find a good fit.
Me? well my love is shared between Tennessee and Florida. Tennessee is curvy and beautiful, but Florida is warm and loving.
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