I’ve lived in Minnesota for just 20 of its 150 years, not quite half my life. That may make me a newcomer despite my Scandinavian name and my grasp of the useful phrase “I s’pose,” as the ever-appropriate, inscrutable response to those with whom I vehemently disagree, utterly fail to comprehend, or intensely dislike.
My children, on the other hand, are born and bred right here on the soil formerly known as prairie. My adopted home state is pretty good place to be a mother. (Read: “Wow, is this a great place to raise a family, or what?!”) So by virtue of kinship, may I offer a sesquicentennial anniversary list for your consideration?
Five reasons Minnesota is a great place for our children:
5. All that water
Frozen or liquid, Minnesota kids swim, canoe, splash, fish, sail, windsurf, ice skate, play hockey, and ski (all kinds: water, Nordic, and downhill). Water is life. Water draws us and sustains us. Now if we can just keep it clean . . .
4. Our churchgoing heritage
Even if you’re not a believer, I propose that you benefit in some ways from those who are. (By the way, “church” stands for synagogue, temple, meeting, mosque, secret society of English majors (see number 3), etc.) Now, don’t get me wrong, religious institutions can have their down side, like rules you might not agree with all the time; a little misogyny here, a little homophobia there… but things are looking up since the days when Lutherans and Catholics were shunned for entering into “mixed” marriages. People who meet at services sing, hug, share food, and volunteer together. They love to see young people in the pews and often bestow high praise and generous smiles. Teens experience beneficial contact with older people and younger people and other adults besides their parents. Studies have indicated that being part of a spiritual community is a key asset to help kids navigate the rocky road of growing up. So, verily I say unto you: organized religion is a good thing because it gives kids somewhere to believe, at least in themselves, and belong.
3. Our literacy rate
How can you not love a place that spawned Garrison Keillor and his secret society of English majors? I’m happy to promulgate the buzz that Minneapolis ranks first and St. Paul third among the 10 most literate cities in the U.S. according to an annual national study. We buy books in stores and online, read newspapers, and earn bachelor’s degrees more than most cities. Our overall high school graduation rate remains higher than that of many other states — about three-quarter of Minnesota’s students earn a diploma in four years. However, it must be said that the four-year high school graduation rate here is about half that for students of color. We obviously need to write a new chapter in the literacy narrative. Read to your kids today. Read to someone else’s kids today.
2. Our urban-rural mix
We are, ahem, grounded. Your Minnesota might be really different from mine but hey, if opposites Lisa and Oliver Douglas could forge a happy partnership from their respective citified and country-loving natures — c’mon, I know you watched “Green Acres” — our children benefit from the holistic mix of urban and rural, outdoorsy and cultural diversity that exists right here.
1. Our historical perspective
(Soapbox alert!) I say this not only because I’m raising three self-avowed “history geeks” and live with their former history teacher dad. Anishinabe, Scandinavian, Somali, Irish, German, Hmong, Mexican, scrappy voyageurs, activist farmers, tough Iron Rangers, bankers, railroad magnates, fur traders, missionaries, industrialists, explorers, civil rights workers, educators, inventors — you name it and it’s part of us, and you can find out more at your local Minnesota Historical Society site. We owe it to all these ancestors to carry on our proud political heritage of caring for the common good. In the familiar slogan attributed to the late Paul Wellstone: We all do better when we all do better. I recently walked into Whittier Community School in Minneapolis where my god-daughter is a first grader, and was truly buoyed by the scores of happy faces of children from various racial, ethnic, language, and religious backgrounds. That’s the Minnesota I hope my undoubtedly above-average (thank you again, Garrison Keillor) descendents will celebrate well before the state’s bicentennial.
Kris Berggren also loves the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Grand Marais, the Chain of Lakes, the Midtown Greenway, live theater, and left-turn lanes on Lyndale Avenue. Oh wait, we don’t have those.
