The contradictions of ‘Minnesota nice’

By Giang Nguyen-Dien, Postdoctoral Fellow in American Culture Studies, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

After Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, much of the media coverage zeroed in on Walz’s Midwestern roots, with some pundits using the phrase “Minnesota nice” to describe his appeal.

In the popular imagination, Minnesota nice describes a culture of neighborliness and amicability that’s commonly seen as characteristic of the state. In policy terms, that might mean bigger investments in education, better public health,…

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