Culturally I think the Great Plains states are Midwest, but not geographically. On the other hand Missouri is geographically Midwest but culturally it is more Southern.
The Midwest
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
I think there has to be a distinction between the Midwest and the Great Plains. For me, the Midwest ends with the northern Chicken Chef states, which are themselves half Midwest, half Great Plains.
Having spent a great deal of time, in my early years with the regional telephone company, traveling and trying labor cases throughout Missouri, I would place it in both the Midwest and Southern cultural classes, the dividing line being somewhere between I-70 and I-44. The local accents and dialects change noticeably as one travels either north or south within that state. St. Louis, a deeply Catholic city up until the general decline of the Church over the past sixty years or so, defies either description. Culturally it resembles Cincinnati or Baltimore more than Chicago or Milwaukee, while to me, Kansas City shares both the Midwestern/Southern affection for potluck dinners and BBQ, and the cowboy spirit of the Plains. FWIW.
Ah, the Land of Eternal Snow!
I think his accent is a bit heavy, but then, I’ve not left Michigan that much. This one here is priceless:
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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qwa1Q4Qdyko
What I’ve observed is that “the Midwest” tends to mean the state you are and the adjacent states which are not part of “New England”, “The South”, “The Southwest” or “The West Coast.”
So for example in Indiana it means Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky with the term MAYBE extending to Wisconsin and Iowa and with the Dakotas and the like being right out.
In Minnesota it pretty strongly implies Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas, with Nebraska and Michigan being “maybes” and the thought that something like Missouri or Ohio is a Midwest state being crazy.
“in Indiana it (the Midwest) means Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky with the term MAYBE extending to Wisconsin and Iowa and with the Dakotas and the like being right out.”
There is no “maybe” about Iowa being Midwestern. There is also no “maybe” about Kentucky NOT being Midwestern; it’s always been Upper South or Appalachian as far as I can recall. The only reason there is any doubt about Ohio or Wisconsin is due to their also being Great Lakes or Rust Belt states, and in the case of Wisconsin, perhaps due to being thought of as more “north woods” than prairie.
“In Minnesota it pretty strongly implies Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas, with Nebraska and Michigan being “maybes” and the thought that something like Missouri or Ohio is a Midwest state being crazy.”
The Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas are only excluded if you consider there to be no overlap whatsoever between the Great Plains and Midwest. Michigan and Ohio fall in the Great Lakes/Rust Belt orbit, but so does Illinois, which is unquestionably Midwestern. Missouri does tend to be more culturally Southern the farther south you go, but so do Illinois and Indiana, so it’s not IMO crazy to include it.