Where’s the Midwest? The debate continues state-by-state as KC readers weigh in | Opinion
When we heard about this report from the Middle West Review, a journal published by the University of Nebraska Press, we thought, “Great! A little levity in a troubled world.” Regular Star opinion contributor Joel Mathis wrote a column about it.
Many of you weighed in on the debate, and took the time to answer our survey of what states you think are in the Midwest.
So, which states? The U.S. Census lists 12 states as officially being in the Midwest. Here they are, according to Census.gov: “The Midwest region includes the East North Central division: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; and the West North Central division: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.”
The survey of more than 11,000 people in 22 states, found people as far away as Idaho and Pennsylvania who consider themselves part of the Midwest. Not surprisingly, the survey found that more than 90% of Kansans and Missourians think of themselves as Midwesterners.
But we wanted to know what our readers thought. Nearly 500 of you weighed in, and most of you got it right, based on the Census classification.
A few of you — 51 readers — had some different ideas. Thirty-three percent of readers think Oklahoma is in the Midwest, and 16% of you include Arkansas. That’s not what the Census says.
The report tried to determine why people got it wrong, and based it on “the strength of Midwestern identity.”
“These intriguing results underscore the strength of Midwestern identity, despite what some have claimed, and further justify the efforts being made to study the Midwest and its history,” said Jon Lauck, the editor of Middle West Review and the author of the new book “The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest,” a 2022 release from the University of Oklahoma Press.
I guess that means the Midwest is just a state of mind. When the report came out, some folks on X (formerly known as Twitter), had their own opinions:
@cordlessnick said, “If there is a mountain that gets snow on it anywhere in your state, you are not in the Midwest.”
@AnnaHerrington1 said, “In my mind there’s a distinct definition of a Midwesterner:
Folks who buy and eat deep fried butter at the county fair. (Plenty of southerners and Texans are apparently midwestern...)”
And Dan of @DriveMeMild said, “A U.S. state is NOT in the Midwest if one or more of the following applies:
1. One of the 13 original colonies
2. Achieved statehood before 1800
3. A Confederate state at the end of the Civil War
4. Entirely west of the 100th meridian
5. Alaska, Maine or Oklahoma”
So, the Midwest debate continues. You can still get in on the fun by replying to The Star’s survey here.
