So US News & World Report just announced its 2019 rankings of "Best States." Now these reports always have some subjectivity to them, but we can all at least agree Minnesota definitely belongs in the top 3! To determine which states would end up on top, the researchers ranked multiple metrics and then weighted these based on a survey of what people value most. The top two weighted metrics were healthcare and education, and then came state economies, infrastructure and opportunity. They also looked at fiscal stability, crime, and our favorite: Natural Environment.
Where did we do well? We took the 3rd spot for both Opportunity and Natural Environment (our friendly neighbors in South Dakota took the 2nd spot for environment- way to go SoDak!!). We also scored in the top 10 for infrastructure and health care. This isn't a surprise as we are often ranked as one of the healthiest states due to our fabulous medical institutions like the Mayo Clinic, as well as access to bike trails and parklands. In fact, Travel Channel just ranked Minneapolis-St Paul as the #1 healthiest city in the nation!
Do you agree with these findings? Should we be happy with the bronze medal? Or should we do what we do best and show some Minnesota Nice by congratulating the winning states of Washington and New Hampshire while secretly plotting to take them out next year?????
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