MidWest

Region
States
MidWest Region Video

Pay attention to the important landforms!!

● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCIKN
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Illinois
1. Nearly 80% of the state's land area is farmland.
2. Home to the world's only river that flows backward, The Chicago River.
3. Illinois generates more nuclear power than any other state
4. Aurora is known as the City of Lights because it was the first U.S. city to use electric street
lighting throughout the entire city.
5. The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is one of the only three major free zoos in the country and is
the nation's oldest public zoo.
Indiana
1) The state of Indiana was named after the Native Americans. Indiana means "Indian Land".
2) Baseball was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The very first professional game had played in Fort Wayne on May
4, 1871.
3) Bedford, Indiana, is known as the "Limestone Capital of the World". Admired for its light color and ease of
cutting, Indiana limestone was used in the construction of the Empire State Building in New York City, the
Pentagon and National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as well as several state capitols.
4) First state to have a chapel inside the state capitol, built in memory of former first lady Beth Bowen.
5) Before public schools families pitched in to build log schoolhouse and each student's family paid a few dollars
toward the teacher's salaries.
Iowa
1) Only state in the United States whose eastern and western borders are formed entirely by rivers.
2) Iowa has the highest literacy rate among all the states in the United States (99%).
3) Largest producer of pork, corn and eggs among all the states in the United States.
4) Arabella Mansfield was the first female lawyer in the United States and from Iowa
5) Iowa is called "The Hawkeye State" to honor Indian Chief Black Hawk.
Kansas
1) Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States
2) The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Kansa
3) Largest population of wild grouse in North America. The grouse is commonly called the prairie
chicken.
4) Sumner County is known as The Wheat Capital of the world.
5) Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built above some of the richest salt deposits
in the world. Salt is actively mined, processed and shipped from Hutchinson.
Michigan
1) First in the United States production of peat and magnesium compounds and second in gypsum and
iron ore.
2) The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cage less, open exhibits that allowed the
animals more freedom to roam.
3) Has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska.
4) Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams.
5) The Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world.
Minnesota
1) The first intercollegiate Basketball game was played in Minnesota.
2) The climate-controlled Metrodome is the only facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World
Series and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.
3) The first open heart surgery and the first bone marrow transplant in the United States were done at
the University of Minnesota
4) The stapler was invented in Minnesota.
5) The Guthrie Theater Is the largest regional playhouse in the country.
Missouri
1) Named after a tribe called Missouri Indians; meaning "town of the large canoes"
2) The most powerful earthquake to strike the United States occurred in 1811, centered in Madrid,
Missouri. The quake shook more than one million square miles, and was felt as far as 1,000 miles
away.
3) Became the first slave state to free its slaves.
4) Aunt Jemima pancake flour was invented in Missouri. It was the first self-rising flour for pancakes
and the first ready-mix food to ever to be introduced commercially.
5) First successful parachute jump to be made from a moving airplane was made by Captain Berry at
St. Louis, in 1912.
Nebraska
1) Was once called The Great American Desert
2) The largest porch swing is located in Nebraska and it can sit 25 adults.
3) Birthplace of the Reuben Sandwich
4) Inventors of the strobe light.
5) The world's largest hand-planted forest is Halsey National Forest near Thedford, Nebraska.
North Dakota
1) Grows more sunflowers than any other state.
2) Named after the Dakota Indian Tribe
3) The North Dakota State University research experiment station in Hettinger is the largest state
owned sheep research center in the United States.
4) Out of the 50 states North Dakota is 17th in size
5) Milk is the state beverage.
Ohio
1) First ambulance service
2) First traffic light
3) Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team.
4) First hot dog. Harry M Stevens created the popular dining dog.
5) Cleveland Is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
South Dakota

1) The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are sculpted into
Mount Rushmore the world’s greatest mountain carving.
2) Badlands National Park consists of nearly 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttles, pinnacles and spires blended with
the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States.
3) The largest underground gold mine is the Homestake Mine in Lead
4) Jewel Cave is the third-longest cave in the world. More than 120 miles of passages have been surveyed. Calcite
crystals that glitter when illuminated give the cave its name.
5) South Dakota is the home of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes, which make up the Sioux Nation.
Wisconsin
1) Produces more milk than any other state.
2) Home of the Harley Davidson Motorcycles
3) The Original Barbie is from Willow, Wisconsin. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts.
4) The first typewriter was designed in Milwaukee
5) The nation’s first kindergarten was established in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856. It’s first students
were local German-speaking youngsters.