Dennis PragerFounder, PragerU · Founder of PragerU | NYT best-selling author

The End of "Minnesota Nice?"

22 Jan 2026 · 2 min

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1:36

In this brief conversational excerpt, Speaker A questions why Minnesota has become a focal point for scandals and corruption, noting a string of negative news. Speaker B reflects on his personal experiences of "Minnesota nice," asserting that niceness and wisdom are unrelated and that true goodness requires wisdom. He offers a tentative explanation for the state's troubles, suggesting that a political shift to the left has taken over Minnesota, making it one of the few non‑coastal states experiencing such chaos. The dialogue juxtaposes the cultural stereotype of Midwestern niceness with a critique of current political dynamics, framing the state's recent problems as a departure from its traditionally positive reputation.

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Why do you think Minnesota has been this center of chaos, corruption? It's just one thing after another. Minnesota keeps hitting the news with more bad stuff.
It's been a riddle to me because I've been to Minnesota many, many times, and I believe in the concept of Minnesota nice. The people there, uh, certainly, certainly in my experience, have been very, very nice. Midwesterners in general are nice people. So one great lesson I have learned and imparted, uh, over the years: nice and wise have nothing to do with one another. And wisdom is one of the roots of goodness. You can't, you can't ultimately be good if you're not wise. So why Minnesota and not Iowa, let's say? I have no answer to that except to say that the left took over in Minnesota. I mean, it's one of the few non-eastern or western coastal states to have gone crazy.