7 Things Minnesotans Do That Give Them Away Out of State
Say Duck, Duck, Goose in Minnesota, and someone will correct you with Gray Duck.
Out of state, it’s the small stuff that gives you away.
Here are the things Minnesotans do that give them away out of state.
1. The Juicy Lucy
A Juicy Lucy is a burger with the cheese sealed inside the patty instead of melted on top.
You’ll find two claimants on Cedar Avenue South in south Minneapolis, Matt’s Bar and the 5-8 Club.
Each says it invented the burger.
The 5-8 Club says the burger was invented in south Minneapolis in the 1950s.
Matt’s Bar dates its version to 1954.
2. Hotdish Contests
In April 2019, Sen. Tina Smith hosted the ninth annual Hotdish Competition, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar entered along with other members of the state’s congressional delegation.
Rep. Betty McCollum won with “Hotdish A-Hmong Friends,” made with ground beef, tater tots, egg roll wraps and Thai chilies.
If you’re from out of state, think of hotdish as a casserole.
3. Fishing Opener Weekend
If you’re planning around Minnesota’s fishing opener, it falls two weekends before Memorial Day weekend, according to KARE 11’s 2023 guide.
That guide had walleye and northern pike opening at 12:01 a.m. Saturday on inland waters.
It listed sunfish, perch and crappie as open year-round, with exceptions.
It also said Minnesota residents aged 16 to 89 needed a fishing license unless an exemption applied.
4. Food on a Stick
The Minnesota State Fair ran August 27 through Labor Day, September 7, in 2026.
New on-a-stick items that year included When Pigs Fly, Sligo Slider Bites On-A-Stick and Brandy Old Fashioned Cookie Dough.
If a corn dog is the only thing you’ve had on a stick, that list gives you three more to try.
5. Playing Hockey
If you’re counting hockey players, Minnesota led the country in 2019.
That year, 57,634 Minnesotans were registered with USA Hockey, more than in any other state.
New York ranked second with 50,103, and Michigan was third with 48,739.
6. Duck, Duck, Gray Duck
The game you might know as Duck, Duck, Goose is Duck, Duck, Gray Duck to many locals.
In 2017, a digital strategist told CBS Minnesota that the gray duck version is Scandinavian in origin, pointing to a Swedish game called Anka Anka Grå Anka.
He suspected Swedish immigrants carried it to Minnesota, though he allowed that it could be lore.
7. Showing Up to Vote
If you vote in Minnesota, you’re in a state that has ranked first in every presidential election since 2008, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.
In 2024, the office put turnout at 76.35% of eligible voters.
The Midwest Goodbye
Fox News Digital’s 2026 look at the Midwest goodbye describes it as less about leaving than about how long leaving takes.
If you’ve heard someone call it the Minnesota Goodbye, that’s a nickname for a Midwest habit.
Psst! How much do you know about Minnesota? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Minnesota IQ
Answer seven questions on Minnesota’s lakes, peaks, towns, state symbols and fishing seasons. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Which apple is Minnesota’s official state fruit?
The Zipper Merge
The zipper merge is what the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) asks drivers to do at a lane closure.
Many locals still merge early, and some get annoyed at drivers who don't.
Once you see a lane-closed sign and traffic backing up, MnDOT wants you to keep using both lanes until the point of merge.
Then drivers take turns entering the open lane.
What MnDOT Says About Merging Early
MnDOT's zipper merge guidance leaves room for merging earlier.
At highway speed, MnDOT says drivers can merge when it is safe to do so.
In heavy, slow traffic, MnDOT says drivers should stay in their lane until traffic can take orderly turns merging.
The agency's page says the zipper merge can shorten the overall length of a backup by as much as 40 percent.
The Polar Bear Plunge
The Special Olympics Minnesota Polar Bear Plunge sent more than 14,000 people into freezing water during its 2012 season.
Those plungers raised a record $2.85 million across 16 events around Minnesota.
Law enforcement coordinated the events as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run.
Plungers took part through teams and pledges.
If you pledged to a plunger that year, the money supported more than 7,200 children and adults.
Fish House Removal Deadlines
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) set March 17 as the 2025 removal deadline for fish houses on inland waters in the northern third of Minnesota.
The deadline for Minnesota-Canada border waters was March 31.
If you leave a fish house out past the deadline, you may face prosecution, and a conservation officer can confiscate it.
After the deadline, a shelter can still be used if it has the proper identification and licensing.
6 Church Basement Foods and Drinks Nobody Outside Minnesota Makes Correctly
Show up hungry to a Minnesota potluck, and you can soon learn that many people have a say in how things are made.
Many who grew up around those long tables know some recipes come with firm rules.
6 Church Basement Foods and Drinks Nobody Outside Minnesota Makes Correctly
5 Fall Traditions Minnesota Kids Grew Up On That Have Disappeared
Think back to a Minnesota fall when you were a kid.
Some of those plans no longer exist.
5 Fall Traditions Minnesota Kids Grew Up On That Have Disappeared
