What Is Your Favorite ‘Made in Minnesota’ Product?

The number of innovations that have come out of the state of Minnesota over the decades is mind-blowing, to say the least.

This is just a partial list of the iconic items that got their start in the North Star State:

Furnace Thermostat (1885)
Concrete Grain Elevator (1899)
Grocery Bag With Handles (1912)
Better Business Bureau (1912)
Greyhound Bus Lines (1914)
Pop-Up Toaster (1919)
Water Skis (1922)
Milky Way Candy Bar (1923)
Masking Tape (1925)
Tonka Trucks (1947)
Packaged Cake Mix (1947)
Cortisone (1948)
Bundt Pan (1950)
Snow Blower (1951)
Black-Box Flight Data Recorder (1953)
In-the-ear Hearing Aid (1955)
Recreational Snowmobile (1956)
Implantable Pacemaker (1957)
Deep-Sea Submarine (1962)
Skyways (1962)
Retractable Seat Belt (1963)
Supercomputer (1963)
Twister (1964)
Prosthetic Heart Valve (1966)
Nerf Ball (1969)
NordicTrack (1977)
Crisp-Crust Frozen Pizza (1979)
Rollerblades (1980)
Microwave Popcorn (1984)
Sleep Number Bed (1987)
Breathe Right Nasal Strip (1991)
Zubaz (1991)
Microwaveable French Fries (1992)

I think it's safe to say that Minnesota has provided us with a massive amount of game-changers over the years.

So which current products products in the state are moving the needle these days?

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce wants you to weigh in on the Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota contest.

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Now through October 4, you can cast your vote for your favorite product from the state, from SPAM to manure spreaders and everything in between.

You've got 16 head-to-head matchups to pick from in the first round of balloting:

American Crystal Sugar Company - Real Sugar vs. Daktronics - LED Video Displays
Faribault Mill - Minnesota Map Blankets vs. Sven-Saw - 60th Anniversary Sven-Saw 21″
Medtronic - TYRX Absorbable Antibacterial Envelope vs. Nova-Tech Engineering - ShrimpWorks
Action Manufacturing - Action Trackchair vs. Takeda - Entyvio (vedolizumab)
3M - Scotch Magic Tape vs. Trystar - GridPak
Celadon Systems, Inc - Ultra-Cold Testing Solutions vs. Hormel Foods - SPAM Classic
Arctic Cat - ZR 858 With ATAC 137 vs. Bernatello’s Foods - Lotzza Motzza Pizzas
Mattracks, Inc - Mattracks, Rubber Track Conversion System vs. SICK, Inc. - W10 Photoelectric Sensor
JonnyPops - Organic Rainbow Fruit Stacks vs. Life Fitness - Symbio Runner
Harmony Enterprises - SmartPack Compactor vs. Minnetronix Medical - EyeBOX
Akkerman Inc. - Tunnel-boring Machine vs. Seagate Technology - Mozaic Transducer
Midwest Floating Island - Innovative National Aquarium Wetland vs. Steelhead Outdoors - Rustic Take Apart Modular Safe
Altoz, Inc. - Altoz TRX Tracked Zero-Turn Mower vs. Super Radiator Coils - Nuclear Heat Exchangers
Lamppa Manufacturing - Kuuma BluFlame Sauna Stove vs. Stratasys - Stratasys F3300 Industrial FDM® Printer
Landscape Structures Inc. - Forma™ vs. Red Wing Shoe Company - Beckman Boot
Altimate Medical - EasyStand (Evolv) vs. Artex Manufacturing - Manure Spreader (S200/SB Series)

Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

CAST YOUR VOTE HERE

The winner will be announced October 8.

10 Most Obscure Minnesota Towns

As you are making road-trip plans you might want to see if you can even find some of these Minnesota towns.

Minnesota is the Land Of 10,000 Lakes and 853 towns. Even if you know the state well I'll bet you haven't even heard of Minnesota's 10 smallest towns.

Gallery Credit: Ben Davis

10 Cool Things That Make Minnesota...Minnesota!

Minnesota is known for a lot of cool and interesting things. But I'll bet if you asked someone not from the state what they know about Minnesota they'd mention at least a few of these 10 Cool Things That Make Minnesota...Minnesota!