5 ‘Minnesota Nice’ Acts That Will Take Your Mind Off Politics

Throughout the Midwest, there’s a term known as “(Your State) Nice,” meant to describe the stereotypic courtesy, friendliness and downright niceness inherent in its residents, whether they show it by waving another motorist through a traffic signal or taking a couple of extra laps with the snowblower to clear neighbors’ walks

And, though some have said “Minnesota Nice” is code for “Minnesota Passive Aggressive” — don’t look at us like you’re going to fling the tapioca, we’re just passing along what we’ve heard — the five acts of niceness detailed below support the former assumption, that Minnesotans are genuine and nice.

In Fargo, a not-so-nice person stole a specialized wheelchair used by a 6-year-old boy who was born 29 months prematurely with spastic quad cerebral palsy. So what did nice Minnesotans do? A complete stranger, Becky Klein, established a GoFundMe campaign, and within days, they had contributed more than enough to buy Tyce Sauter a new $12,000 Blue Quickie Zippie Zone wheelchair.

Klein insists she didn’t do anything out of the ordinary and spent only 10 minutes creating the fundraiser. “I thought about how sad that was,” she told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “As a stranger, I thought, ‘What can I do to make it easier on them?’ ”

Kristi Saute, Tyce’s mother, wrote on the Team Tyce Facebook page about a stranger’s random act of kindness. Klein “went above and beyond to try and find the quickest way to help Tyce get his mobility back as fast as she was able,” the grateful mother wrote.

That’s a very nice thing that just happened. Minnesotans are nice. So is this:

Shouldering the Burden

Friday the 13th lived up to its unlucky reputation at the Ray Deutsch family’s dairy farm near Elko New Market. Deutsch awoke about 4:30 a.m. to a fire that gutted the century-old barn. There was no time to save the 63 dairy cows, four calves and three dogs trapped inside.

The 61-year-old dairy farmer tried not to blame himself. Farmers get attached to their livestock, and this had to hurt — and it wasn’t just, or even, the financial losses, though they were significant in Deutsch’s case.

“You tell yourself it’s not your fault, but sometimes you feel that way,” he told the Star Tribune. “Maybe if I’d just been a better farmer, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Ray and Cindy Deutsch are wrestling with whether to rebuild. There was no way were their friends, neighbors and employees were going to let them go through it alone. They showed up with broad shoulders, to cry on and to help carry the burden. Employees of the dairy established a GoFundMe campaign to help the family rebuild. They wrote:

“We as Ray and Cindy’s employees have had an opportunity to be a part of their lives. They are the two of the most hardworking, kind and caring people. We see their love and dedication to their livestock, dogs and cats. We would like to do anything to help them out after the tragic fire that occurred on January 13th, that took a majority of their dairy cows. Also within the tragedy they lost their 3 loving dogs Trout, Mikko and Rudy. We have seen the community come together and we would like to continue to help them out. Our hearts are breaking for the Deutsch family. They are in a tough situation, anything can you donate will help them out.”

In the first five days of the campaign, more than $10,000 had been raised.

“It’s overwhelming and humbling that people opened their hearts,” Cindy Deutsch told the Star Tribune.

Nice people do that.

Just Like Grandpa Built It

They’ll give up a Saturday to restore a memory, too.

Ice fishing is a big deal in Minnesota, and stealing a man’s fish house just when he and other hardy Minnesotans are about to go out on the state’s 10,000 lakes — actually, there are 11,842; “Land of 10,000 Lakes” is just a slogan for tourism brochures — is about as low as a thief can go.

But that’s what happened to Chris Wiebe, of St. Cloud, last month. His family tracked down the stolen ice house on Facebook, but when authorities found it, the red paint had been covered with blue .

• Do you doubt Minnesotans are nice? You won’t after reading this.

The blue paint on the ice house, which has sentimental value to Wiebe’s family, could be covered up, he told KARE-TV.

And the other day, it was, thanks to Nick Sundby, general manager of Miller’s Auto Body, who saw the TV report. A dozen workers at the body shop volunteered to work free on a Saturday to restore the ice house to its original color, KARE reported.

The family heirloom is shiny and red again, just as it was when Wiebe’s grandfather built it in his final year of life, before he died of a brain tumor.

Teach the Children Well

And niceness starts at a young age in Minnesota.

During craft day, 143 fourth graders at McKinley Elementary School made 104 blankets to be given to cancer patients at Minnesota Oncology’s clinic in Fridley, KSPT-TV reported. All five of the school’s fourth-grade classrooms took part in the project.

Nice.

Niceness Road Trip

Minnesota Nice even extends outside state borders.

Minneapolis resident Jon Kramer was vacationing at his family’s homestead in Canada when he found two books, 365 Meatless Main Dishes and The New Way of the Wilderness, which his now deceased parents had checked out 40 years ago from a Rockville, Maryland, library. The late fee, assessed at a rate of a nickel a day, was $1,552.

Kramer and his family wrote a check to cover the four-figure late fee and donated it to the Montgomery County Library. Library director Parker Hamilton told Montgomery County Media the Kramer family’s generosity makes it possible to “buy many, many new books for the residents of Montgomery County.”

“People do not have to fess up, but they're fessing up,” Parker said. “I think it's for the love of library.”

Well, that, and because Minnesota Nice is a thing.

Feature photo by eperales via Flickr Commons