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Listen: Why did Scandinavian immigrants choose Minnesota?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the reasons that Norwegian and Swedish immigrants left their home countries for Minnesota starting in the mid-1800s.

By Eric Roper

June 6, 2022 at 3:02PM

Norwegian immigrant Beret Hagebak in front of the sod home her family built in 1872 in western Minnesota. This photograph was taken in 1896. (LAC QUI PARLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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Minnesota has more residents of Norwegian and Swedish ancestry than any other state, due to a wave of immigration from those countries in the 19th century. But why did those immigrants choose Minnesota?

Eric Roper and Ash Miller discuss the factors that caused people to leave Scandinavian countries in the 1800s, and how Minnesota became a major destination.

Further reading:

Why did Scandinavian immigrants choose Minnesota? (May 2022 Curious Minnesota story)

Is Minnesota actually more German than Scandinavian? (January 2020 Curious Minnesota story)

about the writer

Eric Roper

Curious Minnesota Editor

Eric Roper oversees Curious Minnesota, the Minnesota Star Tribune's community reporting project fueled by great reader questions. He also hosts the Curious Minnesota podcast.