Why is mn called the gopher state

The resulting satirical cartoon cemented Gopher as the state nickname. Here is a deeper dive from the MNHS collection. Engraving on paper by Robert O. Sweeny, On the tracks is a train of cars drawn by nine gophers with human heads, each representing various advocates of the act. This widely spread cartoon is credited with giving Minnesota the nickname of "The Gopher State". The detailed image includes a devil as the pied piper. Although Minnesota eventually became known as the Gopher State, the gopher — or the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, for that matter — is not listed among the state's symbols.

The loon, monarch butterfly and walleye, however, are among those designated by law. The pocket gopher, which is native to Minnesota, is a medium-size rodent with huge claws on its front feet — a nice asset for burrowing into the ground, said Lori Naumann with the Nongame Wildlife Program at Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources. Sharon Jansa, who knows all about rodents, confirmed that.

She's a University of Minnesota professor of ecology, evolution and behavior and curator of the Bell Museum's mammal collection. Although chipmunks have stripes, she believes Minnesota's rodent mascots are actually thirteen-lined ground squirrels, which also are found in Minnesota. As for the striped-tail mascots: "That's just artistic license," she said. Stripes or no stripes, it could be that the Minnesota gopher mascots aren't trying to be one rodent or another.

When she looks at Goldy, she doesn't see a squirrel or a gopher. The warm and fuzzy-looking Goldy has had to stand up against more fierce-sounding Big Ten mascots such as the Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats and the Michigan Wolverines. In , the U gave Goldy a tough-guy look. But when fans balked, a more friendly-faced Goldy returned. As for those who look at Goldy's striped tail and see a squirrel, Jansa is OK with that.

If you'd like to submit a Curious Minnesota question, fill out the form below:. Why are Honeycrisp apples still so expensive? Why is it so much harder for U students to graduate debt free compared with the s? Fairchild the Gopher is the face of the Minnesota State Fair. And, since its inception, Minnesota has been known as the Gopher State. Good question. The political cartoon dates back to , the year Minnesota became a state. The cartoon shows nine creatures — half human, half-gopher — being pulled in a cart by bondholders.

The illustrator, R. Sweeney, believed the deal to be corrupt. The cartoon was not published in a newspaper when it was first introduced, but was the equivalent of a modern-day viral Facebook post.

The second is that Sweeney wanted to choose a rodent, but not a rodent considered terrible, like a rat. Instead, he chooses a more palatable rodent so as not to be offended. The cartoon became so popular that it eventually stuck with Minnesota.