Though I’ve never been, I have a very distinct impression of Minneapolis. (And no, it’s not just weather clichés and Fargo accents.) It’s something innate that comes across when I meet people from the area, or even when I’m watching a Minnesota-based game on TV and the cameraman pans across the hometown crowd. I always sense that Minneapolis is a contented, self-aware city. Unlike some metro areas I could name, its residents don’t seem to have much of an inferiority complex or spend much time wishing their city was bigger or more important. Minneapolites seem proud but not desperately so, without too much of a need to justify themselves to a national audience. They seem patient, modest, smart, cultured, friendly – and above all, happy.