The Midwest A Crop Duster Tour…

What color should we click for the Midwest?

Good! Welcome to the Midwest!

St. Louis, Missouri “The Gateway to the west” St. Louis was originally settled by French traders St. Louis was a frontier town or one where unsettled country begins Located at the fork of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers The arch was built to honor the pioneers who first explored the west

Iowa: “The Corn state” Almost every inch of Iowa is covered by farms! This is why it is sometimes called the corn state Iowa is mostly prairie or flat rolling land Iowa is rich in fertile soil that is able to produce crops Iowa produces huge crops of corn, soybeans, oats, and hay Many crops are fed to livestock like chickens, cattle, or hogs

“America’s Breadbasket” The Midwest is know as America’s breadbasket because of its massive production of grain Grain is used to make other products, with the most common being bread

Dodge City, Kansas Kansas produces more wheat than any other state Meatpacking is preparing meat for sale and is an important industry in the Midwest In the 1870’s cowboys would drive cattle to Dodge City to be packed and shipped east for sale

“Home on the Range” Home on the Range is the state song of Kansas written in 1870 The author sings of the beauty of the great plains Click to play song Alvin and the Chipmunks version

South Dakota’s Heroes Carved into Mt. Rushmore are the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln Each head is six stories tall Sioux Indian chief Crazy Horse is carved into the black hills The Black Hills are sacred to the Sioux and they fought the United States for them Native Americans lost most of their land and were forced to live on reservations or special areas for their use

Soo Locks, Michigan The Soo Locks are the two longest in the world The locks are capable of lifting heavy ships 21 feet from Lake Huron to Lake Superior Some of the largest ships are called “salties” because they come from the Atlantic Ocean Video of a salty passing through the locks

Motor City: Detroit, Michigan Henry Ford started an automobile factory in Detroit Ford had a problem of high costs to produce his cars Ford cut cost by having all of his parts made at one time, this is called mass production Ford then installed his parts on a moving assembly line so each worker only had to do one task The time it took to make a car dropped from 12 hours to 93 minutes Click for Video on the Ford assembly line

Midwest Weather: Blizzards The Midwest frequently experiences storms with heavy snowfall and freezing winds called blizzards Blizzards can cause damage to property, can shut down transportation, and be expensive to clean up

O’Hare International Airport, Chicago This airport is a transportation hub or center for moving goods and people O’Hare is one of the busiest airports in the U.S. Transportation is very important to the economy of the Midwest and the U.S.

Wrigley Field: Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field is home to Chicago’s Major League Baseball team the Cubs The field is the second oldest park in America Babe Ruth once hit a legendary home run here

Mall of America, Minnesota The largest indoor shopping mall in the United States The mall protects shopper from Minnesota’s harsh blizzards, tornados, and hailstorms The mall has 520 stores, 50 restaurants, 14 movie theaters, and an amusement park

Mall of America 86 hours is the length of time it would take to complete your visit to the Mall if you were to spend just 10 minutes in each store! Here is a video of all the mall has to offer in 60 seconds Mall of America Video Mall of America Facts (By the numbers)