Bill would designate state poem

Legislation introduced today in the Minnesota Senate would designate an official state poem.

Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo Township, is proposing the honor for "Minnesota Blue," which was written by Keith Haugen in 1985 as a tribute to the state. In addition to the designation, Anderson's bill would require that a copy of the poem be placed in the Office of the Secretary of State.

Here's the poem:

MINNESOTA BLUE

Minnesota, how I love you

Minnesota, I've been away too long

How I miss your clean fresh air, your lakes and rivers too

How I miss your Minnesota Blue

Do your golden fields of wheat and corn

Still shimmer in the early morn

Waving to the clouds as they drift by

Do moose and bear still rule the earth

In the Red River Valley of my birth

Do the Northern Lights still dance across your sky

Does the North Star still guide you

Do your farmers still provide you

With the way of life that we all learned to share

Do they still follow the Golden Rule

And dress up each week for Sunday School

Do your families still give thanks for living there

Are your skies still free of smoke and haze

Do your old folks still remember days

When your skyline was a grove of Norway pines

Does the North Wind whistle through your trees

Can you still smell wildflowers on the breeze

Do bass and pike still play with fishing lines

Do your children still walk the rails

Or discover hidden Indian trails

Do canoes glide through Minnesota streams

Can you hear the cry of the lonely loon

Do wolves still howl at your full moon

Is Viking Land still Mother Nature's dream

Do you still have dairies and rolling hills

And mines and quarries and flour mills

Do you still brew the best of America's beers

Do bobcats still cry at night

Does snow still fall so soft and white

Do icicles hang like crystal chandeliers

So many of yours have left to roam

But they still call Minnesota home

Like geese that fly above your lakes and wilds

And for every one of your million stars

There's a prairie son who's traveled far

Oh, please remember this Minnesota child.

Minnesota, how I love you

Minnesota, I've been away too long

How I miss your clean fresh air, 10,000 lakes and you

How I miss my Minnesota Blue

Oh, how I miss my Minnesota Blue

Copyright 1985, Keith Haugen

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.