Bemidji

A small town in Northern Minnesota with a population of around 13,000. In 1937 the first ever statue of Paul Bunyan was built there. Back in they day it was a lumberjack town, but now it runs on tourism. The name derives from Chief Bemidji who helped the first white settlers of the area. Because of this, there are some offensive statues: a cigar store Indian statue of Chief Bemidji overlooking the lake the city is built around, and what has been dubbed the "nazi Indian" at the best tourist shop in town (of course, it's actually just an Indian holding up his arm to say "how"...). Bemidji is the self-proclaimed Curling Capital of the USA and in 2006 a team of Bemidji men took bronze at the Olympics. Other than curling, this is what Bemidji (and the surrounding area) has to offer: other ice sports, fishing, biking, beautiful forest, snowmobiling, racism, art, a small ski hill, Paul Bunyan, bars and coffee shops, a small university, lakes, Minnesota accents, and casinos.