Menahga, MN

Menahga is a Wadena County city whose name comes from the Ojibwe word miinikaa, “there are blueberries,” and the Blueberry River runs just north of town. It was platted in 1891, the same year its post office opened, but the most delightfully local landmark is newer: a Highway 71 statue of St. Urho, the fictional Finnish hero said to have chased grasshoppers from Finland’s vineyards. The city and volunteers maintain the grounds, and St. Urho Day brings Finnish-heritage celebrations each March. U.S. 71 and Minnesota 87 frame the town. Menahga is north-central Minnesota with blueberries in the name, a river nearby, and a saint who is entirely made up but very well remembered.