The National Centers for Environmental Information considers the Upper Midwest climate region to include Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

The region's western boundary is sometimes considered to be determined by where the climate becomes too dry to support growing non-irrigated crops other than small grains or hay grass.

[citation needed] The Inland North dialect, most prominently characterized by the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, is centered in the eastern part of the Upper Midwest, including Wisconsin, Michigan and the northern parts of Illinois and Ohio; it extends beyond the Midwest into Upstate New York.

However, beginning with the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans experienced substantial gains in state legislative and executive offices in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

In the 2020 presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden won the electoral votes of the Blue Wall states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.

[15] The USDA reported that corn, soybean, sunflower and sugar beet crops saw harvest gains in 2018, but were still below the five-year averages.