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A Fight Over 500 Square Miles Could Have Handed The Upper Peninsula To Wisconsin. Does That Matter?
Michiganders likely weren’t too happy when the Wisconsin Badgers beat several of its football teams last year; its Upper Peninsula, however, took it in stride — at least it’s unofficial Twitter account did.
"It’s official, I belong to Wisconsin now," the Tweet read, after rattling off the scores. The account even changed its name to the "Upper Peninsula of Wisconsin."
Intriguing, and perhaps the tip of an iceberg of discontent between the UP and its mitten counterpart. The Twitter account has since changed its description a number of times, from the "Upper Peninsula of 
" to the "Upper Peninsula of America."
What’s the deal? Geographically, the UP is only connected to the Lower Peninsula by a bridge. With Wisconsin, it shares more than 200 miles of border.
So why isn’t the UP part of Wisconsin?
It's a question on many people's minds. It's also WHYsconsin’s most-asked question.
But this isn’t a story about a bloody battle where Michigan reigned supreme. Digging into the technicalities of how this chunk of land joined Michigan rather than Wisconsin shows the former state’s claim over it had more to do with timing than anything else. The bigger question might be whether the UP and Wisconsin should have been joined. And does a state’s identity rely on its physical connection?
Continued below.
https://www.wpr.org/why-isnt-part-wisconsin
Michiganders likely weren’t too happy when the Wisconsin Badgers beat several of its football teams last year; its Upper Peninsula, however, took it in stride — at least it’s unofficial Twitter account did.
"It’s official, I belong to Wisconsin now," the Tweet read, after rattling off the scores. The account even changed its name to the "Upper Peninsula of Wisconsin."
Intriguing, and perhaps the tip of an iceberg of discontent between the UP and its mitten counterpart. The Twitter account has since changed its description a number of times, from the "Upper Peninsula of
" to the "Upper Peninsula of America."What’s the deal? Geographically, the UP is only connected to the Lower Peninsula by a bridge. With Wisconsin, it shares more than 200 miles of border.
So why isn’t the UP part of Wisconsin?
It's a question on many people's minds. It's also WHYsconsin’s most-asked question.
But this isn’t a story about a bloody battle where Michigan reigned supreme. Digging into the technicalities of how this chunk of land joined Michigan rather than Wisconsin shows the former state’s claim over it had more to do with timing than anything else. The bigger question might be whether the UP and Wisconsin should have been joined. And does a state’s identity rely on its physical connection?
Continued below.
https://www.wpr.org/why-isnt-part-wisconsin
