BEMIDJI 鈥� Visiting every incorporated city and town in the state of Minnesota is a lofty goal, but it鈥檚 one that Nebraska native Seth Varner hopes to achieve by the end of 2025.
What could be considered the greatest Minnesota town documentation in history, the 25-year-old travel author shares his visits on his where he details each town鈥檚 history, development and highlights 鈥� both in photographs and the written word.
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鈥淚n 2020, I had the idea to visit every incorporated town in my home state of Nebraska,鈥� Varner wrote in a post. 鈥淚 have since traveled to every incorporated town in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and both of the Dakotas (3,000+ communities) over the last half-decade. My project aims to showcase as much as I can about Minnesota鈥檚 856 communities (big or small), from their history and architecture, to businesses, museums, food, parks, etc.鈥�
Varner first conjured up the idea in his home state of Nebraska following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Attending the University of Nebraska in Omaha at the time, the pandemic forced Varner back to his hometown of Wahoo alongside his friend, Austin, who was sent home from Concordia University.
鈥淲e were fine for a while 鈥� playing games and cruising Main Street Wahoo 鈥� but quarantine began to take its toll on us,鈥� 鈥淏oredom started creeping in as we realized there wasn鈥檛 much to do in a world where businesses were closed, and public gatherings of any degree weren鈥檛 allowed.
鈥淚n a time where travel was limited, everything was closed, and making connections was next to impossible, I had the urge to make a something-out-of-nothing summer and do something that (to my knowledge then) nobody had done before. 鈥楬ey Austin, want to visit every town in Nebraska this summer?鈥欌��
Expanding this idea to other states since then, Varner will compile his Minnesota findings into a travel guide aptly titled, 鈥淲andermore in Minnesota,鈥� which derives its name from his one-man operation, 鈥淲andermore Publishing.鈥�
Varner recently visited the Northwoods with Facebook posts dated throughout late May and early June. Among the featured communities were Bemidji, Wilton, Solway and Turtle River, all fostering community discussion and nostalgia.
Those interested in purchasing a copy of the travel guide can set up an email reminder at once available for purchase. Each copy will feature a unique QR code photo album enabling the reader to see every photo taken of each town. Varner projects over 75,000 photos will be accessible from the book.
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Readers can also make donations to have their name printed in the book and may contribute to Varner鈥檚 travel fund to offset costs related to hotels, gas, car repairs and other expenses.
More information can be found at
The Trust Project
