The Post-Apocalyptic Roadmap/Minnesota

Part of the Post-Apocalyptic Roadmap Project.

Rochester

Before the bombs hit, we were known for two things: the prestigious Mayo Clinic, which had many of the finest doctors in the country; and IBM headquarters.

Chicago was close enough for radiation to be a worrisome, but the real problem for us was the anti-intellectual rioting by all the Somalians that Lutheran Social Services had been flying in over the past years. The fighting was brutal; it was then that we lost the few priceless electronics that had escaped the EMPs--and the people who could make more. They left the doctors alone, as long as they treated the rioters...

...Then the first militiamob came through. They forced the doctors into their gang, and blew away anyone who thought otherwise.

There's nothing left for us here. I have some relatives in the Dakotas, and I've got some gas left in the truck. Should make it a decent distance before I have to start on foot. Hope the coyotes out there haven't mutated.

Minneapolis

It's been a few years since the split. I was stranded in Minneapolis for almost half a year, the buses were all commandeered for mass-evacuations down in the Chicago area. Eventually I got back home, and was grateful to see that not too much had changed. Downtown College avenue was swamped with refugees from Milwaukee and Madison, though those cities had not been hit, they suffered nonetheless from the panic riots and a general fear of possibly being hit later. The parks were similarly crowded. The Performance Arts Center had by then been claimed as a base of operations and management center of the CGUS, who were handling aid for the refugees. Appleton natives were asked to provide what they could to this end. The refugees have mostly cleared out now that it's clear there won't be another strike anytime soon. Some stayed and have become a part of the community, while others along with some native Appleton residents moved further north to join the dispersed farming communities that have become popular since the split. CGUS still holds the PAC, and has been working along with the staff of Lawrence University to provide "post-crisis education seminars" frequently, as most local schools have been abandoned, though some people still aren't too happy about CGUS presence, they seem to think that the midwestern states can take care of themselves, and I've heard some talk of seceding to Canada. I've noticed folk like that tend to take walks down Olde Oneida street towards the river locks late at night...

CGUS has also been trying to place the Appleton Paper mills under military control, but they've had little luck there as martial law is no longer under effect. Fox River Mall and Northland Mall have generally been abandoned, there were some small looting riots from what I hear, and businesses have consolidated towards the more populated areas, people don't drive anymore unless they going somewhere far, so there's not much reason to go out there.