Minnesota ranks middle of the pack for most beautiful state, but Iowa ranks 50th

MINNEAPOLIS -- Look, we Minnesotans know that driving across Iowa can be a bit of a flat, boring slog, but we've got to feel a little sorry for our neighbors to the south.

A new ranking of the United States in order of overall beauty placed Iowa dead last -- 50th place.

Minnesota came in nearly right down the center of the pack, at 24th overall, in the rankings from Thrillist.

"This U.S. state might as well change its name to Canada Lite. Along the North Shore, you'll find rugged lakeside cliffs lined with lighthouses and deep forests that conceal stellar hiking trails and waterfalls; come in the summertime, when the Boundary Waters offers some of the most sought-after fishing and canoeing in the upper prairie," the site reported. "The sheer, rugged Lake Superior shoreline gives another glimpse of raw North America, and the pocky glacial holes around Interstate State Park will remind you how far north you really are."

Wisconsin notched one higher than Minnesota, coming in at 23, with Thrillist praising "Wisconsin's full array of cliffs, forests, water, and the occasional natural stone bridge," and adding, "you'll be hard-pressed to find country more pleasant than Door County."

South Dakota ranked even higher -- 21st in the overall rankings -- and added that it was the far and away "most underrated state in America" when it comes to natural beauty. Michigan did better still, landing a top 10 ranking.

But Iowa ... poor Iowa.

"Iowa gets a tip of the Wisconsin drift lands on the east side, where there are some pretty cliffs. And it does offer some breathtaking sunsets when the lights do down—there's romance in being able to see that far—but that's only because the state is flat as hell and, well, kinda boring," Thrillist said.