The worst place to live in America?

Washington Post writer Chris Ingraham got into hot water when he wrote an article in 2015 concluding that Red Lake County in Northern Minnesota was "the absolute worst place to live in America." It drew a lot of hate mail from Minnesotans, but also an invitation to Ingraham to come see the place for himself. And as Steve Hartman learned, the reception that Ingraham received was nothing like he expected.
Subscribe to the "CBS Sunday Morning" Channel HERE: bit.ly/20gXwJT
Get more of "CBS Sunday Morning" HERE: cbsn.ws/1PlMmAz
Follow "CBS Sunday Morning" on Instagram HERE: bit.ly/23XunIh
Like "CBS Sunday Morning" on Facebook HERE: on. 1UUe0pY
Follow "CBS Sunday Morning" on Twitter HERE: bit.ly/1RquoQb
Follow "CBS Sunday Morning" on Google+ HERE: bit.ly/1O3jk4x
Get the latest news and best in original reporting from CBS News delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to newsletters HERE: cbsn.ws/1RqHw7T
Get your news on the go! Download CBS News mobile apps HERE: cbsn.ws/1Xb1WC8
Get new episodes of shows you love across devices the next day, stream local news live, and watch full seasons of CBS fan favorites anytime, anywhere with CBS All Access. Try it free! bit.ly/1OQA29B
---
"CBS Sunday Morning" features stories on the arts, music, nature, entertainment, sports, history, science, Americana and highlights unique human accomplishments and achievements. Check local listings for CBS Sunday Morning broadcast times.

[@superXwhiteXninja]

Step 1: write article stating that a city is the worst in the country. Step 2: property values tank because of your story Step 3: buy a home in that town Step 4: profit

[@Angry.General1461]

Isn't San Francisco the worst place to live in America?

[@No1reallydies]

The Angry General no that’s subjective Politically yes but the views in the bay are amazing and so is the skateboarding

[@No1reallydies]

Love Live Besto Shonen it’s not so much the coast I care for . It’s the creativity , uniqueness . Same reason I love Detroit Michigan and lived there for so long. Sf is just a different place nothing like other cities. If u live in a city in Ohio u pretty much lived in them all if u catch my drift

[@PresidentFlip]

Vincent facts, long established coastal cities just have more character

[@NewarkBrickCity1970]

Strategic business move.

[@brentcarrell4275]

Having lived in a small Minnesota town for a short time, it doesn't surprise me one bit to see the folks in Red Lake embrace a supposed enemy like this. The people I met in Minnesota are as friendly, as wholesome, as warm as any human beings I've ever met

[@bizzarojake5191]

when I lived in Minnesota I wore peoples faces as masks and did my little cookey dance naked in the moonlight.

[@anihtgenga4096]

Unless you're from Somalia.

[@horseplop9]

Brent Carrell I live in Flint. Lets see who likes each city more.

[@RealMadrid15UCLs]

Brent Carrell FAKE NICE

[@horticasey]

I agree. Lived in Aitken for a summer and loved it!

[@levifontaine8186]

Quentin Tarantino looks really chill now that he's moved to Minnesota

[@juniorsir9521]

Do you know where red lake county is at? I tried to look it up but it gives me many places

[@brianwalker3171]

Nah, looks nothing like him other than maybe the hair style.

[@justhowgoo752]

@@brianwalker3171 he literally looks like a younger quenten tarentino

[@cormacmaher2]

he literally looks nothing like him, lol

[@ExplosionChimp]

Everyone ignores the fact that it said "based on scenery and climate" I'm sure it's a lovely county filled with good people, but based on scenery? Yea that place looks pretty flat and boring.

[@meganjohnson5717]

Yoshifan9511 I love it here in MN

[@meganjohnson5717]

Come on you can't say that until you've actually been here I live in MN it's the most beautiful place I have ever been with the lakes and so much more

[@mr.meeseeks8229]

ever been to Kansas?

[@41570]

Bluff Country in the south and the North Shore are good examples of the MN landscape not being completely flat and bland! Every state has its gems.

[@CosmoMakeupgurl]

ExplosionChimp right

[@kgrindle5568]

Who doesn't love a happy ending? This is great.

[@baronvg]

Katheryn Grindle Apparently half the people (and maybe I use that term lightly) in this comment section!

[@el5615]

especially after a good massage

[@MAB-bs3zf]

Oh i do love happy ENDING

[@Matthew_Eitzman]

K Grindle, I love a happy ending at the end of a massage.

[@vinnyfatstacks1644]

Bob Kraft’s prosecutors?

[@wesmaly]

i just spent hours watching Onion News, and i didn't even notice a difference when autoplay landed on this video

[@jayy7842]

LOL!

[@JosieB2017]

driving home from northern Minnesota I took a short cut through Red Lake County, it was around 2:00 in the morning and in my headlights I could barely make out a large animal loping on the shoulder of the county road, slowing down incase it darted out in front of me I came up along side of a timber wolf. I was amazed at the size of the animal since its head was window level. It ran along beside me for about 100 yards before it darted back into the brush, This was back in the 1980s and when I think about it I am still in awe and remember everything about that drive.

[@seancavanaugh5555]

Worst place to live in America? Come on guys are we just going to forget that Detroit doesn't exist?

[@GTVAlfaMan]

Sean Cavanaugh Newark, Nj is far worse than Detroit.

[@Eric345]

Sean Cavanaugh lol

[@NCOGNTO]

+Buick Mackane none of you been to West Texas ?

[@corywagner980]

Cecil Mills I was forced to live in EL Paso for 3 years and i liked it.. I'm back home in Spokane now but El Paso was a good expierence

[@Eric345]

Texas is the greatest state in America.

[@Ifafa]

I'm from small-town South Dakota and am currently living in Minnesota. Maybe they aren't the prettiest places, but the people I know here are easily the nicest and most genuine I have ever met. Thank you for the story!

[@PolPotsPieHole]

lol, jealous of whites....what a life you must lead?

[@MiguelRodriguez-dl7rn]

Thankfully Minnesota is becoming more diverse

[@nathanielhiggerson7679]

John Johnson Sadly

[@andrebrown6654]

Your state is how I came to love this country and plan on visiting all 50. I visited Wind Cave NP back in high school and I've been obsessed with traveling ever since. Plus bison burgers are delicious!!

[@RealMadrid15UCLs]

Providence_ FAKE NICE

[@GummyDinosaursify]

Pretty sure people would say Flint or Detroit Michigan are the worst places to live (and that's from people who live there).

[@theer1ca]

I've lived in the metro areas of both Flint and Detroit with a long family history in the metro area of Flint. Hard times, yeah. Lead water notwithstanding I'd still take living there over a mega city, personally. To each their own.

[@mr.meeseeks8229]

I would say areas like that in the rust belt or areas in the deep south like Alabama or Mississippi

[@KeithsReviews]

Any black democrat run city really.

[@el5615]

maybe you need to visit Flint or Detroit

[@jessicaarelle847]

Tawnee Stone Haha I'm an Indian man living in Montgomery, Alabama. It's actually a fine place to live. The south isn't bad at all. It's what you make of it. Also, though there are a lot of extremely conservative people, they're actually really nice (at least to your face). Life here is pretty pleasant, even as a foreigner.

[@Atreides217]

I love this story. Never discount the warm hearts in chilly Minne!

[@JesPulido]

I wish everyone could be like this.

[@lowerf0_rtyei8ht92]

Jes Pulido Yeah, me too.

[@GrievingForGrace]

Plot twist: Its just an elaborate, passive-aggressive pissing contest. Locals: "I'll show that reporter! I'm gonna invite him to my town!" Reporter: "Oh Yeah? I'm gonna MOVE to your town!"

[@isaacmcquown]

as someone who lived 45 minutes away i can confirm that red lake county is not the worst place to live.

[@wirthl3ss15]

grand forks?

[@isaacmcquown]

@@wirthl3ss15 nope

[@isaacmcquown]

@Wirthl3ss guess again

[@wirthl3ss15]

@@isaacmcquown mahnomen?

[@isaacmcquown]

@@wirthl3ss15 nope guess again

[@heavenlyblue]

A perfect example of the need for the main stream media to get out of its bubble...

[@natophonic]

Also for the need for people outside the bubble to avoid assuming someone inside the bubble is either stupid or evil.

[@Popcultureguy3000]

natophonic I'm glad you got what they were trying to say in last week's controversial segment. Even when we disagree with other people's political leanings, we should not demonize them. Otherwise we allow people to live in their own bubbles, creating dangerous political and personal absolutes which just breeds more extremism.

[@TioDave]

The American dream needs to be removed from the bubble. The American dream has become a very generalized commercial for getting in debt. I think Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs has the right idea. He started the Mike Rowe Works Foundation to counter this anti dirty jobs mindset. We need to diversify the goals for future generations. There are plenty of good well paying jobs that aren't in a office. There is even rooms for business owners in those industries.

[@pineappaloupe]

isnt this..... never mind.

[@zyxwut321]

More like an easy headline and clickbait giving a trolling young reporter a name for himself and him embracing that shtick and the community going along with it because they'd never get that kind of attention nationally otherwise.

[@chrism.4600]

This is why not everything that looks good on paper is “truth”.

[@SnyderBearFarm]

"that's what the spreadsheet said." oh man that spreadsheet will keep you from living more than death itself will.

[@jeremyray1148]

Killed em with kindness

[@benjackson7872]

Nice

[@ANTAlex-pe9li]

The fact that the map ranked southern Arizona higher for scenery than the entirety of New England makes me think that map was BS

[@zwink37]

I think it was based on climate, but I'd much rather have snow and ice than over 100 degree days. Probably ranked by someone who hates the cold.

[@ANTAlex-pe9li]

@@zwink37 yeah probably

[@MrPielovers]

What? The whole reason was he said it was the "worst place in America" was because it was last in the database. He was saying it as a joke for being last. The title was all click bait, "worst place to live in", that town is probably not the worst place to live it's based on scenery. Things got taken way to seriously

[@TheBriceKennedy]

I'm sorry but you're completely wrong here, like 100%. It was actually taken TOO seriously. Big difference.

[@kristitrimble9658]

He said spread sheet.....

[@GGunit]

I lived in Grand Forks, ND for a few years and we used to go to Red River Falls to go tubing down the river in the summer. Some of the best memories of my life hands down and they were in "the worst place to live in America".

[@jamesallen5591]

I've lived in NorCal, South Dakota, Florida, Germany and San Francisco. I now live in Oregon. The nicest people I have come across over the past few years have been in South Dakota and Oregon. It still throws me off when someone, who has never seen me before and doesn't know anything about me, says 'Hi' to me, and how easy it is to start a conversation with a stranger in this little town in Oregon. I love it!

[@horseman942]

Fantastic people in South Dakota!

[@henryettoit897]

the worst place is actually DETROIT.

[@sjun21]

legojon you should read more

[@honeybadgerstudios21]

Henry Ettoit says a guy who's never been there, take a visit sometime

[@shadowchief2788]

I literally just died and had to come back to life just so I could say that!

[@brianreardon7700]

Hello Detroit! I will always say alittle prayer for you!

[@GRINKLER]

Henry Ettoit that is so true

[@abefrohman1759]

Chris is a typical modern journalist he wrote an article based on something from the Internet and didn't actually investigate anything first.

[@kennethkirkham2471]

Statistics. Drawing conclusions from numbers about life is missing the bulk of the information. It is difficult to measure the little things that make people happy.

[@Jackmerius_Tacktheritrix5733]

abe frohman Koala stuffed sausages yum

[@Lahurtful310]

abe frohman THE SAUSAGE KING OF CHICAGO??

[@HistoriisMysteria]

abe frohman Yeah, he should've lived in every single county in America for an ultimately pointless article. Where's the dedication?

[@m.thomas8819]

Which describes most of the crap from the Washington Post....

[@golperuano]

A real feel good story. Thanks for posting this!

[@TheOnlyVipey]

Listen to him say "gearbox" lol.. Took him one year and he has our accent

[@GRINKLER]

I saw my bus driver and my old 5th grade teacher in here

[@jimbertido7762]

does his wife know he's gay?

[@KaizenLife]

LOL

[@cory3100]

does yours?

[@tommynorthwood]

Jim Bertido 2:18 he says he finally came out.

[@jimbertido7762]

Some Dude are you the boyfriend?

[@lowerf0_rtyei8ht92]

Some Dude How would you know?

[@10talonz]

Chris has obviously never been to Barrow, Alaska. At least Red Lake has trees and a lower cost of living.

[@kenc2257]

And, NO deadly polar bears...

[@Crazystuffyousee]

A perfect example of how the media is about "ratings" over anything else

[@bjdon99]

The thing about a small town like that is that it is very unusual for someone with no connection to the town (so not a wife or husband of someone who grew up in it) to move to such a small place. These are the kinds of places that tend to bleed people to the bright lights of the bigger towns further away. But Ingraham picked a town that is not one of these decaying small towns (from what he has written), but one that is still pretty prosperous and proud of who they are. I suspect the biggest fear the townspeople all have is that at some point after a few years there, they'll pick up and move back to the big city.

[@nate_218]

bjdon99 I live in Red Lake Falls and he isn’t even a major member of the community. I have seen him once since he has moved here.

[@lorenzomcgary4594]

I love Minnesota, and grew up not far from Red Lake. Sure the winter months are cold and long, but in the summer it is really beautiful - particularly up north by the Boundary Waters. If I could find a job up there, I would move back in an instant.

[@samwallert9898]

i remember seeing the article when it made it through my hometown, on the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. I'm happy to see my fellow Minnesotans not holding a grudge. These 10,000+ lakes are here for everyone to explore.

[@thefpvlife7785]

We all live in our own bubble its the ones willing to step out of his bubble that makes a difference.

[@thejasonbischoff]

Currently writing an article, Malibu: Worst Place to Live in America. Open to invitations as I may be wrong.

[@lowerf0_rtyei8ht92]

thejasonbischoff Malibu? The worst place to live? Yeah, you need to bed out more, bud.

[@katvtay]

Lower F0[_]rty Ei8ht whoosh

[@yevgeniyban765]

Lol

[@ilovethe1950s]

No, Worst Place to Live in America: NYC. Open to hate mail. And it WILL come, at a MUCH higher cry baby rate than these people.

[@normandecaesen286]

What a great, uplifting story. Thank to all....I needed this ❤

[@danmullet4995]

KIDS pack your bags, we're going on vacation!

[@noUGames]

Centralia, PA would like to have a word with you

[@darkchris66]

I love happy endings like this. Small town folks can have such hearts of gold and be so welcoming.

[@landshark1191]

Let's remember that this was done for counties NOT cities, so please let's not sit here and name cities

[@nickleclaire8545]

Most cities entail a primary county... so could try to choose, and the quality of life for people in Cook County, IL, Shelby County, TN, etc... is less than perfect and bubbly.

[@sarkaniemi]

2017: Chris gets to work from home. 2020-2021 (Covid-restrictions): Man, Chris and Washington Post were way ahead!

[@zelilee5312]

I grew up in a small town. I wanted to go out and see the world, but I realized how much I hated congestion and traffic, and people always in a hurry. I went back to a small town.

[@blvdqueen1000]

Worst place to live in America is Flint, Michigan!

[@22howards]

As a wise person one told me, "you can make a spreadsheet say anything you want". This nation has so many beautiful places to offer.

[@blitzn00dle50]

The counties that article said are good to live in ain't it chief

[@mattglennwilliams]

I give this guy a lot of credit. His biggest mistake as a journalist was writing an article about a place that he's never even visited before. How can you determine somewhere the "absolute worst place in America" without having ever been there? But yet he owned up, took the town up on its offer, and even ended up moving there. This is a lesson that the large media conglomerates need to learn...

[@JackieDaytona1776]

His job is get clicks, not be a journalist. No one can visit everywhere in America, no one could ever know where the worst place is. But yet somehow we all kinda know it's Philly...right?

[@briandivincenzo7415]

I love Sunday Morning... My mom got me watchin it since my son's been born and he's up early on Sunday's...which means I am too.. But its such a pleasant show.. Almost no negative stories...a nice break from what we see on every other news program.

[@pauljohnson3340]

When I was a kid and my dad was U.S. Air Force, we were stationed north of there in Baudette, MN for 4 years. The one thing I will never forget is waiting at the end of the driveway for the school bus at 6 am and the brutal cold.

[@jamessexton6]

😬 yikes!

[@foolishevil]

dudes never heard of fresno apparently.

[@lancea1470]

Geez, I was just in Oklee, Mn in Red Lake County yesterday and it seemed pretty swell. Just read an article about people dealing with delivery packages being stolen from so many people in NYC. Can't really see that happening here. Plus, here you can create your own culture and nightlife at minimal cost.

[@alysondillon5220]

I live in a small town in Minnesota and I love going to red lake county to go ice fishing.

[@jackuber7358]

This is a truly heartwarming story of sin & repentance. God bless this young man. May the rest of today's youth take a lesson.

[@zzizahacallar]

What a beautiful story!

[@mtadams2009]

I travel a lot and have been all over this fine country. I also love to ski, mt bike, hike and fish in general I love the outdoors. I have found there is something good about most places even if it is not obvious. There is also good people all over this fine land. Its what you make of it.

[@777jones]

Agreed I used to work in the airline business, been all over. The USA has good quality of life and scenery second to none. The fact you can rent a car for cheap and drive anywhere is incredible. Even Oklahoma or Arkansas or Minnesota like in this video are full of interesting things to see. Even Detroit.

[@jamessexton6]

@@777jones Detroit... 😬 Yikes!

[@pattyfarghaly1821]

I'd live there what the heck. Wonderful people and town.

[@Thecollectingman42]

I would love to live in a small town. The problem is that there is no jobs there to make a living. Maybe when I retire.

[@DasByrdi]

If you're a hard worker there are plenty of places to work. Look into working in the mine you can make a ton of cash.

[@nate_218]

Browns Fan there are plenty of jobs in and around Red Lake County to make a living

[@guysumpthin2974]

???? But ,,,, USDA IS THE ONE TO PUBLISH IT , the reporter quoted it . And they all get mad at the reporter ???

[@HouseJawn]

This show is the best journalism on tv period.

[@In_memory_of_Dad]

This is one story I would love to see brought to the big screen by Hollywood

[@fakearya9158]

I lived in MN for a while and the Red Lakes are absolutely one of the most beautiful places in MN! They're like an ocean oasis amidst so many wheat fields.

[@zyxwut321]

It wouldn't be this kind of story if the "absolute worst place" happened to be in rural Tennessee, Kentucky or West Virginia where it REALLY belongs.

[@jimb221]

Didn't even have to watch this. Why, you ask? The graphic had no mention of Chicago. Draw a circle on a map, centered on Chicago with a radius of about 75 miles....thats my top "never live here" zone.

[@8skin]

Proud to be a Minnesotan! Go Waseca!

[@kevinjohnson7300]

what about red lake reservation.. thats a whole other story

[@rhysligget6707]

Kksavage19 He's trying to say it's a ghetto.

[@benniecrawford6876]

A’ho

[@ler5299]

Love that story! Love CBS Sunday morning and their stories.

[@rperkins637]

It is really great to hear a story like this, Awesome!

[@juicykiwi7347]

Top 10 Anime Betrayals

[@JuliusFawcett]

Home is where the heart is

[@ZER0--]

But my heart has to roam.

[@JuliusFawcett]

ZER0 only you know what is right for you

[@20035079]

what

[@thecasualreviewer2148]

We need more stories with this type of energy.

[@jesusvera1210]

Been humble and kind goes a long ways!!

[@notahandle965]

Everyone from Detroit coming to here comment "nah detroit is the worst" as their last words before they get shot

[@kocickakitty143]

This video overwhelmed me with optimism. In todays COVID infested World, seing something nice and positive is great.

[@shrewd1245]

You hit the proverbial nail on the head. I like how they go up there in the middle of winter......and still the people are as wonderful as can be. As far as northern Minnesota goes, Red Lake isn't the nicest place. That's true. But the majority of northern Minnesota is absolutely beautiful. In the summer and fall, it's an incredibly popular place to vacation.......so much so that some celebrities have summer homes in the Brainerd lakes area. Oh well, to each his/her own I guess. Wherever one can find some peace and happiness (as you said) is fine by me.

[@fermainjackson2899]

so, did he write the article without never been there before??? ..... unbelievable

[@brandonh.6956]

Anywhere in Illinois is the worst place in the world to live in.

[@Nick-sl2wp]

How can someone run a story entitled "the worst place to live in America" when he has never been there? Turn off the laptop and start living through your own eyes.

[@BatMajor]

So was this a story about the town? Or the reporter??

[@kenc2257]

Answer: yes.

[@dennisl1059]

Anyone heard of Banjo from Red Lake? When he was a kid and used to go around with his johnson hanging out and someone said it looked like a banjo, so the name stuck his whole life! He told the story to a upper scale homeowner when he asked how he got the name. the guy looked mortified!

[@kingmike40]

If you think Red Lake is bad you should try Lubbock, Texas.

[@richwood8538]

Regardless of my feelings toward either side, I applaud them both, in the end they all got a real good look at each other, then acted on the truth. If only that were policy for all.

[@driver8703]

Apparently he's never been to Memphis, TN

[@psilocybemusashi]

maybe you should visit memphis. i have been to both and detroit is far better than memphis. but i lived in detroit so maybe i just know where the good places are. that is really the trick to living anywhere.

[@jshepard152]

I'm not sure why Tennessee doesn't give that city to Arkansas.

[@NeverTrust298]

this story made cry so sweet to see this kind of stories

[@brettwall6957]

I’ve drove threw there and it’s pretty boring

[@ottob632]

Minnesota as a whole is a great place to live. I have lived in small towns and the big city and most of the people you meet are genuine. Spend some time up the north shore and along the Mississippi river bluffs and you will have a deeper appreciation of the geography. Everyone is quick to point out the winters but that's why they make long under ware plus i prefer the cold over heat any day.

[@djc621]

Otto B I have lived all over the state of Minnesota and the iron range is beautiful but the people are less than friendly. If they are it's superficial.

[@murderouskitten2577]

have to respect the guy for admiting the mistake :) from media guys nowadays thats a refreshing thing :)

[@kenc2257]

A back-handed compliment from a murderous cat person. Okay.

[@murderouskitten2577]

@@kenc2257 it is a strange world ;)

[@JoshCraver9000]

Hagerstown, Maryland is easily the worst place to live!

[@johnandmarylouwilde7882]

Years ago we camped by a lake in Red Lake County. Site was nice, but the mosquitoes were awful.

[@kathymiller9351]

Detroit, definitely worst!!!

[@oregonflatland]

Worst place to live? LOL looks like paradise to me. You want to talk about the worst places to live, try Detroit, Baltimore, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, etc. etc.

[@christinab.2864]

If you think that Seattle and San Francisco is bad then I’ll have to put Nashville on your list

[@apathak34]

It seems much better than the cities imo

[@SamusAran1818]

LOL I keep hearing about different places that are the worst to live in the U.S.. I saw this show about how bad it is to live in this town located next to the Salton Sea in California. They said it was so bad that some people are selling their houses for $400. You heard that right, $400! LOL

[@bradenanderson6989]

Will these news guys ever learn the definition of 'troll'? Sending literal hate mail doesn't make you a troll

[@TacoStacks]

looks cold

[@solinvictus4367]

To be honest the small town feel always appealed to me, unfortunately being a social studies teacher doesn't give a whole lot of options outside of big cities

[@matthewmutchler450]

Wherever he was ice fishing at the beginning was not Red Lake county.. There are literally no lakes in Red Lake County believe it or not lol. Red Lake itself is in Beltrami and Clearwater counties.

[@AshGeo]

People outside the city bubble are living happy and fulfilled lives? What a shocker...

[@AnthonyLarson.3]

Lesson, stop reading into social media posts

[@chicagotom1643]

Gary, Indiana??? The entire state of Illinois??

[@jshepard152]

You're not wrong.

[@thebritishhippie9735]

Can't imagine the time this guy had 2016 to 2020

[@patc1309]

Camden NJ... armpit of the world.

[@jd5179]

Any streets with MLK name on it

[@joeharris3878]

Red Lake Falls is a pretty place. The Red Lake River cuts a bit of a gorge through there. Red Lake county and most of the area east and west of the Red River of the north is desolate. It is nearly treeless, flat, sugar beet fields as far you can see in any direction. Bleak in the winter. But the RLFalls is nice.

[@randallcox2238]

We should never call something the worst. Remember, for anything you don't like, somebody does like it.