John B,
At times it gets hot as Hades and as HUMID as Florida, here in tropical southern Minnesota.
Conversely it gets cold as the Arctic at times in the winter.
Also there can be times of incessant winds... the kind of wind that takes your breath away when you walk across the yard, or kind of blows you around as you walk.
But then, to balance it all out - there are times when the weather is sunny and 75 with low humidity... beautiful, heavenly days - absolute perfection! And there are LOTS of great tractor shows/clubs in Minnesota.
I actually do love this land - I was born here, I'll likely die here... BUT I surely do hate the weather at times. Guess I will retire here - simply by virtue of: A.) my husband would never move and B.) our kids and grandkids are here. So I guess "here" is where we will stay.
If I had no family, I'd likely move to a state that has less extremes in the weather - especially LESS humidity. I don't know where that would be though...
I don't want to totally disillusion you... so I'll fess-up that Minnesota is beautiful! Both the south and the north land! If you like hunting and fishing, head north. If you like sea faring vessels, head even farther north to the Duluth area.
Southern MN has Mayo Clinic - so excellent medical care for one's "golden years" (though of course it's expensive... same as everywhere else). In the southern half, we have great farmland... that is WHEN it's not to wet/too dry, too hot/too cool. (GRIN)
And lastly, in reality, I guess that central heat and air conditioning actually remedy most of the "weather issues".