In mid-January 1888, a severe cold wave passed through the northern regions of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains of the United States, then considered to be the northwestern region of the nation.
 It led to a blizzard for the northern Plains and upper Mississippi valley where many children were trapped in schoolhouses where they froze to death.
 This tragedy became known as the Schoolhouse Blizzard, Schoolchildren's Blizzard, or The Children's Blizzard.
 This cold snap and blizzard were part of a month which averaged temperatures 6–12 degrees Fahrenheit below normal across much of the northern and western United States.
Trisetum spicatum is a species of grass known by the common name spike trisetum and spike false oat.
 It is native to North America, Eurasia, and South America.
 In North America it occurs throughout northern regions, including northern sections of the United States and most all of Canada, its range continuing to Greenland.
 It is widespread throughout the Canadian Arctic Islands.
 The grass occurs in a variety of Arctic and alpine habitat types, as well as many types of mountainous habitat in regions farther south.
 It is a perennial grass forming clumps of erect stems ranging in height from just a few centimeters to over one meter.
 The narrow leaves are mostly located around the bases of the densely clumped stems.
 The inflorescence is a narrow spike a few centimeters long or up to 30 to 50 centimeters in maximum length.
 The spikes are green to purple or brownish and shiny.
Halenia deflexa, also known as green gentian or spurred gentian is a native flower of the northern regions of the United States (Montana, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, and Pennsylvania) as well as all of Canada.
 It is mostly found in wetlands or moist forests of these regions.
 The blooming season is typically from July to August.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks (Latin: "Dioecesis de Fairbanks" ) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising the northern regions of the state of Alaska.
 It is led by a bishop who serves as pastor of the mother church, Sacred Heart Cathedral in the City of Fairbanks.
 The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Sami Americans are Americans of Sami descent, who originate from Sapmi, the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia.
 "Lapp Americans" is sometimes used, but "lapp" is considered derogatory by the Sami.
 It has been estimated that there are 30,000 people who are of Sami ancestry living in the United States.
Gloria Sawai (20 December 1932 – 20 July 2011), born Gloria Ruth Ostrem in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was an American-born fiction author, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
 She died on 20 July 2011.
Solidago multiradiata is a species of goldenrod known by the common names Rocky Mountain goldenrod, northern goldenrod, and alpine goldenrod.
 It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout the northern regions, including Alaska and most of Canada (all 3 territories plus all provinces except Prince Edward Island, including territory north of the Arctic Circle.
 Its distribution extends through the western United States as far south as Arizona, New Mexico, and California.
 It is known mostly from the subalpine and alpine climates of high mountain ranges.
 Its habitat includes tundra and mountain meadows.
Rhus microphylla, the littleleaf sumac, desert sumac, correosa, or agritos, is a species of sumac in the family Anacardiaceae, native to North America, in the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico, from central and western Texas, southern New Mexico, central and northern regions of the Mexican Altiplano-(Mexican Plateau), and extreme southeastern Arizona of the Madrean Sky Islands.
Minnesota ( ; locally   ) is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States.
 Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858, created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory.
 The state has a large number of lakes, and is known by the slogan "Land of 10,000 Lakes".
 Its official motto is "L'Étoile du Nord" (French: "Star of the North").
North Dakota ( ; locally [ˌno̞ɹθ dəˈko̞ɾə] ) is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States.
 It is the 19th most extensive, but the 4th least populous, and the 4th most sparsely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
 North Dakota was admitted as the 39th state to the Union on November 2, 1889.
 The state capital is Bismarck, and the largest city is Fargo.

Question: Which state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States is the birthplace of Gloria Sawai?
Answer: Minnesota