Due to the fact that the population of the United States has been settled by immigrants from all over the world, there is a very wide variety of bizarre place names¹. But Montevideo (pronounced locally mon-tuh-vid-ee-oh, with video pronounced as in the cassette) Minnesota is a particularly fine example. Its name is a byproduct of the United States' old 'friendly neighbour' programme, and does not imply a 'view of the mountains' as a translation would suggest. In fact, although located in the Minnesota river valley and so not entirely flat like much of the midwest, there's nothing even remotely resembling a mountain in Montevideo, MN.

There is a statue of Jose Artigas, father of Uruguayan independence, in front of the commerce building in the minuscule downtown area. The statue was donated by the people of Montevideo's better known sister city, Montevideo in Uruguay. The majority of citizens in this agricultural town with a population of about 6,000 pay little attention to the fact that there's a statue of an hispanic hero in their town square. To them, he's just some fellow with a sword. The town does have an annual four day festival called 'Fiesta Days', complete with a parade and the crowning of a queen, but, at this point, any resemblance to anything South American ceases. Fiesta Days takes place during US Father's Day in June.

Mayor Roland H Aaker started the first Fiesta Days in 1949 in tribute to the town's sister-city in Uruguay, which began in 1905 with the exchange of flags. Gifts have been exchanged between the two Montevideo's over the years.

A final notable monument, a statue in the Catholic cemetery, is known as Moving Mary. Local teen eyewitnesses have reported for years that the statue moves its arms and head late at night. But closer inspection has revealed that the statue is, in fact, a representation of Christ.

The county seat of Chippewa County, Montevideo is a nondescript town, with the usual array of commercial landmarks - a Wal-Mart, the major fast food outlets, and assorted local variants on the major gas station/convenience store chains. There is a slightly higher abundance of gas stations than in other towns of comparative size, because Montevideo lies on the still nominally important highway Routes 7 and 212. In its glory days, Montevideo featured such amenities as a moving boardwalk, and outdoor escalators to the downtown area, but Minnesota winters and failing rural economics put an end to these refinements.