This is a paid piece from the Augustana University Center for Western Studies.

Simplified: The Midwest tends to slip through the cracks when people talk politics, art, history and culture. The Lost Region Recovery Project is looking to buck that trend by bringing nationally recognized scholars together for three days of conversation in Sioux Falls later this month.

Why it matters

  • The Lost Region Recovery Project Conference launched last year as a partnership between Augustana University's Center for Western Studies and Middle West Review and was funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This year's theme is "Turning 250: The View from the Midwest," and the event will run Nov. 19-21 in Sioux Falls.
  • The conference will bring big-name speakers, including Politico's Jonathan Martin and Wall Street Journal's Pamela Paul, throughout three days of thoughtful conversations on how the Midwest has evolved over the last 250 years through history, politics, food, art, music and more.
  • Additionally, the conference will feature the world premiere of a new documentary film, "Somewhere in the Middle: Finding the American Midwest," created by a local filmmaker in collaboration with the same three entities hosting the conference.
"The Midwest slips through the cracks," said Jon Lauck, director of the Center for Western Studies. "This is an effort to bring the national gaze to the center of the country and to get people to hear our stories. We get ignored too much."

Tell me more

The conference will kick off the evening of Thursday, Nov. 19 at the Center for Western Studies on Augustana's campus.

  • Politico's Jonathan Martin will give a talk starting at 7 p.m. looking at midwestern politics in America's 250th year – especially in light of the recent Midterm elections.

Then, Friday, Nov. 20, the conference continues starting at 6 p.m. at the Washington Pavilion with the premiere of the documentary film.

  • Prior to the premiere, conference attendees will also get a chance to see a preview for another documentary from producer Dan Mannat, which will follow stories of African Americans in the Midwest. That film is still in-the-works, but attendees will get a special teaser of what's to come.

The conference will continue Saturday, Nov. 21 with a full day of sessions walking through the early history of the Midwest, the Midwest as "flyover country," regional art and culture, and the modern Midwest.

  • Saturday's event will culminate with a discussion with Pamela Paul, a former New York Times Book Review editor and columnist and current writer for the Wall Street Journal.
"The point of this conference is to put the Midwest on the map, to get people studying the Midwest and to get people thinking about it – because it always falls through the cracks," Lauck said.

How can I attend the conference?

The conference is free and open to the public, though folks are encouraged to register in advance. You can register on the conference website.