I've always seen the upper peninsula as a rabbit so that took my brain extra long to process, but I'll now try to view it as a monster eating Wisconsin
As someone who lives in the lower peninsula, I can tell you that Wisconsin hasn't conquered the U.P. for the same reason no one conquers Russia. They can just retreat into the snow and let the wolves eat you.
I thought it’s because there is nothing there that anyone wants. I always thought Wisconsin was paying them to keep it. I can think of entire US states I’d be willing to pay France to take over.
It depends. If you're into hiking, fishing, hunting, and snow, it's a paradise. Lots of folks from the lower peninsula go there for vacations in the summer and fall.
Yooper here. Your example is on the money, but perhaps moreso than you know: The UP is also heavily populated by Finnish-Americans, which helps explain the cultural resilience and independence as well. The same dimensions that have kept Finland independent from Russia, keep the UP independent from others - and, holy wah, if I had a nickel every time we talked about breaking away from the trolls South of the bridge while at deer camp...
All for the better. While we wait for cannabis stores to open in MN, it's closer for most folks to drive to the UP rather than to Red Lake. Plus there's more variety in the Ironwood stores
It snows there from October to May, and there's super bad black flies and mosquitos once it thaws. Only 3% of the Michigan population live there, and they'd prefer you not interfere with that.
If I were Wisconsin I’d just slowly but steadily build a line of photon cannons and pylons for an unstoppable wall of firepower to absorb the peninsula.
It will be a hard fought war because everyone is wearing camo by default. Large scale battles would turn into sharing recipes on the best way to smoke a trout, this years corn harvest, last years deer season and by the end of the night, everyone will have plans together for the following weekend. They would be borrowing each other's power tools within the first thirty minutes.
Is there even enough people in Wisconsin to pull of an invasion if the upper Michigan peninsula? How could they when there is only like 5 actual Wisconsinites there? Especially when they're all trying to invent new cheese recipes?
It's because we are still in the preperation phase along the boarder. Soon your land will be our land. We will launch cheese and brats across the boarder striking critical barbecue pits the likes of which the world has never seen while simultaneously blocking the boarder of all you PBR supply lines. You've been warned.