Name That Flyover City! — July 28, 2022

Here’s a review of this week’s questions:

1. The movies “Ready Player One,” “Traffic” and “Air Force One” all feature scenes filmed in this midwestern city. What city is it?
2. This southern city is the only U.S. city to win the “Nation’s Cleanest City” award four times. What city is it?
3. In what midwestern city would you find a delicacy called “Ma Baensch Herring”?

And here are the answers:

1. Columbus, Ohio. Columbus residents are reported to have gone nuts upon seeing the trailer for “Ready Player One,” prior to the film’s 2018 opening. The first line of the trailer has the film’s protagonist, Wade, saying, “I live here in Columbus, Ohio.” The Columbus portrayed in the movie is shown in a dystopian 2045 but does include scenes filmed at Columbus North High School and Broad and High Streets downtown. “Air Force One,” the 1997 action movie starring Harrison Ford, features Columbus’ Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base standing in for Ramstein Airfield in Germany. “Traffic”, the 2000 Steven Soderberg-directed drug war saga, filmed scenes at the Ohio Judicial Center and Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
2. Memphis, Tennessee. A placard in front of the Shelby County Registrar’s Office reads, “In 1930, ‘Memphis City Beautiful’ became the nation’s first urban beautification commission. Over three decades ‘Clean Up, Paint Up, and Fix Up’ campaigns won Memphis the ‘Cleanest City Award.’ Memphis also won the Ernest T. Trigg trophy four times for being named the ‘Nation’s Cleanest City.’” Efforts to rejuvenate these programs resurfaced just this year, when Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland recruited employees to join the Public Service Corps, concentrating its efforts on trash pickup and overall beautification of the city.
3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Offering “the kiss of health since 1932,” Ma Baensch Food Products offers little jars of marinated herring in original recipe or sour cream and chives flavored. The product originated with Lena “Ma” Baensch preparing the delicacy for family and friends in Milwaukee. Eventually, local shops began selling the product. Baensch Foods announces on its website that “Through the years, other herring brands began to compromise their quality and ingredients. We, however, maintained or improved our standards to always give the consumer the highest quality, best tasting premium herring on the market.” Carrying forward the culinary traditions started long ago by German and Scandinavian settlers in Milwaukee, Ma Baensch Marinated Herring is a one-of-a-kind taste treat!