You went too far with your mea culpa on Stamford, Connecticut (“only” city in which you hit the same other state when you head either north, south, east or west.
Okay… True of Stamford.
Carter Lake, Iowa… true, I guess, although depending on what exact point from which you head due south, you may miss neighboring Nebraska. (look at Google Maps and think it over.)
Definitely not true of Superior. You said you hit Minnesota no matter which way you go. True if you go north, true if you go west. But…
From Superior, try going SOUTH. Next state you hit is (sound familiar?) Iowa.
If you go east from the southern part of town, the next land you hit is Michigan (the UP, my Yooper friends would be quick to point out). (Google maps isn’t showing me the exact city limits, so I’m making an assumption here.)
I think you are definitely incorrect in at least part of your statement. The lower part of Minnesota extends to the east to about 91.218 degrees west. Superior, WI sits at approx. 92.104 degrees west, meaning that if you travel south you will hit Minnesota before Iowa. That?s about a 40 mile difference, in case you were wondering. My Garmin Mapsource program shows shaded areas that correspond to the incorporated areas of towns/cities. You are correct that if you start in the southern most areas inside the city limits and travel east, you will not hit Minnesota, but will remain in Wisconsin until crossing the state. However, if you start from the point on the map marked ?Superior,? which is the point that road signs refer to when stating how many miles away it is (I assume it?s somewhere downtown), you will indeed hit Minnesota by going east.
I took a look at this again and realized something else ? you?re wrong about Carter Lake as well. I invite YOU to take a look at Google Maps and think it over. The Missouri River takes a wild turn back to the east just south of Council Bluffs, IA and heads about 4.5 miles back east. From ANY point in Carter Lake, traveling south, you will first hit Nebraska. You may miss Nebraska right by Carter Lake, but you?ll hit it before any other state. So, the question becomes: is there any point in the city limits (and I use the word city with a bit of hesitation) of Carter Lake that you can go east and miss Nebraska. The answer is yes. (Map of city limits)
http://cityofcarterlake.web.officelive.com/Documents/Zoning%20Map%20Nov%2006.pdf
From the southernmost part of Carter Lake, you can travel east and never hit another state until making it all the way across Iowa (and that state you?ll hit then certainly isn?t Nebraska).
I don?t think Carter Lake should count anyway. Although it might technically be called the ?City? of Carter Lake, it lacks the things that we generally expect a city to have ? large population, multiple school districts, multiple, distinct neighborhoods, multiple hospitals, public transportation, institutions of higher education, etc. There are more than 4 times as many K-12 students in Stamford than the total population of Carter Lake! But, if the argument is going to be made that Carter Lake is technically a city, and therefore eligible for the competition, then I?ll make the argument that there are places within the city limits of Carter Lake where you CAN NOT travel in all four cardinal directions and hit the same state. The same is true of Superior, WI ? traveling east from the southern portions of that city will take you across Wisconsin and into Michigan. (Map of city limits)