I remember that night well. What is even more amazing, which I didn’t realize until looking it up recently, is that Reagan only lost Minnesota by something like 0.08%. Eight one hundredths of one percent. So he came within a whisker of a 50 state sweep.
Mondale was a Minnesota native or it would have happened.
Also, it was the one state he refused to campaign for, because he considered it unseemly to win his opponent’s state.
From what I understand, Reagan told them to stop counting Minnesota so Mondale could have at least his home state. Reagan didn’t want to humiliate him by taking that away so he let him keep that. Don’t know if it’s true but one has to admit that 0.08% is a bit odd to lose a state.