Location for Heritage Vale Thread

Hey guys, started researching possible locations in North America for Heritage Vale to be placed in. Heritage Vale is the home town of the main protagonist in our WIP horror game ALWAYS HUNTING - Jacob's Story. Currently I am looking at Tennessee, the Carolinas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Wisconsin and Arkansas, so I want help in deciding where it should be. If you have another suggestion, I'm open to hear it.
Conditions:

• It must be close to a forest (15-30 minute drive, if that helps
• The forest has a river in it
• Both the forest and the town experience thunderstorms with heavy rain from time to time.
• It must be warm-hot in the day and relatively cool at night
• It must be within a 10 hour drive to New York City (in realistic timeframe, so that it warrants the character to take two days to reach it, not saying that I'm going to put the player through a 10-hour scene of driving )

EDIT: It has been decided that Heritage Vale will be set in Minnesota.

Edited by: TheWalshinator