Minnesota was, IIRC, the only state in the entire country where McCain outspent Obama. McCain also kept spending and campaigning in Iowa long after it became clear he couldn't win the state.
That is correct. It's worth looking at the trend map:
This is pretty close to a map of counties in non-Minnesota media markets. That large chunk of red in the northwest is basically the Fargo/Moorhead media market. Those red counties in the southwest corner are Sioux Falls, and the two in the southeast are La Crosse, WI. Almost every county in a non-Minnesota media market trended toward Obama.
And yet, having a money advantage is supposed to be meaningless for elections and doesn't affect the outcome...