The fair place to meet is Chicago, IL — the city closest to the midpoint of Louisville and Minneapolis. From the farther side that’s about 7 hr 26 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Chicago, IL
From Louisville
5 hr 39 min
269 mi to Chicago
From Minneapolis
7 hr 26 min
355 mi to Chicago
Louisville has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 1 hr 47 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Louisville and Minneapolis are about 605 miles apart.
Louisville and Minneapolis are about 605 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Chicago, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 5 hr 39 min of driving on the Louisville side and 7 hr 26 min on the Minneapolis side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Chicago suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Chicago doesn't have what you're after, Milwaukee and Indianapolis are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Louisville and Minneapolis.
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. Read more →
Louisville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. Read more →
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 census, it is the state's most populous city. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.