Hi Laura,

This is a highly personal choice and you have many options. Sadly there are no non-messy trees.

When you plant a tree it's a commitment to the future, and you want to make a good choice for you. A visit to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum or the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, where many kinds of trees are planted, might help you narrow your choices. You'd get to see what the trees look like when mature and consider how they'd fit into your yard. The St. Paul campus is easily walkable.

https://arb.umn.edu/gardens-grounds/tree-collections

https://campustrees.umn.edu/

Maples are fast-growing and people love the fall color, but they are struggling around the state and some experts say we've planted too many of them. Oaks are the single best tree for wildlife that we can plant, and bur oak in particular is a tree that's expected to handle our changing climate well. Lindens (sometimes called basswood) are loved for their spring flowers, but they can drop sticky residue and are a favorite target of Japanese beetles.

Buckeyes have beautiful spring flowers and interesting leaves, and newer elm hybrids are resistant to Dutch elm disease. You have so many choices!

These sites may give you some ideas:

https://extension.umn.edu/find-plants/trees-and-shrubs

I hope this helps. Good luck.