Right, Ben, go back and ask first about a state in midwestern USA (8)
I believe the answer is:
nebraska
'a state in midwestern usa' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both locations as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'right ben go back and ask first' is the wordplay.
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'go back' is a reversal indicator.
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'first' becomes 'a' (first letter of the alphabet).
'r'+'ben'='rben'
'rben' back-to-front is 'nebr'.
'nebr'+'ask'+'a'='NEBRASKA'
'about' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nebraska that I've seen before include "American state, capital Lincoln" , "US Great Plains state" , "State of central US" , "US state, capital Lincoln" , "US Midwest state" .)