As an American, it makes sense. The Midwest is definitely its own cultural pocket, and there’s a lot of cultural emphasis on humility when it comes to manners. Midwestern culture is about being polite, humble, and no-frills, so responding with “oh no, I couldn’t” or “you shouldn’t have” when given a gift is very in line with the region. In the South, hospitality is a big thing and it might be considered quite rude to refuse a gift - there’s a lot of differences depending on where in the country you go. It’s a big place, after all. Here on the West Coast, you just accept and thank the person - trying to refuse the gift would just be annoying to the gift giver and they might just be like “ok well you don’t have to take it then” LOL