Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota

Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 6, 1871 [3]
Named for	The French translation of the Dakota words meaning "the lake that speaks."
Seat	Madison
Largest city	Madison
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	778.05 sq mi (2,015 km²) 764.87 sq mi (1,981 km²) 13.19 sq mi (34 km²), 1.70%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	7,259 10/sq mi (4/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Lac qui Parle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 7,259. Its county seat is Madison. The name of the county is French for "lake that speaks". A March 2011 study by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranked Lac qui Parle County the healthiest county in Minnesota.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 778.05 square miles (2,015.1 km²), of which 764.87 square miles (1,981.0 km²) (or 98.31%) is land and 13.19 square miles (34.2 km²) (or 1.70%) is water. The county's northern boundary is defined by the Minnesota River; two of its tributaries, the Lac qui Parle River and the Yellow Bank River, also flow through the county.

Lakes

• Case Lake: in Ten Mile Lake Township
• Kibler Lake: in Agassiz Township
• Lac qui Parle: Eastern border
• Pegg Lake: in Augusta Township
• Salt Lake: mostly in Mehurin Township, but the western fifth stretches into South Dakota
• Swanson Lake: western two thirds is in Maxwell Township; eastern third is in Ten Mile Lake Township
• Tenmile Lake: in Ten Mile Lake Township

Major highways

U.S. Highway 75 U.S. Highway 212 Minnesota State Highway 40 Minnesota State Highway 119

Minnesota State Highway 275

Adjacent counties

• Big Stone County, Minnesota (north)
• Swift County, Minnesota (northeast)
• Chippewa County, Minnesota (east)
• Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota (south)
• Deuel County, South Dakota (southwest)
• Grant County, South Dakota (northwest)

National protected area

• Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	145		—
1880	4,891		3,273.1%
1890	10,382		112.3%
1900	14,289		37.6%
1910	15,435		8.0%
1920	15,554		0.8%
1930	15,398		−1.0%
1940	15,509		0.7%
1950	14,545		−6.2%
1960	13,330		−8.4%
1970	11,164		−16.2%
1980	10,592		−5.1%
1990	8,924		−15.7%
2000	8,067		−9.6%
2010	7,259		−10.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,067 people, 3,316 households, and 2,225 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 3,774 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.85% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.38% from two or more races. 0.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 44.6% were of Norwegian and 35.2% German ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,316 households out of which 27.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% were married couples living together, 4.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 5.70% from 18 to 24, 22.70% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 23.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,626, and the median income for a family was $41,556. Males had a median income of $27,939 versus $19,681 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,399. About 5.60% of families and 8.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.80% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

Lac Qui Parle County Courthouse

Cities and towns

Cities	Townships
Bellingham Boyd Dawson Louisburg Madison Marietta Nassau Ortonville	Agassiz Township Arena Township Augusta Township Baxter Township Camp Release Township Cerro Gordo Township Freeland Township Garfield Township Hamlin Township Hantho Township Lac qui Parle Township	Lake Shore Township Madison Township Manfred Township Maxwell Township Mehurin Township Perry Township Providence Township Riverside Township Ten Mile Lake Township Walter Township Yellow Bank Township

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota

External links

• Lac qui Parle County website