St. Louis County, Minnesota

Saint Louis County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 20, 1855 [1]
Named for	Saint Louis River
Seat	Duluth
Largest city	Duluth
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	6,859.91 sq mi (17,767 km²) 6,225.16 sq mi (16,123 km²) 634.75 sq mi (1,644 km²), 9.25%
PopulationEst.  - (2012)  - Density	200,319 32.21/sq mi (12.44/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.stlouiscountymn.gov

Saint Louis County (abbreviated St. Louis County) is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,226. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county by total area in Minnesota, and the second largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River; in land area alone, after Aroostook County, Maine. Major industries include pulpwood production and tourism. Surface mining of high-grade iron-ore remains an important part of the economy of the Iron Range. Parts of the Bois Forte and Fond du Lac Indian reservations are in the county.

Saint Louis County Courthouse

History

Saint Louis County was founded on February 20, 1855 as Doty County and had its name changed to Newton County on March 3, 1855. It originally consisted of the area east and south of the Saint Louis River, while the area east of the Vermilion River and north of the Saint Louis River was part of Superior County. Superior County was renamed Saint Louis County. Then on March 1, 1856, that Saint Louis County became Lake County, and Newton County was renamed Saint Louis County and had that eastern area added to it; it was also expanded westward by incorporating parts of Itasca County, which then also included most of Carlton County. On May 23, 1857 Saint Louis County took its current shape when Carlton County was formed from parts of Saint Louis and Pine Counties.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 6,859.91 square miles (17,767.1 km²), of which 6,225.16 square miles (16,123.1 km²) (or 90.75%) is land and 634.75 square miles (1,644.0 km²) (or 9.25%) is water. By area, it is the largest county in Minnesota and the largest east of the Mississippi River; by land area, the second largest east of the Mississippi River.

Saint Louis County is known for its spectacular natural beauty. Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, is located in its northwestern corner, on the south shore of Rainy Lake, on the Ontario, Canada border, and is popular with canoeists, kayakers, other boaters and fishermen. The county also includes parts of Superior National Forest, established in 1909, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness within it on the U.S.-Canadian border, established in 1978. The BWCAW is a 1,090,000-acre (4,400 km²) wilderness area designated for fishing, camping, hiking, and canoeing and is one of the most visited wilderness areas in the United States. Saint Louis County has over 500 lakes, including Rainy Lake, Kabetogama Lake, Namakan Lake, Sand Point Lake, and Crane Lake.

The "Hill of Three Waters" on the Laurentian Divide lies just north of Hibbing. Rain falling on this hill runs to three watersheds: Hudson Bay to the north, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the east (via Lake Superior), or the Gulf of Mexico to the south and west (via the Mississippi River).

Saint Louis County has one of the most important fresh-water ports in the United States, located in Duluth on Lake Superior.

The county encompasses part of the Iron Range, which has a significant taconite mining industry, particularly in the city of Hibbing.

Major highways

Interstate Highway 35 Interstate Highway 535 — John Blatnik Bridge U.S. Highway 2 U.S. Highway 53 U.S. Highway 169 Minnesota State Highway 1 Minnesota State Highway 23 Minnesota State Highway 33 Minnesota State Highway 37

Minnesota State Highway 39 — McCuen Street Minnesota State Highway 61 — North Shore Minnesota State Highway 73 Minnesota State Highway 135 Minnesota State Highway 169 Minnesota State Highway 194 Minnesota State Highway 210 Saint Louis County Road 4 Saint Louis County Road 13 — Midway Road

National protected areas

• Superior National Forest (part)
  • Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (part)
• Voyageurs National Park (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	406		—
1870	4,561		1,023.4%
1880	4,504		−1.2%
1890	44,862		896.0%
1900	82,932		84.9%
1910	163,274		96.9%
1920	206,391		26.4%
1930	204,596		−0.9%
1940	206,917		1.1%
1950	206,062		−0.4%
1960	231,588		12.4%
1970	220,693		−4.7%
1980	222,229		0.7%
1990	198,213		−10.8%
2000	200,528		1.2%
2010	200,226		−0.2%
Est. 2012	200,319		0%
U.S. Decennial Census 2012 Estimate

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 200,528 people, 82,619 households, and 51,389 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 95,800 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.86% White, 0.85% Black or African American, 2.03% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.0% were of German, 13.7% Norwegian, 12.1% Finnish, 9.7% Swedish, 6.0% Irish, and 5.3% Italian ancestry according to the 2000 census.

27.60% of households included children under the age of 18, 49.30% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 31.20% of all households consisted of individuals and 13.00% of individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.90.

The population spread by age was 22.40% under the age of 18, 11.40% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,306, and the median income for a family was $47,134. Males had a median income of $37,934 versus $24,235 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,982. About 7.20% of families and 12.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.

Governance

Like all counties in Minnesota, Saint Louis County is governed by an elected and nonpartisan board of commissioners. In Minnesota, county commissions usually have five members, but Saint Louis, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties have seven members. Each commissioner represents a district of equal population.

The county commission elects a chair who presides at meetings.

Commissioners as of January 2013:

District	Commissioner	In office since	Current term expires
1st	Frank Jewell	2011	December 31, 2014
2nd	Steve O'Neil	2005	December 31, 2016
3rd	Chris Dahlberg (chair)	2009	December 31, 2016
4th	Mike Forsman	1995	December 31, 2014
5th	Pete Stauber	2013	December 31, 2016
6th	Keith Nelson	2003	December 31, 2014
7th	Steve Raukar	1989	December 31, 2014

Politics

Election results from statewide races
Year	Office	GOP	DEM	Others
2010	Governor	28.6%	61.8%	8.3%
2008	President	32.6%	65.1%	2.3%
	Senator	32.4%	54.6%	13.0%
2006	Governor	29.3%	64.6%	6.1%
	Senator	25.9%	70.9%	3.2%
2004	President	33.6%	65.2%	1.2%
2002	Governor	26.5%	59.9%	13.6%
	Senator	31.6%	65.4%	3.0%
2000	President	33.0%	59.8%	7.2%
	Senator	31.7%	63.3%	5.0%
1998	Governor	28.1%	47.3%	24.6%
1996	President	25.5%	60.6%	13.9%
	Senator	28.5%	64.7%	6.8%
1994	Governor	44.6%	53.0%	2.4%
	Senator	35.9%	56.9%	7.2%
1992	President	22.6%	56.8%	20.6%

In 2007, Saint Louis County considered doing a study about dividing the county into two counties. This plan was abandoned.

This county is by far the most reliable Democratic county in the state, as no Republican or independent won this county in any statewide election since 1992. The only time a Democrat obtained less than 50% of the vote was in 1998, when Jesse Ventura of the Reform ticket won statewide and gained 24% in the county. Since 1992, the only time when a Republican obtained over 34% of the vote was in the elections of 1994 (year of Republican Revolution) when the incumbent Independent-Republican governor won the statewide vote by a landslide vote of over 60%, and when the Independent-Republican senatorial candidate won election with 49% statewide, both of which is rare in Minnesota. Since 1994, the highest percentages a Republican obtained out of the county were 39.7% from Chip Cravaack's 2010 defeat of 36-year incumbent Congressman Jim Oberstar and 33.6% from George W. Bush's re-election of 2004.

Presidential elections

Also, Democrats have swept this county in the last 20 consecutive presidential elections. The last Republican to carry the county was Herbert Hoover in 1928. In the last five Presidential elections the Republican candidate has never received more than 34% of the county's vote.

Presidential Election Results 1992-2008

Year	Democrat	Republican
2008	65.10% 77,351	32.61% 38,742
2004	65.20% 77,958	33.55% 40,112
2000	59.78% 64,237	32.96% 35,420
1996	60.60% 60,736	25.50% 25,553
1992	56.80% 61,813	22.60% 24,579

Congress

Saint Louis County is in Minnesota's 8th congressional district. For many years it was represented by Jim Oberstar, but in 2010 he was defeated after 36 years by Republican Chip Cravaack. Two years later Cravaack was defeated by Rick Nolan, who is the current Representative of the 8th district.

Cities and towns

Cities

Cities		Unincorporated communities						C.D.P.
Aurora Babbitt Biwabik Brookston Buhl Chisholm Cook Duluth Ely Eveleth Floodwood Gilbert Hermantown	Hibbing Hoyt Lakes Iron Junction Kinney Leonidas McKinley Meadowlands Mountain Iron Orr Proctor Tower Virginia Winton	Alborn Angora Ash Lake Bassett Bear River Bengal Brimson Britt Burnett Burntside Buyck Canyon Celina	Central Lakes Cherry Clover Valley Cotton Crane Lake Culver Cusson Eldes Corner Elmer Embarrass Fairbanks Florenton	Forbes Four Corners French River Gheen Gheen Corner Glendale Gowan Greaney Idington Independence Island Lake Kabetogama	Keenan Kelsey Linden Grove Makinen Markham McComber Meadow Brook Melrude Munger Palmers Palo Payne	Peary Petrel Peyla Prosit Ramshaw Robinson Rollins Saginaw Sax Shaw Sherman Corner Side Lake	Silica Skibo Sturgeon Taft Toivola Twig Vermilion Dam Wahlsten Wakemup Whiteface Wolf Zim	Arnold Mahnomen Nett Lake Soudan

Townships

Alango Township Alborn Township Alden Township Angora Township Arrowhead Township Ault Township Balkan Township Bassett Township Beatty Township Biwabik Township Breitung Township Brevator Township Camp 5 Township Canosia Township Cedar Valley Township Cherry Township Clinton Township Colvin Township

Cotton Township Crane Lake Township Culver Township Duluth Township Eagles Nest Township Ellsburg Township Elmer Township Embarrass Township Fairbanks Township Fayal Township Field Township Fine Lakes Township Floodwood Township Fredenberg Township French Township Gnesen Township Grand Lake Township Great Scott Township Greenwood Township

Halden Township Industrial Township Kabetogama Township Kelsey Township Kugler Township Lakewood Township Lavell Township Leiding Township Linden Grove Township McDavitt Township Meadowlands Township Midway Township Morcom Township Morse Township Ness Township New Independence Township Normanna Township North Star Township Northland Township

Owens Township Pequaywan Township Pike Township Portage Township Prairie Lake Township Rice Lake Township Sandy Township Solway Township Stoney Brook Township Sturgeon Township Toivola Township Van Buren Township Vermilion Lake Township Waasa Township White Township Willow Valley Township Wuori Township

Unorganized territories		Ghost towns
Angleworm Lake Bear Head Lake Birch Lake Camp A Lake Crab Lake Dark River Gheen Hay Lake Heikkala Lake Janette Lake Leander Lake Linwood Lake Marion Lake	McCormack Mud Hen Lake Nett Lake Northeast St. Louis Northwest St. Louis Picket Lake Potshot Lake Sand Lake Slim Lake Sturgeon River Sunday Lake Tikander Lake Whiteface Reservoir	Costin Village Fermoy Spina

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis County, Minnesota
• Independent School District 2142

External links

• St. Louis County Government site - Link
• Duluth News Tribune site
• Mn/DOT maps of Saint Louis County (Southern part of Southwest portion, Northern part of Southwest portion, Southern part of Southeast portion, Northern part of Southeast portion, Southern part of Northwest portion, Northern part of Northwest portion, Northeast portion)