Walker, Minnesota

Walker, Minnesota
—  City  —
Location of Walker, Minnesota
Coordinates: 47°5′59″N 94°34′52″W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Cass
Area
• Total	1.5 sq mi (3.8 km2)
• Land	1.5 sq mi (3.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,316 ft (401 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	941
• Density	627.3/sq mi (247.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	56484
Area code(s)	218
FIPS code	27-67792
GNIS feature ID	0658881

Walker is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 941 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cass County.

Walker is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Minnesota State Highways 34, 200, and 371 are three of the main arterial routes in the city.

Geography

Located on the southwest corner of Leech Lake, the third largest lake in Minnesota. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), all of it land. Nearby cities and towns include Hackensack, MN, Akeley, MN, Whipholt, Laporte, Bemidji, MN, and Onigum, one of eleven communities that make up the Leech Lake Indian Reservation.

Schools

Walker is home to Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School, and Immanuel Lutheran School.

History

Walker, 1901

Patrick McGarry founded Walker in 1896 following the arrival of the railroad to the area. The settlement was strategically named after logging giant Thomas B. Walker, in hopes of luring construction of a sawmill. Thomas B. Walker instead chose to found and set up operations nearby in Akeley, Minnesota, because of his wife's moral objection to the bars and brothels in Walker. Walker nonetheless developed under the business of four other logging companies and a stimulated tourism industry.

In 1907, Walker became the home of Ah-Gwa-Ching, at first a residential facility for TB patients, then later a state nursing home.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	500		—
1910	917		83.4%
1920	785		−14.4%
1930	618		−21.3%
1940	939		51.9%
1950	1,192		26.9%
1960	1,180		−1.0%
1970	1,073		−9.1%
1980	970		−9.6%
1990	950		−2.1%
2000	1,069		12.5%
2010	941		−12.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,069 people, 449 households, and 258 families residing in the city. The population density was 734.3 people per square mile (282.7/km²). There were 517 housing units at an average density of 355.1 per square mile (136.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.59% White, 0.09% African American, 8.98% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 449 households out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,125, and the median income for a family was $44,063. Males had a median income of $31,324 versus $25,435 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,079. About 8.0% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

Climate data for Walker, Minnesota
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F (°C)	17 (−8)	24 (−4)	33 (1)	51 (11)	64 (18)	73 (23)	78 (26)	75 (24)	66 (19)	53 (12)	35 (2)	23 (−5)	48 (9)
Average low °F (°C)	−2 (−19)	3 (−16)	15 (−9)	30 (−1)	41 (5)	51 (11)	57 (14)	55 (13)	44 (7)	35 (2)	21 (−6)	5 (−15)	30 (−1)
Precipitation inches (mm)	0.7 (18)	0.6 (15)	1.2 (30)	2 (51)	2.9 (74)	4 (102)	3.7 (94)	3.4 (86)	2.7 (69)	2 (51)	1.2 (30)	0.8 (20)	25.3 (643)
Source: weatherbase.com

TV Stations

Walker is part of the Minneapolis / St Paul television market.

KCCW-TV is a full power station on channel 12. It does not originate programing but rebroadcasts WCCO-TV with no local input.

Cable and satellite television signals are also available.

Radio stations

FM radio

• 88.5 MPR Minnesota Public Radio
• 92.5 KXKK
• 94.7 KSKK
• 97.5 KDKK
• 99.1 KLLZ Z99 Classic Rock
• 101.9 KQKK
• 102.5 KKWB-FM
• 104.3 KLKS

AM radio

• 820 WBKK-AM
• 870 KPRM
• 1070 KVKK
• 1570 KAKK

External links

• WalkerMN.com
• Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
• Ancient Stone Tools Found; May Be Among Americas' Oldest. Stefan Lovgren for National Geographic News. February 15, 2007
• History of Walker and Leech Lake
• Leech Lake Ojibwe