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St. Cloud, Minnesota

Coordinates: 45°32′03″N 94°10′18″W / 45.53417°N 94.17167°W / 45.53417; -94.17167
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St. Cloud
City
Buildings on 5th Avenue in downtown in 2008
Buildings on 5th Avenue in downtown in 2008
Nickname: 
"The Granite City"
Location within Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne Counties
Location within Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne Counties
St. Cloud is located in Minnesota
St. Cloud
St. Cloud
Location within Minnesota
St. Cloud is located in the United States
St. Cloud
St. Cloud
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 45°32′03″N 94°10′18″W / 45.53417°N 94.17167°W / 45.53417; -94.17167
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesStearns, Benton, Sherburne
Founded1856[1]
Government
 • MayorDave Kleis
Area
[2]
 • City
41.23 sq mi (106.78 km2)
 • Land40.17 sq mi (104.04 km2)
 • Water1.06 sq mi (2.74 km2)
Elevation
[3]
1,027 ft (313 m)
Population
 (2020)[4]
 • City
68,881
 • Estimate 
(2022)[5]
69,568
 • RankUS: 542nd
MN: 12th
 • Density1,714.78/sq mi (662.08/km2)
 • Urban
117,638 (US: 290th)
 • Metro
201,868 (US: 229th)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
56301, 56302, 56303, 56304, 56393, 56397, 56398
Area code320
FIPS code27-56896
GNIS feature ID2396483[3]
Websiteci.stcloud.mn.us
Red River cart at Saint Cloud, 1887
Downtown Saint Cloud, 2007

St. Cloud or Saint Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census,[4] making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stearns County[6] and was named after the city of Saint-Cloud, France (in Île-de-France, near Paris), which was named after the 6th-century French monk Clodoald.

Though mostly in Stearns County, St. Cloud also extends into Benton and Sherburne counties, and straddles the Mississippi River. It is the center of a contiguous urban area, with Waite Park, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, St. Joseph, Rockville, and St. Augusta directly bordering the city, and Foley, Rice, Kimball, Clearwater, Clear Lake, and Cold Spring nearby. The St. Cloud metropolitan area had a population of 199,671 at the 2020 census. It has been listed as the fifth-largest metro with a presence in Minnesota, behind Minneapolis–St. Paul, Duluth–Superior, Fargo-Moorhead, and Rochester. But the entire St. Cloud area is within Minnesota, while most of Fargo-Moorhead's population is in North Dakota and Superior, Wisconsin, contributes significant population to the Duluth area.

St. Cloud is 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis–St. Paul along Interstate 94, U.S. Highway 52 (conjoined with I-94), U.S. Highway 10, Minnesota State Highway 15, and Minnesota State Highway 23. The St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is made up of Stearns and Benton Counties.[7] The city was included in a newly defined Minneapolis–St. Paul–St. Cloud Combined Statistical Area (CSA) in 2000. St. Cloud as a whole has never been part of the 13-county MSA comprising Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington and parts of western Wisconsin.[8]

St. Cloud State University, Minnesota's third-largest public university, is located between the downtown area and the Beaver Islands, which form a maze for a two-mile stretch of the Mississippi. The approximately 30 undeveloped islands are a popular destination for kayak and canoe enthusiasts during safe river levels and flow.[9][10] and are part of a state-designated 12-mile stretch of wild and scenic river.[11]

St. Cloud owns and operates a hydroelectric dam on the Mississippi, the state's largest city-owned hydro facility, that can produce almost nine megawatts of electricity, about 10% of the total electricity generated by 11 Mississippi hydro dams in Minnesota.[12][13][14]

History

What is now the St. Cloud area was occupied by various indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Voyageurs and coureurs des bois from New France first encountered the Ojibwe and Dakota through the highly profitable North American fur trade with local Native American peoples.[15][16]

Minnesota Territory was organized in 1849. The St. Cloud area opened up to homesteading[17] after the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux was signed with the Dakota people in 1851.[18]

John L. Wilson, a Yankee homesteader from Columbia, Maine, with French Huguenot ancestry and an interest in Napoleon, named the settlement St. Cloud after Saint-Cloud, the Paris suburb where Napoleon had his favorite palace.[19][20]

St. Cloud was a waystation on the Middle and Woods branches of the Red River Trails used by Métis traders between the Canada–U.S. border at Pembina, North Dakota, and St. Paul. The cart trains often consisted of hundreds of oxcarts. The Métis, bringing furs to trade for supplies to take back to their rural settlements, camped west of the city and crossed the Mississippi in St. Cloud or just to the north in Sauk Rapids.

The City of St. Cloud was incorporated in 1856. It developed from three distinct settlements, known as Upper Town, Middle Town, and Lower Town, that European-American settlers established starting in 1853.[21] Remnants of the deep ravines that separated the three are still visible today. Middle Town was settled primarily by German Catholic immigrants and migrants from eastern states, who were recruited to the region by Father Francis Xavier Pierz, a Catholic priest who also ministered as a missionary to Native Americans.

Lower Town was founded by settlers from the Northern Tier of New England and the mid-Atlantic states, including former residents of upstate New York.[22] Its Protestant settlers opposed slavery.[23]

Upper Town, or Arcadia, was plotted by General Sylvanus Lowry, a slaveholder and trader from Kentucky who brought slaves with him, although Minnesota was organized as a free territory.[24] He served on the territorial council from 1852 to 1853 and was elected president of the newly formed town council in 1856, serving for one year (the office of mayor did not yet exist).[25][24][26]

Jane Grey Swisshelm, an abolitionist newspaper editor who had migrated from Pittsburgh, repeatedly attacked Lowry in print. At one point Lowry organized a "Committee of Vigilance" that broke into Swisshelm's newspaper office and removed her press, throwing it into the Mississippi River. Lowry started a rival paper, The Union.[26]

The U.S. Supreme Court's 1857 decision in Dred Scott ruled that slaves could not file freedom suits and found the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, so the territory's prohibition against slavery became unenforceable. Nearly all Southerners left the St. Cloud area when the Civil War broke out, taking their slaves with them. The total number of slaves in the community was estimated in single digits at the 1860 census.[26][27] Lowry died in the city in 1865.[28]

Many young men from St. Cloud and the surrounding area served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.[29] After it ended, many local Civil War veterans remained heavily involved in St. Cloud's chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, and raised money for the building of a statue in memory of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln that still stands near the St. Germain Street bridge.[30]

Beginning in 1864, Stephen Miller served a two-year term as Minnesota governor, the only citizen of St. Cloud ever to hold the office. Miller was a "Pennsylvania German businessman", lawyer, writer, active abolitionist, and personal friend of Alexander Ramsey. He was on the state's Republican electoral ticket with Lincoln in 1860.[31]

Steamboats regularly docked at St. Cloud as part of the fur trade and other commerce, although river levels were not reliable. This ended with the construction of the Coon Rapids Dam in 1912–14. Granite quarries have operated in the area since the 1880s, giving St. Cloud its nickname, "The Granite City."

In 1917, Samuel Pandolfo started the Pan Motor Company in St. Cloud. He claimed his Pan-Cars would make St. Cloud the new Detroit, but the company failed at a time when resources were directed toward the World War I effort. He was later convicted and imprisoned for attempting to defraud investors.[32][33]

According to documents at the Stearns History Museum, more than 2,000 residents from the heavily German-American St. Cloud area served in the U.S. military against their ancestral homeland during World War I.[34] On 26 January 1918, President Woodrow Wilson wrote a letter to Bishop Joseph Francis Busch thanking him for his support of the war effort.[35]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 41.08 square miles (106.40 km2); 40.04 square miles (103.70 km2) is land and 1.04 square miles (2.69 km2) is water.[36]

The city developed on both sides of the Mississippi River. Part of the Sauk River runs along its northern edge.

Just south of downtown is the 7-acre, 35-feet-deep Lake George.[37] In 2021, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) credited decade-long city investments in stormwater filtration with reducing Lake George's phosphorus levels well below the state standard. It called Lake George one of three "success stories" in the state, and planned to remove it from a list of impaired waters.[38]

Granite bedrock quarried in the area has been estimated to be 1.7 billion years old and was exposed after several miles of rock above it eroded. The city lies on a band of modern Mississippi river sediment surrounded by land scoured several times by Wisconsin Age glaciers beginning about 35,000 years ago, ending with the Lake Superior St. Croix lobe. The later Des Moines lobe created glacial moraines and drift south and east of the city.[39]

Climate

Climate chart for St. Cloud

St. Cloud lies in the warm summer humid continental climate zone (Köppen climate classification: Dfb), with warm summers and cold winters with moderate to heavy snowfall. The monthly normal daily mean temperature ranges from 11.6 °F (−11.3 °C) in January to 70.3 °F (21.3 °C) in July. The record high temperature is 107 °F (42 °C). The record low temperature is −43 °F (−42 °C).[40]

Climate data for St. Cloud Regional Airport, Minnesota (1991–2020 normals,[41] extremes 1894–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 56
(13) 		59
(15) 		81
(27) 		96
(36) 		105
(41) 		102
(39) 		107
(42) 		105
(41) 		106
(41) 		90
(32) 		76
(24) 		63
(17) 		107
(42)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 41.9
(5.5) 		45.1
(7.3) 		61.0
(16.1) 		78.1
(25.6) 		88.3
(31.3) 		92.4
(33.6) 		92.6
(33.7) 		90.8
(32.7) 		87.2
(30.7) 		79.3
(26.3) 		59.9
(15.5) 		44.4
(6.9) 		95.1
(35.1)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 20.7
(−6.3) 		25.7
(−3.5) 		38.5
(3.6) 		54.3
(12.4) 		67.8
(19.9) 		77.2
(25.1) 		81.6
(27.6) 		79.2
(26.2) 		71.0
(21.7) 		55.9
(13.3) 		39.3
(4.1) 		25.8
(−3.4) 		53.1
(11.7)
Daily mean °F (°C) 11.8
(−11.2) 		16.1
(−8.8) 		29.2
(−1.6) 		43.3
(6.3) 		56.2
(13.4) 		66.0
(18.9) 		70.3
(21.3) 		67.7
(19.8) 		59.5
(15.3) 		45.7
(7.6) 		30.9
(−0.6) 		17.8
(−7.9) 		42.9
(6.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 2.9
(−16.2) 		6.5
(−14.2) 		19.8
(−6.8) 		32.4
(0.2) 		44.6
(7.0) 		54.8
(12.7) 		58.9
(14.9) 		56.3
(13.5) 		48.0
(8.9) 		35.5
(1.9) 		22.6
(−5.2) 		9.8
(−12.3) 		32.7
(0.4)
Mean minimum °F (°C) −22.5
(−30.3) 		−16.2
(−26.8) 		−5.0
(−20.6) 		16.7
(−8.5) 		30.1
(−1.1) 		41.3
(5.2) 		47.4
(8.6) 		44.3
(6.8) 		31.1
(−0.5) 		19.6
(−6.9) 		3.2
(−16.0) 		−14.8
(−26.0) 		−25.1
(−31.7)
Record low °F (°C) −43
(−42) 		−40
(−40) 		−32
(−36) 		−3
(−19) 		18
(−8) 		32
(0) 		40
(4) 		33
(1) 		18
(−8) 		5
(−15) 		−23
(−31) 		−41
(−41) 		−43
(−42)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.67
(17) 		0.76
(19) 		1.57
(40) 		2.61
(66) 		3.66
(93) 		3.75
(95) 		3.60
(91) 		4.00
(102) 		3.01
(76) 		2.61
(66) 		1.37
(35) 		0.88
(22) 		28.49
(724)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 8.8
(22) 		8.9
(23) 		8.2
(21) 		4.7
(12) 		0.1
(0.25) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		1.0
(2.5) 		6.9
(18) 		9.3
(24) 		47.9
(122)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 7.8 6.4 8.3 9.7 11.4 12.3 10.6 9.3 10.0 9.7 7.3 7.7 110.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 8.5 6.4 5.0 2.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9 4.6 8.2 36.0
Average relative humidity (%) 70.0 66.1 67.3 65.8 62.0 67.3 67.7 69.5 73.5 68.3 73.3 75.2 68.8
Average dew point °F (°C) −0.9
(−18.3) 		4.6
(−15.2) 		17.4
(−8.1) 		30.6
(−0.8) 		40.5
(4.7) 		52.0
(11.1) 		59.2
(15.1) 		56.7
(13.7) 		48.4
(9.1) 		36.1
(2.3) 		23.0
(−5.0) 		12.7
(−10.7) 		31.7
(−0.2)
Source: NOAA (relative humidity and dew point 1961–1990)[40][42][43]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18702,161—
18802,46213.9%
18907,686212.2%
19008,66312.7%
191010,60022.4%
192015,87349.7%
193021,00032.3%
194024,17315.1%
195028,41017.5%
196032,41514.1%
197039,69122.4%
198042,5667.2%
199048,81214.7%
200059,10821.1%
201065,84211.4%
202068,8814.6%
2022 (est.)69,568[5]1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[44]
2020 Census[4]

Race and ethnicity

Race/ethnicity
2000[45] 2010[46] 2020[47]
Number % Number % Number %
White alone 53,857 91.12% 54,854 83.31% 46,641 67.71%
Black alone 1,378 2.33% 5,101 7.75% 13,180 19.13%
Native American alone 402 0.68% 398 0.61% 337 0.49%
Asian alone 1,833 3.10% 2,393 3.64% 2,404 3.49%
Pacific Islander alone 31 0.05% 16 0.03% 51 0.07%
Other race alone 60 0.10% 54 0.08% 314 0.46%
Two or more races 762 1.29% 1,429 2.17% 2,116 3.07%
Hispanic or Latino 784 1.33% 1,597 2.43% 2,838 4.12%
Total 59,107 100.00% 65,842 100.00% 68,881 100.00%

Over the past two decades, the racial and ethnic landscape of St. Cloud has experienced significant changes. In the year 2000, the population was predominantly White. However, by 2020, this percentage had dropped to 67%. The Black or African American demographic saw a substantial increase from 2% in 2000 to nearly 20% in 2020, marking the most significant growth among all groups. Other racial groups such as Asian Americans have maintained a stable presence. The Hispanic or Latino population nearly tripled in size.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 65,842 people, 25,439 households, and 13,348 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.4 inhabitants per square mile (634.9/km2). There were 27,338 housing units at an average density of 682.8 per square mile (263.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.6% White, 7.8% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population.

There were 25,439 households, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.5% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% 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 2.95.

The median age in the city was 28.8 years.[48] 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 23.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 to 44; 21.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.5% male and 48.5% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 27.3% of St. Cloud households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00.

The racial makeup of the city was 91.7% White, 2.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.7% other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

Immigration

St. Cloud has been a significant destination for immigrants throughout its history, beginning with German settlers in the late 19th century. This was followed by waves of Polish, Irish, and other European immigrants in the early 20th century. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the nature of immigration to St. Cloud has undergone a dramatic shift. New residents of the city have predominantly been from Africa, and particularly, from the war-torn country of Somalia.[49] Unofficial estimates suggest that the number of Somalis in St. Cloud and the surrounding cities like Waite Park, St. Joseph, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids could be as high as 25,000, with approximately half of this population having moved to the city between 2009 and 2013. About 15% of the local school district being Somali and a large segment of Somalis currently enrolled in high schools, colleges, and universities. Home ownership among St. Cloud's Somali community is considerably lower than other populations.[50][51]

Average income

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2020 the annual mean wage for 99,600 employees across all occupations in St. Cloud was $50,800. The median hourly wage was $24.42.[52]

Top employers

According to St. Cloud's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[53] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 *CentraCare Health System St. Cloud Hospital 6,316
2 State of Minnesota / St. Cloud State University 2,082
3 St. Cloud VA Health Care System 1,692
4 ** St. Cloud School District 1,126
5 Fullfillment Distribution Center 684
6 *** Stearns County 661
7 New Flyer of America Inc. 646
8 Capital One 701
9 Coborns Inc. 673
10 Anderson Trucking 625 
Figures reflect only full-time employees. 
  * Includes employees at sites outside of St. Cloud. 
 ** Business has significant part-time staff in addition to the full-time employee count indicated.
*** Does not include Stearns County full-time employees now working at county satellite offices outside of the City of St. Cloud.

Arts, culture, and events

In 2019 the city of Saint Cloud, Minnesota was awarded three first places awards from the Rome based International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom), one of several most livable cities awards. The city won the first-place whole city award for its size and first place for cities of all sizes for enhancement of landscapes and public spaces, arts, culture, and heritage management and Community participation and empowerment. LivCom praised the city for its focus on improving parkland and trails, as well as its enhancements and maintenace of 96 parks. St. Cloud has been a finalist at the LivCom awards four times since 2007.[54]

The St. Cloud Area Convention and Visitors Bureau promotes an area events calendar, dining and lodging information. The city-owned St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center hosts a variety of events including regional conferences, consumer/trade shows, small group meetings and social events.

Sites of interest

Sports

The city is home to:

Parks and recreation

The city maintains 95 parks, totaling more than 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) and ranging in size from 80 acres (0.32 km2) "neighborhood and mini parks" to 243 acres (0.98 km2). The largest developed park, Whitney Memorial Park, is the former location of the city airport. It features a recreation center for senior citizens, a dog park, and numerous softball, baseball, and soccer fields.

Government

Since 2005, St. Cloud's mayor has been Dave Kleis. He was reelected to a fifth term in 2020.

St. Cloud has been moved by Congressional redistricting to a wide variety of Minnesota regions, including northern, south central, northwest and southwest. In Congressional district maps in effect since 2003, it has been grouped with rural areas and suburbs north and west of the Twin Cities.[65] The district had only minor changes in a 2022 map drawn by a five-judge panel based on the 2020 census.[66][67] As of the 2020 census, the city of St. Cloud is the second largest in Minnesota's 6th congressional district, represented by Republican Tom Emmer. The St. Cloud, Minnesota metropolitan area that includes adjacent communities has about a quarter of the 6th district population, though some of the area lies outside the district.

The city makes up the majority of population of Minnesota State Senate District 14, which straddles the Mississippi River and includes parts of three counties,[68][69] represented by Aric Putnam. Minnesota House District 14A includes generally western parts of the city as well as Waite Park, St. Augusta and adjacent rural areas,[70] represented by Bernie Perryman. District 14B includes east central and northeast St. Cloud, neighboring Sauk Rapids and parts of rural Benton and Sherburne Counties,[71] represented by Dan Wolgamott.

In 2016, St. Cloud converted from 5% to 80% renewable energy by using solar gardens, street light improvements, bio-gas, and other energy efficiency initiatives.[72][73] St. Cloud's wastewater plant converts sugar-laden liquids from local food and beer manufacturers into fuel and fertilizer. Since 2020, the city has produced more energy than it consumes.[74]

Past mayors of St. Cloud include:

  • Sylvanus B. Lowry (1856), selected by town council members as council president (office of mayor did not yet exist)
  • John L. Wilson (1857–1858)
  • E. O. Hamlin (1868)
  • J. A. McDonald (1900)
  • J. R. Boyd (1901)
  • J. E. C. Robinson (1902–1905 and 1906)
  • J. N. Bensen (1905)
  • David McCarty (1907)
  • Louis Brown (1907)
  • Hugh Evans (1908–1909)
  • D. H. Freeman (1910 and 1916–1919)
  • P. J. Seberger (1911–1912)
  • H. J. Limperich (1919)
  • W. W. Matson (1920–1924). 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote.
  • J. Arthur Bensen (1924–1928)
  • James H. Murphy (1928–1932, 1945–1948)
  • Phil Collignon (1932–1945)
  • Mathew Malisheski (1948–1952)
  • Lawrence A. Borgert (1952). City Charter revised, creating current "standard mayor form" of government.[75]
  • George Byers (1953–1960)
  • Thomas E. Mealey (1960–1964)
  • Ed Henry (1964–1971)
  • Al Loehr (1971–1980)
  • Sam Huston (1980–1989)
  • Chuck Winkelman (1989–1997)
  • Larry Meyer (1997–2001)
  • John Ellenbecker (2001–2005)
  • Dave Kleis (2005-present)

Politics

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won St. Cloud's votes in the 2020 presidential election by a margin of 9%, higher than the state margin of 7.12%. In 2016, Donald Trump won St. Cloud by 1.75% over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.[76]

Presidential election results 1960–2020
Precinct General Election Results[77]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 43.9% 14,209 52.9% 17,149 3.2% 1,036
2016 45.7% 14,401 44.0% 13,850 10.3% 3,254
2012 44.5% 14,295 52.3% 16,835 3.2% 1,032
2008 43.9% 14,505 53.6% 17,688 2.5% 839
2004 46.9% 14,909 51.5% 16,394 1.6% 506
2000 43.9% 11,647 45.0% 11,958 11.1% 2,941
1996 38.0% 8,565 49.6% 11,169 12.4% 2,783
1992 34.9% 9,527 41.5% 11,331 23.6% 6,422
1988 46.1% 9,251 53.9% 10,823 0.0% 0
1984 51.0% 10,598 49.0% 10,189 0.0% 0
1980 42.4% 8,702 46.3% 9,487 11.3% 2,236
1976 40.1% 8,045 55.7% 11,176 4.2% 845
1972 43.0% 6,512 52.7% 7,970 4.3% 646
1968 40.6% 5,389 55.5% 7,378 3.9% 515
1964 36.4% 4,872 63.1% 8,439 0.5% 66
1960 41.5% 5,391 58.4% 7,589 0.1% 8

Education

Primary home languages of St. Cloud Public School students[78]

  English (62.5%)
  Somali (27.9%)
  Spanish (4.5%)
  Vietnamese (0.78%)
  Other languages (4.3%)

Almost all of St. Cloud, including the portions in Stearns and Sherburne Counties,[79][80] and much the portion in Benton County, is in the St. Cloud Public School District. A portion of Benton County St. Cloud is in the Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools district.[81]

The St. Cloud Area School District serves St. Cloud, St. Augusta, Clearwater, Waite Park, St. Joseph, Haven Township, and parts of Sauk Rapids.[citation needed] It has eight elementary schools, a new K-8 school in St. Joseph, and two major public high schools, St. Cloud Technical High School and St. Cloud Apollo High School.[82] St. Cloud also has a major private high school, Cathedral High School. Both public high schools offer a broad selection of Advanced Placement courses and rank high in the state in the number of AP tests taken and of test takers.[83] St. Cloud Tech opened in 1917 across from a city park and Lake George. In 2019, it moved to a new 69-acre, $104 million facility on the southwest edge of the city. The historic 1917 building has been acquired for use by city government. Apollo opened in 1970 and serves the expanding north side of the city. Other high schools and secondary schools that serve St. Cloud include St. Robert Bellarmine's Academy, St. Cloud Christian School, Immaculate Conception Academy, St. John's Preparatory School, St. Cloud Alternative Learning Center, and the charter school STRIDE Academy,[84] which is K-8. The nearby cities of Sauk Rapids and Sartell also have their own school districts and high schools, bringing the number of public high schools in the metropolitan area to four.[citation needed]

Colleges

St. Cloud is home to several higher education institutions, including Minnesota's third-largest university, St. Cloud State University. St. Cloud State's fall 2020 enrollment was 12,607, in a year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[85]

St. Cloud's other post-secondary institutions and campuses include St. Cloud Technical and Community College (SCTCC) and Rasmussen College. Neighboring Sartell is home to a campus of the Duluth-based College of St. Scholastica, and the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University are in neighboring St. Joseph and nearby Collegeville, respectively.[86]

Media

The main newspaper is the St. Cloud Times, a Gannett daily newspaper. In the early 2020s, Gannett severely downsized the paper, eliminating most local news reporting.[87]

St. Cloud is part of the Twin Cities television market. One full-power station, the Ion-owned KPXM-TV (channel 41), is licensed to the city, but moved its transmitter to the Twin Cities in 2009 as part of the digital transition, and maintains no presence in the city. WCMN-LD (channel 13) is a low-power station licensed to St. Cloud that broadcasts in ATSC 3.0. Additionally, St. Cloud State University students operate cable-only UTVS (channel 180), which includes local news and broadcasts from a studio on campus.[88]

Forth.news offers a local news feed, mostly made up of reporting from KNSI.[89]

Radio stations include:

FM

FM radio stations
Frequency Call sign Name Format Owner
88.1
88.1 HD-2		 KVSC
Radio X		 College Radio
Alternative Rock		 St. Cloud State University
88.9
88.9 HD-2		 KNSR MPR News
89.3 The Current		 Public Radio
Adult Album Alternative		 Minnesota Public Radio
89.5 K208DV
(KLRD-FM Translator)		 Air 1 Contemporary Christian Educational Media Foundation
90.1 KSJR Classical MPR Classical Minnesota Public Radio
91.5 KCFB
(KTIG-FM Simulcast)		 Christian Minnesota Christian Broadcasters
92.9 KKJM Spirit 92.9 Contemporary Christian Gabriel Media
93.5 K228FV
(KYES-AM Translator)		 Relevant Radio Catholic
93.9 W230DG
(KXSS-AM Translator)		 1390 Granite City Sports Sports Townsquare Media
94.3 K232GA
(WXYG-AM Translator)		 Album Rock 540 Classic rock Tri-County Broadcasting
94.9 KMXK Mix 94.9 Adult Contemporary Townsquare Media
95.3 W237EU
(WJON-AM Translator)		 News/Talk
95.7 W239CU
(WBHR-AM Translator)		 The Bear Sports Tri-County Broadcasting
96.1 WROJ (LPFM) The Rock FM Contemporary Christian The Rock FM Communications, Inc.
96.7 KZRV The River Classic Hits Townsquare Media
97.5 KVEX (LPFM) RadioX Alternative Rock St. Cloud State University
98.1 WWJO 98-1 Minnesota's New Country Country Townsquare Media
98.9
98.9 HD-2
98.9 HD-3		 KZPK Wild Country 99
KNSI
Z-Rock 103.3		 Country
News/Talk
Classic Rock		 Leighton Broadcasting
99.3 K257GK
(KNSI-AM Translator)		 KNSI News/Talk
99.9 KCML 99.9 Lite FM Adult Contemporary
101.1 W266DT
(WMIN-AM Translator)		 Uptown 1010 Adult Standards Tri-County Broadcasting
101.7
101.7 HD-2
101.7 HD-3
101.7 HD-4		 WHMH Rockin' 101
Album Rock 540
106.5 The Point
Uptown 1010		 Active Rock
Classic rock
Alternative
Adult Standards
102.3 W232EG
(WVAL-AM Translator)		 Classic Country
103.3 K277BS
(KZPK HD-3 Translator)		 Z-Rock 103.3 Classic rock Leighton Broadcasting
103.7 KLZZ The Loon Classic rock Townsquare Media
104.7 KCLD Top 40 Leighton Broadcasting
105.1 KZYS (LPFM) Somalian Saint Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization
106.5 W293CS
(WHMH HD-3 Translator)		 106.5 The Point Alternative Tri-County Broadcasting
107.3 W297BO
(WXYG-AM Translator)		 Album Rock 540 Classic rock

AM

AM radio stations
Frequency Call sign Name Format Owner
540 AM WXYG The Goat Classic rock Tri-County Broadcasting
660 AM WBHR The Bear Sports
800 AM WVAL Classic Country
1010 AM WMIN Uptown 1010 Adult Standards
1180 AM KYES Relevant Radio Catholic Gabriel Media
1240 AM WJON News/Talk Townsquare Media
1390 AM KXSS 1390 Granite City Sports Sports
1450 AM KNSI News/Talk Leighton Broadcasting

Infrastructure

Transportation

St. Cloud is a regional transportation hub within Minnesota. Major roadways including Interstate Highway 94, U.S. Highway 10, and Minnesota State Highways 15 and 23 pass through the city.[90]

Bus service within the city and to neighboring Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park is offered through St. Cloud Metro Bus, which was recognized in 2007 as the best transit system of its size in North America. An innovative system gives transit buses a slight advantage at stoplights in order to improve efficiency and on-time performance.[91] The Metro Bus Transit Center in the downtown area is also shared with Jefferson Lines, providing national bus service.

Bus service links downtown St. Cloud and St. Cloud State University with the western terminus of the Northstar Commuter Rail line in Big Lake, by the way of Northstar Link Commuter Bus, which in turn links to the Metro Transit bus and light rail system at Target Field Station in downtown Minneapolis.

Several rail lines run through the city, which is a stop on Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger rail line.

St. Cloud is home to St. Cloud Regional Airport, from which daily connecting flights to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport were made on Delta Connection, operated by Mesaba Airlines, until January 1, 2010, when the service was discontinued. On December 15, 2012, Allegiant Air began nonstop flights between St. Cloud Regional Airport and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, on McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft.[92]

Major highways

Notable people

Sister cities

  • Courtroom scenes in the Disney Film The Mighty Ducks were filmed in St. Cloud, and a few scenes were filmed at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) but did not make the final film.[97]
  • Al Franken and Tom Davis's One More Saturday Night is set in St. Cloud, but was not filmed there.
  • The movie Juno was partially set in St. Cloud, which is referred to as "East Jesus Nowhere", though no filming took place in the city.[98]
  • The 1989 drag-racing film Catch Me If You Can, directed by Stephen Sommers, was both set and filmed in St. Cloud.[99]
  • Marshall Eriksen, one of the main characters in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, was born and raised in St. Cloud. Many scenes detailing his childhood, as well as later visits to his hometown, are set in St. Cloud, though no filming occurred there.

See also

References

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  6. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
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  8. ^ Metro Council website, Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Geographic Definitions, "Definitions Used By The U.S. Census Bureau" Archived April 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, "Mississippi River", "St. Cloud to Anoka" Archived April 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ National Weather Service, Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, Mississippi River at St. Cloud
  11. ^ "The Wild & Scenic Mississippi River". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original on September 19, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  12. ^ City of St. Cloud, Public Utilities,
  13. ^ Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) "Operating Hydropower Sites In Minnesota"
  14. ^ John Weeks, John Weeks, The Bridges and Structures of the Mississippi River Headwaters Archived October 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, A Detailed Look At The Bridges, Dams And Other Structures On The Mississippi River In The Headwaters Region From Lake Itasca To Minneapolis, November 2007.
  15. ^ New historic marker at Riverside Park honors Dakota and Ojibwe, Jenny Berg, SCTimes, June 28, 2019
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Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article about St. Cloud, Minnesota.
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