St. Louis County, Minnesota

St. Louis County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,226.[3] Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county in Minnesota, and the largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River (second largest after Aroostook County, Maine by land area).[4]

St. Louis County
U.S. county
St. Louis County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 47°35′N 92°28′W
Country United States
State Minnesota
FoundedFebruary 20, 1855[1]
Named forSt. Louis River[2]
SeatDuluth
Largest cityDuluth
Area
 • Total6,860 sq mi (17,800 km2)
 • Land6,247 sq mi (16,180 km2)
 • Water612 sq mi (1,590 km2)  8.9%%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total200,226
 • Estimate 
(2019)
199,070
 • Density32/sq mi (12/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district8th
Websitewww.stlouiscountymn.gov

St. Louis County is included in the Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Major industries include pulpwood production and tourism. Surface mining of taconite and processing it into high grade iron ore remains an important part of the economy of the Iron Range. Parts of the federally recognized Bois Forte and Fond du Lac Indian reservations are in the county.

History

This area was long inhabited by Algonquian-speaking tribes: the Ojibwe (Chippewa), Ottawa and Potawatomi peoples were loosely affiliated in the Council of Three Fires. As American settlers entered the territory, the Native Americans were pushed to outer areas.

The Minnesota Legislature established St. Louis County on February 20, 1855, as Doty County, and changed its name to Newton County on March 3, 1855. It originally consisted of the area east and south of the St. Louis River, while the area east of the Vermilion River and north of the St. Louis River was part of Superior County. Superior County was renamed St. Louis County.

On March 1, 1856, that St. Louis County was renamed as Lake County. Newton County was renamed as St. 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, St. Louis County took its current shape when Carlton County was formed from parts of St. Louis and Pine counties.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,860 square miles (17,800 km2), of which 6,247 square miles (16,180 km2) is land and 612 square miles (1,590 km2) (8.9%) is water.[5] It is the largest county in Minnesota and the largest (by total area) in the United States east of the Mississippi River.

Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, is located in its northwestern corner, on the south shore of Rainy Lake on the Canada–US border; it is popular with water enthusiasts and fishers. The county includes parts of Superior National Forest, established in 1909, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on the 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. St. Louis County has more than 500 lakes. The largest lakes are Pelican and Vermilion.[6]

The "Hill of Three Waters" on the Laurentian Divide lies northeast of Hibbing. Rainfall 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).[7] The county is drained by the St. Louis, Vermilion, and other rivers.[6]

Duluth on Lake Superior is one of the most important fresh-water ports in the United States.

The county encompasses part of the Iron Range. It has had a significant taconite mining industry, particularly in the city of Virginia.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Weather

The county has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), slightly moderated by its proximity to Lake Superior. Winters are long, snowy, and very cold, normally seeing maximum temperatures remaining below 32 °F (0 °C) on 106 days. Due to global warming, in January 2019 Tracy Twine, professor at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Soil, Water and Climate, said "we just don’t expect temperatures to be below 10 degrees Fahrenheit in Duluth anymore.[8] Public schools and other government offices shut down on January 29–30, 2019 because of wind chills of -70 °F.[9] This apparent anomaly was attributed to changes in the global jet stream due to the climate change.[10]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1860406—
18704,5611,023.4%
18804,504−1.2%
189044,862896.0%
190082,93284.9%
1910163,27496.9%
1920206,39126.4%
1930204,596−0.9%
1940206,9171.1%
1950206,062−0.4%
1960231,58812.4%
1970220,693−4.7%
1980222,2290.7%
1990198,213−10.8%
2000200,5281.2%
2010200,226−0.2%
Est. 2019199,070[11]−0.6%
US Decennial Census[12]
1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14]
1990-2000[15] 2010-2019[3]
Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data

As of the 2010 census, there were 200,226 people in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 94.0% White, 2.2% Native American, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% of some other race and 2.3% of two or more races. 1.2% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). According to the 2010–2015 American Community Survey, the ancestral makeup was 24.3% German, 15.9% Norwegian, 13.0% Swedish, and 10.2% Irish.[16]

As of the 2000 census, there were 200,528 people, 82,619 households, and 51,389 families 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.

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 contained 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.

Government

St. Louis County is governed by an elected and nonpartisan board of commissioners. In Minnesota, county commissions usually have five members, but St. Louis, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties have seven-member boards. Each commissioner represents a single-member district of equal population.

The county commission elects a chair who presides at meetings.

Commissioners as of January 2015:

District Commissioner In office since Current term expires
1stFrank Jewell2011January 2, 2023
2ndPatrick Boyle2014January 4, 2021
3rdBeth Olson2017January 4, 2021
4thPaul McDonald2019January 2, 2023
5thKeith Musolf2019January 4, 2021
6thKeith Nelson (chair)2003January 2, 2023
7thMike Jugovich2017January 4, 2021

Politics
Election results from statewide races[17]
Year Office GOP DFL Others
2018 Governor 35.4% 60.8% 2.9%
Senator 30.5% 66.2% 2.5%
Senator (Special) 34.7% 60.6% 3.7%
2016 President 39.7% 51.4% 8.9%
2014 Governor 32.5% 62.1% 2.4%
Senator 32.0% 64.2% 2.3%
2012 President 33.9% 63.5% 2.7%
Senator 23.0% 73.8% 2.0%
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, St. Louis County considered doing a study about dividing into two counties, but the proposal was not acted on.[18]

This county is one of the most reliably Democratic counties in the state, as no Republican or Independent candidate has won the county in a 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; some 24% of the county voted for him. Since 1992, the only time when a Republican obtained more than 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 of more than 60%, and when the Independent-Republican senatorial candidate won election with 49% statewide, both of which are rare occurrences in Minnesota.

Presidential elections

St. Louis County has long been one of the strongest Democratic bastions in the state outside of the Twin Cities. The Democrats have carried the county for 20 consecutive presidential elections. The last Republican candidate to carry the county was Herbert Hoover in 1928, before the Great Depression.[19] In recent elections, Republicans have received about 1/3rd of the county's vote. In 2016, Donald Trump earned 39.7% of the county's vote, while the Democratic vote deteriorated to 51.4% (the lowest percentage since 1932); according to exit polls, this was due to residents' concerns about the decline of mining and forestry in the county.[20] This was the closest that a Republican had come to winning the county since 1972.

Presidential election results
Presidential elections results[21]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 39.7% 44,630 51.4% 57,771 8.9% 10,021
2012 33.9% 39,131 63.5% 73,378 2.7% 3,085
2008 32.6% 38,742 65.1% 77,351 2.3% 2,721
2004 33.6% 40,112 65.2% 77,958 1.3% 1,495
2000 33.0% 35,420 59.8% 64,237 7.3% 7,807
1996 25.5% 25,553 60.6% 60,736 13.9% 13,907
1992 22.6% 24,579 56.8% 61,813 20.6% 22,423
1988 30.8% 31,799 68.1% 70,344 1.1% 1,094
1984 30.3% 34,162 68.8% 77,683 0.9% 1,013
1980 29.1% 33,407 60.5% 69,403 10.3% 11,864
1976 31.0% 35,331 65.8% 75,040 3.3% 3,704
1972 39.8% 41,435 58.7% 61,103 1.6% 1,642
1968 25.5% 25,981 71.0% 72,267 3.5% 3,549
1964 24.0% 25,246 75.6% 79,529 0.4% 408
1960 36.2% 39,620 63.3% 69,270 0.6% 632
1956 38.8% 39,902 60.5% 62,190 0.6% 631
1952 37.7% 38,900 61.0% 63,032 1.3% 1,354
1948 29.3% 28,490 64.3% 62,553 6.4% 6,249
1944 29.9% 27,493 68.9% 63,369 1.2% 1,080
1940 31.4% 32,243 66.9% 68,620 1.7% 1,760
1936 23.9% 22,332 74.2% 69,365 1.9% 1,813
1932 41.7% 34,883 48.0% 40,181 10.4% 8,665
1928 61.1% 44,331 35.0% 25,401 3.8% 2,785
1924 57.3% 37,033 4.0% 2,577 38.7% 25,013
1920 57.0% 27,987 30.1% 14,767 13.0% 6,361
1916 41.5% 10,834 46.2% 12,056 12.4% 3,234
1912 18.6% 3,881 24.5% 5,124 56.9% 11,873
1908 66.1% 12,076 24.4% 4,464 9.5% 1,734
1904 77.7% 10,375 14.8% 1,972 7.5% 998
1900 63.7% 8,851 33.6% 4,667 2.7% 372
1896 56.4% 9,810 42.6% 7,412 1.1% 184
1892 49.7% 5,157 34.5% 3,586 15.8% 1,640

Congress

St. Louis County is in Minnesota's 8th congressional district. For 36 years it was represented by Democrat Jim Oberstar. He was defeated in 2010 by Republican Chip Cravaack. Two years later Cravaack was defeated by Democrat Rick Nolan, who represented the district until his retirement in 2019. Republican St. Louis County commissioner Pete Stauber succeeded Nolan in one of three Democrat-to-Republican district flips in 2018, two of which happened in Minnesota.

Communities

Cities

Townships

Unorganized territories

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns
gollark: No.
gollark: hOSpital, viscOSity, necrOSis, stratOSphere, lOSs...
gollark: Wow, I just checked and LOADS of words contain OS.
gollark: <@!235768051683950593> I'm feeling nice and realize I posted this before anyway: https://pastebin.com/9DV5d4Yv
gollark: It apparently has been that for a year or so?

See also

References
  1. "Minnesota Place Names". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  2. Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 164.
  3. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  4. Duluth News Tribune September 22, 2004, p. 2B. According to the US Census Bureau, Aroostook County has a smaller overall area (which includes interior waters and adjacent waters) but a greater land area.
  5. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  6.  Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Saint Louis. I. A N. E. county of Minnesota" . The American Cyclopædia.
  7. "7 km NE of Hibbing, Minnesota, United States 7/1/1983". Microsoft Research Terraserver. USGS. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2011. See USGS map sheet "Hibbing Quadrangle", Minnesota-St. Louis county, 7.5 minute series, the "three-way watershed" marker is located at a spot on the hill about 375 meters south of the truck shop on the property of Hibbing Taconite mining company.
  8. Jennifer Bjorhus (January 16, 2019). "U scientists: Minnesota is one of the nation's fastest-warming states". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2019. said Tracy Twine, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Soil, Water and Climate. “We just don’t expect temperatures to be below 10 degrees Fahrenheit in Duluth anymore,” Twine said.
  9. "Weather-related closings and cancellations for this week". Duluth News Tribune. January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019. Duluth Public Schools - closed Tuesday and Wednesday
  10. "Here's how Global Warming leads to colder winters in the Northeast". ThinkProgress. January 24, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  11. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  12. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  13. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  14. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  15. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  16. "2015 American Community Survey". Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  17. . Uselectionatlas.org
  18. St. Louis County considers a split|Minnesota Public Radio News. Minnesota.publicradio.org (30 July 2007; accessed 12 July 2013.)
  19. "Presidential election of 1928 - Map by counties". geoelections.free.fr.
  20. "Hibbing voters tapped GOP Trump change", Minnesota Public Radio News, November 9, 2016
  21. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org.

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