# Marshall County, Minnesota

Marshall County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,040. Its county seat is Warren.

## History

The Minnesota legislature created the county on February 25, 1879, with territory partitioned from the southern half of Kittson County, with Warren (which was first platted that same year) as the county seat. It was named for William Rainey Marshall, who served as Minnesota governor from 1866 to 1870.
Marshall County was the location of a claimed UFO incident in 1979, the Val Johnson incident.

## Geography

Marshall County lies on Minnesota's border with North Dakota (across the Red River, which flows north along the county's western border). The Snake River rises in Polk County and flows north through the western part of the county to its confluence with the Red. The Tamarac River rises in Marshall County and flows west through the county's northern area to its confluence with the Red. The Middle River also rises in Marshall County and flows west through the southern part of the county, discharging into the Snake just upstream of the Snake/Red confluence. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved with drainages, completely devoted to agriculture where possible. The terrain slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near the midpoint of its eastern border, at 1,194 ft (364 m) ASL. The county has an area of 1,813 square miles (4,700 km$^2$), of which 1,775 square miles (4,600 km$^2$) is land and 38 square miles (98 km$^2$) (2.1%) is water. Marshall is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties where savanna soils predominate. The true high point is in the northeast of the county: CalTopo displays 1237 ft at 48.5339°N, -96.0167°W

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 59
* U.S. Highway 75
* Minnesota State Highway 1
* Minnesota State Highway 32
* Minnesota State Highway 89
* Minnesota State Highway 219
* Minnesota State Highway 220
* Minnesota State Highway 317

### Airports

* Stephen Municipal Airport (D41) - northeast of Stephen

### Adjacent counties

* Kittson County - north
* Roseau County - northeast
* Beltrami County - east
* Pennington County - southeast
* Polk County - south
* Grand Forks County, North Dakota - southwest
* Walsh County, North Dakota - west
* Pembina County, North Dakota - northwest

### Protected areas

Source:
* Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge
** Agassiz Wilderness
* Florian Park
* Florian State Wildlife Management Area
* Old Mill State Park

### Lakes

Source:
* Thief Lake
* Webster Creek Pool

## Demographics
### 2020 Census

Marshall County Racial Composition :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (NH) | 8,332 | 92.2% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 12 | 0.13% |
| Native American (NH) | 29 | 0.32% |
| Asian (NH) | 19 | 0.21% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 0 | 0% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 258 | 2.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 390 | 4.31% |

### 2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,155 people, 4,101 households and 2,837 families in the county. The population density was 5.72 per square mile (2.21/km$^2$). There were 4,791 housing units at an average density of 2.70 per square mile (1.04/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 97.22% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 1.62% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 2.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 43.2% were of Norwegian, 12.1% Polish, 11.7% German and 9.6% Swedish ancestry.
There were 4,101 households, of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.20% were married couples living together, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.
The county population contained 25.40% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 103.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.10 males.
The median household income was $34,804, and the median family income was $41,908. Males had a median income of $30,051 versus $20,600 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,317. About 6.90% of families and 9.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.30% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities

* Alvarado
* Argyle
* Grygla
* Holt
* Middle River
* Newfolden
* Oslo
* Stephen
* Strandquist
* Viking
* Warren (county seat)

### Unincorporated communities

* Big Woods
* Englund
* Espelie
* Florian
* Gatzke
* Luna
* March
* Radium
* Rosewood

### Townships

* Agder Township
* Alma Township
* Augsburg Township
* Big Woods Township
* Bloomer Township
* Boxville Township
* Cedar Township
* Como Township
* Comstock Township
* Donnelly Township
* Eagle Point Township
* East Park Township
* East Valley Township
* Eckvoll Township
* Espelie Township
* Excel Township
* Foldahl Township
* Fork Township
* Grand Plain Township
* Holt Township
* Huntly Township
* Lincoln Township
* Linsell Township
* Marsh Grove Township
* McCrea Township
* Middle River Township
* Moose River Township
* Moylan Township
* Nelson Park Township
* New Folden Township
* New Maine Township
* New Solum Township
* Oak Park Township
* Parker Township
* Rollis Township
* Sinnott Township
* Spruce Valley Township
* Tamarac Township
* Thief Lake Township
* Valley Township
* Vega Township
* Veldt Township
* Viking Township
* Wanger Township
* Warrenton Township
* West Valley Township
* Whiteford Township
* Wright Township

### Unorganized territory

* Mud Lake

## Government and politics

Marshall County has voted Republican in presidential elections since 2000, except in 2008, when Barack Obama won the county by less than one percentage point.
United States presidential election results for Marshall County, Minnesota :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 3,774 | 75.01% | 1,177 | 23.39% | 80 | 1.59% |
| 2020 | 3,721 | 72.78% | 1,295 | 25.33% | 97 | 1.90% |
| 2016 | 3,208 | 66.60% | 1,225 | 25.43% | 384 | 7.97% |
| 2012 | 2,569 | 54.68% | 1,998 | 42.53% | 131 | 2.79% |
| 2008 | 2,285 | 48.22% | 2,311 | 48.77% | 143 | 3.02% |
| 2004 | 3,187 | 57.30% | 2,308 | 41.50% | 67 | 1.20% |
| 2000 | 2,912 | 56.01% | 1,910 | 36.74% | 377 | 7.25% |
| 1996 | 2,068 | 40.12% | 2,333 | 45.27% | 753 | 14.61% |
| 1992 | 2,136 | 36.81% | 2,309 | 39.79% | 1,358 | 23.40% |
| 1988 | 2,752 | 47.36% | 3,001 | 51.64% | 58 | 1.00% |
| 1984 | 3,433 | 55.31% | 2,705 | 43.58% | 69 | 1.11% |
| 1980 | 3,638 | 53.70% | 2,636 | 38.91% | 501 | 7.39% |
| 1976 | 2,605 | 40.14% | 3,744 | 57.70% | 140 | 2.16% |
| 1972 | 3,264 | 52.73% | 2,790 | 45.07% | 136 | 2.20% |
| 1968 | 2,367 | 39.74% | 3,161 | 53.07% | 428 | 7.19% |
| 1964 | 1,893 | 29.17% | 4,594 | 70.79% | 3 | 0.05% |
| 1960 | 3,006 | 44.36% | 3,759 | 55.47% | 12 | 0.18% |
| 1956 | 2,519 | 41.93% | 3,478 | 57.90% | 10 | 0.17% |
| 1952 | 3,516 | 52.22% | 3,132 | 46.52% | 85 | 1.26% |
| 1948 | 2,090 | 32.12% | 4,126 | 63.41% | 291 | 4.47% |
| 1944 | 2,029 | 34.60% | 3,808 | 64.94% | 27 | 0.46% |
| 1940 | 2,441 | 34.70% | 4,549 | 64.67% | 44 | 0.63% |
| 1936 | 1,904 | 27.79% | 4,802 | 70.08% | 146 | 2.13% |
| 1932 | 1,866 | 34.16% | 3,259 | 59.66% | 338 | 6.19% |
| 1928 | 3,738 | 61.58% | 2,200 | 36.24% | 132 | 2.17% |
| 1924 | 2,100 | 40.03% | 290 | 5.53% | 2,856 | 54.44% |
| 1920 | 4,738 | 75.41% | 885 | 14.09% | 660 | 10.50% |
| 1916 | 1,461 | 44.73% | 1,513 | 46.33% | 292 | 8.94% |
| 1912 | 331 | 11.30% | 567 | 19.35% | 2,032 | 69.35% |
| 1908 | 1,648 | 59.99% | 731 | 26.61% | 368 | 13.40% |
| 1904 | 1,720 | 76.38% | 275 | 12.21% | 257 | 11.41% |
| 1900 | 1,457 | 59.66% | 905 | 37.06% | 80 | 3.28% |
| 1896 | 1,200 | 48.94% | 1,222 | 49.84% | 30 | 1.22% |
| 1892 | 526 | 27.90% | 354 | 18.78% | 1,005 | 53.32% |
County Board of Commissioners :
| Position | Name | District | Next Election |
| Commissioner and Chairperson | Jim Duckstad | District 1 | 2026 |
| Commissioner | Rolland Miller | District 2 | 2024 |
| Commissioner | Larry Nybladh | District 3 | 2024 |
| Commissioner | Sharon Bring | District 4 | 2024 |
| Commissioner | Gary Kiesow | District 5 | 2026 |
State Legislature (2023-2025) :
| Position | Position | Name | Affiliation | District |
| | Senate | Mark Johnson | Republican | District 1 |
| | House of Representatives | John Burkel | Republican | District 1A |
U.S Congress (2023-2025) :
| Position | Name | Affiliation | District |
| House of Representatives | Michelle Fischbach | Democrat | 7th |
| Senate | Amy Klobuchar | Democrat | N/A |
| Senate | Tina Smith | Democrat | N/A |