St. Louis County, Minnesota

St. Louis County, Minnesota
St. Louis County is a county located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 200,231. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county in Minnesota by land area, and the largest in the United States by total area east of the Mississippi River, ahead of Aroostook County, Maine.
St. Louis County is included in the Duluth, MN–Superior, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Major industries include pulpwood production and tourism. Open pit mining of taconite and processing it into high grade iron ore remains an important part of the economy of the Iron Range and is directly tied to shipping in the twin ports of Duluth and Superior. 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 United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.9%) is water. 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 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.
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). The county is drained by the St. Louis, Vermilion, and other rivers.
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, with active mines located in Hibbing, Mountain Iron, Eveleth, Virginia, and Babbitt, in addition to Keewatin in Itasca County.
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
St. Louis County Road 4 - Rice Lake Road
St. Louis County Road 13 – Midway Road
Adjacent counties
Rainy River District, Ontario, Canada (north)
Lake County (east)
Douglas County, Wisconsin (southeast)
Carlton County (south)
Aitkin County (southwest)
Itasca County (west)
Koochiching County (northwest)
National protected areas
Superior National Forest (part)
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (part)
Voyageurs National Park (part)
Climate and 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 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." Public schools and other government offices shut down on January 29–30, 2019 because of wind chills of . This apparent anomaly was attributed to changes in the global jet stream due to the climate change.
Demographics
2020 census
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, 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.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,528 people, 82,619 households, and 51,389 families in the county. The population density was . There were 95,800 housing units at an average density of . 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 2023:
Politics
In 2007, St. Louis County considered doing a study about dividing into two counties, but the proposal was not acted on.
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 (the year of the 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 23 consecutive presidential elections; the last Republican candidate to carry the county was Herbert Hoover in 1928, before the Great Depression. 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. This was the closest that a Republican had come to winning the county since 1932. In 2020, Trump became the first Republican since Herbert Hoover to get more than 40% of the vote in St. Louis County, but Joe Biden bolstered the Democratic margin of victory from 11.7% to 15.6%.
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
Aurora
Babbitt
Biwabik
Brookston
Buhl
Chisholm
Cook
Duluth (county seat)
Ely
Eveleth
Floodwood
Gilbert
Hermantown
Hibbing
Hoyt Lakes
Iron Junction
Kinney
Leonidas
McKinley
Meadowlands
Mountain Iron
Orr
Proctor
Rice Lake
Tower
Virginia
Winton
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
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
Angleworm Lake
Bear Head Lake
Birch Lake
Camp A Lake
Crab Lake
Dark River
Gheen
Hay Lake
Heikkala Lake
Hush Lake
Janette Lake
Leander Lake
Linwood Lake
Marion Lake
McCormack
Mud Hen Lake
Nett Lake
Northeast St. Louis
Northwest St. Louis
Pfeiffer Lake
Picket Lake
Potshot Lake
Sand Lake
Slim Lake
Sturgeon River
Sunday Lake
Tikander Lake
Whiteface Reservoir
Census-designated places
Mahnomen
Nett Lake
Soudan
Unincorporated communities
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
Pineville
Prosit
Ramshaw
Robinson
Rollins
Saginaw
Sax
Shaw
Sherman Corner
Side Lake
Silica
Simar
Skibo
Sturgeon
Taft
Toivola
Twig
Vermilion Dam
Wahlsten
Wakemup
Whiteface
Wolf
Zim
Ghost towns
Carson Lake
Costin Village
Elcor
Fermoy
Spina
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis County, Minnesota
Independent School District 2142
References
External links
St. Louis County Government site – Link
Duluth News Tribune site
Mn/DOT maps of St. Louis County (Southwest portion, West–Central portion, Southeast portion, East–Central portion, Northern part of West–Central portion, Northwest portion, Northeast portion)
St. Louis County, Minnesota
1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory
Populated places established in 1855