Sartell, Minnesota

**Sartell** is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The 2020 census said 19,351 people live in the city. Sartell is in both Stearns County and Benton County.

## History

Sartell started as a small town near the Mississippi River. It was first named "The Third Rapids" because it was the third rapids that French fur trader<nowiki/>s came to as they went north from St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis.

One of the first people to live in this young town was Joseph B. Sartell. He came in 1854 and worked as a millwright at a local sawmill. In 1877, he started a flour mill at the nearby Watab River. In 1884, he started the Sartell Brothers Lumber Company with his sons. In 1905, some people started to build the Watab Pulp and Paper Company. They also started to build the Sartell Dam across the Mississippi near the "third rapids". Both of these things were finished in 1907. Seven people died when building the dam. Since that time, Watab Pulp and Paper was rebuilt several times and many people bought and sold it. Now a company called International Paper owns it.

It was in 1907 that residents of the town decided it was time to incorporate. Several influential people felt the town ought to be named "Wengert" after a local businessman. Another man lobbyied to have the town named "Oberly" after himself. However, because of his many relatives and generous contributions to the community, the town was incorporated as "The Village of Sartell" in honor of Joseph B. Sartell. From 1907 until 1973, there was a Sartell on nearly every City Council, the most prominent being Ripley B. "Rip" Sartell who was mayor for 31 years.

The town continued to grow slowly and developed a number of businesses and a "downtown" on the east side of the Mississippi along U.S. Highway 10. In the 1960s, the highway was re-routed and the downtown area suffered. The later construction of a new bridge over the Mississippi in the early 1980s replaced the remaining businesses. This and Sartell’s move to St. Cloud, Minnesota's major retail center account for Sartell's lack of a traditional "downtown".

Because residents wanted to educate their children locally, Independent School District #748, Sartell-St. Stephen, was created in 1969. Despite not having a downtown the city continued to grow and the pace of the growth increased in the 1970s. From 1970 to the present, the population of the city has grown from 700 to nearly 20,000.

## Government

Sartell's city council has a mayor and four council members. They are elected  to represent the community. They also make policy for the city.  The City Council also appoints a City Administrator who overseas the day-to-day operations of the city and implements the policies of the council.

## Geography

The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of 27.0 km² (10.4 mi²). 26.3 km² (10.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.5% water.

The city is on both sides of the Mississippi River. The area around the city has lots of farmland and forests.

## Recreation

Because the Mississippi River goes through the city, people use the river to have fun. When it is warm, people ride boats, swim, catch fish and water ski on the river. When the river is frozen in winter, people ride snowmobiles, cross country ski, and catch fish through holes in the ice.

The city has also built places for people to have fun. These include 24 parks, walking pathways, playground<nowiki/>s, a bike lane, tennis courts, baseball and soccer fields, ice rink<nowiki/>s, a disc golf course and a wading pool.

## Economy

Sartell's largest employer is Verso Paper. They own a paper mill in the city. Another large employer is DeZurik Water Controls.

Sartell's Chamber of Commerce http://www.sartellchamber.com says that the city has many small business.

## Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 19,351 people, 7,386 households, and 4,853 families living in Sartell. The population density was . There were 7,602 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 89.2% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 1.2% other races, and 4.9% two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 2.7% of the people.

There were 7,386 households. Of those, 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together. 25.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 15.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.3% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62.

In the city, the population had 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.3 years. There were 9,267 males and 10,084 females.

In 2022, the median (middle) income for a household in the township was about $74,177. The median income for a family was about $95,824. The per capita income for the township was about $39,501.  About 3.7% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

## Transportation

Transportation to and from Sartell is limited to surface roads, mainly U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota Highway 15 which both pass along the outskirts of the city. A rail line runs through town but serves only as freight transportation for the local paper mill. The dams along the Mississippi River and the waterway's relatively shallow depth render it useless for anything more than recreational watercraft traffic.

Sartell's proximity to St. Cloud allows for convenient access to St. Cloud Regional Airport.

## Famous Sartellians

- Craig Sauer, NFL linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/3751/
- Kurt Sauer, NHL defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche http://www.coloradoavalanche.com/team/player.asp?PID=69
- Michael Sauer, drafted by the New York Rangers in July 2005 http://www.newyorkrangers.com/team/playerinfo.asp?playerid=326

## Other websites

- City of Sartell
- Sartell Historical Society
- www.sartell.com  - Useful Sartell links
- Google Maps - Satellite photo of Sartell
- TerraServer - Aerial photo of Sartell from 1991
- Map Quest - Map of Sartell
- International Paper Sartell Mill
- DeZurik Water Controls