Category Archives: Minnesota

Minnesota: Houston County

Houston County (pop. 19,027) is in the far southeastern corner of Minnesota, bordered by Wisconsin (across the Mississippi River) on the east and Iowa on the south.

Houston County was named for Sam Houston (1793-1863), the first president of the Republic of Texas.

Also its third president

Much of the county is in the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest.

The county seat is Caledonia (pop. 2,868).

Houston County Courthouse (1883)

The city of La Crescent (pop. 4,830), along the Mississippi, calls itself the Apple Capital of Minnesota.

La Crescent apple orchard

The town of Houston (pop. 979) has an International Festival of Owls every year.

NEXT STATE: SOUTH CAROLINA (Coming soon)

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Minnesota: Fillmore County

Fillmore County (pop. 20,866) was named for Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States.

The only other Fillmore County is in Nebraska.

The county, along Minnesota’s southern border with Iowa, has only one stoplight – in the city of Chatfield (pop. 2,779), which is partly in Olmsted County.

The county seat of Fillmore County is Preston (pop. 1,325), which calls itself America’s Trout Capital.

Preston’s 20-foot trout

Preston’s former jail, sheriff’s residence, and courthouse (built in 1870) is now the Jailhouse Inn Bed and Breakfast.

The jail relocated in 1970.

Mystery Cave State Park is just west of Preston.

The longest cave in Minnesota that’s open to the public

The town of Harmony (pop. 1,020) and the surrounding area have the largest Amish population in Minnesota.

Many Amish moved from Ohio to Minnesota in the 1970s.

In Spring Valley (pop. 2,479), the former Methodist Episcopal Church is now a Spring Valley Community Historical Society museum.

Laura and Almanzo Wilder attended 1890-91.

The town of Fountain  (pop. 410) is the western terminus of the Root River segment of the 60-mile Blufflands State Trail.

Mostly on a Milwaukee Road railbed

NEXT: HOUSTON COUNTY

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Minnesota: Mower County

Mower County (pop. 39,163), the only Mower County in the U.S., was named for John Edward Mower, a member of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature.

Mower is one of only four Minnesota counties without a natural lake, but its Lake Louise State Park (1963) has a 25-acre man-made lake.

It’s less crowded than the Lake Louise in Canada.

The county seat of Mower County is Austin (pop. 24,718), home of Hormel Foods Corporation.

Spam Town USA in 1910

The SPAM Museum in Austin is a popular tourist attraction.

“The world’s most comprehensive collection of spiced pork artifacts”

Austin is on the 338-mile Cedar River, which flows south into Iowa and eventually joins the Iowa River.

Its waters reach the Mississippi in southeastern Iowa.

Downtown Austin’s Paramount Theatre (1929) has been restored and now hosts a variety of concerts, films, and special events.

The Lovin’ Spoonful (without John Sebastian) played on March 2.

In the town of Grand Meadow (pop. 1,139), the K-12 Grand Meadow Public School has its classrooms, offices, cafeteria, and gym in five domes.

Elementary grades in one dome, secondary in another

NEXT: FILLMORE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Freeborn County

Freeborn County (pop. 31,255) is east of Faribault County. It was named for William Freeborn, a member of the first Minnesota Territorial Legislature.

The county seat is Albert Lea (pop. 18,016), named for Albert Miller Lea, who surveyed southern Minnesota and northern Iowa in 1835.

Fountain Lake, one of six lakes in Albert Lea

The Marion Ross Performing Arts Center is named for actress Marion Ross, who lived in Albert Lea as a young girl.

Marion Cunningham on “Happy Days”

Early rock ‘n’ roller Eddie Cochran (1938-60) was born in Albert Lea.

He died in a traffic accident at age 21.

Myre-Big Island State Park is just east of Albert Lea.

A causeway attaches Big Island to the mainland.

The paved Blazing Star State Trail connects central Albert Lea with the state park.

Six miles long

The town of Hayward (pop. 250) claims the record for the longest game of horseshoes, set in 1930 between the postmaster and the train station agent.

It lasted five months and four days.

NEXT: MOWER COUNTY

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Minnesota: Faribault County

Faribault County (pop. 14,553) is just east of Martin County, on Minnesota’s southern border with Iowa. Faribault County’s population reached its peak of 23,941 in 1940.

The county seat of Faribault County is Blue Earth. The city of Faribault is the county seat of Rice County. The county seat of Blue Earth County is Mankato.

Blue Earth County is north, and Rice County is northeast.

The city of Blue Earth (pop. 3,353) is on the Blue Earth River.

Faribault County Courthouse (1892)

Blue Earth has a 55-foot statue of the Jolly Green Giant, installed in 1979.

The reason is complicated.

Construction of I-90, the longest Interstate highway in the U.S. (from Seattle to Boston), was completed in 1978 near Blue Earth. A plaque and a “Golden Stripe” commemorate the event.

Similar to the “Golden Spike” at Promontory Summit, Utah

The former First National Bank in the town of Winnebago (pop. 1,437) is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1917

The town of Frost (pop. 198) was not named for ice crystals; it was named for Charles S. Frost, a Chicago architect.

Census data for Frost

NEXT: FREEBORN COUNTY

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Minnesota: Martin County

Martin County (pop. 20,840) is just east of Jackson County. It’s one of six Martin counties in the U.S.

The county seat of Martin County is Fairmont (pop. 10,666). Fairmont has a string of five lakes on its west side.

Aerial view of Fairmont

The Martin County Courthouse was built in 1907.

The Fairmont Opera House was built in 1901.

It hosts a variety of concerts and other events.

According to legend, the naming of the town of Ceylon (pop. 369) was inspired by a box of tea from Ceylon.

Walter Mondale was born in Ceylon.

The town of Welcome was named for early homesteader Alfred M. Welcome.

Trinity Lutheran Church, Welcome

NEXT: FARIBAULT COUNTY

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Minnesota: Jackson County

Jackson County (pop. 10,266) is one of 24 Jackson counties in the U.S.

Named for Henry Jackson

Jackson County is east of Nobles County, on the border with Iowa.

The county seat is Jackson (pop. 3.299). At least 19 states have cities named Jackson.

Jackson County Courthouse (1908)

Jackson’s State Theatre, dating from the 1920s, shows first-run movies.

Art Deco style

The Okabena Bank in the town of Okabena (pop. now 188) was robbed by Bonnie and Clyde in 1933.

The real Bonnie and Clyde

Kilen Woods State Park is in the northeastern part of the county.

The park is along the Des Moines River.

Walter Mondale, U.S. vice president 1977-81, attended Heron Lake High School in Heron Lake (pop. now 698); his father was a minister in the town.

NEXT: MARTIN COUNTY

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Minnesota: Nobles County

Nobles County (pop. 21,378) is just east of Rock County. Named for William H. Nobles, a member of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature, it is the only Nobles County in the U.S.

The county is located along Buffalo Ridge, a 60-mile-long area of rolling hills in southwestern Minnesota. Buffalo Ridge has recently become an important center for the generation of wind power.

Ribbon-cutting for a wind turbine near Worthington

The county seat of Nobles County is Worthington (pop. 12,764).

Downtown Worthington

The Nobles County Historical Society has moved 49 historic buildings onto a site in Worthington, creating Nobles County Pioneer Village.

Established in 1968

Worthington has celebrated King Turkey Day annually since 1940.

The King Turkey Day parade

The St. Adrian Catholic Church in the town of Adrian (pop. 1,209) was built in 1900.

On the National Register of Historic Places

Kinbrae (pop. 12) is the third-smallest city in Minnesota.

NEXT: JACKSON COUNTY

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Minnesota: Rock County

Rock County (pop. 9,687) is in the southwestern corner of Minnesota, bordered by South Dakota on the west and Iowa on the south.

Nebraska and Wisconsin also have Rock counties.

Rock County is one of four Minnesota counties with no natural lakes, but Blue Mounds State Park has a small reservoir. The park has a herd of more than 100 bison.

The herd began in 1961 with three animals.

The county seat of Rock County is Luverne (pop. 4,745).

Rock County Courthouse (1890)

The Palace Theatre in Luverne (1915) hosts a variety of events, including live theater, concerts, and movies.

Owned by the city

Luverne was one of the cities featured in Ken Burns’ 2007 PBS series about World War II, “The War.”  The film had its world premiere at the Palace Theatre.

The six-mile Blue Mounds Hiking and Biking Trial connects Luverne with Blue Mounds State Park.

It opened in 2003.

The Verne Drive-In Theater in Luverne is one of the few remaining drive-ins in Minnesota.

Summer only

NEXT: NOBLES COUNTY

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Minnesota: Pipestone County

Pipestone County (pop. 9,596) is west of Murray County, on the border with South Dakota.

The county was named for the brownish-red rock that has been quarried in the area by Native Americans for centuries – for use in making sacred pipes.

Pipestone is an extremely soft rock.

Pipestone National Monument, created in 1933, preserves the quarries for exclusive use of Native Americans.

The quarries are in a tallgrass prairie.

The monument has a short trail to Winnewissa Falls.

On Pipestone Creek

The county seat of Pipestone County is the town of Pipestone (pop. 4,317).

Pipestone County Courthouse (1901)

The four-story Calumet Hotel, now known as the Calumet Inn, opened in downtown Pipestone in 1888.

Still open as a hotel

Pipestone has a 132-foot, concrete water tower, built in 1921. It was replaced by a newer tower in 1976.

There’s a Water Tower Festival every June.

A famous photograph was taken on July 8, 1927, of a tornado near the town of Jasper (pop. now 633).

It’s featured on the cover of Deep Purple’s 1974 album “Stormbringer.”

Pipestone County has no natural lakes, but Split Rock Lake was created when the Works Project Administration built a dam in 1938.

It’s in Split Rock Creek State Park.

The Woodstock Music Festival (1969) was not held in Woodstock, Minnesota (pop. 124).

Three days of peace, love, and understanding

NEXT: ROCK COUNTY

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Minnesota: Murray County

Murray County (pop. 8,725) is just west of Cottonwood County. It has more than 70 lakes.

The state of Minnesota has had two F5 tornadoes since 1950, and both of them have been in Murray County: the Tracy Tornado on June 13, 1968, and the Chandler-Lake Wilson Tornado on June 16, 1992.

The Tracy Tornado killed nine people.

The county seat of Murray County is Slayton (pop. 2,157).

Slayton in 1907

The town of Fulda (pop. 1,318) has a two-story Milwaukee Road depot that dates from 1880.

On the National Register of Historic Places

Lake Shetek is the largest lake in southwestern Minnesota. Lake Shetek State Park was developed from 1934 to 1941.

The source of the Des Moines River

The town of Currie (pop. 233), “The Gateway to Lake Shetek,” is the home of the End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.

An old depot was moved to the site.

NEXT: PIPESTONE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Cottonwood County

Cottonwood County (pop. 11,687), west of Watonwan County, was named for the Cottonwood River, which was named for the trees along its banks.

The northeastern part of the county is drained by the Cottonwood River, which flows into the Minnesota River and then the Mississippi; the southwestern part of the county is drained by the Des Moines River, which joins the Mississippi at Keokuk, Iowa.

Des Moines River watershed

The county seat is Windom (pop. 4,646).

Cottonwood County Courthouse (1904)

The Des Moines River runs through Windom; the river is popular for canoeing and kayaking.

In winter there’s a Darn Cold Croquet Contest.

Near the town of Jeffers (pop. 369) is the Jeffers Petroglyphs Historic Site, with more than 2,000 images made by Native Americans over thousands of years on a large rock outcrop.

NEXT: MURRAY COUNTY

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Minnesota: Watonwan County

Watonwan County (pop. 11,211) is west of Blue Earth County. It’s the only Watonwan County in the U.S.

The county seat is St. James (pop. 4,605).

Watonwan County Courthouse (1896)

The Grand Opera House in St. James was built in 1892.

On the National Register of Historic Places

In the town of Madelia (pop. 2,308), the Madelia Theater (1934) still shows first-run movies.

Tickets are $5.

The Younger Gang (Bob, Cole, and Jim) were captured near Madelia in 1876 after their famous  attempt, with the James Gang, to rob the First National Bank of Northfield.

Cole’s gun

The town of Butterfield (pop. 586) hosts the Butterfield Threshing Bee every August.

Since 1967

There is some disagreement about how the town of Darfur (pop. 108) got its name; it may have had to do with the “dark fur” on local otters, or it may have come from a conversation in which one Scandinavian railroad worker said to another, “Why you stop dar fur?”

Probably not from the war-torn region of Sudan

NEXT: COTTONWOOD COUNTY

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Minnesota: Blue Earth County

Blue Earth County (pop. 64,013), west of Waseca County, was named for the 108-mile-long Blue Earth River; the river was named for the blue-green clay that was once found on its banks.

The county seat is Mankato (pop. 39,309), located where the Blue Earth River joins the Minnesota River.

Sibley Park, Mankato

Minnesota State University, Mankato, has about 15,000 students. It was founded in 1868 as the Minnesota Normal School.

Also formerly known as Mankato State Teachers College

The Blue Earth County Courthouse was built in 1889.

In the French and Italian Renaissance style

The First National Bank of Mankato was built in 1913 in the Prairie School style.

The Happy Chef chain of restaurants is headquartered in Mankato; the first Happy Chef opened in 1963 in Mankato.

Breakfast served all day

Minneopa State Park is just west of Mankato.

Minneopa Falls

The park contains the Seppman Mill, a stone windmill that was built in 1864.

The stone walls are 32 feet tall.

The town of Lake Crystal (pop. 2,549) is on the shores of Lake Crystal.

NEXT: WATONWAN COUNTY

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Minnesota: Waseca County

Waseca County (pop. 19,136) is just west of Steele County. The county seat is Waseca (pop. 9,410).

Waseca is a Dakota word meaning “rich” or “fertile.”


The Waseca County Courthouse was built in 1897.

In the Richardsonian Romanesque style

Waseca had a branch of the University of Minnesota from 1971 to 1992; it was closed for budgetary reasons, and the campus was turned into a low-security Federal Correctional Institution for Women.

The university focused on agricultural education.

Waseca has a 4.6-mile bike path around Clear Lake.

The town of Janesville (pop. 2,256) still uses its 1912 Carnegie library.

Janesville Free Public Library

NEXT: BLUE EARTH COUNTY

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Minnesota: Steele County

Steele County (pop. 36,576), just west of Dodge County, was named for Franklin Steele (1813-1880). America’s only other Steele County, in North Dakota, was named for Edward Steele (1846-1899).

The Steele County Courthouse (1891) in Owatonna

Interstate 35 – which goes 1,568 miles from Duluth to Laredo, Texas – runs north-south through the middle of Steele County.

It also goes through Ames, Iowa.

The 56-mile Straight River runs through the county seat of Owatonna (pop. 25,599).

It’s actually somewhat windy.

Louis Sullivan’s National Farmers’ Bank (1908) in Owatonna is an outstanding example of Prairie School architecture.

Now a Wells Fargo bank

The Steele County Free Fair, held every August in Owatonna, bills itself as the largest county fair and the largest free fair in Minnesota.

More than 300,000 people attended in 2012.

Federal Mutual Insurance Company, founded in Owatonna in 1900, is still headquartered there.

It has about 1,500 employees.

Actor E.G. Marshall (1914-1998) was born in Owatonna and attended Carleton College and the University of Minnesota.

With Robert Reed in “The Defenders” (1961-65)

Medford (pop. 1,239), on I-35, claims to be the second-smallest city in the U.S. with a McDonald’s restaurant.

Medford Outlet Center

NEXT: WASECA COUNTY

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Minnesota: Dodge County

Dodge County (pop. 20,087) is just west of Olmsted County.

The county seat is Mantorville (pop. 1,197). The Dodge County Courthouse is the oldest working courthouse in Minnesota.

Built in 1865

The Mantorville area has been known since the 19th century for its quarries of “Mantorville limestone.” The courthouse and the Mantorville Opera House (1918) were built from the limestone.

Now home of the Mantorville Theatre Company

Kasson, the largest city in Dodge County (pop. 5,931), has an historic water tower (no longer used for water supply) built of limestone.

Built in 1895

The Kasson Municipal Building (Old City Hall) was built in the Prairie School style in 1917.

Most recently, it housed a printing business.

The Kasson State Theatre (1937) still shows first-run movies.

220 seats

Wasioja Township (pop. 963) has Civil War Days every summer.

Battle of Bull Run (2011)

NEXT: STEELE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Olmsted County

Just west of Winona County is Olmsted County (pop. 144,248).  Its county seat is Rochester, the third-largest city in Minnesota.

Rochester was named for Rochester, New York; its population has grown from 40,663 in 1960 to 106,769 in 2010.

Most of downtown’s tall buildings are part of the Mayo Clinic.

Rochester is famous for its Mayo Clinic; Dr. William Worrall Mayo (1819-1911) started the medical practice that eventually became the Mayo Clinic.

Statue of William W. Mayo

More than 30,000 people work at the Mayo Clinic, and the clinic has more than a million patient visits each year.

IBM is another large employer in Rochester, with more than 4,000 workers at its Rochester facility.

IBM Rochester (1958), designed by Eero Saarinen

Downtown Rochester’s Chateau Theatre (1927) was converted into a Barnes & Noble bookstore in 1994.

Minnesota’s finest “atmospheric” theater

The University of Minnesota Rochester opened in downtown Rochester in 2006.

This building combines classrooms and student residences.

The 38-room Mayowood Mansion, home of three generations of the Mayo family, is open for tours.

Stewartville (pop. 5,916) was the birthplace of Richard Warren Sears (1863-1914), cofounder of Sears, Roebuck, and Company.

NEXT: DODGE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Winona County

Winona County (pop. 51,461) is southeast of Wabasha County, along the Mississippi River.

The county seat is Winona (pop. 27,592), for which the actress Winona Ryder was named – although she was born in nearby Olmsted County.

In “Little Women”

Winona, which was a major wheat-shipping port in the late 1800s, celebrates Steamboat Days every summer.

A rocky pinnacle called Sugar Loaf is a landmark in the Winona area.

Its shape resulted from limestone quarrying in the 1880s.

The Winona County Courthouse was built in 1889.

In the Richardsonian Romanesque style

The Church of Saint Stanislaus was built in 1895.

Founded by Polish Catholics

Watkins Incorporated has been based in Winona since 1885; Watkins sells a variety of health-related and household products, mainly through direct sales.


Watkins invented the “money-back guarantee” in 1868.

The town of Rollingstone (pop. 664) got its name from the Rollingstone River, which was called “the stream where the stone rolls” by the Dakota Indians.

Church of the Holy Trinity, Rollingstone, founded by Luxembourgers

NEXT: OLMSTED COUNTY

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Minnesota: Wabasha County

Wabasha County (pop. 21,676) is east of Goodhue County and across the Mississippi River from Wisconsin.

Much of the county is adjacent to Lake Pepin, the largest natural lake along the Mississippi.

It’s about 20 miles long and two miles wide.

According to legend, Lake Pepin is the home of a lake monster that bears a resemblance to the Loch Ness Monster.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born just a few miles from Lake Pepin – in the “big woods” on the Wisconsin side.

The county seat of Wabasha County is the town of Wabasha (pop. 2,521), located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Chippewa rivers.

Downtown Wabasha

Wabasha was the setting for the movies “Grumpy Old Men” and “Grumpier Old Men.”

Although not actually filmed there

Wabasha now hosts a Grumpy Old Men Festival every February.

Events include Frostbite Frisbee.

The Anderson House Hotel (1856) in Wabasha was the oldest continuously operating inn in Minnesota until it closed in 2009.

The Anderson House Hotel

The National Eagle Center is in Wabasha.

The interpretive center overlooks the Mississippi.

Lake City (pop. 5,067) is the largest city in Wabasha County. In 1890 a Mississippi excursion boat, the Sea Wing, overturned on Lake Pepin near Lake City in a storm, resulting in the drowning deaths of 98 persons.

Lake City City Hall (1899)

Ralph Samuelson (1904-77) of Lake City invented the sport of water skiing on Lake Pepin in 1922.

NEXT: WINONA COUNTY

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Minnesota: Goodhue County

Goodhue County (pop. 46,183) is between Rice County and the Mississippi River.

The county seat is Red Wing (pop. 16,459); Red Wing Shoes Company was founded in Red Wing in 1905, and the company is still headquartered there.

The World’s Largest Boot, at the flagship store in Red Wing

Barn Bluff in Red Wing is a landmark along the Mississippi, rising 400 feet above the river.

Barn Bluff, Red Wing, and the Mississippi

Amtrak’s “Empire Builder,” between Chicago and Seattle (and Portland), stops at Red Wing’s old Milwaukee Road depot.

It opened in 1905.

The T.B. Sheldon Memorial Auditorium opened in Red Wing in 1904.

It’s now called the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Bob Dylan’s song “Walls of Red Wing,” recorded in 1963, was about the reform school for boys in Red Wing – now the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Red Wing.

“Oh, some of us will end up in St. Cloud prison.”

The town of Zumbrota (pop. 3,252) has Minnesota’s last remaining covered bridge.

Located 100 yards from its original (1869) location

Cannon Falls (pop. 4,083) is the home of Pachyderm Studio, where Nirvana recorded “In Utero” in 1993.

Their third and final studio album.

NEXT: WABASHA COUNTY

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Minnesota: Rice County

Rice County (pop. 64,142) is just east of Le Sueur County.

Faribault (pop. 23,352), the county seat, is home of the Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and the Blind, both founded in 1863.

Noyes Hall, Academy for the Deaf

The Buckham Memorial Library was a gift to the city of Faribault from Anna Buckham in honor of her husband, Judge Thomas Scott Buckham.

Opened in 1930

Shattuck-St. Mary’s School is an Episcopal Church-affiliated boarding school in Faribault.

NHL All-Star Sidney Crosby played hockey there.

Actor Marlon Brando attended Shattuck School in the 1930s, but he dropped out before graduation.

“The Wild One” (1953)

Herbert Sellner of Faribault invented the Tilt-a-Wheel in 1926; his Sellner Manufacturing company in Faribault built the rides for many years.

He first built them in his basement.

The town of Northfield (pop. 20,007) is well-known as the home of two liberal arts colleges – Carleton (founded by Congregationalists in 1866) and Saint Olaf (founded by Lutherans in 1874).

Carleton’s Skinner Memorial Chapel (1916)

Peter Tork of The Monkees attended Carleton from 1960-63.

So did economist Thorstein Veblen (class of 1880)

In 1876, James-Younger Gang tried to rob the First National Bank of Northfield. Two gang members and two Northfield citizens died in the unsuccessful robbery.

Robert Duvall was Jesse James

NEXT: GOODHUE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Le Sueur County

Le Sueur County (pop. 27,703), east of Sibley County, is the only county in the U.S. where the county and the county seat (Le Center) both begin with “Le.”

Le Sueur County Courthouse (1896)

The county was named for Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (1657-1704), the first European to explore the Minnesota River Valley.

The river is the county’s western border.

Le Center (pop. 2,499) was placed in the center of the county to be the county seat; over the years, its name changed from Lesueur Center to Le Sueur Center to Center to (in 1931) Le Center.

The county also has a town called Le Sueur (pop. 4,058). The Green Giant Company (known for its frozen peas) was founded in LeSueur in 1903 as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company; it was later acquired by General Mills.

LeSueur is in the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant.

The town of Kasota (pop. 675) is known for the Kasota limestone produced in the area. Kasota limestone was used for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

In Washington, D.C.

Le Sueur County has small towns named for Heidelberg (Germany), Kilkenny (Ireland), and Cleveland (Ohio).

The Heidelberg on the River Neckar.

The county has about 100 lakes, including Sakatah Lake on the Cannon River, a tributary of the Mississippi.

Sakatah Lake State Park (1967)

NEXT: RICE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Sibley County

Sibley County (pop. 15,226) is just north of Nicollet County.

The 20-mile Rush River, a tributary of the Minnesota River, is entirely within Sibley County.

It flows from west to east.

The county seat is Gaylord (pop. 2,305), located between Titlow Lake on the north and Mud Lake on the south.

Sibley County Courthouse (1917)

The town of Winthrop (pop. 1,399) celebrates Grackle Days in April.

Common grackle (quiscalus quiscula)

Green Isle (pop. 559) was named for  Ireland because of its many Irish immigrants.

Stone walls on the Emerald Isle

The town of Henderson (pop. 886) celebrates its German heritage with Sauerkraut Days every June.

Events include the Cabbage Toss and the Kraut Eating Contest.

NEXT: LE SUEUR COUNTY

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Minnesota: Nicollet County

Nicollet County (pop. 32,727) is just east of Brown County. The Minnesota River is Nicollet County’s southern boundary; the river turns north at Mankato and becomes the county’s eastern boundary.

The county seat is St. Peter (pop. 32,727), home of the Lutheran-affiliated Gustavus Adolphus College (1862).

Old Main (1876)

Five governors of Minnesota were from St. Peter; they all served between 1853 and 1909.

The Nicollet County Bank (1887) is on the corner.

The Nicollet County Courthouse was built in 1881.

In Romanesque Revival style

A tornado on March 29, 1998, killed one person and injured many others in St. Peter.

Central School after the tornado

In the town of North Mankato (pop. 13,394), the old North Mankato Public School building (1890) has been turned into the Belltower Apartments.

NEXT: SIBLEY COUNTY

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Minnesota: Brown County

Brown County (pop. 25,893) is just east of Redwood County. It’s bordered on the north by the Minnesota River.

There are nine Brown counties in the U.S., most of them in the Midwest. Four of them are named for Jacob Brown, a general in the War of 1812; Minnesota’s is the only one named for Joseph Renshaw Brown, a 19th-century trader, businessman, and politician.

He served in both the Wisconsin and Minnesota territorial legislatures.

The county seat is New Ulm (pop. 13,522), named for Ulm, Germany.

The world’s tallest church steeple

New Ulm was once known as the Polka Capital of the Nation; it’s now the home of the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.

Bobby Vee, inducted in 1992.

In Schonlau Park, New Ulm has a German glockenspiel – a 45-foot, free-standing carillon clock tower.

It plays three times a day.

Actress Tippi Hedren was born in New Ulm in 1930.

In Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” (1963)

The Sons of Hermann, a German-American fraternal order, erected the Hermann Heights Monument in New Ulm in 1897. The monument is 102 feet high, with a stairway to the base of the statue.

Known locally as “Hermann the German”

The former post office in New Ulm, built in 1909, is now the Brown County Historical Society.

Renaissance Revival style

The town of Sleepy Eye (pop. 3,599) was named for the 19th-century Sisseton Sioux Chief Sleepy Eye (Ishtakhaba).

Sleepy Eye Depot Museum

NEXT: NICOLLET COUNTY

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Minnesota: Redwood County

Redwood County (pop. 16,059) is just east of Lyon County, on the south bank of the Minnesota River.

The county seat is Redwood Falls (pop. 5,254), located near where the Redwood River flows into the Minnesota River.

Redwood County Courthouse (1892)

The 219-acre Alexander Ramsey Park in Redwood Falls is the largest municipal park in Minnesota; originally a state park, it was transferred to Redwood Falls in 1958.

“The Little Yellowstone of Minnesota”

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “On the Banks of Plum Creek” was based on her childhood days when the family lived near Walnut Grove (pop. now 871).

Walnut Grove has a Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and an outdoor Wilder Pageant every July.

Many stars of TV’s “Little House” have visited.

The Lower Sioux Indian Reservation is along the Minnesota River in Redwood County.

The Jackpot Junction Casino was Minnesota’s first.

NEXT: BROWN COUNTY

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Minnesota: Lyon County

Lyon County (pop. 25,857) is just east of Lincoln County.

More than half the people in Lyon County live in Marshall (pop. 13,680), the county seat.

U.S. Highway 59 is Main Street through downtown Marshall.

Southwest Minnesota State University opened in Marshall in 1967.

SMSU has about 3,500 students.

Schwan Food Company, headquartered in Marshall, is one of the largest frozen-food companies in the U.S.

A Schwan product

The town of Ghent (pop. 370) was named for Ghent, Belgium.

The city of Tracy (pop. 2,163) was hit by an F5 tornado on June 13, 1968, killing nine persons and injuring 150.

The Tracy tornado

Camden State Park is along the Redwood River in Lyon County.

It was developed in the 1930s.

NEXT: REDWOOD COUNTY

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Minnesota: Lincoln County

Lincoln County (pop. 5,896), just south of Yellow Medicine County, is one of 23 Lincoln counties in the U.S.

Ivanhoe, the county seat, is the smallest county seat in Minnesota, with a population of 559.

The courthouse was built in 1919.

Tyler (pop. 1,143), the largest city in Lincoln County, has it annual Aebleskiver Days in July.

It’s a spherical Danish pancake.

On Aug, 21, 1918, Tyler was hit by the fourth deadliest tornado in Minnesota history; 36 people were killed, and more than 100 were injured.

The town of Hendricks (pop. 713) is at the northern edge of the Buffalo Ridge Wind Farm,  one of the largest wind farms in the U.S., with several hundred wind turbines.

The turbines are more than 200 feet tall.

Lake Benton (pop. 683) is only 28 miles east of Brookings, S.D., home of South Dakota State University.

Central campus and Campanile, SDSU

NEXT: LYON COUNTY

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Minnesota: Yellow Medicine County

Yellow Medicine County (pop. 10,438), just south of Lac qui Parle County, is located between South Dakota and the Minnesota River.

It’s the only Yellow Medicine County in the U.S. 

The county was named for the yellow root of a plant which the Dakota Indians used for medicinal purposes.

The Upper Sioux Indian Reservation is in the county. 

The county seat of Yellow Medicine County is Granite Falls (pop. 2,897), parts of which are also in Chippewa and Renville counties.

Downtown Granite Falls 

Andrew Volstead was mayor of Granite Falls from 1900 to 1902; later, as a U.S. congressman, he sponsored the National Prohibition Act of 1919 (the Volstead Act).

A tornado hit Granite Falls on July 25, 2000, killing one person, injuring 15, and causing millions of dollars in damage.

The Lundrig Service Station in Canby (pop. 1,795) is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1926.

The Canby Theatre has been showing first-run movies since 1939.

NEXT: LINCOLN COUNTY

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Minnesota: Lac qui Parle County

West of Chippewa County is Lac qui Parle County (pop. 7,259). In 2011, it was rated the healthiest county in Minnesota by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, based on such factors as unemployment, child poverty, and life expectancy.

The county’s population was 15,509 in 1940. 

Lac qui Parle County is bordered by the Minnesota River on the north and South Dakota on the west.

The county seat is Madison (pop. 1,551), the “Lutefisk Capital of the U.S.A.”

Codfish boiled in lye, a Scandinavian delicacy 

The county courthouse in Madison was built in 1899.

In the Romanesque Revival style 

Robert Bly, poet and author of “Iron John: A Book About Men,” was born in Madison in 1926.

HIs parents were of Norwegian ancestry.

The town of Dawson (pop. 1,540) is known as “The Small City With the Bright Future.”

Dawson Carnegie Library (1906) 

Dawson native Phyllis Gates (1925-2006) was married to actor Rock Hudson from 1955 to 1958.

Rock and Phyllis

The 312-acre Salt Lake is Minnesota’s only alkaline wetland. With no inlet or outlet, it is generally too salty for fish – but it is a popular spot for birding.

Bird-viewing area at Salt Lake

NEXT: YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Chippewa County

Northwest of Renville County, also along the Minnesota River, is Chippewa County (pop. 12,441).

Michigan and Wisconsin also have Chippewa counties. 

Montevideo (pop. 5,383), the county seat, was apparently named for the capital of Uruguay. The cities are Sister Cities, and Montevideo (Minn.) celebrates Fiesta Days each June.

The Montevideo in South America is somewhat larger. 

Downtown Montevideo has a statue of Jose Artigas, leader of Uruguayan independence.

Erected in 1949

The former Milwaukee Road depot in Montevideo is now the Milwaukee Road Heritage Center.

Built in 1901 

The 2005 movie “Sweet Land,” set in rural Minnesota in the 1920s, was filmed in the Montevideo area.

The town of Watson (pop. 205) is known as “Goose Capital of the USA” because of the many Canada geese that inhabit nearby Lac qui Parle (“lake that speaks”) State Park every fall.

Lac qui Parle is on the Minnesota River.

NEXT: LAC QUI PARLE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Renville County

Renville County is Minnesota’s largest corn-producing county; its county seat, Olivia, has been designated Corn Capital of the World by the Minnesota State Senate.

Olivia’s 25-foot ear of corn (1973) 

Renville County (pop. 15,730) is on the north side of the Minnesota River, just west of McLeod County. It reached its peak population of 24,625 in 1940.

The county has several historical sites related to the Dakota War of 1862, including the Birch Coulee Battlefield.

There’s a self-guided trail for visitors. 

Olivia (pop. 2,484) has a 1902 classical revival courthouse.

Olivia celebrates Corn Capital Days every August.

The Corn Capital Days parade 

NEXT: CHIPPEWA COUNTY

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Minnesota: McLeod County

McLeod County (pop. 36,651), just west of Carver County, has more than 50 lakes – the largest of which is Cedar Lake, in the northwestern corner.

The county seat is Glencoe (pop. 5,631), which apparently got its name from its resemblance to Glen Cloe in the highlands of Scotland.

Is it Minnesota, or is it Scotland?

The McLeod County Courthouse was built in 1909.

In the Beaux Arts style

The Louis Malle documentary “God’s Country” (1985) was filmed in the Glencoe area,

Hutchinson (pop. 14,178), the largest city in McLeod County, hosts the Minnesota Garlic Festival every August at the county fairgrounds.

China and India grow much more garlic than the U.S. 

Southern Minnesota’s Dakota War of 1862 is recognized by a statue of Dakota Chief Little Crow in Hutchinson.

Overlooking the Crow River 

The McLeod County town of Plato has a population of 320.

Named for Aristotle’s teacher 

NEXT: RENVILLE COUNTY

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Minnesota: Carver County

Carver County (pop. 91,042), northwest of Scott County, was named for Jonathan Carver, who explored Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa in the 1760s.

The German heritage of the early settlers of Carver County is reflected in the names of its towns: Cologne, Hamburg, New Germany.

The county seat of Carver County is Chaska (pop. 23,770). “Chaska” was derived from a Dakota word that was often given as the name of a first-born male child.

Chaska History Center (1875) 

The city of Chanhassen (pop. 22,952) is well-known for the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (1968), with three Equity theaters under one roof.

Billed as the largest dinner theater in the U.S. 

Chanhassen is also the headquarters of the religious movement Eckankar, as well as home of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (1958).

The largest horticultural site in Minnesota 

The city of Norwood Young America (pop. 3,549) was formed in 1997 by the merger of Young America and Norwood. Young America got its name from the Young America Movement, a 19th-century political organization.

There are also Young Americas in Indiana and WIsconsin. 

The Young America Corporation, headquartered in Norwood Young America, handles a variety of mail-in coupons, rebates, and contests.

The firm took the town’s name when it moved there.

Carver County’s Lake Waconia once had a resort called Coney Island of the West; it opened in 1886 and closed many years ago.

The island is now privately owned. 

Legend has it that Jimmy “Mr. Jimmy” Hutmaker, a native of New Germany (pop. 372), inspired Mick Jagger to write the lyrics of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” when he met Jagger at the time of a 1964 Rolling Stones concert in Excelsior, Minnesota.

“I was standin’ in line with Mr. Jimmy” 

NEXT: MCLEOD COUNTY

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Minnesota: Scott County

Scott County (pop. 129,928) is in the southwestern part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area. It’s bordered by the Minnesota River on the north and west.

Scott County was named for Gen. Winfield Scott (1786-1866), hero of the Mexican War and Whig candidate for president in 1852.

At 6’5″, the tallest presidential nominee ever

The county seat of Scott County is Shakopee (pop. 37,076), the site of Minnesota’s largest amusement park – Valleyfair, which opened in 1976.

Eight roller coasters

Canterbury Park is also in Shakopee. Canterbury Park, which opened in 1985, has horse racing from May to September.

And ostrich races on Extreme Race Day

In nearby Prior Lake (pop. 22,796), the Shakopee-Mdewakanton Sioux Community operates the Mystic Lake Casino and Little Six Casino.

An 8,000-seat outdoor amphitheater opened in 2011.

The city of Elko New Market (pop. 4,110) was formed in 2006 by the merger of the towns of Elko and New Market.

The Elko Speedway is a 3/8-mile asphalt oval track.

The city of New Prague (pop. 7,321) has the Church of St. Wenceslaus, built in 1907 by Czech immigrants.

Named for the duke of Bohemia

NEXT: CARVER COUNTY

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Minnesota: Dakota County

Dakota County (pop. 398,552) is the third most populous county in Minnesota. It occupies the southeastern corner of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area.

The county seat is Hastings (pop. 22,172), located near the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. The old 1871 courthouse is now Hastings City Hall.

The dome was added in 1912.

The Fasbender Clinic building (1959) in Hastings was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Now Edward Jones Investments

The city of West St. Paul (pop. 20,160) is actually south of Saint Paul. It got its name because of its location on the “west” bank of the Mississippi River, and because it’s west of South St. Paul.

Gov. Harold Stassen (1907-2001), who ran for president 12 times, was born in West St. Paul.

South St. Paul (pop. 20,160) was formerly a center of meatpacking and the home of the St. Paul Union Stockyards (1886-2008) – at one time the largest stockyard in the world.

Apple Valley (pop. 49.084) is the home of the Minnesota Zoo. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn was raised in Apple Valley.

Four World Cup championships

The Buck Hill ski area, with eight lifts and 16 runs, is in Burnsville (pop. 60,306).

It opened in 1954.

Mendota (pop. 198) has the Fort Snelling-Mendota Bridge, which was the world’s longest concrete arch bridge (4,113 feet) when it opened in 1926.

Rosemount (pop. 21,874) has hosted the USA Broomball National Championships four times.

Broomball originated in Canada.

NEXT: SCOTT COUNTY

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Minnesota: Ramsey County

Ramsey County, the smallest Minnesota county in square miles, has the state’s second-largest population (508,640). It is Minnesota’s most densely populated county.

The county was named for Alexander Ramsey (1815-1903), the first territorial governor of Minnesota and later mayor of Saint Paul.

He was earlier a congressman from Pennsylvania.

Saint Paul (pop. 285,068) is the county seat of Ramsey County, the state capital, and the state’s second-largest city. The combined City Hall and Courthouse was built in 1932.

20 stories tall, Art Deco style

The Cathedral of Saint Paul, on a hill overlooking downtown, is one of the largest and tallest churches in the U.S.

It opened in 1915.

Saint Paul Union Depot (1923) has had no train service since 1971. It is currently being renovated, and Amtrak’s “Empire Builder” is expected to return sometime in 2013.

Amtrak now uses the small Midway Station, located midway between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis.

Mickey’s Diner has been operating in downtown Saint Paul since the 1940s.

Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

Author F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born in Saint Paul.

And Charles Schulz grew up there.

Ramsey County has more than 100 lakes, and St. Paul is recognized for its excellent public beaches and pools.

Lake Phalen Beach, Saint Paul

The Saint Paul campus of the University of Minnesota is actually in the city of Falcon Heights (pop. 5,321), but Saint Paul itself has several other colleges, both public and private.

Old Main, Hamline University

The Minnesota State Fair, second-largest state fair in the U.S. (after the Texas fair) in total attendance, is held in Falcon Heights.

Cheese curds

The town of North St. Paul (pop. 11,460) is known for the North St. Paul Snowman, the world’s largest stucco snowman.

44 feet tall, built in 1974

Roseville (pop. 33,660), had the first Target store (1962), the first Barnes and Noble store outside New York City, and the first McDonald’s in Minnesota.

NEXT: DAKOTA COUNTY

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Minnesota: Washington County

Washington County is located between St. Paul and the Wisconsin border. It’s one of 30 Washington counties (plus one Washington Parish) in the U.S.

He apparently never visited Minnesota.

The population of Washington County grew from 83,003 in 1970 to 238,136 in 2010 as a result of the eastern growth of suburban St. Paul.

The county seat of Washington County is Stillwater (pop. 18,225). Its courthouse building (1870) is one of the oldest in the state.

County government moved out in 1975.

The Stillwater Lift Bridge, built in 1931, crosses the St. Croix River from Stillwater to Houlton, Wisc.

Only one lane of traffic can cross at a time.

The city of Oakdale (pop. 27,378) is the largest of the 12 Oakdales in the United States.

This one’s in California.

The city of Afton (pop. 2,886), on the St. Croix River, is home of the Afton Alps, the largest ski and snowmobiling area in the Twin Cities region.

48 trails and 18 chairlifts

Washington County has two state parks: Afton and William O’Brien, both on the St. Croix River.

Along the river in O’Brien State Park

The 18-mile Gateway State Trail runs along the former Soo Line Railroad line between St. Paul and rural Washington County.

There’s snowmobiling in winter.

The city of Hugo (pop. 13,332) was first settled by French Canadians.

Named for Victor Hugo

NEXT: RAMSEY COUNTY

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Minnesota: Chisago County

Chisago County (pop. 53,887) is east of Isanti County and across the St. Croix River from Wisconsin.

The county got its name from Lake Chisago, which came from the Ojibwe word “Ki-chi-saga-igun,” meaning “big lake with an outlet.”

Summer at the beach in Chisago City

The adjacent towns of Chisago City, Lindstrom, and Center City are surrounded by lakes.

Center City is Minnesota’s second-smallest county seat, with a population of 628.

Center City in 1910

Lindstrom (pop. 4,442) is known as “America’s Little Sweden.”

Lindstrom water tower

The setting for Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg’s “The Emigrants” novels was Chisago County. Moberg published the four novels between 1949 and 1959.

The movie was made in 1971.

Lindstrom celebrates its Swedish heritage with Karl Oskar Days every July. Karl Oskar Nilsson was the main character in the “Emigrant” novels.

Statue of Karl Oskar and Kristina in Lindstrom

Taylors Falls (pop. 976), on the St. Croix River, has many historic buildings from the mid-19th century, including the oldest public school building in the state.

Built in 1852

Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours has excursions through the Dalles of the St. Croix River in Interstate State Park (in both Minnesota and Wisconsin).

St. Croix River near Taylors Falls

Seven miles north of Taylors Falls is Wild Mountain, which has skiing and snowboarding in the winter and waterslides and alpine slides in the summer.

Adult lift tickets are $43 a day.

NEXT: WASHINGTON COUNTY

Minnesota: Isanti County

Isanti County (pop. 37,816) is just north of Anoka County. It is the only Isanti County in the U.S.

Isanti is pronounced “eye-SAN-tee.” The word apparently comes from “Izaty,” an ancient name of the Santee Indians.

The county also has a town called Isanti (pop. 5,251).

The county seat is Cambridge (pop. 8,111). The historic courthouse is now used for private offices.

Built in 1888

In the 2000 U.S. Census, Cambridge had the highest percentage of Swedish-Americans (27%) among U.S. cities with more than 5,000 people.

The town of Braham (pop. 1,793, partly in Kanabec County) is known as the Homemade Pie Capital of Minnesota. Since the 1930s, people driving between the Twin Cities and Duluth have stopped at the Park Cafe in Braham for pie.

Park Cafe, Braham

Isanti County has about 100 lakes, including the 298-acre Typo Lake. Research has been unable to determine how it got its name.

NEXT: CHISAGO (not a typo) COUNTY

Minnesota: Anoka County

Anoka County (pop. 330,844, fourth largest in the state) is just north of Minneapolis and Hennepin County. The county seat is also named Anoka.

The word “Anoka” came from the Dakota word “anokatanhan,” meaning “on both sides of the river” – the river being the Rum River.

The Rum River reaches the Mississippi at Anoka.

The city of Anoka (pop. 17,142) is known as the “Halloween Capital of the World” because of its annual Halloween parades dating back to 1920.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a Republican presidential candidate in 2012, graduated from Anoka High School in 1974.

Born in Waterloo, Iowa

The city of Blaine (pop. 57,186) is home of the National Sports Center. Every summer the Sports Center, with more than 50 soccer fields, hosts Schwan’s USA Cup – the Western Hemisphere’s largest soccer tournament, with about 1,000 teams from around the world.

Velodrome in foreground

The National Sports Center also has the Schwan Super Rink; with eight separate ice rinks under one roof, it’s the largest such facility in the world.

Home ice of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team

The city of Hilltop (pop. 744) is surrounded by the city of Columbia Heights (pop. 19,496). Hilltop consists almost entirely of four trailer parks, containing about 263 mobile homes.

Hilltop City Hall

Fridley (pop. 27,208) is the home of Medtronic, Inc., the world’s largest medical technology company.

A Medtronic pacemaker

Circle Pines (pop. 4,918) was established in 1946 as a planned cooperative community, with homeowners owning equal shares in the association that owned and developed it. Circle Pines was incorporated as a city in 1974.

Golden Lake Beach, Circle Pines, in 1950

The town of Nowthen (pop. 4,443) apparently got its name from its first postmaster, who was in the habit of saying “Now, then” in conversation.

NEXT: ISANTI COUNTY

Minnesota: Hennepin County

Hennepin County (pop. 1,152,425) is the most populous county in Minnesota; about one-fifth of all Minnesotans live there.

The county seat is Minneapolis (pop. 382,578), the 48th-largest city in the country. In 1950, Minneapolis was the 17th-largest city in the country, with a population of 521,718.

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

The suburbs of Minneapolis have grown tremendously as the city’s population has declined in the past 60 years.

Mall of America, Bloomington

Prince Rogers Nelson grew up in Minneapolis; he attended Central High School, which closed in 1982.

Party like it’s 2013.

The Municipal Building, which houses both Minneapolis City Hall and the Hennepin County Courthouse, was built between 1888 and 1909.

Modeled on the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh

White Castle Building #8 in Minneapolis is on the National Register of Historic Places. The 5-cent hamburger shop opened in 1936 and was moved twice on its way to its current location.

No longer a restaurant

The Foshay Tower (now a hotel) was the tallest building in Minneapolis from 1929 to 1972.

There’s an observation deck at the top.

The 53-foot Minnehaha Falls is southeast of downtown, near where Minnehaha Creek flows into the Mississippi River.

The creek is 22 miles long.

The Minneapolis suburb of Edina (pop. 47,941) is the home of Southdale, which was American’s first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall when it opened in 1956.

Southdale in 1956

Former professional wrestler (and future governor) Jesse “The Body” Ventura was mayor of Brooklyn Park (pop. 75,781) from 1991 to 1995.

Born in Minneapolis in 1951

Best Buy Co. is headquartered in Richfield (pop. 35,228).

About 1,150 stores worldwide

The Andrews Sisters, popular vocalists from the 1930s to the 1960s, were from the town of Mound (pop. 9,052).

LaVerne, Patty, and Maxene

General Mills, Inc., is headquartered in the town of Golden Valley (pop. 20,371).

Founded in 1866

NEXT: ANOKA COUNTY

Minnesota: Sherburne County

Sherburne County (pop. 88,499) is northeast of Wright County, on the other side of the Mississippi River.

The county seat is Elk River (pop. 22,944), located where the Elk River joins the Mississippi.

Orono Lake, Elk River

The town of Big Lake (pop. 10,060) is the northern end of the 40-mile Northstar commuter rail line, which runs to downtown Minneapolis.

It opened in 2009.

Becker (pop. 4,538) has Xcel Energy’s Sherburne County Generating Station, the largest coal-fired power plant in Minnesota.

Opened in 1976

At Becker High School, Dwight Lundeen has been coaching the football team since 1970; he has more than 300 victories.

Dwight Lundeen and Becker Bulldogs

The oldest sections of St. Cloud’s Minnesota Correctional Facility (in the part of St. Cloud that’s in Sherburne County) date from 1889.

The 22-foot rock wall was built by prisoners.

The 30,000-acre Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge has some 230 species of birds, 58 species of mammals, and 25 species of reptiles and amphibians.

Whitetail deer at the refuge

Sand Dunes State Forest is also in Sherburne County.

The sandy soils were not hospitable for farming.

NEXT: HENNEPIN COUNTY

Minnesota: Wright County

East of Meeker County, we reach Wright County (pop. 124,700) and the 13-county Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area – 16th largest in the country with a total population of 3,317,308.

The metropolitan area includes two Wisconsin counties.

The county seat is the town of Buffalo (pop. 15,453). It was named for the fish, not the mammal.

Buffalo Lake, downtown Buffalo, in January

The population of Wright County has grown tremendously in the past 40 years because of its proximity to Minneapolis.

Lake Maria State Park was established in 1963 to provide a wilderness area near the Twin Cities. It is known for its trails through forest and prairie, as well as for its wildlife – including the endangered (in some states, but not Minnesota) Blanding’s turtles.

Proposed in 1998 as the state reptile, but not enacted

Interstate Highway 94 runs diagonally across the northern edge of Wright County.

The town of Albertville, along I-94 in the northeastern corner of the county, is best known for the Albertville Premium Outlets. The town’s population grew from 564 in 1980 to 7,044 in 2010.

100 stores

The town of Annandale, with 26 lakes within a 10-mile radius, is known as the “Heart of the Lakes.”

West Lake Sylvia

Much of the 1998 movie “A Simple Plan” was filmed in the town of Delano (pop. 5,464).

Rated 89% on Rotten Tomatoes

The town of Cokato (pop. 2,694) hosts the Cokato Corn Carnival every August. For $3, you get all-you-can-eat corn on the cob.

NEXT: SHERBURNE COUNTY

Minnesota: Meeker County

Meeker County (pop. 23,300) is just east of Kandiyohi County. It was named for Judge B.B. Meeker.

The county seat is Litchfield (pop. 6,726). U.S. Highway 12, which runs from Aberdeen, Wash., to Detroit, Mich., goes through downtown Litchfield.

Downtown Litchfield

The Grand Army of the Republic Hall (1885) in Litchfield is adjacent to the Meeker Historical Society Museum.

One of four remaining GAR halls in Minnesota

Litchfield has the three-screen, Art Deco Hollywood Theatre (1936), as well as the Starlite 5 Drive-In (summer only).

Famous for its marquee

The town of Cosmos (pop. 473) has a Space Festival every summer.

Cosmos water tower

The town of Darwin (pop. 350) claims to have the World’s Largest Ball of Twine.

Cawker City, Kansas, also makes this claim.

Darwin was named for E. Darwin Litchfield, an Englishman who promoted the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The county seat was also named for Mr. Litchfield.

Not for the author of “On the Origin of Species”

NEXT: WRIGHT COUNTY

Minnesota: Kandiyohi County

Kandiyohi County (pop. 42,239) is just east of Swift County. “Kandiyohi” is a Dakota word meaning “where the buffalo fish abound.”

Buffalo fish (ictiobus)

Kandiyohi County’s motto is “Where the Lakes Begin,” because it’s where people driving from the south will first see Minnesota’s abundance of lakes – more than 250 of them in the county.

The county has a town named Kandiyohi (pop. 491). In 1869, the Minnesota state legislature voted to make Kandiyohi the state capital because of its central location, but the governor vetoed the bill.

Kandiyohi could have looked like this!

The county seat of Kandiyohi County is Willmar (pop. 16,610). In 1930, the Machine Gun Kelly gang robbed the Bank of Wilmar of about $70,000 and wounded three people.

Sibley State Park is in the northern part of the county, along Lake Andrew.

The park’s Mt. Tom Lookout has excellent views of the surrounding lakes and countryside.

The tower was built in 1938.

The town of New London (pop. 1,251) is known for its many antique stores and for the annual 120-mile New London to New Brighton Antique Car Run.

It started in 1987.

The town of Raymond (pop. 764) was the birthplace of William A. Mitchell, a chemist for General Foods who helped developed Tang, Pop Rocks, and Cool Whip.

NEXT: MEEKER COUNTY

Minnesota: Swift County

Swift County (pop. 9,783) is just east of Big Stone County. The only Swift County in the U.S., it is named for Henry Swift, the third governor of the state of Minnesota.

Taylor Swift is from Pennsylvania.

The county seat of Swift County is Benson (pop. 3,240).

The Swift County Courthouse was built in 1898.

In the Richardsonian Romanesque style

Christ Episcopal Church was built in 1879. It’s now the Benson Senior Center.

Carpenter Gothic style

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Benson is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1917

The Fibrominn plant in Benson opened in 2007 as the first U.S. power plant to burn turkey manure as its main source of energy.

Power is sold to Xcel Energy.

The town of Appleton (pop. 1,412) calls itself the “Home of Honored Veterans”; since 1947, Appleton has named 34 streets and avenues for men and women who have died in our country’s wars.

Appleton War Memorial

Pitcher Jerry Koosman, who won 222 games in his Major League career from 1967 to 1985, was born in Appleton.

1969 “Miracle Mets”

The small town of De Graff (pop. 115) has the large, brick-and-stone Church of St. Bridget.

Built in 1901

The 346-acre Monson Lake State Park is one of the smallest state parks in Minnesota.

Founded in 1937

NEXT: KANDIYOHI COUNTY

Minnesota: Big Stone County

West of Stevens County, bordering northeastern South Dakota, is Big Stone County (pop. 5,269).

Big Stone Lake, 26 miles long, is between Big Stone County and South Dakota. The lake is the source of the Minnesota River, which flows 332 miles southeast to the Mississippi River.

Big Stone Lake State Park

The county seat of Big Stone County is Ortonville, pop. 1,916.

At the southern end of Big Stone Lake

The Big Stone County Courthouse was built in 1902.

For $29,999

Ortonville’s Public Library, built in 1915, is apparently the only Carnegie Library in Minnesota that was built in the Mission Revival style.

It’s still the library.

The town of Beardsley (pop. 233) shares with Moorhead the record for the hottest temperature in Minnesota’s history – 114 degrees on July 29, 1917.

Beardsley in 1895

NEXT: SWIFT COUNTY

Minnesota: Stevens County

Just west of Pope County is the nearly square Stevens County (pop. 9,726). The county seat of Morris (pop. 5,286) has more than half the county’s people.

Morris and the nearby town of Alberta (pop. 103) were at the center of a 1975 earthquake that measured 4.6 on the Richter scale. It was Minnesota’s largest 20th-century earthquake, causing minor damage and no injuries.

https://i0.wp.com/earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/images/his_1975_07_09.gif

Morris is the home of the University of Minnesota Morris, one of the university’s five campuses. UMM has about 1,900 students.

The campus began as the Morris Industrial School for Indians in 1887, became the West Central School of Agriculture in 1910, and opened as a University of Minnesota in 1960.

The former Carnegie Library (1905) in Morris is now the Stevens County Historical Society Museum.

One of 65 Carnegie libraries in Minnesota

The Morris Theatre (1940) shows first-run movies on two screens.

NEXT: BIG STONE COUNTY

Minnesota: Pope County

Pope County (pop. 10,995), west of Sauk Centre and south of Alexandria, has more than 200 lakes.

The county’s largest lake is Lake Minnewaska – not to be confused with Lake Minnewashta (in Carver County),  Lake Minnewawa (in Aitkin County), or Lake Minnetonka (in Hennepin County).

There's also a Lake Minnewaska in New York.

There’s also a Lake Minnewaska in New York.

Pope County was named for John Pope, a Civil War general in the Union army.

Gen. John Pope

Gen. John Pope

The county seat is Glenwood (pop. 2,564), located at the east end of Lake Minnewaska.

The Pope County Courthouse was built in 1930 and renovated in 2012.

Beaux Arts style

The town of Starbuck (pop. 1,302) does not have a Starbucks coffeehouse; the nearest one is in Alexandria, about 25 miles away.

The town of Long Beach (pop. 335) is adjacent to Lake Minnewaska.

Catching a wave

Glacial Lakes State Park, south of Starbuck, preserves an area of rolling prairie and offers swimming, boating, and fishing on Lake Singalness.

Autumn at Glacial Lakes State Park

NEXT: STEVENS COUNTY

Minnesota: Stearns County

Stearns County (pop. 150,642) is on the west side of the Mississippi River, just across from Benton County. It is shaped something like Nebraska.

With a big river on the right, but more lakes

The county seat, St. Cloud (pop. 65,842), is the eighth-largest city in Minnesota. The St. Cloud Metropolitan Area (pop. 189,093) is the third-largest metropolitan area in the state, after Minneapolis and Duluth.

Stearns County Courthouse, as seen in “The Mighty Ducks” (1992)

St. Cloud State University, with more than 17,000 students, is the second-largest university in Minnesota.

On the banks of the Mississippi

The Paramount Theatre (1921) in St. Cloud hosts a variety of concerts and special events.

Restored after a fire in 1985

The Amtrak “Empire Builder” train stops at St. Cloud’s former Northern Pacific Railway station. The train goes east to Minneapolis and Chicago and west to Seattle and Portland.

Built in 1898

The town of Sauk Centre (pop. 4,317), in western Stearns County, was the hometown of author Sinclair Lewis and the setting of his famous 1920 novel “Main Street.”

It was called Gopher Prairie in the book.

The sports teams at Sauk Centre High School are known as the “Mainstreeters.”

Stearns County was settled largely by German Catholic immigrants; in addition to St. Cloud, the county has towns named St. Anthony, St. Augusta, St. Joseph, St. Martin, St. Rosa, and St. Stephen.

St. Mary’s in Melrose, one of about 50 Catholic churches in the county

The College of St. Benedict (for women) and St. John’s University (for men) are partnered liberal arts colleges in the towns of St. Joseph and Collegeville, respectively, about three miles apart.

Saint John’s, alma mater of Sen. Eugene McCarthy

The town of Avon (pop. 1,396), located on Upper Spunk, Middle Spunk, and Lower Spunk lakes, has an annual event called Spunktacular Days.

The early settlers used “spunk” to start a fire.

NEXT: POPE COUNTY

Minnesota: Benton County

To reach Benton County from Todd County, you can drive east from Long Prairie on State Highway 27 through Little Falls and Morrison County (we’ve already been there), then south on State Highway 25 to Foley, the Benton County seat.

This route avoids the big-city traffic of St. Cloud.

Benton County (pop. 38,451) was named for Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton – not for his painter-nephew with the same name.

“The Twist” (1964)

Benton County is on the east side of the Mississippi River, and Stearns County is across the river on the west side. The city of St. Cloud is divided by the Mississippi, but most  of it is in Stearns County.

St. Cloud and the Mississippi River (looking south)

Foley (pop. 2,603), the county seat, is not the largest city in Benton County. Sauk Rapids, adjacent to St. Cloud, is considerably larger, with 12,773 people.

Foley in 1940

The Sauk River, a 90-mile tributary of the Mississippi River, flows into the Mississippi just south of Sauk Rapids.

Sauk Rapids Bridge

The Sauk Rapids Tornado on April 16, 1886, was the deadliest tornado in Minnesota history, killing 72 people in the area. Before the tornado, Sauk Rapids was one of the most important cities in the state; it never recovered that position, and St. Cloud became the largest city in the region.

The business district was destroyed.

The Benton Beach Disc Golf Course in the town of Rice (pop. 1,275) was the site of the 2008 Minnesota Disc Golf Championship.

NEXT: STEARNS COUNTY

Minnesota: Todd County

Todd County (pop. 24,895), east of Douglas County, was named for a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Mary was from Lexington, Kentucky.

The county has a slogan of “Where the Forest Meets the Prairie.”

A Todd County scene

The county seat of Todd County is Long Prairie (pop. 3,458).

Downtown Long Prairie

The Todd County Courthouse was built in 1883, with additions in 1965 and 1980

One of the oldest in Minnesota

Long Prairie’s Long Drive-In has been showing movies since 1956.

It closed for the season Oct. 21.

Todd County has about 300 lakes, the largest of which is Lake Osakis.

Minnesota Twins announcer Dick Bremer went to high school in the town of Staples (pop. 2,981), which is in both Todd and Wadena counties.

NEXT: BENTON COUNTY

Minnesota: Douglas County

Douglas County (pop. 36,009), with more than 250 lakes, is a major tourist destination in central Minnesota.

Alexandria, the county seat, is well-known for its 25-foot statue of Big Ole the Viking.

Built for the New York World’s Fair in 1965

Alexandria is growing; its population went from 8,820 in 2000 to 11,070 in 2010.

Douglas County Courthouse (1895)

The former Great Northern Railway depot in Alexandria now houses a restaurant.

Built in 1907

Ten miles north of Alexandria is Lake Carlos State Park.

Established in 1937

Interstate 94 cuts through Douglas County at a diagonal, northwest to southeast.

Construction began in North Dakota in 1958.

The Central Lakes State Trail parallels I-94 for 55 miles on a former railroad bed.

Douglas County also has 368 miles of snowmobile trails.

Carlos Creek Winery, near Alexandria, is part of the Alexandria Lakes American Viticulture Area.

Minnesota’s largest winery

The town of Forada was named by the man who surveyed the town site. He wanted to name it for his wife, Ada, but Minnesota already had a town named Ada. So, he named it For Ada.

Pop. 185

The town of Kensington (pop. 292) is famed for the “Kensington Runestone,” a slab of rock “found” in 1898 that “seemed” to “show” that Scandinavian explorers reached Minnesota in the 14th century.

Displayed in Alexandria’s Runestone Museum

NEXT: TODD COUNTY

Minnesota: Grant County

Grant County, just east of Traverse County, has a population of 6,018.

There are 14 Grant counties and one Grant parish in the U.S.

Grant County is almost a perfect square, with each side about 23 miles across.

The eastern part of the county has hills and lakes; the western part was originally prairie.

Lake Pomme de Terre (Potato), one of 87 in the county

The county seat of Grant County is Elbow Lake (pop. 1,176), located on the shores of Flekkefjord (formerly Worm) Lake.

Downtown Elbow Lake and Grant County Courthouse (1906)

The 2001 movie “Herman U.S.A” was the story of 85 bachelor farmers from the town of Herman (pop. 1,176) and their search for companionship.

Actually filmed in New Germany, Minnesota

The town of Barrett (pop. 415) is known for the Prairie Wind Players, a community theater group that has been performing since 1979.

They play in Roosevelt Hall (1934).

NEXT: DOUGLAS COUNTY

Minnesota: Traverse County

South of Wilkin County is Traverse County (pop. 3,558), the least-populated county in Minnesota.

Traverse County reached its peak population of 8,283 in 1940.

Lake Traverse, the county’s largest lake, is the southernmost body of water in the Hudson Bay watershed; its waters flow north into the Boix de Sioux River, then to the Red River and on into Canada.

Red River watershed

Within a mile of the southern end of Lake Traverse, on the other side of a small hill, is the Little Minnesota River, which flows into the Minnesota River, then to the Mississsippi and on to the Gulf of Mexico.

Lake Traverse in the background

Traverse is the only county in Minnesota that borders both Dakotas.

Two Dakotas

The county seat of Traverse County is Wheaton (pop. 1,424). Its small courthouse was built in 1892.

Traverse County Courthouse

The Traverse County Historical Society Museum is in Wheaton’s former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad depot.

Milwaukee Road, for short

The Gopher Theater in Wheaton shows first-run movies, but it’s scheduled to close at the end of 2012.

Minneapolis and Hibbing once had Gopher theaters.

NEXT: GRANT COUNTY

Minnesota: Wilkin County

Wilkin County, west of Otter Tail County and bordering North Dakota, has a population of 6,576.

The county seat is Breckenridge (pop. 3,386), located where the Otter Tail River and Bois de Sioux River converge to form the Red River.

Minnesota’s Breckenridge gets less snow than Colorado’s.

Breckenridge is just across the river from its “twin city” of Wahpeton, N.D. (pop. 7,766).

Minnesota has paved streets!

The Wilkin County Courthouse was built in 1929.

In the Beaux Arts style

The town of Rothsay (pop. 493), located in both Wilkin and Otter Tail counties, has an 18-foot-long statue of a prairie chicken.

The world’s largest

The town of Tenney (pop. 5) was tied with Funkley (Beltrami County) as the smallest incorporated place in Minnesota until 2011, when it disincorporated.

NEXT: TRAVERSE COUNTY