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.

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