Central Minnesota

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Nationalatlas.gov image with outline of region generally defined as central Minnesota
Nationalatlas.gov image with outline of region generally defined as central Minnesota

Central Minnesota is the name of the region consisting of the central portion of the state of Minnesota. Although no specific boundaries of the region exist, most definitions of what makes up the region would generally consist of the vast swath of land north of Interstate 94, east of U.S. Highway 59, south of U.S. Highway 2, and west of U.S. Highway 169.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The geography of the central portion of Minnesota varies quite a bit, just as the geography of the entire state of Minnesota is quite varied from one location to the next.

The northern portion of the region contains quite a few softwood forests, including the expansive Chippewa National Forest. The western and southern portions of the region, meanwhile, are dotted with rolling prairie, and as such, contain the largest agricultural operations in the region. The eastern part of the region contains a great deal of both hardwood and softwood forests, and once had rich iron ore deposits. The now-depleted Cuyuna Range, which formed the southwestern border of the large Iron Range region of Minnesota, was located near Crosby and Ironton in the eastern portion of central Minnesota.

One thing the entire region of central Minnesota has in common, however, is its abundance of lakes. Indeed, a great deal of the lakes that make Minnesota the "land of 10,000 lakes" can be found in the central part of the state. A typical image conjured up of central Minnesota is likely to include the many large and small lakes that surround the three central Minnesota cities of Alexandria, Brainerd, and Detroit Lakes. The area is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota.

Two lakes situated within the region, Mille Lacs Lake, with an area of 206 mi² (534 km²), and Leech Lake, with an area of 175 mi² (453 km²), are, respectively, the second and third largest lakes located entirely within Minnesota.

Furthermore, Lake Itasca - the source of the Mississippi River – is also located in central Minnesota.

[edit] Economy

The economy of central Minnesota, like that of the United States as a whole, has largely shifted from agriculture and mining to industry and service in recent years. Agriculture is still important in the region, however, especially in the southern and western part of the region, where the land and soil is conducive to growing crops such as corn and soybeans. Dairy farms also dot the region in areas where crops cannot easily be grown, but their numbers have been drastically dwindling in recent years. Paper companies also own expansive amounts of land in the heavily forested eastern and northern parts of the region, though the peak of logging activity has long passed. Paper production mills still continue to be operated, however, in the towns of Brainerd, Grand Rapids, and Sartell.

Tourism has become a very important industry in the region in the last few decades, fueled largely by the enormous amount of lakes in the area. Many of the region’s cities see their populations swell in the summer, when people from the larger metropolitan areas of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Duluth, and Fargo come to enjoy fishing and other outdoor activities on the region’s lakes. The cluster of lakes around Brainerd, which have made the area known as the "Brainerd Lakes Area" are probably the most well known, thanks in part to the many residents of the Twin Cities who own cabins or land either on or near the area’s biggest lakes. In addition, several esteemed resorts are located on the area’s large Gull Lake.

[edit] Culture

The ethnic makeup of central Minnesota is largely representative of the first settlers who came to the region. People of German and Scandinavian heritage by far make up the majority of the region’s residents, though there is also a sizable Native American population. Two of the state’s largest reservations, the Leech Lake Indian Reservation and the White Earth Indian Reservation, are located within the boundaries of central Minnesota. In addition, the small Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is also located within the region, along the southshores of Mille Lacs Lake, from near the city of Garrison to Isle.

Although "Fargo" was largely set in one of the region’s cities – Brainerd – the accents of those living in central Minnesota are not nearly as pronounced as those in the movie. The central Minnesotan dialect can be said to be analogous to that of the entire Upper Midwest.

[edit] Cities

Even though central Minnesota is home to numerous communities, only one, St. Cloud, has more than 15,000 people. In fact, with a population of 59,107, St. Cloud is not only the largest city in central Minnesota, but also one of the ten largest in the entire state.

After St. Cloud, the next largest communities in central Minnesota are:

[edit] Famous residents

Famous people who hail from central Minnesota, with the names of cities they grew up in listed in parentheses, include:

[edit] External links

[edit] Convention and visitors bureaus in the region


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Topics

Cities | Climate | Colleges and universities | Congressional districts | Demographics | Economy | Geology | Governors | High schools | Historical Congressional delegations | History | Lakes | Music | Naval ships | People | Political parties | Regions | Rivers | School districts | Scouting | Sports | State fair | State parks | Territory | Townships | Transportation

Regions

Arrowhead | Boundary Waters | Buffalo Ridge | Central | Coulee Region | Greater Minnesota | Iron Range | Minnesota River Valley | North Shore | Northwest Angle | Pipestone | Red River Valley | Southeast | Twin Cities metropolitan area

Major cities

Bloomington | Duluth | Minneapolis | Rochester | Saint Cloud | Saint Paul

Smaller cities
over 10,000
population

Albert Lea | Alexandria | Andover | Anoka | Apple Valley | Austin | Bemidji | Blaine | Brainerd | Brooklyn Center | Brooklyn Park | Buffalo | Burnsville | Champlin | Chanhassen | Chaska | Cloquet | Columbia Heights | Coon Rapids | Cottage Grove | Crystal | Eagan | East Bethel | Eden Prairie | Edina | Elk River | Fairmont | Faribault | Farmington | Fergus Falls | Forest Lake | Fridley | Golden Valley | Ham Lake | Hastings | Hibbing | Hopkins | Hutchinson | Inver Grove Heights | Lakeville | Lino Lakes | Mankato | Maple Grove | Maplewood | Marshall | Mendota Heights | Minnetonka | Monticello | Moorhead | Mounds View | New Brighton | New Hope | New Ulm | North Branch | North Mankato | North St. Paul | Northfield | Oakdale | Otsego | Owatonna | Plymouth | Prior Lake | Ramsey | Red Wing | Richfield | Robbinsdale | Rosemount | Roseville | St. Louis Park | St. Michael | St. Peter | Sartell | Sauk Rapids | Savage | Shakopee | Shoreview | South St. Paul | Stillwater | Vadnais Heights | West St. Paul | White Bear Lake | White Bear Township | Willmar | Winona | Woodbury | Worthington

Counties

Aitkin | Anoka | Becker | Beltrami | Benton | Big Stone | Blue Earth | Brown | Carlton | Carver | Cass | Chippewa | Chisago | Clay | Clearwater | Cook | Cottonwood | Crow Wing | Dakota | Dodge | Douglas | Faribault | Fillmore | Freeborn | Goodhue | Grant | Hennepin | Houston | Hubbard | Isanti | Itasca | Jackson | Kanabec | Kandiyohi | Kittson | Koochiching | Lac qui Parle | Lake | Lake of the Woods | Le Sueur | Lincoln | Lyon | McLeod | Mahnomen | Marshall | Martin | Meeker | Mille Lacs | Morrison | Mower | Murray | Nicollet | Nobles | Norman | Olmsted | Otter Tail | Pennington | Pine | Pipestone | Polk | Pope | Ramsey | Red Lake | Redwood | Renville | Rice | Rock | Roseau | St. Louis | Scott | Sherburne | Sibley | Stearns | Steele | Stevens | Swift | Todd | Traverse | Wabasha | Wadena | Waseca | Washington | Watonwan | Wilkin | Winona | Wright | Yellow Medicine