Brainerd, Minnesota

Coordinates: 46°21′29″N 94°12′03″W / 46.35806°N 94.20083°W / 46.35806; -94.20083

Brainerd, Minnesota
City
Northern Pacific Railroad Shops Historic District in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Seal
Location of the city of Brainerd in Crow Wing County and the state of Minnesota
Brainerd, Minnesota Location of the city of Brainerd in Crow Wing County and the state of Minnesota
Coordinates: 46°21′29″N 94°12′03″W / 46.35806°N 94.20083°W / 46.35806; -94.20083
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Crow Wing
Founded	1870
Incorporated	1873
Government
• Mayor	James Wallin
Area[1]
• Total	12.64 sq mi (32.74 km2)
• Land	11.91 sq mi (30.85 km2)
• Water	0.73 sq mi (1.89 km2)  5.78%
Elevation	1,217 ft (371 m)
Population (2010)[2]
• Total	13,590
• Estimate (2012[3])	13,517
• Density	1,141.1/sq mi (440.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	Central (UTC-5)
ZIP code	56401
Area code(s)	218
FIPS code	27-07300[4]
GNIS feature ID	0640426[5]
Website	www.ci.brainerd.mn.us

Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census.^[6] It is the county seat of Crow Wing County^[7] and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from the confluence with the Crow Wing River, having been founded as a site for a railroad crossing above that confluence. Brainerd is the principal city of the Brainerd Micropolitan Area, a micropolitan area that covers Cass and Crow Wing counties^[8] and had a combined population of 91,067 at the 2010 census.^[4] The Brainerd area serves as a major tourist destination for Minnesota and Baxter is a regional retail center.

Brainerd is the home to one of five medevac helicopter flight stations in the state for "AirCare," operated by North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, a Level 1 Trauma Center. This station covers the central part of Minnesota. The city is also known for the Brainerd International Raceway, which hosts races frequently throughout the year and has a national drag racing meet annually in August.

History

Originally Ojibwe territory, Brainerd was first seen by European settlers on Christmas Day in 1805, when Zebulon Pike stopped there while searching for the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Crow Wing Village, a fur and logging community near Fort Ripley, brought settlers to the area in the mid-19th century.

In those early years the relationship between the settlers and the Indians was complicated. The most famous example of this tenuous relationship was the so-called "Blueberry War" of 1872. Two Ojibwe were hanged for allegedly murdering a missing girl. When a group of Indians approached the town, troops from nearby Fort Ripley were called to prevent a potential reprisal. As it turned out, however, the Ojibwe only wanted to sell blueberries and the settlers avoided a bloody misunderstanding. Guilt of the two Indians was never proven.

Brainerd was the brainchild of Northern Pacific railroad president John Gregory Smith, who in 1870 named the township after his wife, Anne Eliza Brainerd Smith, and father-in-law, Lawrence Brainerd. The company built a bridge over the Mississippi seven miles north of Crow Wing Village and used the Brainerd station as a machine and car shop, prompting many to move north and abandon Crow Wing. Brainerd was organized as a city on March 6, 1873.

On January 11, 1876, the state legislature revoked Brainerd's charter for six years, as a reaction to the election of local handyman Thomas Lanihan as mayor instead of Judge C.B. Sleeper. Brainerd once again functioned as a township in the interim.

In 1881, the railroad, and with it the town, expanded. Lumber and paper, as well as agriculture in general, were important early industries, but for many decades Brainerd remained a railroad town: in the 1920s roughly 90 percent of Brainerd residents were dependent on the railroad. Participation in the nationwide railroad strike on July 1, 1922, left the majority of Brainerd residents unemployed and embittered many of those involved.

On October 27, 1933, the First National Bank of Brainerd became briefly famous when it was held up by Baby Face Nelson and his gang.

Over the years, increased efficiency and the better positioning of the more centralized Livingston, Montana, shops led to a decline in the importance of a railroad station that once employed over a thousand and serviced locomotives for the whole Northern Pacific line. Despite this, the BNSF Railway (successor to the Northern Pacific) continues to employ approximately 70 people in Brainerd at a maintenance-of-way equipment shop responsible for performing repairs and preventative maintenance to track and equipment.

The Northwest Paper Company built Brainerd's first paper mill in 1903 and with the steady increase in tourism since the early 20th century the paper and service industries have become Brainerd's primary employers. The town's coating mill was sold by Potlatch to Missota Paper in 2003 and then by Missota Paper to Wausau Paper in 2004.

Brainerd itself is now heavily developed into commercial and residential areas and most new construction in the area takes place in neighboring Baxter.

Geography

Brainerd is located just north of the geographical center of Minnesota in a relatively hilly terminal moraine area created by the Superior Lobe of the Labradorian ice sheet. The town occupies land on both sides of the Mississippi River, though the older parts of Brainerd are almost all to the east.

Though the city itself has relatively few lakes, there are over 460 lakes within 25 miles (40 km) of Brainerd, located mostly to the north. For this reason, Crow Wing County and parts of the adjoining counties are often collectively referred to as the Brainerd Lakes Area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.64 square miles (32.74 km²), of which 11.91 square miles (30.85 km²) is land and 0.73 square miles (1.89 km²) is water.^[1]

Brainerd has been assigned ZIP code 56401 by the USPS.

Major highways

The following routes are located in the Brainerd area.

• Minnesota State Highway 18
• Minnesota State Highway 25
• Minnesota State Highway 210
• Minnesota State Highway 371

Superfund site and environmental damage

The Burlington Northern (Brainerd/Baxter) United States Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site is located on the boundary between the cities of Brainerd and Baxter. The site served as a Burlington Northern Railroad tie treatment plant, between the years of 1907 and 1985. During that time, wastewater generated from the wood-treating process was sent to two shallow, unlined ponds. This created a sludge which contaminated both the underlying soils and the groundwater with creosote and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).^[9]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	5,703		—
1900	7,524		31.9%
1910	8,526		13.3%
1920	9,591		12.5%
1930	10,221		6.6%
1940	12,071		18.1%
1950	12,087		0.1%
1960	12,898		6.7%
1970	11,667		−9.5%
1980	11,489		−1.5%
1990	12,353		7.5%
2000	13,178		6.7%
2010	13,590		3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 13,590 people, 5,851 households, and 3,069 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,141.1 inhabitants per square mile (440.6 /km²). There were 6,390 housing units at an average density of 536.5 per square mile (207.1 /km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 1.2% African American, 1.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population.

There were 5,851 households of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.7% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.5% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.92.

The median age in the city was 32.2 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.5% were from 25 to 44; 20.5% were from 45 to 64; and 15.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census^[4], there were 13,178 people, 5,623 households and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,652.8 per square mile (638.4/km²). There were 5,847 housing units at an average density of 733.3 per square mile (283.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.83% White, 0.71% African American, 1.44% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.86% of the population. 31.4% were of German, 28.1% were Finnish, 17.7% Norwegian, 7.1% Swedish, 6.8% Irish, and 6.1% United States or American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 5,623 households of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.8% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.94.

Age distribution was 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.

The median household income was $26,901, and the median family income was $35,212. Males had a median income of $27,677 versus $21,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,744. About 11.8% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Brainerd claims lumberjack Paul Bunyan as its native son; the world's largest animated statue of him, once located at Paul Bunyan Amusement Center in nearby Baxter, was moved a few miles east of the town to This Old Farm after the amusement center closed in 2003.

On June 30, 1999, then-21-year-old Farrah Slad of Brainerd won what was Minnesota's largest lottery prize, $150 million in the multi-state Powerball game. (The state record was broken on May 3, 2008, by a ticket purchased in Faribault).

In sports, Brainerd has been the home to a number of small baseball clubs, most recently the Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The Lunkers played at Mills Field in Brainerd for three years until closing down after the 2011 season.

Brainerd is home to a landfill gas collection system that reduces methane gas that would otherwise go into the atmosphere. The collected gas is used in a boiler, replacing natural gas as the source of heat. This project has received carbon credits from TerraPass as its sole source of revenue.^[10]

Media

The city of Brainerd is serviced by 12 local radio stations.

AM

• WWWI AM 1270
• KVBR AM 1340
• KLIZ AM 1380

FM

• KBLB FM 93.3 Country
• KSKK FM 94.7 Soft Rock
• WWWI-FM 95.9 News and Talk
• KFGI FM 101.5 Classic Rock
• KTIG FM 102.7 Christian
• KUAL FM 103.5 Oldies
• KZFJ FM 104.3 Contemporary Christian
• WJJY-FM 106.7 Best of the 80s, 90s, and today
• KLIZ-FM 107.5 Classic rock

The city also has a full power television station that serves the area. KAWB-TV is a satellite station of KAWE in Bemidji.

Notable residents

• C. Elmer Anderson - Governor of Minnesota 1951 - 1955
• Bill Baker- defensive player for 1980 U.S Olympic Hockey Team at Lake Placid
• Win Borden - Minnesota State Senator, lawyer, and businessman^[11]
• Bullet Joe Bush - professional baseball player 1912 - 1928
• Linda Eder - Broadway actress
• Frank B. Johnson - mayor and legislator^[12]
• Brock Larson - accomplished mixed martial arts fighter, currently competing in the UFC
• John Moen - drummer for the popular Indie rock group, The Decemberists (born in Brainerd)
• Jammie Thomas-Rasset - defendant in file-sharing lawsuit brought by the RIAA regarding music downloaded from Kazaa
• Babe Winkelman - fisherman

Points of interest

• Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area
• Northland Arboretum
• Brainerd International Raceway

In popular culture

• Much of the Coen brothers' 1996 movie Fargo takes place in a fictional version of Brainerd. The critically acclaimed film, produced by MGM, was ranked #84 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Movies" list in 1998, although it was removed from the 2007 version, and #93 on its "100 Years...100 Laughs" list. The landmarks pictured in the film (the Blue Ox Bar, the Paul Bunyan statue) are not, however, those actually located in Brainerd. The scenes set on the highway near Brainerd, most likely highway 210, in the movie were filmed in Bathgate, North Dakota.
• Brainerd is mentioned in the title and lyrics of the song "ToolMaster of Brainerd" by Trip Shakespeare.

See also

• Burlington Northern (Brainerd/Baxter)
• List of Superfund sites in Minnesota

References

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brainerd, Minnesota.

• City of Brainerd, MN -- Official site
• Brainerd Lakes Vacationland - Brainerd.com
• Brainerd History site
• Brainerd Community Action site
• Explore Brainerd Lakes.com -- Visitor Information and official Chamber website
• Brainerd Dispatch newspaper site
• "Visit Brainerd" Tourism Bureau

v t e Municipalities and communities of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States County seat: Brainerd Cities Baxter Brainerd Breezy Point Crosby Crosslake Cuyuna Deerwood Emily Fifty Lakes Fort Ripley Garrison Ironton Jenkins Manhattan Beach Nisswa Pequot Lakes Riverton Trommald Townships Bay Lake Center Crow Wing Daggett Brook Deerwood Fairfield Fort Ripley Gail Lake Garrison Ideal Irondale Jenkins Lake Edward Little Pine Long Lake Maple Grove Mission Nokay Lake Oak Lawn Pelican Perry Lake Platte Lake Rabbit Lake Roosevelt Ross Lake Sibley St. Mathias Timothy Wolford Unorganized territories Dean Lake West Crow Wing CDP Merrifield Unincorporated community Lake Hubert Indian reservation Mille Lacs Ghost towns Manganese Old Crow Wing

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