Blue Earth County, Minnesota

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Blue Earth County is a county in the state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112.[1] Its county seat is Mankato.[2] The county is named for the Blue Earth River and for the deposits of blue-green clay once evident along the banks of the Blue Earth River. Blue Earth County is part of the Mankato metropolitan area.

History

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Dakota people lived and hunted in the area of Blue Earth County, particularly the Sisseton.[3] French explorer Pierre-Charles Le Sueur was an early European explorer in this area, arriving where the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers meet. He made an unsuccessful attempt to mine copper from the blue-green clay the Dakota used as paint.[4] The area remained under French control until 1803 when it passed to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.

File:Minnesota River, Mankato, Minnesota - DPLA - 4371c8847165eebe001777615237564f.jpg
Minnesota River, Mankato, Minnesota

When Minnesota became a territory in 1849, the territorial government became interested in settling the river valley. In 1850 the first steamboat trip, starting in St. Paul, traveled on the Minnesota River and came to the Blue Earth River. The first Euro-American settlers, P. K. Johnson and Henry Jackson, debarked and settled in present-day Mankato. The ratification of the Mendota and Traverse des Sioux treaties in 1851 effectively forced the eastern Dakota to move to nearby reservations.

Blue Earth County was created after a division of the Minnesota Territory on March 5, 1853, from portions of Dakota County and free territory. It was named for the Blue Earth River.[5] The first government officials were appointed by Alexander Ramsey, the territorial governor. That October the first election was held, with 22 ballots being taken.

On February 27, 1855, the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) ceded Script error: No such module "convert". of their reservation near Long Prairie in exchange for Script error: No such module "convert". on the Blue Earth River. On May 24, 1855, they relocated and became so successful at farming that neighboring settlers coveted their land.

Blue Earth County is near the Lower Sioux reservation, which was created in 1858. Starvation on the reservation and the lack of timely arrival of government annuities led to the Dakota War of 1862, followed by removal of all Native Americans from the county.[6] In 1868 the railroad's arrival promoted the county's growth and development by bringing immigrants and goods to the area.

File:Blue Earth Co Pie Chart No Text Version.pdf
Soils of Blue Earth County[7]

Geography

The Minnesota River flows southeast along the western part of the county's northern boundary. It is joined by the Blue Earth River, which flows north through the western central part of the county. The Watonwan River flows northwest through the northeastern part of the county, discharging into the Blue Earth. The Little Cobb River flows northwest through the southeastern part of the county, meeting with the Cobb River, which flows north through the lower part of the county into the Blue Earth River. The Le Sueur River also flows west-northwest through the southeastern part of the county, discharging into the Blue Earth River.

The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, with the area (except around built-up zones, and in areas carved by runoff) devoted to agriculture.[8] It slopes generally to the north. Its southwest corner is Script error: No such module "convert". above sea level.[9][10]

The county has an area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". is land and Script error: No such module "convert"., or 2.3%, is water.[11] The Blue Earth River and Le Sueur River flow through part of the county. The land surface is relatively flat, with over 30 lakes. There are many "closed forest savannas" that some call the "big woods" in the county's northeast. The rivers that flow out of the northeast are surrounded by these woods. Most of the county is grassland prairie but scattered parts are wet prairie. Some spots that surround the rivers are oak openings and barren brushland.

Major highways

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Lakes

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  • Crystal Lake
  • Albert Lake
  • Alice Lake
  • Armstrong Lake
  • Ballantyne Lake
  • Born Lake
  • Cottonwood Lake
  • Duck Lake
  • Eagle Lake
  • George Lake
  • Gilfillin Lake
  • Ida Lake
  • Indian Lake
  • Knights Lake
  • Lake Crystal
  • Lieberg Lake
  • Lily Lake
  • Long Lake
  • Loon Lake
  • Lura Lake (part)
  • Madison Lake
  • Mennenga Lake
  • Mills Lake
  • Minnesota Lake (part)
  • Mud Lake
  • Perch Lake
  • Porter Lake
  • Rice Lake
  • Severson Lake
  • Strom Lake
  • Wita Lake

[8]

Adjacent counties

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Climate and weather

Mankato, Minnesota
Climate chart (explanation)
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0.9
 
 
24
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30
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42
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60
37
 
 
1.9
 
 
43
24
 
 
1.1
 
 
28
11
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[12]
Metric conversion
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24
 
 
−4
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20
 
 
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50
 
 
6
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23
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59
 
 
16
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49
 
 
6
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28
 
 
−2
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█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". average temperatures in the county seat of Mankato have ranged from a low of Script error: No such module "convert". in January to a high of Script error: No such module "convert". in July, although a record low of Script error: No such module "convert". was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of Script error: No such module "convert". was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Script error: No such module "convert". in February to Script error: No such module "convert". in June.[12]

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly%±
18604,803—
187017,302Script error: No such module "String".%
188022,889Script error: No such module "String".%
189029,210Script error: No such module "String".%
190032,263Script error: No such module "String".%
191029,337Script error: No such module "String".%
192031,477Script error: No such module "String".%
193033,847Script error: No such module "String".%
194036,203Script error: No such module "String".%
195038,327Script error: No such module "String".%
196044,385Script error: No such module "String".%
197052,322Script error: No such module "String".%
198052,314Script error: No such module "String".%
199054,044Script error: No such module "String".%
200055,941Script error: No such module "String".%
201064,013Script error: No such module "String".%
202069,112Script error: No such module "String".%
2025 (est.)70,634[13] IncreaseScript error: No such module "String".%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]
1790-1960[15] 1900-1990[16]
1990-2000[17] 2010-2020[1]

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 69,112. The median age was 32.3 years. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.2 males age 18 and over.[18][19]

The racial makeup of the county was 84.2% White, 5.7% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.8% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.7% of the population.[19]

66.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 33.6% lived in rural areas.[20]

There were 27,193 households in the county, of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.0% were married-couple households, 22.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[18]

There were 29,169 housing units, of which 6.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 61.5% were owner-occupied and 38.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.6%.[18]

Racial and ethnic composition

Blue Earth County, Minnesota – Racial and ethnic composition
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Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1980[21] Pop 1990[22] Pop 2000[23] Pop 2010[24] Pop 2020[25] % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 51,234 52,384 52,620 58,394 57,222 97.94% 96.93% 94.06% 91.22% 82.80%
Black or African American alone (NH) 205 248 658 1,717 3,873 0.39% 0.46% 1.18% 2.68% 5.60%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 87 127 137 142 208 0.17% 0.23% 0.24% 0.22% 0.30%
Asian alone (NH) 294 791 988 1,247 1,834 0.56% 1.46% 1.77% 1.95% 2.65%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x [26] x [27] 34 21 24 x x 0.06% 0.03% 0.03%
Other race alone (NH) 148 14 25 44 247 0.28% 0.03% 0.04% 0.07% 0.36%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x [28] x [29] 491 862 2,483 x x 0.88% 1.35% 3.59%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 346 480 988 1,586 3,221 0.66% 0.89% 1.77% 2.48% 4.66%
Total 52,314 54,044 55,941 64,013 69,112 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2000 census

File:BlueEarthCountyMn2022PopPyr.png
2022 US Census population pyramid for Blue Earth County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, the county had 55,941 people, 21,062 households, and 12,616 families. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. There were 21,971 housing units at an average density of Script error: No such module "convert".. The county's racial makeup was 94.96% White, 1.19% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.79% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 1.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.6% were of German, 13.6% Norwegian and 6.5% Irish ancestry.

There were 21,062 households, of which 29.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.60% were married couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.10% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.99.

21.40% of the county's population was under the age of 18, 22.10% were from age 18 to 24, 25.60% were from age 25 to 44, 18.80% were from age 45 to 64, and 12.10% were age 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males.

The county's median household income was $38,940, and the median family income was $50,257. Males had a median income of $32,087 versus $22,527 for females. The county's per capita income was $18,712. About 6.10% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

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Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Townships

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Government and politics

Blue Earth County has voted for the winning presidential candidate in 16 of the 19 elections since 1952, the exceptions being 1960, 1988, and 2004. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

County Board of Commissioners[30]
Position Name District Next Election
Commissioner Patty O'Connor District 1 2026
Commissioner and Chairperson Vance Stuehrenberg District 2 2024
Commissioner Mark Piepho District 3 2024
Commissioner and Vice Chair Kevin Paap District 4 2026
Commissioner Kip Bruender District 5 2026
State Legislature (2025-2026)
Position Name Affiliation District
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Senate Gary Dahms[31] Republican District 15
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Senate Nick Frentz[32] Democrat District 18
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Senate Rich Draheim[33] Republican District 22
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | House of Representatives Paul Torkelson[34] Republican District 15B
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | House of Representatives Erica Schwartz[35] Republican District 18A
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | House of Representatives Luke Frederick[36] Democrat District 18B
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | House of Representatives Bjorn Olson[37] Democrat District 22A
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | House of Representatives Terry Stier[38] Republican District 22B
U.S Congress (2025-2026)
Position Name Affiliation District
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | House of Representatives Brad Finstad Republican 1st
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Senate Amy Klobuchar[39] Democrat N/A
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Senate Tina Smith[40] Democrat N/A

See also

References

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  7. ↑ Nelson, Steven (2011). Savanna Soils of Minnesota. Minnesota: Self. pp. 65-67. Template:ISBN.Template:Self-published source
  8. ↑ a b Blue Earth County MN Google Maps (accessed March 5, 2019)
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Blue Earth County High Point, Minnesota. PeakBagger.com (accessed May 5, 2019)
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  18. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  26. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
  27. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
  28. ↑ not an option in the 1980 Census
  29. ↑ not an option in the 1990 Census
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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