Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Not to be confused with Blue Earth, Minnesota.

Blue Earth County is a county in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112.^[2] Its county seat is Mankato.^[3] 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-North Mankato metropolitan area.

Blue Earth County
County
Blue Earth County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°02′N 94°04′W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	March 5, 1853[1]
Named for	Blue Earth River
Seat	Mankato
Largest city	Mankato
Area
• Total	766 sq mi (1,980 km2)
• Land	748 sq mi (1,940 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (50 km2)  2.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	69,112
• Estimate  (2023)	70,006
• Density	90/sq mi (35/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.co.blue-earth.mn.us

History

Dakota people lived and hunted in the area of Blue Earth County, particularly the Sisseton.^[4] 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.^[5] The area remained under French control until 1803 when it passed to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.

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.

The county of Blue Earth 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.^[6] 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 897,900 acres (363,400 ha) of their reservation near Long Prairie in exchange for 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) on the Blue Earth River. On May 24, 1855, they relocated and became so successful at farming that neighboring American 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.^[7] In 1868 the railroad's arrival promoted the county's growth and development by bringing immigrants and goods to the area.

Soils of Blue Earth County^[8]

Geography

The Minnesota River flows southeasterly along the western part of the county's northern boundary line. It is joined by the Blue Earth River, which flows northerly through the western central part of the county. The Watonwan River flows northwesterly through the northeastern part of the county, discharging into the Blue Earth. The Little Cobb River flows northwesterly through the southeastern part of the county, meeting with the Cobb River which flows northerly through the lower part of the county into the Blue Earth River. The Le Sueur River also flows west-northwesterly through the SE 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.^[9] It slopes generally to the north. Its southwest corner is 1,086 ft (331 m) above sea level.^[10][11]

The county has an area of 766 square miles (1,980 km²), of which 748 square miles (1,940 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (2.3%) is water.^[12] The Blue Earth River and Le Sueur River flow through a part of the county. The land surface is relatively flat with over 30 lakes in the county. 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 big 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

• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 169
• Minnesota State Highway 22
• Minnesota State Highway 30
• Minnesota State Highway 60
• Minnesota State Highway 68
• Minnesota State Highway 83

Lakes

• 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

^[9]

Adjacent counties

• Nicollet County - north
• Le Sueur County - northeast
• Waseca County - east
• Faribault County - south
• Martin County - southwest
• Watonwan County - west
• Brown County - northwest

Climate and weather

Mankato, Minnesota
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.9     24 5     0.8     30 10     2     42 22     3.1     58 35     3.5     70 47     5.1     79 57     4.3     83 62     4.2     81 59     3.2     73 49     2.3     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[13]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     24     −4 −15     20     −1 −12     50     6 −6     78     14 2     88     21 8     129     26 14     110     28 17     106     27 15     82     23 9     59     16 3     49     6 −4     28     −2 −12 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mankato have ranged from a low of 5 °F (−15 °C) in January to a high of 83 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −35 °F (−37 °C) was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of 107 °F (42 °C) was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.78 inches (20 mm) in February to 5.09 inches (129 mm) in June.^[13]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	4,803		—
1870	17,302		260.2%
1880	22,889		32.3%
1890	29,210		27.6%
1900	32,263		10.5%
1910	29,337		−9.1%
1920	31,477		7.3%
1930	33,847		7.5%
1940	36,203		7.0%
1950	38,327		5.9%
1960	44,385		15.8%
1970	52,322		17.9%
1980	52,314		0.0%
1990	54,044		3.3%
2000	55,941		3.5%
2010	64,013		14.4%
2020	69,112		8.0%
2023 (est.)	70,006	[14]	1.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[15] 1790-1960[16] 1900-1990[17] 1990-2000[18] 2010-2020[2]

2020 Census

Blue Earth County Racial Composition^[19]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	57,222	82.8%
Black or African American (NH)	3,873	5.6%
Native American (NH)	208	0.3%
Asian (NH)	1,834	2.7%
Pacific Islander (NH)	24	0.03%
Other/Mixed (NH)	2730	4%
Hispanic or Latino	3,221	4.7%

2000 census

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 74.8 per square mile (28.9/km²). There were 21,971 housing units at an average density of 29.4 per square mile (11.4/km²). 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

• Amboy
• Eagle Lake
• Good Thunder
• Lake Crystal
• Madison Lake
• Mankato
• Mapleton
• Minnesota Lake (partial)
• North Mankato (partial)
• Pemberton
• Saint Clair
• Skyline
• Vernon Center

Census-designated place

• Garden City

Unincorporated communities

• Cambria
• Marysburg
• Perth
• Smiths Mill

Townships

• Beauford Township
• Butternut Valley Township
• Cambria Township
• Ceresco Township
• Danville Township
• Decoria Township
• Garden City Township
• Jamestown Township
• Judson Township
• Le Ray Township
• Lime Township
• Lincoln Township
• Lyra Township
• Mankato Township
• Mapleton Township
• McPherson Township
• Medo Township
• Pleasant Mound Township
• Rapidan Township
• Shelby Township
• South Bend Township
• Sterling Township
• Vernon Center Township

Government and politics

Since 1952, Blue Earth County has voted for the winning presidential candidate in 16 of the last 19 elections, the exceptions being 1960, 1988 and 2004. Blue Earth County is considered a college town^[20] due to the presence of Minnesota State University in Mankato.

United States presidential election results for Blue Earth County, Minnesota^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	18,001	49.68%	17,558	48.46%	675	1.86%
2020	16,731	46.41%	18,330	50.84%	990	2.75%
2016	15,667	46.64%	14,428	42.95%	3,498	10.41%
2012	14,916	43.52%	18,164	53.00%	1,194	3.48%
2008	14,782	42.15%	19,325	55.10%	963	2.75%
2004	15,737	47.52%	16,865	50.92%	517	1.56%
2000	12,942	47.23%	12,329	44.99%	2,131	7.78%
1996	9,082	35.95%	12,420	49.17%	3,759	14.88%
1992	8,813	31.65%	11,531	41.41%	7,503	26.94%
1988	11,959	48.71%	12,375	50.40%	218	0.89%
1984	14,298	54.27%	11,877	45.08%	172	0.65%
1980	11,966	45.78%	10,930	41.82%	3,242	12.40%
1976	11,998	46.71%	12,930	50.33%	760	2.96%
1972	12,702	53.68%	10,638	44.96%	322	1.36%
1968	9,571	48.99%	9,254	47.37%	712	3.64%
1964	8,009	42.61%	10,687	56.85%	101	0.54%
1960	11,328	58.35%	8,052	41.48%	33	0.17%
1956	11,398	67.50%	5,467	32.38%	21	0.12%
1952	11,867	70.34%	4,952	29.35%	51	0.30%
1948	7,520	50.29%	7,272	48.63%	162	1.08%
1944	9,429	64.67%	5,098	34.96%	54	0.37%
1940	9,642	61.87%	5,880	37.73%	62	0.40%
1936	5,550	37.58%	8,255	55.89%	964	6.53%
1932	5,550	40.54%	7,925	57.88%	216	1.58%
1928	8,120	60.71%	5,177	38.70%	79	0.59%
1924	6,773	55.09%	1,123	9.13%	4,399	35.78%
1920	8,894	79.05%	1,974	17.55%	383	3.40%
1916	2,864	53.96%	2,211	41.65%	233	4.39%
1912	1,344	25.40%	2,025	38.27%	1,922	36.33%
1908	3,297	56.20%	2,191	37.34%	379	6.46%
1904	3,573	67.42%	1,419	26.77%	308	5.81%
1900	3,647	58.68%	2,254	36.27%	314	5.05%
1896	4,055	57.50%	2,744	38.91%	253	3.59%
1892	2,680	46.00%	2,399	41.18%	747	12.82%
1888	3,307	51.04%	2,761	42.61%	411	6.34%
1884	2,480	51.66%	2,028	42.24%	293	6.10%
1880	2,680	52.64%	2,399	47.12%	12	0.24%
1876	2,140	51.21%	2,039	48.79%	0	0.00%
1872	1,906	54.10%	1,617	45.90%	0	0.00%
1868	1,749	63.07%	1,024	36.93%	0	0.00%
1864	962	63.00%	565	37.00%	0	0.00%
1860	2,680	52.52%	2,399	47.01%	24	0.47%

County Board of Commissioners^[22]

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 (2021-2023)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	Senate	Nick Frentz[23]	Democrat	District 19
	Senate	Julie Rosen[24]	Republican	District 23
	House of Representatives	Susan Akland[25]	Republican	District 19A
	House of Representatives	Luke Frederick[26]	Democrat	District 19B
	House of Representatives	Jeremy Munson[27]	Republican	District 23B

U.S Congress (2021-2023)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	House of Representatives	Brad Finstad	Republican	1st
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar[28]	Democrat	N/A
	Senate	Tina Smith[29]	Democrat	N/A

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Blue Earth County, Minnesota

References

1. "Minnesota Place Names". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2014.^{[dead link‍]}
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. Westerman, Gwen; White, Bruce (2012). Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 144–166. ISBN 978-0-87351-869-7.
5. Schrader, Julie (1990). The Heritage of Blue Earth County. Curtis Media Corporation. pp. 4–5.
6. Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 57.
7. Schrader, Julie (1990). The Heritage of Blue Earth County. Curtis Media Corporation. pp. 5–7.
8. Nelson, Steven (2011). Savanna Soils of Minnesota. Minnesota: Self. pp. 65-67. ISBN 978-0-615-50320-2.^{[self-published source]}
9. Blue Earth County MN Google Maps (accessed March 5, 2019)
10. ""Find an Altitude/Blue Earth County MN" Google Maps (accessed March 5, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
11. Blue Earth County High Point, Minnesota. PeakBagger.com (accessed May 5, 2019)
12. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
13. "Monthly Averages for Mankato MN". The Weather Channel. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
14. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". Retrieved March 18, 2024.
15. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
16. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
17. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
18. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
19. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Blue Earth County, Minnesota".
20. "College Towns". American Communities Project. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
21. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
22. "Board of Commissioners | Blue Earth County, MN - Official Website". www.blueearthcountymn.gov. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
23. "MN State Senate". www.senate.mn. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
24. "MN State Senate". www.senate.mn. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
25. Rinehart, Jake (December 4, 2020). "Akland wins House District 19A following recount". www.keyc.com. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
26. "Rep. Luke Frederick (19B) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
27. "Rep. Jeremy Munson (23B) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
28. "U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar". www.klobuchar.senate.gov. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
29. "Home". Senator Tina Smith. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

External links

• Blue Earth County Government’s website

44.03°N 94.06°W / 44.03; -94.06