In one of its early acts as a state entity, the Minnesota Legislature created the county on July 20, 1858, but did not organize it at that time. The county was named for the 11th president of the United States, James Knox Polk, who signed the congressional act that organized the Minnesota Territory. The county was organized in 1872 and 1873, with the newly settled community of Crookston as the county seat.[3]
Geography
Polk County lies on Minnesota's border with North Dakota (across the Red River). The Red Lake River flows west through the upper central part of the county, discharging into the Red at Grand Forks. The county terrain consists of low, rolling hills, devoted to agriculture.[4] The county slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near its southeast corner, at 1,519 ft (463 m) above sea level.[5] The county has an area of 1,998 square miles (5,170 km2), of which 27 square miles (70 km2) (1.3%) is covered by water.[6]
Polk County State-Aid Highway 21: This is the major connector between Grand Forks and Pennington County, and connects with Pennington County State-Aid Highway 3.
Polk County State-Aid Highway 9: A major connector between Crookston and the south end of Grand Forks, it connects with Grand Forks County Road 7, and functions as a southside connector between US 75 and US 2 in Crookston.
Polk County State-Aid Highways 11 & 46: US 2 Truck Bypass of Crookston
Polk County State-Aid Highway 2: Designated and designed for heavy truck traffic connecting US 2 to Roseau County and Marshall County.
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,369 people, 12,070 households, and 8,050 families were in the county. The population density was 15.9 per square mile (6.1/km2). The 14,008 housing units had an average density of 7.11 per square mile (2.75/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.18% White, 0.33% African American, 1.30% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 2.77% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. About 4.79% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race; 41.7% were of Norwegian, 19.7% German, and 5.8% French ancestry.
Of the 12,070 households, 32.3% had children under 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were not families. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47, and the average family size was 3.07.
The county's age distribution was 25.9% under 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.
The median income for a household was $35,105, and for a family was $44,310. Males had a median income of $31,472 versus $21,535 for females. The per capita income was $17,279. About 7.3% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those 65 or over.
Polk County was a swing district for several decades, before shifting solidly Republican as of late. As of 2020, it has selected the Republican nominee in presidential elections in 56% of elections since 1980.
United States presidential election results for Polk County, Minnesota[14]
United States
Minnesota
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