Cass County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,066. Its county seat is Walker. The county was formed in 1851, and was organized in 1897.

Cass County is included in the Brainerd, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

A substantial part of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation is in the county.

History

250px|right|thumb|Cass County of 1851 (pink) and today (red)

Cass County was created on September 1, 1851, by the Minnesota Territory legislature, although its government was not organized until 1897. The county was formed of areas partitioned from Dakota, Mahkatah, Pembina and Wahnata Counties. It was named for Lewis Cass, a Michigan political figure of the 19th century. Before it was organized several parcels of county land were partitioned off to augment or form adjacent counties.

thumb|right|Soils of Cass County

Geography

The Crow Wing River flows east-southeast along Cass County's southern border, and the Gull River flows southwest through the lower part, to discharge into the Crow Wing on the southern border. The terrain consists of wooded rolling hills, heavily dotted with lakes and ponds, and slopes to the south and east; its highest point is on the upper western border, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (16%) is water.

Major highways

  • 20px US Highway 2
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 6
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 34
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 64
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 84
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 87
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 200
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 210
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 371
  • List of county roads

Adjacent counties

  • Itasca County - northeast
  • Aitkin County - east
  • Crow Wing County - southeast
  • Morrison County - south
  • Todd County - southwest
  • Wadena County - west
  • Hubbard County - northwest
  • Beltrami County - north

Protected areas

  • Buena Vista State Forest (part)
  • Chippewa National Forest (part)
  • Crow Wing State Park (part)
  • Foot Hills State Forest (part)

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Walker have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of was recorded in August 1976. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July.

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<br/>1790-1960 1900-1990<br/>1990-2000 2010-2020

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|18,988

|19,251

|23,377

|24,383

|style='background: #ffffe6; |24,675

|90.20%

|88.34%

|86.10%

|85.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |82.07%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|14

|38

|31

|59

|style='background: #ffffe6; |64

|0.07%

|0.17%

|0.11%

|0.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|1,895

|2,356

|3,056

|3,092

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,424

|9.00%

|10.81%

|11.26%

|10.82%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |11.39%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|42

|52

|70

|88

|style='background: #ffffe6; |111

|0.20%

|0.24%

|0.26%

|0.31%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.37%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|5

|3

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|x

|x

|0.02%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|5

|0

|10

|12

|style='background: #ffffe6; |96

|0.02%

|0.00%

|0.04%

|0.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.32%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|381

|590

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,270

|x

|x

|1.40%

|2.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.22%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|106

|94

|220

|340

|style='background: #ffffe6; |426

|0.50%

|0.43%

|0.81%

|1.19%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.42%

|-

|Total

|21,050

|21,791

|27,150

|28,567

|style='background: #ffffe6; |30,066

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 30,066. The median age was 50.3 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 27.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 105.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 82.5% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 11.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.4% of the population.

There were 12,614 households in the county, of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 52.3% were married-couple households, 20.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!District

!Next Election

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Neal Gaalswyk

|District 1

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Robert Kangas

|District 2

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Jeff Peterson

|District 3

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Scott Bruns

|District 4

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Rick Haaland

|District 5

|2024

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Justin Eichorn

|Republican

|District 5

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|John Persell

|Democrat

|District 5A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Sandy Layman

|Republican

|District 5B

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Pete Stauber

|Republican

|8th

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Amy Klobuchar

|Democrat

|N/A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Tina Smith

|Democrat

|N/A

|}

Education

School districts include:

  • Brainerd Public Schools
  • Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools
  • Deer River Public School District
  • Pequot Lakes Public Schools
  • Pillager Public School District
  • Pine River-Backus Public School District
  • Northland Community Schools
  • Sebeka Public School District
  • Staples-Motley School District
  • Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District

Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, a tribal school affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education, is in the county.

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Cass County, Minnesota
  • Woman Lake

References

  • Cass County government's website
  • Minnesota Department of Transportation map of Cass County (southern portion, west central portion, east central portion, northern portion)