Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota

Lac qui Parle County ( ) is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,719. Its county seat is Madison. The largest city in the county is Dawson.

History

The name of the county is a French translation of the Dakota name, "Mde Iyedan," meaning "lake that speaks."

In 1862 the Minnesota legislature authorized creation of a county to be called Lac qui Parle on an area north of the Minnesota River. However, that initiative was not approved by the local voters affected, so the proposed county did not come into existence. Nine years later (March 6, 1871) the legislature authorized creation of the present Lac qui Parle County, south of the Minnesota River, and it was approved by local voters. The county seat was established at Lac qui Parle village.

In 1884 a settlement was platted at the railway stop in Madison Township (named for Madison, Wisconsin). The settlement, also named Madison, was incorporated in 1885, and in 1889 the county government was moved from Lac qui Parle village to this new town, which incorporated as a city in 1902.

In 1886, a county-wide election chose Madison as the county seat. 150 men and 40 teams of horses rode to Lac qui Parle village, where the town hall was at the time, and dragged the building to Madison.

A new county courthouse was built in Madison in 1899, and in 1903 the Madison City Hall was completed. A total of four fires swept the city's main area during the early years of the twentieth century, resulting in most wood structures in the area being replaced with brick buildings.

The county reached its peak population of 15,554 in 1920. However, the county seat continued its population growth until 1960, when 2,380 residents were counted.

Geography

Lac qui Parle County is on the west side of Minnesota. Its west border abuts the east border of the state of South Dakota. The Minnesota River flows southeastward along the county's NE border, creating Marsh Lake and Lac qui Parle Reservoir The Minnesota River flow is augmented by Yellow Bank River near the county's north corner, and by Lac qui Parle River near the county's east border. The south fork of the Yellow Bank flows northward through the west portion of the county, and meets the north fork of the Yellow Bank in the north end of the county; the combined flow discharges into the Minnesota at the county's NE border. The Lac qui Parle flows eastward through the lower portion of the county, discharging into the Minnesota near the community of Lac qui Parle.

The county terrain consists of rolling hills, knolls and short bluffs near the west end, running to a steep bluff overlooking the Minnesota River valley on its east border. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point near its SW corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water.

The county's northern boundary is defined by the Minnesota River. Two tributaries, the Lac qui Parle River and the Yellow Bank River, flow through the county to discharge into the Minnesota.

Salt Lake is found the county's western border. The lake is the only alkaline lake in Minnesota. Salt Lake is a popular bird watching location because it is home to 145 species of birds that are not found other places in the area. Rare plants and insects have also been known to inhabit the region. thumb|right|Soils of Lac qui Parle County

Lakes

Bolland Slough
Case Lake
Flinks Slough (part)
Kibler Lake
Lac qui Parle (adjacent to county)
Marsh Lake (adjacent to county)
Mud Lake
Pegg Lake
Salt Lake (part)
Swanson Lake

| 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)

|10,519

|8,851

|7,965

|7,040

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,244

|99.31%

|99.18%

|98.74%

|96.98%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |92.93%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|13

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32

|0.04%

|0.10%

|0.16%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.48%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|17

|12

|15

|10

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10

|0.16%

|0.13%

|0.19%

|0.14%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%

|Asian alone (NH)

|30

|28

|26

|29

|style='background: #ffffe6; |40

|0.28%

|0.31%

|0.32%

|0.40%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.60%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|0.03%

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

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |16

|0.00%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.24%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|26

|52

|style='background: #ffffe6; |175

|0.32%

|0.72%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.60%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|22

|23

|21

|108

|style='background: #ffffe6; |202

|0.21%

|0.26%

|1.49%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.01%

|Total

|10,592

|8,924

|8,067

|7,259

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,719

|100.00%

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

2020 Census

As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 6,719. The median age was 48.0 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 26.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 93.6% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.7% from some other race, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.0% of the population.

There were 2,954 households in the county, of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.9% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 20.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Commissioner

! In office<br />since

! Current term<br />expires on January 1

|1st || Todd Patzer || 2005 || 2029

|2nd || DeRon Brehmer || 2011 || 2027

|3rd || Greg Thole || 2025 || 2029

|4th || Ben Bothun || 2019 || 2027

|5th || Stacy Tufto ||2021 ||2029

Key staff

Lac qui Parle County's normal operations are coordinated by the County Administrator Jake Sieg along with County Department Heads.

Law enforcement

The current Sheriff of Lac qui Parle County is Allen Anderson, who became sheriff in 2017 upon the resignation of former Sheriff Lou Sager. Anderson won the 2018 election. The City of Dawson Chief of Police is Andrew Stock.

Politics

From the county's founding until 1956, Lac qui Parle County voted Republican, typically by large margins, in all but four elections, in 1912 when former Republican Theodore Roosevelt won as the Progressive candidate, in the two landslide victories for Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and for Democrat Harry S. Truman in the close 1948 election. From 1960 to 2012, however, Lac qui Parle County voted Democratic in every election except for the two landslide wins for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. Beginning in 2016, the county has transitioned to being Republican once again, as Donald Trump won by over 25%, the best margin for any party since 1964 in the county. He increased his margin of victory to nearly 27% in 2020, and obtained over 62% of the vote, becoming the first candidate of any party to receive at least 60% of the vote since Jimmy Carter in 1976 (with native Minnesotan Walter Mondale as his running mate), and the first Republican to win at least 60% of the county's vote since Warren G. Harding a century earlier. Trump further increased his margin of victory to 32% in 2024, the best performance for a Republican presidential candidate in the county since Harding in 1920.

Education

School districts include:

Canby Public School District
Dawson-Boyd Public School District
Lac qui Parle Valley School District
Montevideo Public School District
Ortonville Public School
Yellow Medicine East School District

References

External links

Lac qui Parle County website