Mahnomen County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,411. Its county seat is Mahnomen.

The county is part of the White Earth Indian Reservation. It is the only county in Minnesota entirely within an Indian reservation. Mahnomen, East Polk, and Becker counties constitute one of northwestern Minnesota's biggest cattle-raising areas.

History

The county was created from the east half of Norman County on December 27, 1906, with Mahnomen, a former railway station town, as the county seat. The county was named for the town, the name of which is one spelling of the Ojibwe word for "wild rice".

From 1857 to 1858, similarly named Manomin County existed in Minnesota, which merged into Anoka County.

Geography

The Wild Rice River enters the county from Clearwater County and flows west through the central part of the county. The White Earth River originates from White Earth Lake on the county's southern border and flows northwest to its confluence with the Wild Rice near Mahnomen. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved with drainages. The eastern part of the county is dotted with lakes and ponds and largely wooded. All non-wooded areas are devoted to agriculture where possible. The county slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near the middle of the east border, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (4.3%) is water. Mahnomen is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils.

thumb|right|Soils of Mahnomen County

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Highway 59
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 113
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 200

Airports

  • Mahnomen County Airport (3N8) - south of Mahnomen

Adjacent counties

  • Polk County - north
  • Clearwater County - east
  • Becker County - south
  • Norman County - west

Protected areas

Source:

| 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)

|4,508

|3,827

|3,252

|2,698

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,278

|81.45%

|75.87%

|62.66%

|49.84%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |42.10%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|1

|1

|7

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8

|0.02%

|0.02%

|0.13%

|0.20%

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

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|990

|1,184

|1,465

|2,148

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,256

|17.89%

|23.47%

|28.23%

|39.68%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |41.69%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|9

|5

|3

|3

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7

|0.16%

|0.10%

|0.06%

|0.06%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.13%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|0

|1

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|x

|x

|0.00%

|0.02%

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

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|0

|0

|6

|0

|style='background: #ffffe6; |17

|0.00%

|0.00%

|0.12%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|411

|453

|style='background: #ffffe6; |691

|x

|x

|7.92%

|8.37%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12.77%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|27

|27

|46

|99

|style='background: #ffffe6; |154

|0.49%

|0.54%

|0.89%

|1.83%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.85%

|-

|Total

|5,535

|5,044

|5,190

|5,413

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,411

|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 5,411. The median age was 38.7 years. 28.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 42.6% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 42.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 13.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.8% of the population.

There were 2,014 households in the county, of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.0% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The county also voted Republican by double-digit margins for every statewide office in the 2022 Midterm Elections, potentially signifying a realignment.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!District

!Next Election

|-

|

|Commissioner and Vice Chair

|Darvin Schoenborn

|District 1

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner and Chairperson

|David Geray

|District 2

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Larry Olson

|District 3

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Karen Ahmann

|District 4

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|John Darco

|District 5

|2024

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Steve Green

|Republican

|District 2

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Matt Bliss

|Republican

|District 2B

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2022-2025)

! 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

|}

See also

  • USS Mahnomen County (LST-912)

References

  • County of Mahnomen website