Balkan Township is a township in Saint Louis County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The township was named after the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

. The population was 832 at the 2010 census.

U.S. Highway 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–sou ...

and State Highway 73 ( MN 73) are two of the main routes in the township. The city of Chisholm is located within the south–central portion of Balkan Township geographically but is a separate entity.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of ; is land and , or 1.62%, is water. The Shannon River flows through the west–central edge of Balkan Township. Boriin Creek flows through the north–central portion of the township. The East Branch of the Sturgeon River flows through the northeast portion of the township. Slow Creek flows through the east–central part of Balkan Township.

Adjacent townships and cities

The following are adjacent to Balkan Township : * The city of Chisholm * The city of

Hibbing Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industry today. At the edge of ...

(west and south) * Cherry Township (southeast) * Great Scott Township (east) * The city of Buhl (east) * The city of Kinney (east) * Dark River Unorganized Territory (north) * French Township (northwest) * McCormack Unorganized Territory (west) Highway 73 runs north–south through the middle of Balkan Township, north of Chisholm. Highway 169 runs east–west through the southeast portion of the township near Buhl. Saint Louis County Highway 5 (CR 5) passes through the southwest corner of Balkan Township near Hibbing. Highway 5 also briefly enters the southeast corner of Balkan Township on a separate segment of Highway 5 near Maturi Road. Maturi Road runs east–west along Balkan Township's southern boundary line with adjacent city of Hibbing in the southeast corner of Balkan Township. Cemetery Road (Sever Road) runs east–west along Balkan Township's boundary line with adjacent city of Chisholm at the northern city limits of Chisholm. Barrett Road runs north–south along Balkan Township's eastern boundary line with adjacent Great Scott Township in the northeast corner of Balkan Township. North Long Lake Road briefly runs north–south along Balkan Township's western boundary line in the northwest part of the township. McNiven Road travels through the east–central part of Balkan Township. Hobson Lake Road (County 84 / Hwy.84) travels through the west–central part of the township.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 811 people, 329 households, and 243 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 359 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.29%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.49%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.49% Asian, 0.62% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 1.11% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.25% of the population. There were 329 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.90. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $44,853, and the median income for a family was $52,768. Males had a median income of $42,426 versus $21,786 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $21,570. About 2.0% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Balkan Township official website
{{authority control Townships in St. Louis County, Minnesota Mining communities in Minnesota Slovene-American culture in Minnesota Townships in Minnesota