Blaine is a suburban city in
Anoka and
Ramsey counties in
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. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region in new home construction. The population was 70,222 at the
2020 census.
The city is mainly in Anoka County, and is part of the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...
metropolitan area.
Interstate 35W,
U.S. Highway 10, and
Minnesota State Highway 65
Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a highway in the east–central and northeast parts of the U.S. state of Minnesota, which starts at its split from Interstate 35W (Minnesota), I-35W, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resu ...
are three of the main routes in the city.
History
Phillip Leddy, a native of
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, was recorded in the 1857 census
as having settled in the township of Anoka until his death in 1872, on land that later became Blaine. In 1862, he moved near a lake that now bears his misspelled name, Laddie Lake. Another early settler was the
Englishman George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what today is Lever St. and 103rd Ave.
In 1865, Blaine's first permanent resident, Greenberry Chambers, settled on the old Townsend claim. Chambers was a former
slave
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
who moved north from
Barren County, Kentucky
Barren County is a County (United States), county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 44,485. Its county seat is Glasgow, Kentucky, Glasgow. T ...
, after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. Around 1884, Chambers and his family moved to St. Paul.
In 1870, George Wall, Joseph Gagner, and others soon settled in the area and it began to grow.
In 1877, Blaine separated from Anoka and organized as a township. That year the first election was held and Moses Ripley was elected the first Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Ripley, who had come to Minnesota from Maine, persuaded his fellow board members to name the new township in honor of
James G. Blaine, a U.S. Senator, statesman and three-time presidential candidate from Maine. By 1880, Blaine's population had reached 128.
While many other Anoka County communities experienced growth due to farming, Blaine's sandy soil and abundant
wetland
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s discouraged farmers and it remained a prime hunting area. Blaine's growth remained slow until after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when housing developments began in the southern part of town and the community became more
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
an. Blaine's population grew from 1,694 in 1950 to 20,573 in 1970, 57,186 in 2010, and 70,222 in 2020. By 2023, the population was over 72,500.
The
land development
Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways, such as:
* Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or House, housing
* subdivision (land), Subdividing real estate into Lot ( ...
technique of sand mining opened thousands of acres of peat sod farms up for development. Beginning with the development of the Knoll Creek, Club West, Pleasure Creek and TPC Twin Cities, the existing land was modified through extensive grading efforts in the large open water areas. The sand from the excavation of those ponds was used to raise the level of the site. These site modifications are needed to accommodate the development of the homes and neighborhoods. The success of mining sand allowed for further development. The centerpiece of those developments is The Lakes of Blaine. Corporate residents include the
Aveda Corporation, Infinite Campus, PTC Inc, MagnetStreet, the parking lot portion of a Medtronic Development, and Dayton Rogers Manufacturing.
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 city has an area of , of which is land and is water.
Blaine is
) from
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
and
from
St. Paul.
Blaine can be accessed from several major roadways in the Twin Cities, including
Minnesota State Highway 65
Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a highway in the east–central and northeast parts of the U.S. state of Minnesota, which starts at its split from Interstate 35W (Minnesota), I-35W, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resu ...
,
Interstate 35W, University Avenue, Lexington Avenue, Hamline Avenue,
U.S. Highway 10 and
Minnesota State Highway 610.
Major landforms
The Blaine area was covered by a large glacier that shaped the landscape during the late Wisconsinan glaciation. The land used to be covered by river valleys 200 feet deep. The valleys filled with sediment. One valley ran northeast to southwest under Lino Lakes. As the glaciers retreated, the water gathered into a lake that covered much of Anoka County. Huge ice chunks were left in the glacier's wake. They melted and formed depressions that filled with water. This became the chain of lakes between Lino Lakes and Circle Pines.
There are four major named water bodies partially or completely within the city limits. Sunrise Lake as part of The Lakes housing development is the largest body at 158 acres, with a depth near 40 feet in some places. The next largest body is Laddie Lake, the only naturally occurring lake in Blaine, which is also partially in Spring Lake Park, at 77 acres, reaching a maximum depth of six feet. The next largest body is Club West Lake at 39 acres and depths up to 25 feet, also man-made, in the Club West Housing development. The last named body of water in the city is Loch Ness; 11 acres, it is managed by the city and has a fishing dock. Several other large bodies of water found around the TPC of the Twin Cities, Pleasure Creek Neighborhood, Knoll Creek Development, and Crescent Ponds are not classified as lakes.
Blaine is also creating a 500-acre open space plan. It started acquiring portions of the property in the late 1990s, but most of it was acquired after Blaine voters approved a $3.5 million referendum in 2000. A tentative long-range plan calls for the construction of a nature center by 2020. The 70-acre Kane Meadows Park next to The Lakes development has been the centerpiece of this program.
Demographics
2010 census
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 2010, there were 57,186 people, 21,077 households, and 15,423 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 21,921 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.0%
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 ...
, 3.7%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.5%
Native American, 7.8%
Asian, 1.2% from
other races, and 2.7% 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 3.2% of the population.
There were 21,077 households, of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.8% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.14.
The median age in the city was 35.6 years. 26.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.7% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 8.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.
2000 census
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 44,942 people, 15,898 households, and 12,177 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 16,169 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.46%
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 ...
, 0.86%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.63%
Native American, 2.54%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.75% from
other races, and 1.75% from two or more races. 1.72% of the population were
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.
There were 15,898 households, out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% 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, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $59,219, and the median income for a family was $63,831. Males had a median income of $40,620 versus $30,452 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 city was $22,777. 3.0% of the population and 2.1% of families 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 ...
. Out of the total population, 3.0% of those under the age of 18 and 3.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Economy
Top employers
According to the City's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:
Sports
The
3M Open, a
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
event, is held at
TPC Twin Cities.
The
National Sports Center
The National Sports Center (NSC) is a multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota. Its site includes a soccer stadium, over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a meeting and convention facility, an eight-sheet ice rink (the Super ...
was the home of Minnesota's professional soccer teams for 23 years. From 1990 to 2003 and 2008–2009 the National Sports Center was home for the now defunct
Minnesota Thunder
Minnesota Thunder was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. T ...
. After the Thunder folded, the sports center quickly stepped in and created the
NSC Minnesota Stars for the 2009 season. The
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...
ruled the stadium could not own the team, due to an increase in financial standards the stadium did not have, and the team re-branded to become the
Minnesota Stars FC for the 2010–2012 seasons. The
Minnesota United FC
Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...
, after being re-branded in early 2013 to represent the history of soccer in Minnesota, played at the National Sports Center until their promotion to
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
in 2017, and they now play at
Allianz Field
Allianz Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota, home to Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Opening in 2019, the 19,400-seat stadium was designed by Populous (company), Populous, during the club's third MLS s ...
in
St. Paul but continue to use the National Sports Center as their training facility.
The National Sports Center is also home to Victory Links Golf Course, a stadium with an artificial turf field, over 50 full-size soccer fields, an eight-sheet ice arena, the largest of its kind in the world, an expo center, and a meeting and convention facility.
Parks and recreation
Blaine has 66 parks and hundreds of miles of trails. Its parks include Aquartore Park, Happy Acres Park, Lexington Athletic Complex, the Blaine Baseball Complex, and Lakeside Commons Park. The Blaine Wetland Sanctuary is 500 acres of protected open space featuring a boardwalk and trails.
Government
2021-2024 Blaine City Council:
*Mayor:
Tim Sanders
*Ward One Councilmembers: Jason Smith and Wes Hovland
*Ward Two Councilmembers: Julie Jeppson and Jess Robertson
*Ward Three Councilmembers:
Chris Massoglia and Richard Paul
Blaine is in
Minnesota's 6th congressional district, represented by
Tom Emmer
Thomas Earl Emmer Jr. (born March 3, 1961) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as majority whip in the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented since 2 ...
, a
Republican. Its
U.S. Senators are
Amy Klobuchar
Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...
and
Tina Smith
Christine Elizabeth Smith (née Flint, born March 4, 1958) is an American politician, retired Democratic political consultant, and former businesswoman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United Sta ...
, both
Democrats. Blaine is represented by
Nolan West and
Erin Koegel in the
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...
and
Jerry Newton in the
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...
.
Education
Three different school districts serve Blaine. The
Anoka-Hennepin School District covers most of the city, from Highway 65 to University Avenue north of 99th Ave NE and the areas north of Cloud Drive, and zigzags through the Lakes neighborhood up to Main Street, where it covers everything north all the way across to Sunset, the city's eastern edge. The
Spring Lake Park School District covers nearly everything south of 99th Ave NE, the east side of Highway 65 north to where it bumps into District 11 and east to Lexington, where it bumps into the
Centennial School District. District 12—Centennial Schools—covers east of Lexington almost up to Main Street and everything south and east of Interstate 35W.
There are three high schools in the city:
Blaine High School in the Anoka-Hennepin School District,
Centennial High School in the Centennial School District, and
Paladin Career and Technical High School, a public
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
. In addition, some Blaine students attend
Spring Lake Park High School in the Spring Lake Park School District.
Rasmussen University
Rasmussen University is a private for-profit university with multiple locations throughout the United States. It offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees as well as certificates and diplomas in career-focused areas at 20 cam ...
, a private, for-profit school offering bachelor's and associate degrees, has a location in Blaine.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Minnesota
Cities in Anoka County, Minnesota
Cities in Ramsey County, Minnesota
Populated places established in 1862
1862 establishments in Minnesota