Isanti County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the east-central part of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,135. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

History

The county was formed on February 13, 1857. Its name came from the Izaty Indians, the ancient name for the Santee Indians, members of the Dakota alliance. ''Isanti'' is derived from the Dakota word for "knife" and refers to the Santee tribe. Isanti County is included in the

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 ...

- St. Paul- Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

The Rum River flows south through the county's central part. The county's terrain is hilly and etched with drainages and gullies, and dotted with lakes and ponds.''Isanti County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 12, 2019)
/ref> The terrain generally slopes to the south and east; its highest point is near its northwest corner, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (3.5%) is water.

Major highways

* Minnesota State Highway 47 *

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 ...

* Minnesota State Highway 95 * Minnesota State Highway 107 * '' List of county roads''

Adjacent counties

* Kanabec County - north * Pine County - northeast * Chisago County - east * Anoka County - south * Sherburne County - southwest * Mille Lacs County - northwest

Protected areas

Source: * Cranberry Wildlife Management Area * Crooked Road State Wildlife Management Area * Marget Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Marvin W. Schubring Memorial Wildlife Management Area * Maywood County Park * Spectacle Lake Wildlife Management Area * Springvale County Park * Twin Lake Scientific and Natural Area

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

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 37,816 people, 14,331 households, and 8,415 families in the county. 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 12,062 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.0%

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 ...

, 0.6%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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, 0.8% Asian, 0%

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 ...

, 1.6% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 1.5% 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. 30.3% were of German, 21.3% Swedish, 12.7% Norwegian and 5.1% Irish ancestry. There were 11,236 households, of which 38.1% had children under 18 living with them, 62.1% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.15. The county population contained 28.7% under 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males. The median income for a household in the county was $50,127, and the median income for a family was $55,996. Males had a median income of $39,381 versus $26,427 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 county was $20,348. About 4.0% of families and 5.7% 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 5.7% of those under 18 and 8.6% of those 65 or older.

Communities

Cities

* Braham (partially in Kanabec County) *

(county seat) * Isanti * St. Francis (mostly in Anoka County)

Census-designated place

* Stanchfield

Unincorporated communities

* Andree * Bodum (ghost town) *

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

* Blomford *

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

* Carmody * Crown * Dalbo *

Day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

* Edgewood * Elm Park * Grandy * Oxlip * Pine Brook * Spencer Brook * Spring Lake * Springvale * Stanchfield Corner * Stanford * Stanley * Walbo * Weber *

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

* Wyanett

Townships

* Athens Township * Bradford Township * Cambridge Township * Dalbo Township * Isanti Township * Maple Ridge Township * North Branch Township * Oxford Township * Spencer Brook Township * Springvale Township * Stanchfield Township * Stanford Township * Wyanett Township

Politics

This

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

turned exurban county is more

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

than the state as a whole. In 2008,

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

won this county with almost 57% of the vote, while losing the state with 44% of the vote. Norm Coleman also did well, obtaining 48% of the vote while losing the state with 42%. Both

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and Tim Pawlenty won this county twice, winning a majority of the county each time. Democrats tend to do poorly here. In 2008,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

obtained just 41% while he won the state with 54% of the vote. Al Franken received just 33% of Isanti County's votes. Since 1992, no Democrat has won this county with over 50% of the vote. In 2016,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

won almost 65% of the vote here while narrowly losing the state to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. In 2020, Trump increased his vote share to just over 68% and increased his vote share further to nearly 70% in 2024. Independents also do well in this county. In 1998, the county's results were

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...

's best performance in the state, winning the county with over 50% of the vote.

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...

came in a close third place with 29% of the vote while getting 24% statewide.

References

External links

Minnesota DOT map of Isanti County
{{Coord, 45.56, -93.29, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minnesota counties Minnesota placenames of Native American origin 1857 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1857