Lake Park is a city in Becker 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 population was 728 at the 2020 census.

History

The area upon where Lake Park was founded, started to be settled in 1841 by fur traders while a Dakota encampment still existed on Lake Flora on which part of the City Park is now located. The area was originally founded as Liberty Township. In 1871, the Liberty Township Board changed the name to Lake Park Township; for which the name "Lake Park" comes from a Dakota phrase of "Where the Prairies meet the Waters" as the site became a railway stop for the Great Northern Railway by the town founder, James Canfield. The city was officially incorporated separate from the township on the along the border of Lake Park and Cuba Townships. It was thenceforth known officially as the Village of Lake Park until the 1970s, when Lake Park was converted by the State of Minnesota into a City of the Fourth Class (Population under 5,000), for which it remains today. For many decades, up until the mid-1980s it was also known as the "

Lefse Lefse () is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. It is made with riced potatoes, can include flour, all purpose (wheat) flour, and includes butter, and milk, cream, or lard. It is cooked on a large, flat griddle. Special tools are used to pr ...

Capital of the World" for its lefse factories and their high production, but they came to an end due to a national recession and the loss of regular rail freight service stops in the city. Today, the city is small rebounding family community with an excellent school, new small businesses, and expansion for additional housing.

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 a total area of , all land. Lake Park is located on

U.S. Route 10 U.S. Route 10 or U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway located in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. Despite the "0" as the last digit in the number, US 10 is no longer a cross- ...

, five miles east of the county line and is southwest of Labelle Lake. The only school in Lake Park is the Lake Park/

Audubon The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such org ...

high school.

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 881 people, 316 households, and 216 families residing 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 350 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.3%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 1.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, and 1.4% 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 0.8% of the population. There were 316 households, of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% 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, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.6% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age in the city was 35.6 years. 28.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 782 people, 308 households and 198 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 326 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.91%

, 0.26%

, 1.28% Native American, 0.38% Asian, and 2.17% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population. There were 308 households, of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were

living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.22. Age distribution was 32.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males. The median household income was $32,857, and the median family income was $41,250. Males had a median income of $31,048 versus $16,932 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 $14,307. About 6.8% of families and 10.1% 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 7.8% of those under age 18 and 19.8% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

’s ''

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

'', which operates between

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, passes through the town on

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

tracks, but makes no stop. The nearest station is located in Detroit Lakes, to the southeast.

City Government

The City of Lake Park is Minnesota Statutory Plan A City of the Fourth Class governed by a Mayor and City Council. Four council members are elected at-large two every two years to stagger four year terms. One council member is appointed by the Mayor to serve as the Vice-Mayor, and the Mayor or his/her designee also serves as the Emergency Management Director for the City. The City of Lake Park has retained direct ownership of all its major utilities, except for Telecommunications, instead of choosing to deregulate. Public Utility enterprise funds are utilized for city project funds as well as to keep the property tax method of generating revenue low. In 2015, Broadband was reclassified a minor yet still separate utility; the City of Lake Park has yet to determine whether to add this service to their offerings of public utilities or to franchise it out like other telecommunications to a third-party for a fee, such as Arvig.

Education

Lake Park's school system is combined with that of neighboring Audubon. The high school (7-12) is in Lake Park and the elementary school (1-6) is located in Audubon. The school's mascot is the Raider, a traditional depiction of a Pirate. The former mascot for Lake Park, was the Parker Penguin. The school's current Victory song/cheer has lyrics written by the first High School Principal for the newly formed LPA School District, Ron Fleming's daughter, using the chords from the Notre Dame Victory March.

References

{{authority control Cities in Becker County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota