Osakis ( ) is a city in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

and

Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places Australia * Todd River, an ephemeral river United States * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated c ...

counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The population was 1,771 at the 2020 census.

History

The city took its name from nearby

Lake Osakis Lake Osakis is a lake in Todd and Douglas counties in west-central Minnesota. The town of Osakis is situated on the southwest shore of the lake. Name The lake received its English name by translation from the Ojibwe ''Ozaagi-zaaga'igan'', mea ...

. The John B. Johnson House is located in Osakis and is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP).

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 ; is land and is water. Th
ice-out records
for Lake Osakis go back to 1870; this is the longest time series of any lake in Minnesota. The main part of Osakis is in Douglas County; only a small part of the city extends into Todd County. Osakis is situated on the southwest shore of

, on

Minnesota State Highway 27 Minnesota State Highway 27 (MN 27) is a state highway in west-central and east-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 28 in Browns Valley and continues east to its interchange with Interstate 35 (I-35) in ...

. Osakis is approximately one mile (1.6 km) from exit 114 of

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

/ U.S. Highway 52.

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 1,740 people, 743 households, and 440 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 942 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.3%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.7% 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 0.7% of the population. There were 743 households, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.8% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the city was 42.2 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 21.3% were from 45 to 64; and 25.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,567 people, 661 households, and 405 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 760 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.15%

, 0.13%

, 0.38% Native American, 0.70% Asian, and 0.64% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population. There were 661 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were

living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.84. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 29.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,833, and the median income for a family was $38,864. Males had a median income of $28,819 versus $20,000 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 $15,212. About 5.6% of families and 9.1% 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 8.1% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable natives

Leif Enger Leif Enger is an American author who wrote the novel ''Peace Like a River''. Early life Enger was born in 1961 and was raised in Osakis, Minnesota. His parents were teachers. He attended Minnesota State University Moorhead, majoring in Englis ...

, author of the novel ''

Peace Like a River Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such a ...

'', was born and raised in Osakis. * Tommy Gibbons and his brother Mike Gibbons, members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, had a summer home on Osakis Lake. *

Gar Wood Garfield Arthur "Gar" Wood (December 4, 1880 – June 19, 1971) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and championship motorboat builder and racer who held the world water speed record on several occasions. He was the first man to travel ...

, inventor of the hydraulic-lift dump truck, boat designer, boat racer, and world water speed record holder was raised in Osakis.

References

{{Authority control Cities in Douglas County, Minnesota Cities in Todd County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota