Pelican Rapids is a city in Otter Tail 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 2,577 at the 2020 census.

History

Pelican Rapids was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1872, and named for the rapids on the Pelican River. A post office has been in operation at Pelican Rapids since 1872. Pelican Rapids was incorporated in 1882.

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 , of which is land and is water. U.S. Highway 59 and

Minnesota State Highway 108 Minnesota State Highway 108 (MN 108) is a highway in west-central Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate Highway 94/ US Highway 52 at Prairie View Township near Rothsay and continues east to its eastern terminus at its i ...

are two of the main routes in the city.

Culture

Local landmarks include "Pelican Pete", a sculpture constructed beside the river in 1957 that is claimed to be the world's largest statue of a pelican. It stands tall and is constructed from concrete and plaster. A survey of the state's architecture published by the

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...

characterizes Pelican Pete as "An effective programmatic advertisement for the town, just eye-catching and outrageous enough to attract considerable attention." In 2007, for the fiftieth anniversary of Pelican Pete's installation, the town launched a

painted statue public art CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important aven ...

project wherein about three dozen smaller, pelican sculptures were placed around town and decorated by local artists. The O.A.E. Blyberg House is listed on 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 ...

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 2,464 people, 904 households, and 569 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 984 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.1%

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 ...

, 5.8%

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 ...

, 0.9% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.7%

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 ...

, 11.6% from other races, and 3.7% 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 31.5% of the population. There were 904 households, of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% 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, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.42. The median age in the city was 35.4 years. 28.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 21.1% were from 45 to 64; and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. Rainbow at Faith Church

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,374 people, 884 households, and 558 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 962 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 60.43%

, 0.72%

, 1.93% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 1.04%

, 6.76% from other races, and 4.54% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 23.59% of the population. There were 884 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were

living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.31. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,232, and the median income for a family was $36,970. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $20,645 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 $13,699. About 9.5% of families and 15.8% 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 20.4% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Notable people

* Roy Emery Dunn - American businessman and politician *

Dave Goltz David Allan Goltz (born June 23, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1972 to 1983. Biography Dave Goltz attended high school in Rothsay, Minnesota where he was a multi-sport star athle ...

- Retired Major League Baseball pitcher * Roger L. Hanson - American businessman and politician * Tucker Hibbert - Professional snowmobile racer for Team

Monster Energy Monster Energy is a brand of energy drink, energy drinks that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. In 2022, Monster Energy had a 30.1% Market share, share of the American energy drink market, th ...

Arctic Cat Arctic Cat is an American brand that makes snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles (ATV's) manufactured in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The company was formed in 1960. Arctic Cat designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets all-terrain vehicle ...

* Buck Paulson - American painter with a show on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

References

External links

City WebsitePelican Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Cities in Otter Tail County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in Minnesota