Rice is a city in Benton 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 1,275 at the 2010 census. Its zip code also encompasses Graham, Langola, and Watab townships. Rice is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Originally an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

territory, Sand Prairie, saw its first settlers of European origin in the autumn of 1844. Under a mandate of the United States government and after the Ojibwe ceded their land in the Treaty of 1837, the Territory of Minnesota was established in 1849. Benton County became one of nine organized counties. The village of Rice was named after

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

born hotelier and mill owner, George T. Rice. Rice migrated to the village of Langola in 1864 to develop the area. In 1877, the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

came through, and George T. Rice hired F.W. Earl to build the Luther hotel. The village of Rice became officially incorporated within Benton County, on July 18, 1890, as a farming community. On April 14, 1886, Rice, along with Sauk Rapids and St Cloud, were hit by the Sauk Rapids Tornado. It is the deadliest in the history of Minnesota. In 1993, Rice was named a

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...

by The National

Arbor Day Arbor Day (or Arbour Day in some countries) is a Secularity, secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date v ...

Foundation. Rice has been awarded the "Minnesota Star City" designation for economic development.

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 10 serves as a main route in the community. The

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

is located west of Rice, and Little Rock Lake is located east. The terrain is largely sandy and flat and was historically prairie grassland and oak savannah. Today, numerous pine and poplar intersperse irrigated farm fields with small areas of prairie terrain.

Climate

Culture

Historical sites

* Immaculate Conception Church * Old Rice Village Hall

Festivals and special activities

* Rice Loves Its Kids Month (February) * Memorial Day Remembrance * Summerfest (takes place in June) * Little Rock Lake 4 July Pontoon Parade * Rice Fun Day and Kiddie Parade (takes place on the third Saturday in August) * Arts and Craft Show (takes place on the first weekend of September) * 9/11 Remembrance * Veteran's Day Remembrance * Pearl Harbor Remembrance

Outdoor activities

* Benton Beach on Little Rock Lake is frequented by campers, fishermen and boaters during the summer, and ice fishermen in the winter. The lake itself is maintained by the Little Rock Lake Association. Little Rock Lake
/ref> * Rice has its own game preserve and two taxidermy shops. Meat raffles are a typical fundraising activity. * Oak Hill Golf Course offers 18 holes of golf * Rice is also home to Benton Beach Course, an 18-hole disc golf course that was host to the 2008 Minnesota Disc Golf Championship. Another disc golf course, Mississippi Park Course, is in Rice. * Athletic sports, snowmobiling, all-terrain vehicles, bicycling, and motorcycling are commonly enjoyed activities as well.

Churches

* Immaculate Conception Catholic Church * Shepherd of the Pines Lutheran Church * Graham Methodist Church * Living Hope Church

Other attractions

Other attractions include the Great River Bike Trail, several parks, softball fields and an ice skating rink.

Education

K–12

The Sauk Rapids–Rice Schools system operates three elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and has a District Office for Home School. Rice Elementary School is the only one of these schools located within the city of Rice. Many students living in Rice and within the boundaries of the Sauk Rapids–Rice School District attend Royalton schools as their proximity to Rice is significantly closer than most Sauk Rapids–Rice schools. As with other Minnesota school systems, the Sauk Rapids–Rice Schools system has open enrollment. The athletic team for the middle and high school is the ''Storm

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 1,275 people, 462 households, and 340 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 490 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.3%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.9% 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 462 households, of which 49.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% 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, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.4% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.18. The median age in the city was 28.8 years. 32.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 39.6% were from 25 to 44; 15.7% were from 45 to 64; and 4.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.7% male and 47.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 711 people, 247 households, and 185 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 250 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.87%

, 0.70% Native American, 0.14% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.28% of the population. There were 247 households, out of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were

living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.35. In the city, the population was spread out, with 35.4% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 35.3% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $48,173, and the median income for a family was $52,222. Males had a median income of $32,794 versus $22,279 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 $16,882. About 5.2% of families and 6.3% 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 7.1% of those under age 18 and 33.3% 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 St. Cloud, to the south.

References

External links

City WebsiteRice Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Benton County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota St. Cloud, Minnesota metropolitan area Minnesota populated places on the Mississippi River