Cook County, Minnesota | |
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 Location within the U.S. state ofMinnesota | |
 Minnesota's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:47°55′00″N90°33′00″W / 47.916666666667°N 90.55°W /47.916666666667; -90.55 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Minnesota |
| Founded | March 9, 1874 |
| Named after | Michael Cook |
| Seat | Grand Marais |
| Largest city | Grand Marais |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,340 sq mi (8,700 km2) |
| • Land | 1,452 sq mi (3,760 km2) |
| • Water | 1,887 sq mi (4,890 km2) 57% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,600 |
• Estimate (2024) | 5,571 |
| • Density | 3.9/sq mi (1.5/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 8th |
| Website | www |
Cook County is the easternmostcounty in theU.S. state ofMinnesota. As of the2020 census, the population was 5,600,[1] making it Minnesota's seventh-least populous county. Itscounty seat isGrand Marais.[2] TheGrand Portage Indian Reservation is in the county.
Ojibwe people were early inhabitants of this area. The first non-indigenous people to explore the area were French fur traders, a few of whom settled in the area. By the 1830s, the French population was a few dozen. In the 1830s, settlers began arriving fromNew England and from upstateNew York. The completion of theErie Canal (1825) and the settling of theBlack Hawk War (1831) made migration easier.
Most of Cook County's 1830s settlers came fromOrange County, Vermont andDown East Maine (modern dayWashington County andHancock County). Most were fishermen and farmers. By 1845 the future Cook County contained 350 people of European descent; by 1874 there were about 2,000. They were primarily members of theCongregational Church,Methodist, andBaptist churches. By 1900 there were about 3,000 people in Cook County.
The first decade of the 20th century saw a large influx of Europeans from Germany, Scandinavia, and Ireland. These waves introducedLutheranism andCatholicism to Cook County.
The county was created on March 9, 1874.[3] It was named for Territorial and State Senator Michael Cook (1828-1864).[4]
Cook County is a rugged, heavily wooded triangle of land on Minnesota's northeastern tip. It abutsCanada's southern border and is largely surrounded by the northern end of the Great Lakes. It is heavily dotted with lakes, ponds and streams.[5] The state's highest point is in the county, at 2,301 ft (701 m) ASL. The county has an area of 3,340 square miles (8,700 km2), of which 1,452 square miles (3,760 km2) is land and 1,887 square miles (4,890 km2) (57%) is water.[6] It is Minnesota's second-largest county by area. Minnesota's highest natural point,Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet (701 m), and the highest lake,Lake Abita at 2,048 feet (624 m), are in Cook County.Lake Superior is at the county's southern border.
Minnesota State Highway 61
Cook County Road 12 – Gunflint TrailCook County is in the extreme northeast of the state at the tip of theArrowhead region; it is adjacent to only one other county by land. Its geographic neighbors are:
| Climate data for Lutsen, Minnesota | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 22 (−6) | 26 (−3) | 35 (2) | 47 (8) | 56 (13) | 64 (18) | 70 (21) | 70 (21) | 62 (17) | 52 (11) | 39 (4) | 27 (−3) | 48 (9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 4 (−16) | 7 (−14) | 19 (−7) | 31 (−1) | 39 (4) | 45 (7) | 52 (11) | 54 (12) | 47 (8) | 38 (3) | 26 (−3) | 11 (−12) | 31 (−1) |
| Average rainfall inches (mm) | 0.9 (23) | 0.7 (18) | 1.4 (36) | 1.9 (48) | 2.8 (71) | 3.5 (89) | 3.3 (84) | 3.3 (84) | 3.6 (91) | 2.5 (64) | 1.6 (41) | 1.1 (28) | 26.4 (670) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 15.2 (39) | 8.1 (21) | 8.1 (21) | 2.2 (5.6) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.4 (1.0) | 3.8 (9.7) | 13.3 (34) | 50.8 (129) |
| Source: Weatherbase[7] | |||||||||||||
Northern Minnesota offers extreme winter weather. While the averages are low, the extremes provide more details. A third of the year is below freezing (31.9%, 116 days, or 4 months). Of those days, 21 are below zero degrees Fahrenheit (−17.8 °C).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days Below 32 °F/0 °C[7] | ||||||||||||
| 20 | 18 | 19 | 13 | 3.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 5.8 | 16 | 20 | 116 |
| Days Below 0 °F/-17.8 °C[7] | ||||||||||||
| 8.2 | 6 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.5 | 4.8 | 21 |
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 65 | — | |
| 1890 | 98 | 50.8% | |
| 1900 | 810 | 726.5% | |
| 1910 | 1,336 | 64.9% | |
| 1920 | 1,841 | 37.8% | |
| 1930 | 2,435 | 32.3% | |
| 1940 | 3,030 | 24.4% | |
| 1950 | 2,900 | −4.3% | |
| 1960 | 3,377 | 16.4% | |
| 1970 | 3,423 | 1.4% | |
| 1980 | 4,092 | 19.5% | |
| 1990 | 3,868 | −5.5% | |
| 2000 | 5,168 | 33.6% | |
| 2010 | 5,176 | 0.2% | |
| 2020 | 5,600 | 8.2% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 5,571 | [8] | −0.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2020[1] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 4,670 | 83.4% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 25 | 0.45% |
| Native American (NH) | 450 | 8.04% |
| Asian (NH) | 48 | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 1 | 0.02% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 283 | 5.1% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 123 | 2.2% |
As of thecensus of 2000, there were 5,168 people, 2,350 households, and 1,438 families in the county. Thepopulation density was 3.56 per square mile (1.37/km2). There were 4,708 housing units at an average density of 3.24 per square mile (1.25/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 89.45%White, 7.59%Native American, 0.33%Asian, 0.29%Black orAfrican American, 0.04%Pacific Islander, 0.25% fromother races, and 2.05% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 21.6% were ofGerman, 17.7%Norwegian, 11.5%Swedish, 7.2%Irish and 5.4%English ancestry.
There were 2,350 households, of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% weremarried couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.73.
The county population contained 20.4% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,640, and the median income for a family was $47,132. Males had a median income of $31,211 versus $23,650 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $21,775. About 8.1% of families and 10.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
Cook County was a Republican-leaning bellwether in all but four elections from 1900 to 2000, with the exceptions being 1912, 1960, 1976 (by only 16 votes), and 1988 (by only 2 votes). The county was one of the rare white-majority rural counties to have its margin increase forJoe Biden in 2020 relative toBarack Obama's 2012 margin, with 66 percent of voters choosing the Democratic nominee. In both 2016[14] and 2020,[15] it was the largest county by area in the contiguous states where Trump lost every precinct, although several counties in Hawaii andcounty equivalents in western Alaska andthe northern Panhandle beat it in both elections.[note 1] In 2024, the county shifted even further to the left, withKamala Harris' vote share of over 66% being the highest ever by a Democratic presidential nominee.[16]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1884 | 46 | 85.19% | 8 | 14.81% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1888 | 24 | 45.28% | 29 | 54.72% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1892 | 68 | 51.52% | 19 | 14.39% | 45 | 34.09% |
| 1896 | 81 | 42.19% | 107 | 55.73% | 4 | 2.08% |
| 1900 | 81 | 52.60% | 65 | 42.21% | 8 | 5.19% |
| 1904 | 207 | 82.80% | 31 | 12.40% | 12 | 4.80% |
| 1908 | 255 | 77.98% | 42 | 12.84% | 30 | 9.17% |
| 1912 | 30 | 8.62% | 65 | 18.68% | 253 | 72.70% |
| 1916 | 125 | 34.44% | 162 | 44.63% | 76 | 20.94% |
| 1920 | 467 | 72.85% | 98 | 15.29% | 76 | 11.86% |
| 1924 | 471 | 67.97% | 29 | 4.18% | 193 | 27.85% |
| 1928 | 609 | 72.59% | 219 | 26.10% | 11 | 1.31% |
| 1932 | 418 | 43.27% | 492 | 50.93% | 56 | 5.80% |
| 1936 | 387 | 32.14% | 793 | 65.86% | 24 | 1.99% |
| 1940 | 673 | 49.27% | 686 | 50.22% | 7 | 0.51% |
| 1944 | 513 | 48.12% | 545 | 51.13% | 8 | 0.75% |
| 1948 | 674 | 47.94% | 688 | 48.93% | 44 | 3.13% |
| 1952 | 946 | 65.06% | 503 | 34.59% | 5 | 0.34% |
| 1956 | 1,078 | 61.67% | 668 | 38.22% | 2 | 0.11% |
| 1960 | 987 | 60.15% | 650 | 39.61% | 4 | 0.24% |
| 1964 | 764 | 43.86% | 976 | 56.03% | 2 | 0.11% |
| 1968 | 853 | 49.33% | 777 | 44.94% | 99 | 5.73% |
| 1972 | 1,047 | 57.62% | 742 | 40.84% | 28 | 1.54% |
| 1976 | 1,034 | 48.54% | 1,018 | 47.79% | 78 | 3.66% |
| 1980 | 1,147 | 50.62% | 871 | 38.44% | 248 | 10.94% |
| 1984 | 1,219 | 51.63% | 1,129 | 47.82% | 13 | 0.55% |
| 1988 | 1,078 | 49.36% | 1,080 | 49.45% | 26 | 1.19% |
| 1992 | 878 | 33.54% | 1,005 | 38.39% | 735 | 28.07% |
| 1996 | 1,010 | 39.94% | 1,169 | 46.22% | 350 | 13.84% |
| 2000 | 1,295 | 45.92% | 1,171 | 41.52% | 354 | 12.55% |
| 2004 | 1,489 | 45.08% | 1,733 | 52.47% | 81 | 2.45% |
| 2008 | 1,240 | 37.04% | 2,019 | 60.30% | 89 | 2.66% |
| 2012 | 1,221 | 36.75% | 1,993 | 59.99% | 108 | 3.25% |
| 2016 | 1,156 | 34.05% | 1,912 | 56.32% | 327 | 9.63% |
| 2020 | 1,203 | 31.61% | 2,496 | 65.58% | 107 | 2.81% |
| 2024 | 1,142 | 31.20% | 2,416 | 66.01% | 102 | 2.79% |
| Position | Name | District | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner | Debra White | District 1 | |
| Commissioner | Stacey Hawkins | District 2 | |
| Commissioner | David Mills | District 3 | |
| Commissioner | Ann Sullivan | District 4 | |
| Commissioner | Ginny Storlie | District 5 | |
| Position | Name | Affiliation | District | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Grant Hauschild[19] | Democrat | District 3 | |
| House of Representatives | Roger Skraba[20] | Republican | District 3A | |
| Position | Name | Affiliation | District | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Representatives | Pete Stauber[21] | Republican | 8th | |
| Senate | Amy Klobuchar[22] | Democrat | N/A | |
| Senate | Tina Smith[23] | Democrat | N/A | |
Places adjacent to Cook County, Minnesota | |
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Municipalities and communities ofCook County, Minnesota,United States | ||
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| Unorganized territories | ||
| CDP | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
