St. Louis County is a county located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 200,231. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county in Minnesota by land area, and the largest in the United States by total area east of the Mississippi River. St. Louis County is included in the Duluth, MN–Superior, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Grand Rapids is a city in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States, and it is the county seat. The population was 11,126 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) long rapids in the Mississippi River which was the uppermost limit of practical steamboat travel during the late 19th century. Today the rapids are hidden below the dam of UPM Paper Company.
Trout Lake Township is located in north central Minnesota in Itasca County, United States. It is bordered by the City of Coleraine to the west and north, City of Bovey on the north, an unorganized township on the east, and Blackberry Township to the south. Town government was adopted on March 6, 1894. The population was 1,056 at the 2020 census.
Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industrial activity today. At the edge of town is the world's largest open-pit iron mine, the Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine. It is the hometown of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and former Governor of Minnesota Rudy Perpich.
Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mesabi Iron Range. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Range's commercial center. The population was 8,423 people at the 2020 census. Virginia is a part of the Duluth metropolitan area, and U.S. Highway 53 runs through town.
The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. First described in 1866, it is the chief iron ore mining district in the United States. The district is located largely in Itasca and Saint Louis counties. It has been extensively worked since 1892, and has seen a transition from high-grade direct shipping ores through gravity concentrates to the current industry exclusively producing iron ore (taconite) pellets. Production has been dominantly controlled by vertically integrated steelmakers since 1901, and therefore is dictated largely by US ironmaking capacity and demand.
The Iron Range is collectively or individually a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by the Giants Range batholith. These cherty iron ore deposits are Precambrian in the Vermilion Range and middle Precambrian in the Mesabi and Cuyuna ranges, all in Minnesota. The Gogebic Range in Wisconsin and the Marquette Iron Range and Menominee Range in Michigan have similar characteristics and are of similar age. Natural ores and concentrates were produced from 1848 until the mid-1950s, when taconites and jaspers were concentrated and pelletized, and started to become the major source of iron production.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system or Minnesota State, previously branded as MnSCU, comprises 26 state colleges and 7 state universities with 54 campuses throughout Minnesota. The system is the largest higher education system in Minnesota and the third largest in the United States, educating more than 300,000 students annually. It is governed by a 15-member board of trustees appointed by the governor, which has broad authority to run the system. The Minnesota State system office is located in the Wells Fargo Place building in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The Arrowhead Region is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota, so called because of its pointed shape. The predominantly rural region encompasses 10,635.26 square miles (27,545.2 km2) of land area and includes Carlton, Cook, Lake and Saint Louis counties. Its population at the 2000 census was 248,425 residents. The region is loosely defined, and Aitkin, Itasca, and Koochiching counties are sometimes considered as part of the region, increasing the land area to 18,221.97 square miles (47,194.7 km2) and the population to 322,073 residents. Primary industries in the region include tourism and iron mining.
Minnesota North College – Hibbing, formerly Hibbing Community College, is a public community college campus in Hibbing, Minnesota. In 2022, the board of trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities merged the college with several others into a single institution called Minnesota North College.
Minnesota North College – Itasca, formerly Itasca Community College (ICC), is a public community college campus in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. It was founded in 1922 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Cass Lake, Minnesota. It was established in 1990 and designated a land-grant college in 1994. The college includes approximately 70 faculty, staff, administrators, and 250 students. Most students come from the Leech Lake and Red Lake Reservations, and approximately 8% of the student population consists of non-Indian students.
Bengal was an unincorporated community on the boundary of Itasca County and Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States, located about three hours north of Minneapolis. Bengal was also previously known as Powers.
Minnesota North College – Mesabi Range Virginia, most recently known as Mesabi Range College (MRC) Virginia campus, which was formerly known as Mesabi Range Community and Technical College) is a public community college campus located in Virginia, Minnesota. In 2022, the board of trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities merged the college with several others into a single institution called Minnesota North College.
Minnesota North College – Vermilion (VCC), previously known as Vermilion Community College (VCC), is a public community college campus located in Ely, Minnesota, adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest. It several niche programs focusing on natural resources, natural sciences, and outdoor education. The campus offers residential housing to nearly half of all attending students. In 2022, the board of trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities merged the college with several others into a single institution called Minnesota North College.
Minnesota North College – Rainy River, previously Rainy River Community College, is a public community college in International Falls, Minnesota. In 2022, the board of trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities merged the college with several others into a single institution called Minnesota North College.
Julie Sandstede is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she formerly represented District 6A in northeastern Minnesota.
Minnesota North College – Mesabi Range Eveleth, most recently known as Mesabi Range College (MRC) Eveleth campus, which was formerly known as Mesabi Range Community and Technical College) is a public community college campus located in Eveleth, Minnesota. In 2022, the board of trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities merged the college with Minnesota North College – Mesabi Range Virginia and several others into a single institution called Minnesota North College.
