Hennepin County, Minnesota

Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century French explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2000, the population was 1,116,200. Its county seat is Minneapolis ⁶.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,571 km² (606 mi²). 1,442 km² (557 mi²) of it is land and 129 km² (50 mi²) of it (8.21%) is water. The highest waterfall on the Mississippi River, the Saint Anthony Falls, discovered by Louis Hennepin, are in Hennepin County next to downtown Minneapolis, but in the 19th century, the falls were converted to a series of dams. Barges and boats now pass through locks to pass between the parts of the river above and below the dams.

Adjacent counties

Anoka County (northeast)
Ramsey County (east)
Dakota County (southeast)
Scott County (south)
Carver County (southwest)
Wright County (northwest)

Governance

Like all counties in Minnesota, Hennepin is governed by an elected and nonpartisan board of commissioners. In Minnesota, county commissions usually have five members, but Hennepin, Ramsey, and St Louis counties have seven members. Each commissioner represents a district of equal population. In Hennepin the county commission appoints the medical examiner, county auditor-treasurer and recorder. The sheriff is also elected on a nonpartisan ticket. The county government's headquarters are in downtown Minneapolis in the Hennepin County Government Center.

The county commission elects a chair who presides at meetings. Commissioners as of May 2006

Mike Opat (District 1)
Mark Stenglein (District 2)
Gail Dorfman (District 3)
Peter McLaughlin (District 4)
Randy Johnson (District 5) Chair
Linda Koblick (District 6)
Penny Steele (District 7)

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 1,116,200 people, 456,129 households, and 267,291 families residing in the county. The population density was 774/km² (2,005/mi²). There were 468,824 housing units at an average density of 325/km² (842/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.53% White, 8.95% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 4.80% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.06% from other races, and 2.60% from two or more races. 4.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 456,129 households out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.30% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.40% were non-families. 31.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 33.70% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,711, and the median income for a family was $65,985. Males had a median income of $42,466 versus $32,400 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,789. About 5.00% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.

In May 2005, Hennepin County enacted a county-wide indoor smoking ban. Bar business depressed over the short run, as smokers went into neighboring counties to light up, but has since returned closer to normal, especially in the downtown Minneapolis clubs that are among the most popular live music venues in the state. In December, to great controversy, county officials acquiesced to lobbying efforts from bar owners and returned smoking to bars (outside of Minneapolis, Bloomington and Golden Valley, which have smoking bans independent of the county's).

Cities and towns

Cities		Townships	Unorganized
Bloomington Brooklyn Center Brooklyn Park Champlin Chanhassen‡ Corcoran Crystal Dayton† Deephaven Eden Prairie Edina Excelsior Golden Valley Greenfield Greenwood Hanover‡ Hopkins Independence Long Lake Loretto Maple Grove Maple Plain	Medicine Lake Medina Minneapolis Minnetonka Minnetonka Beach Minnetrista Mound New Hope Orono Osseo Plymouth Richfield Robbinsdale Rockford‡ Rogers Shorewood Spring Park St. Anthony Village† St. Bonifacius St. Louis Park Tonka Bay Wayzata Woodland	Hassan Township	Fort Snelling

† While mostly in Hennepin County, the city extends beyond the county border.
‡ Located in another county, but a part of the city extends into Hennepin County.

External links

Hennepin County, Minnesota | Minneapolis-St. Paul | Minnesota counties