Минесота штатындағы Сент-Клауд қаласы

City in Minnesota, United States

St. Cloud or Saint Cloud ('/s//eɪ//n//t// //k//l//aʊ//d/; sɛ̃ klu) is a city in the U. S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stearns County and was named after the city of Saint Cloud, France (in Île de France, near Paris), which was named after the 6th century French monk Clodoald. Though mostly in Stearns County, St. Cloud also extends into Benton and Sherburne counties, and straddles the Mississippi River. It is the center of a contiguous urban area, with Waite Park, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, St. Joseph, Rockville, and St. Augusta directly bordering the city, and Foley, Rice, Kimball, Clearwater, Clear Lake, and Cold Spring nearby. The St. Cloud metropolitan area had a population of 199,671 at the 2020 census. It has been listed as the fifth largest metro with a presence in Minnesota, behind Minneapolis–St. Paul, Duluth–Superior, Fargo Moorhead, and Rochester. But the entire St. Cloud area is within Minnesota, while most of Fargo Moorhead's population is in North Dakota and Superior, Wisconsin, contributes significant population to the Duluth area. St. Cloud is 65 mile (105 km) northwest of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis–St. Paul along Interstate 94, U. S. Highway 52 (conjoined with I 94), U. S. Highway 10, Minnesota State Highway 15, and Minnesota State Highway 23. The St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is made up of Stearns and Benton Counties. The city was included in a newly defined Minneapolis–St. Paul–St. Cloud Combined Statistical Area (CSA) in 2000. St. Cloud as a whole has never been part of the 13 county MSA comprising Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington and parts of western Wisconsin, though the Sherburne County portion is part of the 13 county MSA. St. Cloud State University, Minnesota's third largest public university, is located between the downtown area and the Beaver Islands, which form a maze for a two mile stretch of the Mississippi. The approximately 30 undeveloped islands are a popular destination for kayak and canoe enthusiasts during safe river levels and flow. and are part of a state designated 12 mile stretch of wild and scenic river. St. Cloud owns and operates a hydroelectric dam on the Mississippi, the state's largest city owned hydro facility, that can produce almost nine megawatts of electricity, about 10% of the total electricity generated by 11 Mississippi hydro dams in Minnesota.

What is now the St. Cloud area was occupied by various indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Voyageurs and coureurs des bois from New France first encountered the Ojibwe and Dakota through the highly profitable North American fur trade with local Native American peoples. Minnesota Territory was organized in 1849. The St. Cloud area opened up to homesteading after the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux was signed with the Dakota people in 1851. John L. Wilson, a Yankee homesteader from Columbia, Maine, with French Huguenot ancestry and an interest in Napoleon, named the settlement St. Cloud after Saint Cloud, the Paris suburb where Napoleon had his favorite palace. St. Cloud was a waystation on the Middle and Woods branches of the Red River Trails used by Métis traders between the Canada–U. S. border at Pembina, North Dakota, and St. Paul. The cart trains often consisted of hundreds of oxcarts. The Métis, bringing furs to trade for supplies to take back to their rural settlements, camped west of the city and crossed the Mississippi in St. Cloud or just to the north in Sauk Rapids. The City of St. Cloud was incorporated in 1856. It developed from three distinct settlements, known as Upper Town, Middle Town, and Lower Town, that European American settlers established starting in 1853. Remnants of the deep ravines that separated the three are still visible today. Middle Town was settled primarily by German Catholic immigrants and migrants from eastern states, who were recruited to the region by Father Francis Xavier Pierz, a Catholic priest who also ministered as a missionary to Native Americans. Lower Town was founded by settlers from the Northern Tier of New England and the mid Atlantic states, including former residents of upstate New York. Its Protestant settlers opposed slavery. Upper Town, or Arcadia, was plotted by General Sylvanus Lowry, a slaveholder and trader from Kentucky who brought slaves with him, although Minnesota was organized as a free territory. He served on the territorial council from 1852 to 1853 and was elected president of the newly formed town council in 1856, serving for one year (the office of mayor did not yet exist). The U. S. Supreme Court's 1857 decision in Dred Scott ruled that slaves could not file freedom suits and found the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, so the territory's prohibition against slavery became unenforceable. Nearly all Southerners left the St. Cloud area when the Civil War broke out, taking their slaves with them. The total number of slaves in the community was estimated in single digits at the 1860 census. Lowry died in the city in 1865. Many young men from St. Cloud and the surrounding area served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After it ended, many local Civil War veterans remained heavily involved in St. Cloud's chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, and raised money for the building of a statue in memory of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln that still stands near the St. Germain Street bridge. Beginning in 1864, Stephen Miller served a two year term as Minnesota governor, the only citizen of St. Cloud ever to hold the office. Miller was a "Pennsylvania German businessman", lawyer, writer, active abolitionist, and personal friend of Alexander Ramsey. He was on the state's Republican electoral ticket with Lincoln in 1860. Steamboats regularly docked at St. Cloud as part of the fur trade and other commerce, although river levels were not reliable. This ended with the construction of the Coon Rapids Dam in 1912–14. Granite quarries have operated in the area since the 1880s, giving St. Cloud its nickname, "The Granite City." In 1917, Samuel Pandolfo started the Pan Motor Company in St. Cloud. He claimed his Pan Cars would make St. Cloud the new Detroit, but the company failed at a time when resources were directed toward the World War I effort. He was later convicted and imprisoned for attempting to defraud investors. According to documents at the Stearns History Museum, more than 2,000 residents from the heavily German American St. Cloud area served in the U. S. military against their ancestral homeland during World War I. On 26 January 1918, President Woodrow Wilson wrote a letter to Bishop Joseph Francis Busch thanking him for his support of the war effort.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 41.08 square miles (106 km2); 40.04 square miles (104 km2) is land and 1.04 square miles (3 km2) is water. The city developed on both sides of the Mississippi River. Part of the Sauk River runs along its northern edge. Just south of downtown is the 7 acre, 35 feet deep Lake George. In 2021, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) credited decade long city investments in stormwater filtration with reducing Lake George's phosphorus levels well below the state standard. It called Lake George one of three "success stories" in the state, and planned to remove it from a list of impaired waters. Granite bedrock quarried in the area has been estimated to be 1.7 billion years old and was exposed after several miles of rock above it eroded. The city lies on a band of modern Mississippi river sediment surrounded by land scoured several times by Wisconsin Age glaciers beginning about 35,000 years ago, ending with the Lake Superior St. Croix lobe. The later Des Moines lobe created glacial moraines and drift south and east of the city.

As of the census of 2010, there were 65,842 people, 25,439 households, and 13,348 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 27,338 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 84.6% White, 7.8% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population. There were 25,439 households, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.5% were non families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the city was 28.8 years. 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 23.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 to 44; 21.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.5% male and 48.5% female.

As of the census of 2000, 27.3% of St. Cloud households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.9% were non families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00. The racial makeup of the city was 91.7% White, 2.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.7% other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

St. Cloud has been a significant destination for immigrants throughout its history, beginning with German settlers in the late 19th century. This was followed by waves of Polish, Irish, and other European immigrants in the early 20th century. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the nature of immigration to St. Cloud has undergone a dramatic shift. New residents of the city have predominantly been from Africa, and particularly, from the war torn country of Somalia. Unofficial estimates suggest that the number of Somalis in St. Cloud and the surrounding cities like Waite Park, St. Joseph, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids could be as high as 25,000, with approximately half of this population having moved to the city between 2009 and 2013. About 15% of the local school district being Somali and a large segment of Somalis currently enrolled in high schools, colleges, and universities. Home ownership among St. Cloud's Somali community is considerably lower than other populations.

According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2020 the annual mean wage for 99,600 employees across all occupations in St. Cloud was $50,800. The median hourly wage was $24.42.

In 2019 the city of Saint Cloud, Minnesota was awarded three first places awards from the Rome based International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom), one of several most livable cities awards. The city won the first place whole city award for its size and first place for cities of all sizes for enhancement of landscapes and public spaces, arts, culture, and heritage management and Community participation and empowerment. LivCom praised the city for its focus on improving parkland and trails, as well as its enhancements and maintenance of 96 parks. St. Cloud has been a finalist at the LivCom awards four times since 2007. The St. Cloud Area Convention and Visitors Bureau promotes an area events calendar, dining and lodging information. The city owned St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center hosts a variety of events including regional conferences, consumer/trade shows, small group meetings and social events.

The city maintains 95 parks, totaling more than and ranging in size from "neighborhood and mini parks" to The largest developed park, Whitney Memorial Park, is the former location of the city airport. It features a recreation center for senior citizens, a dog park, and numerous softball, baseball, and soccer fields.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won St. Cloud's votes in the 2020 presidential election by a margin of 9%, higher than the state margin of 7.12%. In 2016, Donald Trump won St. Cloud by 1.75% over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. + Precinct General Election Results Year Republican Democratic Third parties202043.9% 14,20952.9% 17,1493.2% 1,036201645.7% 14,40144.0% 13,85010.3% 3,254201244.5% 14,29552.3% 16,8353.2% 1,032200843.9% 14,50553.6% 17,6882.5% 839200446.9% 14,90951.5% 16,3941.6% 506200043.9% 11,64745.0% 11,95811.1% 2,941199638.0% 8,56549.6% 11,16912.4% 2,783199234.9% 9,52741.5% 11,33123.6% 6,422198846.1% 9,25153.9% 10,8230.0% 0198451.0% 10,59849.0% 10,1890.0% 0198042.4% 8,70246.3% 9,48711.3% 2,236197640.1% 8,04555.7% 11,1764.2% 845197243.0% 6,51252.7% 7,9704.3% 646196840.6% 5,38955.5% 7,3783.9% 515196436.4% 4,87263.1% 8,4390.5% 66196041.5% 5,39158.4% 7,5890.1% 8

Almost all of St. Cloud, including the portions in Stearns and Sherburne Counties, and much the portion in Benton County, is in the St. Cloud Public School District. Part of the Benton County portion is in the Sauk Rapids Rice Public Schools district. The St. Cloud Area School District serves St. Cloud, St. Augusta, Clearwater, Waite Park, St. Joseph, Haven Township, and parts of Sauk Rapids. It has eight elementary schools, a new K 8 school in St. Joseph, and two major public high schools, St. Cloud Technical High School and St. Cloud Apollo High School. St. Cloud also has a major private high school, Cathedral High School. Both public high schools offer a broad selection of Advanced Placement courses and rank high in the state in the number of AP tests taken and of test takers. St. Cloud Tech opened in 1917 across from a city park and Lake George. In 2019, it moved to a new 69 acre, $104 million facility on the southwest edge of the city. The historic 1917 building has been acquired for use by city government. Apollo opened in 1970 and serves the expanding north side of the city. Other high schools and secondary schools that serve St. Cloud include St. Robert Bellarmine's Academy, St. Cloud Christian School, Immaculate Conception Academy, St. John's Preparatory School, St. Cloud Alternative Learning Center, and the charter school STRIDE Academy, which is K 8. The nearby cities of Sauk Rapids and Sartell also have their own school districts and high schools, bringing the number of public high schools in the metropolitan area to four.

St. Cloud is home to several higher education institutions, including Minnesota's third largest university, St. Cloud State University. St. Cloud State's fall 2020 enrollment was 12,607, in a year affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. St. Cloud's other post secondary institutions and campuses include St. Cloud Technical and Community College (SCTCC) and Rasmussen College. Neighboring Sartell is home to a campus of the Duluth based College of St. Scholastica, and the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University are in neighboring St. Joseph and nearby Collegeville, respectively.

FM radio stationsFrequencyCall signNameFormatOwner88.188.1 HD 2KVSC Radio X College RadioAlternative RockSt. Cloud State University88.988.9 HD 2KNSRMPR News89.3 The CurrentPublic RadioAdult Album AlternativeMinnesota Public Radio89.5K208DV(KLRD FM Translator)Air 1Contemporary ChristianEducational Media Foundation90.1KSJRClassical MPRClassicalMinnesota Public Radio91.5KCFB(KTIG FM Simulcast) ChristianMinnesota Christian Broadcasters92.9KKJMSpirit 92.9Contemporary ChristianGabriel Media93.5K228FV(KYES AM Translator)Relevant RadioCatholic93.9W230DG(KXSS AM Translator)1390 Granite City SportsSportsTownsquare Media94.3K232GA(WXYG AM Translator)Album Rock 540Classic rockTri County Broadcasting94.9KMXKMix 94.9Adult ContemporaryTownsquare Media95.3W237EU(WJON AM Translator) News/Talk95.7W239CU(WBHR AM Translator)The BearSportsTri County Broadcasting96.1WROJ (LPFM)The Rock FMContemporary ChristianThe Rock FM Communications, Inc.96.7KZRVThe RiverClassic HitsTownsquare Media97.5KVEX (LPFM)RadioXAlternative RockSt. Cloud State University98.1WWJO98 1 Minnesota's New CountryCountryTownsquare Media98.998.9 HD 298.9 HD 3KZPKWild Country 99KNSIZ Rock 103.3CountryNews/TalkClassic RockLeighton Broadcasting99.3K257GK(KNSI AM Translator) KNSI News/Talk99.9KCML99.9 Lite FMAdult Contemporary101.1W266DT(WMIN AM Translator)Uptown 1010Adult StandardsTri County Broadcasting101.7101.7 HD 2 101.7 HD 3101.7 HD 4WHMHRockin' 101Album Rock 540106.5 The PointUptown 1010Active RockClassic rockAlternativeAdult Standards102.3W232EG(WVAL AM Translator) Classic Country103.3K277BS(KZPK HD 3 Translator)Z Rock 103.3Classic rockLeighton Broadcasting103.7KLZZThe LoonClassic rockTownsquare Media104.7KCLD Top 40Leighton Broadcasting105.1KZYS (LPFM) SomalianSaint Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization106.5W293CS(WHMH HD 3 Translator)106.5 The PointAlternativeTri County Broadcasting107.3W297BO(WXYG AM Translator)Album Rock 540Classic rock

St. Cloud is a regional transportation hub within Minnesota. Major roadways including Interstate Highway 94, U. S. Highway 10, and Minnesota State Highways 15 and 23 pass through the city. Bus service within the city and to neighboring Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park is offered through St. Cloud Metro Bus, which was recognized in 2007 as the best transit system of its size in North America. An innovative system gives transit buses a slight advantage at stoplights in order to improve efficiency and on time performance. The Metro Bus Transit Center in the downtown area is also shared with Jefferson Lines, providing national bus service. Bus service links downtown St. Cloud and St. Cloud State University with the western terminus of the Northstar Commuter Rail line in Big Lake, by the way of Northstar Link Commuter Bus, which in turn links to the Metro Transit bus and light rail system at Target Field Station in downtown Minneapolis. Several rail lines run through the city, which is a stop on Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger rail line. St. Cloud is home to St. Cloud Regional Airport, from which daily connecting flights to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport were made on Delta Connection, operated by Mesaba Airlines, until January 1, 2010, when the service was discontinued. On December 15, 2012, Allegiant Air began nonstop flights between St. Cloud Regional Airport and Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport, on McDonnell Douglas MD 80 aircraft.

Courtroom scenes in the Disney Film The Mighty Ducks were filmed in St. Cloud, and a few scenes were filmed at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) but did not make the final film. Al Franken and Tom Davis's One More Saturday Night is set in St. Cloud, but was not filmed there. The movie Juno was partially set in St. Cloud, which is referred to as "East Jesus Nowhere", though no filming took place in the city. The 1989 drag racing film Catch Me If You Can, directed by Stephen Sommers, was both set and filmed in St. Cloud. Marshall Eriksen, one of the main characters in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, was born and raised in St. Cloud. Many scenes detailing his childhood, as well as later visits to his hometown, are set in St. Cloud, though no filming occurred there.