St. Cloud, Minnesota - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

St. Cloud is a city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

and the largest population center in the state's central region

Central Minnesota

Central Minnesota is the name of the region consisting of the central portion of the state of Minnesota. Although no specific boundaries of the region exist, most definitions of what makes up the region would generally consist of the vast swath of land north of Interstate 94, east of U.S. Highway...

. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

of Stearns County

Stearns County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families residing in the county. The population density was 99 people per square mile . There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...

. It is named after the city of Saint-Cloud

Saint-Cloud

Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

(in Île-de-France, near Paris), which was named for the 6th-century French monk Clodoald

Clodoald

Saint Clodoald , better known as Cloud, was the son of King Chlodomer of Orleans.-Life:Clodoald was raised in Paris by his grandmother, Saint Clotilde. He was one of three brothers, all of whom were targeted for assassination by their uncle, Clotaire I...

.

Though mostly in Stearns County, the city also extends into Benton County

Benton County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,226 people, 13,065 households, and 8,518 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile . There were 13,460 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

and Sherburne County

Sherburne County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 64,417 people, 21,581 households, and 16,746 families residing in the county. The population density was 148 people per square mile . There were 22,827 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...

. One of the fastest-growing areas in the state, St. Cloud is surrounded by a small metropolitan area

St. Cloud metropolitan area

The St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in central Minnesota, anchored by the city of St. Cloud. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 167,392 .The St...

, with Waite Park

Waite Park, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,568 people, 2,967 households, and 1,536 families residing in the city. The population density was 841.0 people per square mile . There were 3,065 housing units at an average density of 392.5 per square mile...

, Sauk Rapids

Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,213 people, 3,921 households, and 2,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,234.1 people per square mile . There were 4,017 housing units at an average density of 878.7 per square mile...

, Sartell

Sartell, Minnesota

Sartell is a city in Benton and Stearns counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,876 at the 2010 census, making it St. Cloud's most populous suburb and the largest city in the central Minnesota region after St...

, and St. Augusta

St. Augusta, Minnesota

Saint Augusta is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, directly south of the city of St. Cloud. The population was 3,317 at the 2010 census. Originally Saint Augusta Township, it incorporated as a city on May 2, 2000 in order to avoid annexation by the city of Saint Cloud.For a short time Saint...

directly bordering the city, and Foley

Foley, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,154 people, 756 households, and 499 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,148.6 people per square mile . There were 793 housing units at an average density of 422.8 per square mile...

, Rice

Rice, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 711 people, 247 households, and 185 families residing in the city. The population density was 118.8 people per square mile . There were 250 housing units at an average density of 41.8 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 98.87% White, 0.70% Native...

, Kimball

Kimball, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 635 people, 262 households, and 165 families residing in the city. The population density was 459.0 people per square mile . There were 280 housing units at an average density of 202.4 per square mile...

, Clearwater

Clearwater, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 858 people, 327 households, and 223 families residing in the city. The population density was 740.9 people per square mile . There were 355 housing units at an average density of 306.5 per square mile...

, Clear Lake

Clear Lake, Minnesota

Clear Lake is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 545 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and 1.23% is water.U.S...

, Rockville

Rockville, Minnesota

Rockville is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,448 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, St. Joseph

St. Joseph, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,681 people, 1,120 households, and 712 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,517.4 people per square mile . There were 1,147 housing units at an average density of 616.8 per square mile...

, and Cold Spring

Cold Spring, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,975 people, 1,116 households, and 785 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,431.1 people per square mile . There were 1,145 housing units at an average density of 550.8 per square mile...

nearby. With 189,093 residents at the 2010 census, the St. Cloud metropolitan area is the third-largest Minnesota population center, behind Minneapolis-St. Paul and Duluth-Superior, and slightly ahead of Rochester (with 186,011 residents). The population of Fargo-Moorhead is also larger than St. Cloud's or Rochester's, but most of that is in North Dakota, with only 58,999 residents in Minnesota.

St. Cloud is located 65 miles (104.6 km) northwest of the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis-St. Paul along Interstate 94

Interstate 94

Interstate 94 is the northernmost east–west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. I-94's western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...

, U.S. Route 10

U.S. Route 10

U.S. Route 10 is an east–west United States highway formed in 1926. Though it never became the cross-country highway suggested by the "0" as the last digit of its route number, U.S...

, and Minnesota State Highway 23

Minnesota State Highway 23

Minnesota State Highway 23 is a state highway that stretches from southwest to northeast Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1....

. The St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area

United States metropolitan area

In the United States a metropolitan statistical area is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be, nor are they legal administrative divisions like...

(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, even though commuting criteria did not require mandatory inclusion. St. Cloud as a whole has never been part of the 13-county MSA comprising Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, and parts of western Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, although its Sherburne County

Sherburne County, Minnesota

portion is considered part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area by Census Bureau definition.

The Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

flows through the city, which owns and operates a hydroelectric

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

dam that can produce up to 9 megawatts

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

of electricity. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources designated a 12 miles (19.3 km) section of the Mississippi south of St. Cloud part of Minnesota's Wild & Scenic Rivers Program in 1976. It has the 30 undeveloped "Beaver Islands", multiple channels and sandbars, and no major rapids, and is popular for day trips by canoe.

History

Minnesota was organized as a territory in 1849. The St. Cloud area had been opened to legal ownership by non-Native Americans following treaty negotiations with the Winnebago tribe in 1851 and 1852.

St. Cloud was a waystation on the Middle and Woods branches of the Red River Trails

Red River Trails

The Red River Trails were a network of ox cart routes connecting the Red River Colony and Fort Garry in British North America with the head of navigation on the Mississippi River in the United States...

between the Canadian border at Pembina

Pembina, North Dakota

Pembina is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 592 at the 2010 census.The area of Pembina was long inhabited by various indigenous peoples...

and St. Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

. The cart trains often consisted of hundreds of ox carts; the carters would camp west of the city and cross the Mississippi in St. Cloud or in Sauk Rapids, just to the north.

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 were established beginning in 1853. The remnants of the deep ravines that separated the three are still visible today. Middle Town was settled primarily by Catholic German-Americans, who were attracted to the region by Father Francis Xavier Pierz

Francis Xavier Pierz

Francis Xavier Pierz was a Roman Catholic priest and missionary to the Ottawa and Ojibwa Indians. Because he was also responsible for attracting large numbers of Catholic German Americans to settle in Central Minnesota, he is referred to as "The Father of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint...

. Lower Town was founded by settlers from New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

and the mid-Atlantic states

Mid-Atlantic States

The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...

. Upper Town, or Arcadia, was plotted by General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

Sylvanus Lowry

General Sylvanus P. Lowry was a slave owning Southern aristocrat from Kentucky who reigned as the political boss of Saint Cloud, Minnesota. He is well known in Minnesota folklore for his personal war with Abolitionist newspaper publisher Jane Grey Swisshelm....

, a slave-holding Southerner from Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. Lowry was St. Cloud's first mayor, serving only one year.

Lowry battled Abolitionist newspaper editor Jane Grey Swisshelm. At one point Swisshelm's newspaper office was broken into and the press thrown into the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

. St. Cloud's experience with slavery was brief. Nearly all of the Southerners left the St. Cloud area when the Civil War broke out. Lowry died soon after in 1865.

Stephen Miller

Stephen Miller

Stephen Miller was an American Republican politician. He was the first Civil War veteran to serve as Minnesota Governor. He was the fourth Governor of Minnesota.-Early years and business entrepreneur:...

served a two-year term as Minnesota governor beginning in 1864, the only citizen of St. Cloud to hold the office. Miller was a "Pennsylvania German businessman", lawyer, writer, active abolitionist, and personal friend of Minnesota Governor Ramsey

Alexander Ramsey

Alexander Ramsey was an American politician. He was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Alexander Ramsey was elected from Pennsylvania as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the 28th and 29th congresses from March 4, 1843 to March 4, 1847...

. He was on the state's Republican electoral ticket with Abraham Lincoln in 1860. With no previous military experience, Miller enlisted as a private

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

in the Minnesota's First Regiment of Volunteers

1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry

The 1st Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was noted in particular for its gallant service and heavy casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg....

, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

and eventually "Brigadier General of Volunteers". After fighting at Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

and in eight other battles, Miller became ill and later transferred to another unit, missing the regiment's famous defense at Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

. His son Wesley, who had enlisted with his father, was killed in the battle. While in military service, Miller also served as commander of Mankato's

Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...

Camp Lincoln, where 38 Dakota men were executed for their role in the Dakota War of 1862

Dakota War of 1862

The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...

.

Although he never attended college, as governor Miller supported higher education, including the state "Normal" schools

Normal school

A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...

, one of which later became St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University is a four-year public university founded in 1869 on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. The university is the largest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system which is the largest single provider of higher...

. In his final legislative address as governor, he made a strong but unsuccessful argument for a black suffrage

Suffrage

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...

amendment to the state constitution.

St. Cloud was named after Saint-Cloud

Saint-Cloud

, the Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

suburb, by John Wilson, a Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

native with French Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

ancestry. Wilson later said that his decision came from his interest in Napoleon, whose favorite palace was located in Saint-Cloud.

Steamboat

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

s once docked at St. Cloud, although river levels were not reliable. Granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

quarries have operated in the area since the 1880s, giving St. Cloud its nickname, "The Granite City."

In 1917, Samuel Pandolfo

Samuel Pandolfo

In 1917, Samuel Pandolfo raised $9.5 million through stock sales and built an automobile plant in St. Cloud, Minnesota. During the next two years, the plant turned out 737 automobiles and fulfilled numerous U.S. government war contracts. Yet by 1919, Pandolfo was out of business...

started the Pan Motor Company in St. Cloud. Pandolfo claimed that St. Cloud would become the new Detroit for all the Pan-Cars produced. He was later convicted and imprisoned for attempting to defraud investors.

St. Cloud was recently chosen to host the 2012 Can-Am Police and Fire Games.

Parks

The city maintains 95 parks, totaling more than 1400 acres (5.7 km²) and ranging in size from 80 "neighborhood and mini parks" to 243 acre (0.98338698 km²). The largest developed park, Whitney Memorial Park, is the former location of the city airport. It features numerous softball and soccer fields.

Popular culture

Courtroom scenes in the Disney Film The Mighty Ducks
The Mighty Ducks
The Mighty Ducks is the first film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy, produced by Avnet–Kerner Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and originally released on October 2, 1992. In the UK and Australia, the film was titled Champions...

were filmed in St. Cloud, and a few cut scenes were filmed at the Municipal Athletic Center (MAC).
Senator Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....

and Tom Davis
Tom Davis (comedian)
Tom Davis is an American writer and comedian. He is an Emmy Award winner, and is best known for his former partnership with Al Franken, as half of the comedy duo "Franken & Davis" on Saturday Night Live.-Life and career:...

's One More Saturday Night is set in St. Cloud, but was not filmed there.
Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen is a fictional character in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and portrayed by Jason Segel.-Character profile:Marshall is an easy-going, naive optimist from St. Cloud, Minnesota...

, of the TV show How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...

, is originally from St. Cloud.
Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....

was partially set in St. Cloud, which is referred to as "East Jesus Nowhere". None of the filming actually took place in the city, however.
The song "On a Bus to St. Cloud", by Gretchen Peters
Gretchen Peters
Gretchen Peters is a singer-songwriter in the folk/country genre. She was born in New York and raised in Boulder, Colorado, but moved to Nashville in the late 1980s...

, is on Trisha Yearwood
Trisha Yearwood
Patricia Lynn Yearwood, professionally known as Trisha Yearwood , is an American country music artist. She is best known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a female perspective that have been described by some music critics as "strong" and "confident."Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA...

's 1995 album "Thinkin' About You
Thinkin' About You
Thinkin' About You is the fourth country studio album by country singer Trisha Yearwood. The album reached #3 on the Billboard country albums chart....

".
Academy Award winner Gig Young
Gig Young
Gig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...

was born in St. Cloud and once worked at the Paramount Theater as an usher.
In the 2007 horror movie 1408
1408 (film)
1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film based on the Stephen King short story of the same name directed by Swedish director Mikael Håfström, who earlier had directed the horror film Drowning Ghost. The cast includes John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mary McCormack. The film was released...

, St. Cloud is mentioned as one of the scariest places the protagonist has visited while investigating allegedly haunted houses.
Director Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the action/horror film Van Helsing, and the 2009 film G.I...

attended Cathedral High School
Cathedral High School (St. Cloud, Minnesota)
Cathedral High School is a Roman Catholic coeducational parochial high school located in St. Cloud, Minnesota. One of the four high schools in the St. Cloud area, as of January 2006 Cathedral enrolls a total of 578 students in grades 9-12; when the attached John XXIII middle school is included,...

in St. Cloud. He then attended college at nearby St. John's University. His 1989 film Catch Me If You Can was filmed in St. Cloud.
Writer/director Wendell Jon Andersson was born and raised in St. Cloud, attending Tech High School
Technical Senior School
Technical Senior High School is located at 233 12th Avenue South in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. It is one of St. Cloud's two major public high schools, the other being Apollo. The school's first building was built in 1917, with another building added in the 1970s to handle the student population. There...

. He wrote and directed the film "With or Without You" and worked on the Comedy Central television program Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....

.
Actress June Marlowe
June Marlowe
June Marlowe , was an American actress, who appeared in six Our Gang short subjects as the lovely schoolteacher Miss Crabtree.-Career:...

, who played Miss Crabtree on The Little Rascals, was from St. Cloud.
Judith Guest
Judith Guest
Judith Guest is an American novelist and screenwriter. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and is the great-niece of Poet Laureate Edgar Guest .- Work :...

and Rebecca Hill's novel Killing Time in St. Cloud
Killing Time in St. Cloud
Killing Time in St. Cloud is a crime novel by Judith Guest and Rebecca Hill first published in 1988.-External links:* on Judith Guest's website....

is set in the eponymous city.
John Bellairs
John Bellairs
John Anthony Bellairs was an American author, best known for his well-respected fantasy novel The Face in the Frost as well as many gothic mystery novels for young adults featuring Lewis Barnavelt, Anthony Monday, and Johnny Dixon.-Biography:After earning degrees at University of Notre Dame and...

's character Mr. Emerson is from St. Cloud.
In the novel The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is a 2004 novel by Ben Sherwood. It is a fictional fable about an extraordinary experience of a man called Charlie St. Cloud who is resuscitated following a car accident that kills his brother.-Plot:...

by Ben Sherwood
Ben Sherwood
- Early life and education :Ben Sherwood was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1981, he graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. In 1986, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College with an AB degree...

, the main character's mother grew up in St. Cloud.
Mattress maker Tempur-Pedic
Tempur-Pedic
Tempur-Pedic International, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of mattresses and pillows made from viscoelastic memory foam. The company's headquarters is located in Lexington, Kentucky.- History :...

features St. Cloud in its regional "Cloud" mattress ad campaign.
Nick Yozamp, the winner of the 2010 Jeopardy! College Championship
Jeopardy! College Championship
The Jeopardy! College Championship is one of the traditional tournaments held each season on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! Contestants in this tournament are full-time undergraduate college students with no prior degrees...

, is from St. Cloud, as is Gary Bechtold, a three-day Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...

champion during the 2009-10 season.

Transportation

St. Cloud is a regional transportation hub within Minnesota. Major roadways including Interstate Highway 94

Interstate 94

, U.S. Highway 10

U.S. Route 10

U.S. Route 10 is an east–west United States highway formed in 1926. Though it never became the cross-country highway suggested by the "0" as the last digit of its route number, U.S...

, and Minnesota State Highways 15

Minnesota State Highway 15

Minnesota State Highway 15 is a highway in south-central and central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 15 at the Iowa state line and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with U.S. Highway 10 outside of Sartell and Sauk Rapids, north of St...

and 23

Minnesota State Highway 23

Minnesota State Highway 23 is a state highway that stretches from southwest to northeast Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1....

pass through the city.

Bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

service within the city and to neighboring Sartell

Sartell, Minnesota

, Sauk Rapids

Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

, and Waite Park

Waite Park, Minnesota

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

Jefferson Lines

Jefferson Lines is a regional intercity bus company operating in United States. The company's name originates in the Jefferson Highway, a north-south route in the early National Auto Trail system which once ran from Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, south to New Orleans, Louisiana. The service to...

.

Bus service links downtown St. Cloud and St. Cloud State University with the western terminus of the Northstar Commuter Rail line in Big Lake

Big Lake, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,063 people, 2,117 households, and 1,570 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,688.4 people per square mile . There were 2,206 housing units at an average density of 614.3 per square mile...

which in turn links to Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan light rail and bus services, providing end to end public transportation between the two metropolitan areas.

Several rail lines run through the city as well, which is a stop

St. Cloud (Amtrak station)

St. Cloud is a train station in St. Cloud, Minnesota served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. It was built in 1898 by the Northern Pacific Railway. It is situated on the east side of the Mississippi River in the middle of a wye that links to the St. Cloud Rail Bridge.St. Cloud is...

on Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

's Empire Builder
Empire Builder
The Empire Builder is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Northwestern United States. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route and busiest daily train, carrying more than 500,000 travelers annually since 2007. Overall, it is the railroad's 10th-busiest line. Before...

line.

St. Cloud is also home to St. Cloud Regional Airport

St. Cloud Regional Airport

St. Cloud Regional Airport is a public airport located four miles east of the central business district of St. Cloud, a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States....

, from which daily connecting flights to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in the five-state upper Midwest region of Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.-Overview:...

were made on Delta Connection

Delta Connection

Delta Connection is the name under which a number of individually owned regional airlines and one wholly owned regional carrier operate short and medium haul routes in association with Delta Air Lines Inc...

, operated by Mesaba Airlines

Mesaba Airlines

Mesaba Airlines is an American regional airline based in Eagan, Minnesota. The airline operates under Mesaba Aviation, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corporation...

, until January 1, 2010, when the service was discontinued.

Education

The city of St. Cloud is part of the St. Cloud Area School District, which serves St. Cloud, St. Augusta, Clearwater, Waite Park, St. Joseph, and Haven Township. The district has eight elementary schools, a new K-8 school in St. Joseph, and two major public high schools, St. Cloud Technical High School

Technical Senior School

Technical Senior High School is located at 233 12th Avenue South in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. It is one of St. Cloud's two major public high schools, the other being Apollo. The school's first building was built in 1917, with another building added in the 1970s to handle the student population. There...

and St. Cloud Apollo High School. St. Cloud also has a major private high school, Cathedral High School

Cathedral High School (St. Cloud, Minnesota)

Cathedral High School is a Roman Catholic coeducational parochial high school located in St. Cloud, Minnesota. One of the four high schools in the St. Cloud area, as of January 2006 Cathedral enrolls a total of 578 students in grades 9-12; when the attached John XXIII middle school is included,...

. Both public high schools offer a broad selection of Advanced Placement courses, and rank high in the state in number of AP tests taken and of test takers. St. Cloud Tech is the older of the two, opening in 1917, and is just west of downtown on the city's south side. Apollo opened in 1970 and serves the expanding north side of the city. Other high schools and secondary schools that serve the city of St. Cloud include St. Robert Bellarmine's Academy, St. Cloud Christian School, Immaculate Conception Academy, St. John's Preparatory School

Saint John's Preparatory School (Collegeville, Minnesota)

Founded in 1857, Saint John’s Preparatory School is a Catholic/Benedictine, co-educational, day and boarding college preparatory school located in Collegeville, Minnesota. The school includes a Middle School consisting of grades 6-8 and an Upper School consisting of grades 9-12...

, and St. Cloud Alternative Learning Center. St. Cloud also has one of the most successful charter schools in the state, 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.

Colleges

The St. Cloud area is home to several higher education facilities, including the second-largest university in the state, St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University

. As of 2009, 17,686 students attend SCSU, including 1,905 graduate students. Other post-secondary institutions and campuses in St. Cloud proper include St. Cloud Technical and Community College (SCTCC), Rasmussen College

Rasmussen College

Rasmussen College is a 110-year old for-profit private college offering Bachelor's and Associate's degrees at multiple campuses in Minnesota including Blaine, Brooklyn Park, Eagan, Bloomington, Lake Elmo, Mankato, Moorhead and St...

, Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, and the College of St. Scholastica. Additionally, the College of St. Benedict (an all-female private Catholic liberal arts college) is located in nearby St. Joseph, while its all-male sibling school, St. John's University, is in nearby Collegeville.

Politics

The mayor of St. Cloud is Dave Kleis

Dave Kleis

Dave Kleis is a Minnesota politician, and the mayor of St. Cloud, Minnesota.Kleis served in the Minnesota State Senate from 1995 to 2005. In 2005, he defeated incumbent Mayor John Ellenbecker to win election to his current office...

, who won reelection in 2008 after his only opponent, Ryan Fagan, abandoned a write-in campaign after receiving little public support. St. Cloud is in Minnesota's 6th congressional district

Minnesota's 6th congressional district

Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, Anoka, and Washington counties. The district is Republican-leaning with a CPVI of R + 7. It is currently represented by Republican Michele Bachmann....

, represented by Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann

Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...

(R). St. Cloud is partly in Minnesota House of Representatives district 15A, represented by Steve Gottwalt

Steve Gottwalt

Steven M. "Steve" Gottwalt is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 15A, which includes portions of Stearns County in the west central part of the state...

(R), and partly in 15B, represented by King Banaian

King Banaian

King Banaian is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represents District 15B, which includes portions of Benton, Sherburne and Stearns counties in the north central part of the state. A Republican, he is also an economist and an economics professor at...

(R). State Senate District 15 is represented by vice chair of the state capital investment committee John Pederson (R).

In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

and Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

won 54% of the vote in the city, and John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

and Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

46%.

Past mayors of St. Cloud include Sylvanus B. Lowry (1856), John L. Wilson (1857–58), E. O. Hamlin (1868), J. A. McDonald (1900), J. R. Boyd (1901), J. E. C. Robinson (1902–05 and 1906), J. N. Bensen (1905), David McCarty (1907), Louis Brown (1907), Hugh Evans (1908–09), D. H. Freeman (1910 and 1916–19), P. J. Seberger (1911–12), H. J. Limperich (1919), W. W. Matson (1920–24), J. Arthur Bensen (1924–28), James H. Murphy (1928–32, 1945–48), Phil Collignon (1932–45), Mathew Malisheski (1948–52), Lawrence A. Borgert (1952), George Byers (1953–60), Thomas E. Mealey (1960–64), Ed Henry

Ed Henry (politician)

Edward L. Henry was an American Democratic politician and academic. Henry was mayor of St. Cloud, Minnesota, for two terms from 1964-71. He later served as the president of several colleges and universities....

(1964–71), Al Loehr

Al Loehr

Al Loehr is an American Democratic politician. Loehr served as the mayor of St. Cloud, Minnesota, for two terms from 1971 until 1980 and as Minnesota Commissioner of Veterans Affairs.Loehr worked for a railroad in his early life. His father was a stone cutter...

(1971–80), Sam Huston (1980–89), Chuck Winkelman (1989–97), Larry Meyer (1997–2001), and John Ellenbecker (2001–05).

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 30.9 square miles (80.1 km²), of which 30.2 (78.1 km²) are land and 0.8 (2.0 km²) (2.62%) water. The city is bisected by the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

, and part of the Sauk River

Sauk River (Minnesota)

The Sauk River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 90 mi long in central Minnesota in the United States. It drains small lakes in Stearns County...

runs along its northern edge. Just south of downtown is the 7-acre, 35-feet-deep Lake George.

Adjacent communities

Sartell - north
Sauk Rapids - northeast
St Augusta
St. Augusta, Minnesota
Saint Augusta is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, directly south of the city of St. Cloud. The population was 3,317 at the 2010 census. Originally Saint Augusta Township, it incorporated as a city on May 2, 2000 in order to avoid annexation by the city of Saint Cloud.For a short time Saint...

- south
Waite Park - west

Climate

St. Cloud lies in the warm summer humid continental climate

Humid continental climate

A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....

zone (Köppen climate classification

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

Dfb), with warm, humid summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. January is the coldest month, with an average high temperature of 19 °F (-7 °C) and an average low temperature of -1 °F (-18 °C). July is the warmest month, with an average high of 82 °F (28 °C) and an average low of 58 °F (14 °C).

Demographics

St. Cloud is the principal city of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area

St. Cloud metropolitan area

, a metropolitan area

United States metropolitan area

that covers Sherburne, Benton and Stearns counties and had a combined population of 167,392 at the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

.

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 59,108 people, 22,652 households, and 12,254 families residing in the city. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

was 1,959.9 people per square mile (756.7/km²). There were 23,249 housing units at an average density of 770.9 per square mile (297.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.75% White, 2.37% African American, 0.72% Native American, 3.11% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population. Since 2000 these proportions have changed significantly, in part because of a continuing, rapid influx of immigrants from Somalia.

27.3% of St. Cloud households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

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.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 24.1% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 101 females there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,346, and the median income for a family was $50,460. Males had a median income of $33,670 versus $23,759 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the city was $19,769. About 5.0% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Sports

The city is home to

the St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University is a four-year public university founded in 1869 on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. The university is the largest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system which is the largest single provider of higher...

Division I ice hockey team. The team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a college athletic conference which operates over a wide area of the Midwestern and Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference....

.

the Granite City Lumberjacks, a tier III hockey team.

the St. Cloud River Bats
St. Cloud River Bats
The St. Cloud River Bats are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. Their home games are played at the Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota...

of the Northwoods League
Northwoods League
The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of the top college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate...

, a collegiate summer baseball league. The River Bats play at Joe Faber Field
Joe Faber Field
Joe Faber Field is a baseball venue located in St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA. The park opened in 1998 and has a capacity of around 2,000. It is the home of the St. Cloud River Bats of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. It also hosts the baseball team of St. Cloud State...

in St. Cloud and were founded in 1997.

Sites of interest

Cathedral of Saint Mary, the largest church serving the oldest parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

in the community, built in the 1920s in the Italian Romanesque style. The Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud is a Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota. It was founded on September 22, 1889, out of territory that had been evangelized by the missionary priest Father Francis Xavier Pierz...

.
The St. Cloud Central Business District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. St. Cloud is a Preserve America Community.
Great River Regional Library, a six-county regional system serving 32 communities. A new main library building opened in St. Cloud in September 2008.
Munsinger Gardens and Clemens Gardens, extensive flower gardens dating from the 1930s. See Munsinger Clemens Botanical Society.
Quarry Park, a unique public park that features 20 granite quarries, hiking, biking and ski trails. Part of the Stearns County park system.
Paramount Theatre and Visual Arts Center, a restored 1700-seat theater, built in 1921.
St. Cloud Hospital
St. Cloud Hospital
St. Cloud Hospital is a hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. It is a Catholic-affiliated, not-for-profit institution and part of the CentraCare Health System. The hospital has more than 4,300 employees, 380 physicians and 1,250 volunteers. It serves 640,000 people in a 12-county...

, part of the CentraCare Health System
CentraCare Health System
The CentraCare Health System is a system of health care providers in Central Minnesota, United States. It comprises three hospitals, four long-term care facilities, nearly a dozen clinics and numerous specialty care services. As of 2008, the system had 6,438 employees and 1,573 volunteers.-St....

, was founded in 1886 as St. Benedict's Hospital, and now serves tens of thousands of patients a year and ranks among the top 100 hospitals in the nation.
Stearns County History Museum, with two floors of exhibits, a research area, a museum store, and a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) nature park. The only county museum in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

accredited by the American Association of Museums.
Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, dedicated to preserving Minnesota's baseball history.
St. Cloud Civic Center, a 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) meeting center overlooking the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

.
St. Cloud Regional Airport
St. Cloud Regional Airport
St. Cloud Regional Airport is a public airport located four miles east of the central business district of St. Cloud, a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States....

, providing scheduled commercial turboprop passenger service, private, corporate, cargo and military operations.
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University is a four-year public university founded in 1869 on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. The university is the largest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system which is the largest single provider of higher...

, with 17,892 students including international students from 84 countries.
St. Cloud Technical and Community College, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System.
Minnesota Correctional Facility - St. Cloud
Minnesota Correctional Facility - St. Cloud
Minnesota Correctional Facility – St. Cloud is a state prison located in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Originally built in 1889, it is a level four, close-security institution with an inmate population of about 1,000 men.MCF-St...

, built in 1889, housing nearly 1,000 prisoners.

Business

St. Cloud is home to many businesses. According to the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce, the city's largest employer is St. Cloud Hospital, followed by Coborn's and Electrolux Home Products. Other notable companies based or with offices in St. Cloud include Gold'n Plump Poultry, ING DIRECT, and ePromos Promotional Products

Epromos.com

ePromos.com is an American Internet company that sells promotional products. Headquartered in New York City it was started in 1998 by Jason Robbins...

Media

The main newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

is the St. Cloud Times, a Gannett

Gannett Company

Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...

newspaper. The St. Cloud Diocese also publishes the St. Cloud Visitor, which serves the regional Catholic community.

Television station KPXM

KPXM

KPXM-TV virtual channel 41 is a television station based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and owned and operated by ION Media Networks . The station is an affiliate of the Ion Television network. The station is licensed to St. Cloud, Minnesota. The KPXM Tower near the city of Big Lake KPXM-TV virtual...

(channel 41), an "ion" network affiliate, is licensed to the city, though the signal also reaches the Twin Cities region. Low-power stations are: WCMN (channel 13) which is not always on the air, and K19BG (channel 19), a former TBN

Trinity Broadcasting Network

The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...

affiliate. Additional, St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University

students operate cable-only UTVS (channel 21), which includes local news.

Radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

stations include:

AM

WXYG 540 AM "540 The Goat" (classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...

), Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting is a small radio broadcasting company located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. It is owned by Herbert M. Hoppe, long time local radio broadcaster who started out building small AM stations. The stations serve the St...
WBHR
WBHR
WBHR is a sports talk radio station serving the St. Cloud area of Minnesota. The station is owned by Tri-County Broadcasting, and is an affiliate of the ESPN Radio Network and Chicago Cubs Radio Network. It is the only station in Minnesota to broadcast Chicago Cubs games.-External links:*...

660 AM "660 The Bear" (sports
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...

), Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting is a small radio broadcasting company located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. It is owned by Herbert M. Hoppe, long time local radio broadcaster who started out building small AM stations. The stations serve the St...
WVAL
WVAL
WVAL is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a classic country format. It airs news on the hour from CBS Radio. The station is owned by Tri-County Broadcasting.-External links:*...

800 AM (classic country
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...

), Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting is a small radio broadcasting company located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. It is owned by Herbert M. Hoppe, long time local radio broadcaster who started out building small AM stations. The stations serve the St...
WMIN
WMIN
WMIN is a radio station licensed to serve Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, USA. The station is part of the Tri-County Broadcasting group and the broadcast license is held by Herbert M. Hoppe.-Programming:...

1010 AM "Uptown 1010" Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting is a small radio broadcasting company located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. It is owned by Herbert M. Hoppe, long time local radio broadcaster who started out building small AM stations. The stations serve the St...
KYES (AM)
KYES (AM)
KYES is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Rockville, Minnesota, USA. The station is owned by the Throw Fire Project, a Sauk Rapids-based nonprofit organization....

1180 (religious programming), Throw Fire Project
WJON
WJON
WJON is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a News/Talk format. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. Its main competitors are Leighton Broadcasting's KNSI of St. Cloud and WCCO and KTLK-FM of Minneapolis....

1240 AM (news/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

), Townsquare Media
KXSS 1390 AM (sports
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...

), Townsquare Media (affiliated with KFAN
KFAN (AM)
* See also KFXN-FMKTCN —branded News/Talk 1130—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a conservative news/talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KTCN's main studios are in St...

)
KNSI
KNSI
KNSI is a commercial radio station based in St. Cloud, Minnesota. It is owned by Leighton Broadcasting, which also owns KCLD.-Programming:KNSI has a variety of news and talk programming dealing with news, current events, politics, sports, and more...

1450 AM (news/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

), Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting is a radio broadcasting company based in St. Cloud, Minnesota that owns several radio stations in St. Cloud as well as in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota.-Stations owned:...

KVSC
KVSC
KVSC 88.1 FM in Saint Cloud, Minnesota is part of Minnesota's Independent Public Radio network. It is operated by St. Cloud State University and broadcasts a freeform radio format...

88.1 FM (college radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...

), St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University is a four-year public university founded in 1869 on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. The university is the largest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system which is the largest single provider of higher...
K208DV 89.5 "Air 1
Air 1
Air1 is a Christian music radio network in the United States, operated by the non-profit organization EMF Broadcasting. Air 1 is essentially a Top-40 station with Christian Music - so many of the rules that commercial Top-40 stations use for musical rotation apply.-History:In 1986, KLRD began...

" (Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...

), Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that operates the K-LOVE and Air 1 radio networks. EMF is based in Rocklin, California....
KNSR
KNSR
KNSR is a radio station licensed to Collegeville, Minnesota, and serving the St. Cloud area. The station is owned by Minnesota Public Radio , and airs MPR's "News and Information" network, originating from KNOW in Minneapolis/St. Paul....

88.9 FM (news/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

), Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
KSJR-FM
KSJR-FM
KSJR-FM is a radio station licensed to Collegeville, Minnesota, and serving the St. Cloud area. The station is owned by Minnesota Public Radio , and airs MPR's "Classical Music Network", originating from KSJN in Minneapolis/St. Paul....

90.1 FM (classical music), Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
KCFB 91.5 FM (Christian radio
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...

), Minnesota Christian Broadcasters
Minnesota Christian Broadcasters
Minnesota Christian Broadcasters, Inc., known as MCBI, is a regional Christian radio network ministry based in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. The ministry operates KCFB in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and KTIG and WZFJ in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota...
KKJM
KKJM
KKJM "Spirit 92.9" is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a contemporary Christian music format. The station is owned by Gabriel Communications. Its main competitors are KCFB, Air 1 on 89.5 FM, and KTIS-FM in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-External links:...

92.9 FM "Spirit 92.9" (Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...

), Gabriel Communications
KMXK
KMXK
KMXK "Mix 94.9" is a commercial radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a hot adult contemporary format. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. The station's studios, along with Townsquare's other St. Cloud stations, are located at 640 Lincoln Avenue SE, on St. Cloud's east side.The format...

94.9 FM "Mix 94.9" (Adult Contemporary), Townsquare Media
KZRV
KZRV
KZRV is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota KZRV (96.7 FM, "Rev 96-7") is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota KZRV (96.7 FM, "Rev 96-7") is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota (licensed to Sartell, Minnesota by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) airing an active rock format....

96.7 FM "REV 96.7" (Active Rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...

), Townsquare Media
WWJO
WWJO
WWJO is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a country music format. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. The station's studios, along with Townsquare's other St. Cloud stations, are located at 640 Lincoln Avenue SE, on St...

98.1 FM "98 Country" (country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

), Townsquare Media
KZPK
KZPK
KZPK "Wild Country 99" is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a country music format. The station is owned by Leighton Broadcasting.-External links:*...

98.9 FM "Wild Country 99" (country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

), Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting is a radio broadcasting company based in St. Cloud, Minnesota that owns several radio stations in St. Cloud as well as in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota.-Stations owned:...
KCML
KCML
KCML is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, airing an adult contemporary music format. The station is owned by Leighton Broadcasting.-Programming:...

99.9 FM "Lite 99.9" (Adult Contemporary), Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting is a radio broadcasting company based in St. Cloud, Minnesota that owns several radio stations in St. Cloud as well as in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota.-Stations owned:...
WHMH 101.7 FM "Rockin' 101" (active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...

), Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting
Tri-County Broadcasting is a small radio broadcasting company located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. It is owned by Herbert M. Hoppe, long time local radio broadcaster who started out building small AM stations. The stations serve the St...
KLZZ
KLZZ
KLZZ "103.7 The Loon" is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a classic rock format. The station is owned by Townsquare Media.The station's studios, along with Townsquare's other St. Cloud stations, are located at 640 Lincoln Avenue SE, on St. Cloud's east side.-External links:*...

103.7 FM "The Loon" (classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...

), Townsquare Media
KCLD 104.7 FM (Top 40), Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting
Leighton Broadcasting is a radio broadcasting company based in St. Cloud, Minnesota that owns several radio stations in St. Cloud as well as in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota.-Stations owned:...

Minnesota Public Radio began in nearby Collegeville at St. John's University.

Famous Former Residents

Gig Young
Gig Young
Gig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...

, actor
Tom Petters
Tom Petters
Thomas Joseph Petters is an American business man and the former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide. Petters resigned his position as CEO on September 29, 2008, amid mounting criminal investigations...

is an American businessman and the former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide
Petters Group Worldwide
Petters Group Worldwide was a diversified company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota that was turned into a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme by its founder and CEO, Tom Petters. It currently has 3,200 employees and investments or full ownership in 60 companies, of which it actively managed 20, with offices...

. Petters resigned his position as CEO on September 29, 2008, amid mounting criminal investigations. He later was convicted for turning Petters Group Worldwide into a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...

and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. Petters was raised with six siblings in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Reynold Philipsek
Reynold Philipsek
Reynold D. Philipsek Reynold D. Philipsek May 2010 Background information Birth name Reynold David Philipsek Born...

, gypsy jazz guitarist
Jim Eisenreich
Jim Eisenreich
James Michael Eisenreich is an American former Major League Baseball player with a 15-year career from 1982–1984 and 1987–1998. He played for the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals of the American League, and the Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National...

, Major League Baseball player

External links

City website
St. Cloud Area Schools site
Granite Country.com -- St. Cloud Area Visitor Information site
St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce
St. Cloud Neighborhood Coalition
St. Cloud Times newspaper site
St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, performing concerts since 1975.
St. Cloud Municipal Band, founded in 1887

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.