Blaine, Minnesota

Phillip Leddy, a native of Ireland, was recorded in the 1857 census[8] as having settled in the township of Anoka until his death in 1872, on land that later became Blaine. In 1862, he moved near a lake that now bears his misspelled name, Laddie Lake. Another early settler was the Englishman George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what today is Lever St. and 103rd Ave.[9]

In 1865, Blaine's first permanent resident, Greenberry Chambers, settled on the old Townsend claim.[10] Chambers was a former slave who moved north from Barren County, Kentucky, after the American Civil War. Around 1884, Chambers and his family moved to St. Paul.[11]

In 1870, George Wall, Joseph Gagner, and others soon settled in the area and it began to grow.

In 1877, Blaine separated from Anoka and organized as a township.[12] That year the first election was held and Moses Ripley was elected the first Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. By 1880, Blaine's population had reached 128.

While many other Anoka County communities experienced growth due to farming, Blaine's sandy soil and abundant wetlands discouraged farmers and it remained a prime hunting area. Blaine's growth remained slow until after World War II, when housing developments began in the southern part of town and the community became more suburban. Blaine's population grew from 1,694 in 1950 to 20,573 in 1970, 57,186 in 2010, and 70,222 in 2020. By 2023, the population was over 72,500.

Furthermore, the land development technique of sand mining opened thousands of acres of peat sod farms up for development. Beginning with the development of the Knoll Creek, Club West, Pleasure Creek and TPC Twin Cities, the existing land was modified through extensive grading efforts in the large open water areas. The sand from the excavation of those ponds was used to raise the level of the site. These site modifications are needed to accommodate the development of the homes and neighborhoods.[13] The success of mining sand allowed for further development. The centerpiece of those developments is The Lakes of Blaine.[14] Corporate residents include the Aveda Corporation, Infinite Campus, PTC Inc, MagnetStreet, the parking lot portion of a Medtronic Development, and Dayton Rogers Manufacturing.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 34.05 square miles (88.19 km²), of which 33.85 square miles (87.67 km²) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km²) is water.[15] Blaine is 13 miles (21 kilometers)) from Minneapolis and 20 mi (32 km) from St. Paul.

Blaine can be accessed from several major roadways in the Twin Cities, including Minnesota State Highway 65, Interstate 35W, University Avenue, Lexington Avenue, Hamline Avenue, U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota State Highway 610.

The 3M Open, a PGA Tour event held at TPC Twin Cities.[24]

The National Sports Center was the home of Minnesota's professional soccer teams for 23 years. From 1990 to 2003 and 2008–2009 the National Sports Center was home for the now defunct Minnesota Thunder. After the Thunder folded, the sports center quickly stepped in and created the NSC Minnesota Stars for the 2009 season. The United States Soccer Federation ruled the stadium could not own the team, due to an increase in financial standards the stadium did not have, and the team re-branded to become the Minnesota Stars FC for the 2010–2012 seasons. The Minnesota United FC, after being re-branded in early 2013 to represent the history of soccer in Minnesota, played at the National Sports Center until their promotion to Major League Soccer in 2017,[25] and they now play at Allianz Field in St. Paul but continue to use the National Sports Center as their training facility.[26]

The National Sports Center is also home to Victory Links Golf Course, a stadium with an artificial turf field, over 50 full-size soccer fields, an eight-sheet ice arena, the largest of its kind in the world, an expo center, and a meeting and convention facility.

Blaine has 66 parks and hundreds of miles of trails. Its parks include Aquartore Park, Happy Acres Park, Lexington Athletic Complex, the Blaine Baseball Complex, and Lakeside Commons Park. The Blaine Wetland Sanctuary is 500 acres of protected open space featuring a boardwalk and trails.[27]

2021-2024 Blaine City Council:

• Mayor: Tim Sanders
• Ward One Councilmembers: Jason Smith and Wes Hovland
• Ward Two Councilmembers: Julie Jeppson and Jess Robertson
• Ward Three Councilmembers: Chris Massoglia and Richard Paul

Blaine is in Minnesota's 6th congressional district, represented by Tom Emmer, a Republican. Its U.S. Senators are Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats. Blaine is represented by Nolan West and Erin Koegel in the Minnesota House of Representatives and Jerry Newton in the Minnesota Senate.

Three different school districts serve Blaine. The Anoka-Hennepin School District covers most of the city, from Highway 65 to University Avenue north of 99th Ave NE and the areas north of Cloud Drive, and zigzags through the Lakes neighborhood up to Main Street, where it covers everything north all the way across to Sunset, the city's eastern edge. The Spring Lake Park School District covers nearly everything south of 99th Ave NE, the east side of Highway 65 north to where it bumps into District 11 and east to Lexington, where it bumps into the Centennial School District. District 12—Centennial Schools—covers east of Lexington almost up to Main Street and everything south and east of Interstate 35W.

There are three high schools in the city: Blaine High School in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, Centennial High School in the Centennial School District, and Paladin Career and Technical High School, a public charter school. In addition, some Blaine students attend Spring Lake Park High School in the Spring Lake Park School District.

Rasmussen University, a private, for-profit school offering bachelor's and associate degrees, has a location in Blaine.

• Official website

45°09′39″N 93°14′05″W