# Big Lake *A city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, and the subject of three entries in the project's at-issue record.* Big Lake is a city in [[Sherburne County, Minnesota]], counted at 11,686 residents in the 2020 census.[^1] It sits roughly forty-one miles northwest of the Twin Cities. It began as an ice-harvesting settlement and lake-cabin retreat and is now classed as an exurb, with part of its population commuting into the metropolitan area each day.[^1] The city's station was the northern end of the [[Northstar commuter rail line]] to downtown [[Minneapolis]] until rail service ended on January 4, 2026, when buses replaced the trains.[^1][^3] The project's at-issue record states that Sherburne County contributed $8.2 million to the line. It gives the line's 2023 subsidy as $116.60 per passenger, against $16.07 for commuter express bus, and its ridership in the first half of 2025 as below 500 a day, against an original 2025 projection of 5,590.[^3] The at-issue record also states that [[Mary Kiffmeyer]], Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007, lives in Big Lake. It identifies her as the lead House author of the 2012 [[Voter ID constitutional amendment]], which the [[Legislature]] passed as [[Chapter 167]] and which voters rejected that November.[^2] ## Who According to the at-issue record, Mary Kiffmeyer resides in Big Lake. The same entry states that she held the office of Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007, then served in the House, followed by eight years in the Senate, where she rose to President Pro Tempore.[^2] The entry names her as lead House author of the 2012 Voter ID constitutional amendment. The Legislature passed the amendment as Chapter 167, and voters rejected it at the November 2012 election.[^2] The record here does not establish her party affiliation or the votes by which Chapter 167 passed.[^2] ## What Big Lake is an incorporated city. Its lake, along with Mitchell Lake to the north, supplied much of the ice used in metropolitan iceboxes before household refrigeration.[^1] Each summer the city holds Spud Fest, a potato-themed festival that includes a softball tournament drawing teams from across the state. The ice-auger manufacturer Strike Master is based in the city, and the local paper is the *Patriot Newspaper*.[^1] Public schooling is provided by ISD #727, whose schools include Big Lake High School.[^1] For Northstar riders bound for [[St. Cloud]], the at-issue record describes the Northstar Link as the connecting bus from Big Lake. The record calls it the last leg of a line whose rail never reached St. Cloud.[^4] ## When - **Until 1867:** the settlement was known as Humboldt.[^1] - **1871:** a railway station was built to move the area's harvested ice.[^1] Both the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railroad served the town. The Northern Pacific line later passed to Burlington Northern and then to BNSF Railway.[^1] - **1918:** the Northern Pacific station burned. The two railroads afterward used a single shared depot, which has since been lost.[^1] - **1999–2007:** Kiffmeyer served as Secretary of State, according to the at-issue record.[^2] - **2012:** the Legislature passed the Voter ID amendment as Chapter 167, and voters rejected it that November.[^2] - **2020, 2023 and 2024:** three separate studies were commissioned on extending Northstar rail to St. Cloud.[^4] - **January 4, 2026:** Northstar rail service ended, and bus service took its place.[^3][^1] The at-issue record states that the rail was cancelled before any of the three extension studies produced a line.[^4] ## Where Census Bureau figures give the city 2.92 square miles in total. Of that area, 2.11 square miles is land and 0.81 square miles is water.[^1] The [[Elk River]] runs along part of the city, and a small channel on the north side of Big Lake joins it to Mitchell Lake.[^1] Amtrak's Empire Builder runs through Big Lake on BNSF track but does not stop there. Its closest station is at St. Cloud, 28 miles (45 km) to the northwest.[^1] Big Lake was Northstar's northern terminus until the line closed in 2026.[^1][^3] ## How much - **Capital contribution:** the at-issue record states that Sherburne County put $8.2 million into the Northstar line, which terminated at Big Lake.[^3] - **Operating subsidy:** for 2023, the record gives Northstar's subsidy as $116.60 per passenger and commuter express bus at $16.07 per passenger.[^3] - **Housing value:** the median house or condo value in 2005 was estimated at $207,400, a 67 percent increase from 2000.[^1] ## How many **Population and households.** - The 2020 census counted 11,686 residents, up from 10,060 in the 2010 census.[^1] - In 2020 the median age was 32.7. Residents under 18 made up 28.9 percent of the population, and those 65 or older made up 8.5 percent. The census classed 98.1 percent of residents as living in urban areas.[^1] - The 2020 count recorded 4,016 households, 42.5 percent of them with children under 18. It also recorded 4,209 housing units, 4.6 percent of them vacant. The 2010 count had recorded 3,377 households.[^1] **Northstar ridership.** - The at-issue record gives daily rail ridership in the first half of 2025 as below 500, against an original 2025 projection of 5,590.[^3] - It reports that the Northstar Link bus carried roughly twenty-five riders each direction.[^4] **Extension studies.** - Three studies of a St. Cloud extension were commissioned, in 2020, 2023 and 2024. None produced a line before the rail was cancelled.[^4] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record carries three entries that name Big Lake. Each entry is paired with a March 2025 White House presidential action as its federal anchor. **Entry AI-Sherburne-056.** This entry concerns Kiffmeyer's offices, her Big Lake residence and her authorship of the 2012 Voter ID amendment. Its anchor is *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*.[^2] **Entries AI-Sherburne-077 and AI-Sherburne-078.** These entries set out three sets of figures: - the county's $8.2 million capital contribution; - the 2023 per-passenger subsidy; - the gap between 2025 ridership and its original projection. They also record the three St. Cloud extension studies and the end of rail service on January 4, 2026. Both entries are anchored to *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse*.[^3][^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Big Lake, Minnesota* (revision 1377117502, retrieved 2026-10-27) — population, area, history, demographics, culture, education and transportation, restated here in the article's own words. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Lake,_Minnesota [^2]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, entry AI-Sherburne-056 (from the *Sherburne Politics Brief*; underlying sources listed as lrl.mn.gov and revisor.mn.gov, not included in this pack) — states Kiffmeyer's offices and dates, her Big Lake residence, and her lead House authorship of the 2012 Voter ID amendment (Chapter 167), rejected by voters in November 2012. The URL is the entry's federal anchor, The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025), which does not itself establish these facts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^3]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, entry AI-Sherburne-077 (from the *Sherburne Energy Brief*; underlying sources listed as en.wikipedia.org and metrocouncil.org) — states the $8.2 million county contribution, the 2023 subsidy of $116.60 per passenger against $16.07 for express bus, first-half 2025 ridership below 500 a day against a 5,590 projection, and the end of rail service on January 4, 2026. The URL is the entry's federal anchor, The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025), which does not itself establish these facts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^4]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, entry AI-Sherburne-078 (from the *Sherburne Energy Brief*; underlying sources listed as dot.state.mn.us and metrocouncil.org) — states Northstar Link ridership of roughly twenty-five riders each direction, the 2020, 2023 and 2024 extension studies, and the cancellation of rail before any study produced a line. The URL is the entry's federal anchor, The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025), which does not itself establish these facts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/