# City of New Prague *City in Scott and Le Sueur counties, Minnesota; the only Scott County city that Minnesota Statutes § 473.121 names as excluded from the metropolitan area.* New Prague is a [[Minnesota]] city whose territory is split between Scott County and Le Sueur County. The 2020 census counted 8,162 residents.[^1] The city's place in this record rests on one line of statute. Minnesota Statutes § 473.121, subdivision 2, defines the metropolitan area as "only the counties of Anoka; Carver; Dakota excluding the cities of Northfield and Cannon Falls; Hennepin excluding the cities of Hanover and Rockford; Ramsey; Scott excluding the city of New Prague; and Washington."[^2] The definition removes five cities by name, and New Prague is the only one of them in Scott County.[^2] Wikipedia's article on the city describes the practical result. The city's northern, Scott County portion lies within the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]] geographic area. By special legislation, which the article identifies as M.S. 473.121, subd. 2, the city sits outside the council's review and approval jurisdiction.[^1][^2] ## Who Wikipedia credits Anton Philipp, a German-born settler, as the first to settle within the present city limits.[^3] Philipp came on the advice of Catholic Bishop Joseph Cretin. In 1856 he bought 160 acres in Helena Township, Scott County, and began selling lots that year without filing an official plat.[^3] Bohemian families arrived shortly afterward, and many of the town's founders identified as Czechs.[^3] The State of Minnesota approved the incorporation of the village, then called Praha, on March 1, 1877.[^3] Under § 473.121, the City of New Prague is the sole Scott County municipality excluded from the statutory metropolitan area.[^2] ## What Section 473.121, subdivision 2, sets the boundary of the metropolitan area by listing seven counties: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington.[^2] The definition takes in four of those counties without exclusion. It removes Northfield and Cannon Falls from Dakota, Hanover and Rockford from Hennepin, and New Prague from Scott.[^2] The town's name comes from Prague, the Bohemian capital, in what is now the Czech Republic.[^3] Agriculture became its leading industry once the railroad arrived. Wikipedia reports that the town's first grain elevator and flour mill were built four years after the railway reached it, and that these mills gave New Prague its nickname, the "Flour City."[^3] ## When The town was laid out in 1856, the year of Philipp's land purchase.[^3] Wikipedia attributes the town's slow early growth to two causes. European immigration nearly stopped during the Civil War years, 1861–1865, and clearing farmland in the Big Woods went slowly.[^3] The settlement carried the name Praha from 1872 to 1879. The State approved its incorporation as a village on March 1, 1877, and the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway reached the town later that year.[^3] In 1879 the name was changed to Prague.[^3] The sources assembled for this article give the current text of § 473.121 only. They do not establish when the New Prague exclusion was enacted, by which Legislature, or under which governor.[^2] ## Where Main Street, which carries Highways 13 and 19, divides the city between its two counties. The north side lies in Scott County and the south side in Le Sueur County.[^4] State Highways 13, 19 and 21 are among the principal roads serving the city.[^4] Wikipedia, citing [[United States Census Bureau]] figures, gives the city's total area as 3.81 square miles (9.87 km²), with no water area. The terrain ranges from flat to hilly.[^4] Cedar Lake, in Scott County, is the one lake in the area. It covers 779.5 acres, reaches a maximum depth of 13 feet, and has a water clarity of 3.1 feet. Wikipedia lists fishing, ice fishing, water skiing and jet skiing among its uses, and a snowmobile trail crosses it in winter.[^4] The climate is classed as Köppen Dfa.[^4] The local district, New Prague Area Schools (District 721), runs four schools in the city and Eagle View Elementary in nearby [[Elko New Market]].[^6] ## How many At the 2020 census New Prague had 8,162 residents, with a median age of 36.8 years. Of those residents, 27.9 percent were under 18 and 15.2 percent were 65 or older.[^5] The census counted 3,027 households and 3,191 housing units, and 5.1 percent of the housing units were vacant.[^5] The 2010 census recorded 7,321 people, 2,711 households, 1,910 families and 2,862 housing units.[^5] District 721 operates five schools, and Wikipedia reports a district enrollment of 3,205 students for the 2005–2006 school year.[^6] The statutory definition names seven counties and five excluded cities. One of those cities, New Prague, is in Scott County.[^2] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue entry on the city (AI-Scott-081) rests on the statute text. Minnesota's statutory definition of the metropolitan area names seven counties and excludes exactly one Scott County city by name: "Scott excluding the city of New Prague."[^2] The same subdivision also excludes cities in two other counties: Northfield and Cannon Falls in Dakota, and Hanover and Rockford in Hennepin. Four counties, Anoka, Carver, Ramsey and Washington, are included without exclusion.[^2] The record assembled here does not establish why the New Prague exclusion was written, when, or at whose instance.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *New Prague, Minnesota* (revision 1374771998, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead section — counties, 2020 population, and the statement that the city is outside Metropolitan Council review and approval jurisdiction under M.S. 473.121, subd. 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Prague,_Minnesota [^2]: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes § 473.121* (current text) — subdivision 2 defines the metropolitan area as seven counties, excluding Northfield and Cannon Falls (Dakota), Hanover and Rockford (Hennepin), and New Prague (Scott). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473.121 [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *New Prague, Minnesota* (revision 1374771998, retrieved 2026-10-27), section "History" — 1856 founding, Philipp, Praha 1872–1879, March 1, 1877 incorporation, 1877 railway, 1879 renaming, and the "Flour City" nickname. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Prague,_Minnesota [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *New Prague, Minnesota* (revision 1374771998, retrieved 2026-10-27), section "Geography" — Census Bureau area, the county line at Main Street, highways, Cedar Lake, and climate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Prague,_Minnesota [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *New Prague, Minnesota* (revision 1374771998, retrieved 2026-10-27), section "Demographics" — 2020 and 2010 census counts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Prague,_Minnesota [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *New Prague, Minnesota* (revision 1374771998, retrieved 2026-10-27), section "Schools" — District 721 schools and 2005–2006 enrollment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Prague,_Minnesota