# City of St. Cloud *Municipal government of St. Cloud, Minnesota* The City of St. Cloud governs St. Cloud, the seat of [[Stearns County, Minnesota]]. The city's territory crosses into Benton and Sherburne counties and sits on the [[Mississippi River]].[^1] The 2020 census counted 68,881 residents, which placed it twelfth in population among cities in [[Minnesota]].[^1] The city was incorporated in 1856,[^2] and Jake Anderson has been its mayor since 2025.[^3] The city enters this record as the publisher of a document about its own residents, an [[Immigration Fact Sheet]]. The project catalogues it as at-issue entry AI-Stearns-080 in its Stearns package.[^4] According to that entry, the fact sheet reports that 41% of the city's immigrants speak English "less than well." It also reports that immigrant poverty (30.7%) exceeds non-immigrant poverty (22.5%). For a crime claim, it cites "most studies" without naming one.[^4] The record assembled here contains no court case, enactment, audit or federal action naming the city. ## Who Two former mayors of St. Cloud appear among the city's notable residents: [[Loren W. Collins]], who was also a Minnesota jurist and legislator, and Dave Kleis.[^5] The city owns the St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center, which hosts regional conferences, consumer and trade shows, and social events.[^6] The City of St. Cloud Economic Development Authority issued a 2024 Employment Report that ranks the city's top employers.[^7] In 2019, St. Cloud Technical High School moved to a new facility, and the city government acquired the school's historic 1917 building for its own use.[^8] As of the 2020 census, St. Cloud was the second-largest city in Minnesota's 6th congressional district, represented by Republican [[Tom Emmer]].[^3] The city holds most of the population of Minnesota State Senate District 14, represented by [[Aric Putnam]]. House District 14A covers generally western St. Cloud with [[Waite Park]] and St. Augusta and is represented by [[Bernie Perryman]]. District 14B takes in east-central and northeast St. Cloud with Sauk Rapids and is represented by [[Dan Wolgamott]].[^3] The cited source gives a party affiliation only for Emmer.[^3] ## What The city owns and runs a hydroelectric dam on the Mississippi. It is the largest municipally managed dam of its kind in Minnesota and produces nearly nine megawatts. That is roughly a tenth of the output of the state's 11 hydroelectric dams on the river.[^1] The municipal wastewater plant turns sugar-laden liquid waste from local food and beer producers into fuel and fertilizer.[^3] The city maintains 95 parks covering more than 1,400 acres. The largest developed one, Whitney Memorial Park, stands on the site of the former city airport.[^9] ## When The [[Minnesota Territory]] was organized in 1849. Homesteading in the area began after the [[Treaty of Traverse des Sioux]] was signed with the [[Dakota]] in 1851.[^2] European-American settlers began founding three separate settlements, Upper Town, Middle Town and Lower Town, in 1853. Ravines divided them, and traces of those ravines remain visible. The combined city was incorporated in 1856.[^2] John L. Wilson, a homesteader from Columbia, Maine, chose the name. It refers to Saint-Cloud, the Paris suburb that held Napoleon's favorite palace.[^2] In 2016, the city raised its renewable share from 5% to 80% through solar gardens, street-light upgrades, bio-gas and other efficiency measures. From 2020 onward, it has generated more energy than it uses.[^3] In 2021, the [[Minnesota Pollution Control Agency]] attributed a drop in Lake George's phosphorus levels, to well below the state standard, to a decade of city spending on stormwater filtration. The agency named the lake one of three "success stories" in the state and planned to remove it from the impaired-waters list.[^10] ## Where The [[United States Census Bureau]] gives the city an area of 41.08 square miles: 40.04 of land and 1.04 of water.[^10] St. Cloud occupies both banks of the Mississippi, and part of the Sauk River runs along its northern edge.[^10] The city lies 65 miles northwest of [[Minneapolis]] and [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], along [[Interstate 94]] and other routes. It is home to [[St. Cloud State University]].[^1] Congressional maps in effect since 2003 have placed it with rural areas and suburbs north and west of the Twin Cities. A 2022 map drawn by a five-judge panel from the 2020 census left that district largely unchanged.[^3] ## How many The 2020 census recorded a median age of 32.6 years. Residents under 18 made up 22.5% of the population, and those 65 or older made up 14.3%.[^11] The surrounding metropolitan area has an estimated 206,000 residents and ranks fifth among Minnesota's metropolitan statistical areas.[^1] ## How much The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, as of May 2020, 99,600 employees in St. Cloud earned an annual mean wage of $50,800, with a median hourly wage of $24.42.[^11] ## In the at-issue record Entry AI-Stearns-080 names the City of St. Cloud as publisher of the [[Immigration Fact Sheet]]. Its figures come from source row RESEARCH_NewMinnesotans_SCSU.md ¶6, a validated dossier source whose text the pack does not reproduce.[^4] The entry lists a single source, of kind "record", on the domain ci.stcloud.mn.us. The pack does not carry the fact sheet's own address or publication date.[^4] The catalogue attaches the entry to a March 2025 presidential action, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*, as its federal anchor.[^12] In the city's own account, as the entry records it, language and poverty are stated as percentages, while the crime claim rests only on "most studies."[^4] The record shows that sentence without a named source. It does not establish which study, if any, lies behind it.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - The City of St. Cloud, publisher of the Immigration Fact Sheet (at-issue entry AI-Stearns-080).[^4] - Mayor Jake Anderson, in office since 2025.[^3] ### What - The Immigration Fact Sheet's recorded figures: 41% of immigrants speaking English "less than well"; immigrant poverty of 30.7% against non-immigrant poverty of 22.5%; a crime claim citing "most studies" without naming one.[^4] ### Where - The city's official website, catalogued as entry S-10837 in the project's June release.[^13] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, lead section (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — county seat, counties, 2020 population and rank, metro estimate, distance from the Twin Cities, St. Cloud State University, city-run hydroelectric dam and its output. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^2]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §History (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — territory organized 1849, Treaty of Traverse des Sioux 1851, settlements from 1853, incorporation 1856, naming by John L. Wilson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^3]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Government (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — mayor since 2025, congressional and legislative districts and representatives, 2003 and 2022 maps, 2016 renewable conversion, wastewater plant, net energy production since 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^4]: City of St. Cloud, official website; the *Immigration Fact Sheet* as recorded in at-issue entry AI-Stearns-080 (undated in pack; source row RESEARCH_NewMinnesotans_SCSU.md ¶6; source domain ci.stcloud.mn.us) — 41% "less than well"; immigrant poverty 30.7% versus 22.5%; "most studies" cited for a crime claim without a named study. The fact sheet's own URL is not in the pack. https://www.ci.stcloud.mn.us/ [^5]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Notable people (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — Loren W. Collins and Dave Kleis as mayors of St. Cloud. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^6]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Arts and culture (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — city-owned River's Edge Convention Center. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^7]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Economy (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — 2024 City of St. Cloud Economic Development Authority Employment Report. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^8]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Education (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — Tech High School's 2019 move; 1917 building acquired for city government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^9]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Parks and recreation (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — 95 parks, more than 1,400 acres, Whitney Memorial Park. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^10]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Geography (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — Census Bureau area figures, rivers, 2021 MPCA finding on Lake George. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^11]: Wikipedia, *St. Cloud, Minnesota*, §Demographics (revision 1376918473, retrieved 27 October 2026) — 2020 census age figures; BLS May 2020 wage figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota [^12]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — presidential action cited as the federal anchor of entry AI-Stearns-080. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^13]: City of St. Cloud, official website (catalogue entry S-10837, June release) — the city's own site. https://www.ci.stcloud.mn.us/