# Elk River *City and county seat of Sherburne County, Minnesota* Elk River, the seat of [[Sherburne County, Minnesota]], lies where the Elk River flows into the [[Mississippi River]], northwest of [[Minneapolis]].[^1] The 2020 census put its population at 25,835, and a 2025 estimate of 27,896 places it second in the Central Minnesota region, behind [[St. Cloud]].[^1] The city enters the Minnesota record through two at-issue pairs in the project's Sherburne package. The first pair comes from the Sherburne Energy Brief. The brief states that Elk River has used the name "Energy City" since 1997. It sets that name beside what it describes as the city's loss of a successor plant to its nuclear reactor, the retirement of the county's coal units, and three data centers that did not arrive. The pack flags the primary-source confirmation of the 1997 designation as not verified.[^2] The second pair comes from the Sherburne Jail Brief. It records weekly demonstrations outside the county facility at 13880 Business Center Drive NW and the demonstrators' allegation that the facility lacks outdoor recreation access. The pack flags that allegation as not independently verified.[^3] Both pairs are anchored to presidential actions issued by the White House in March 2025. Neither presidential action documents the Elk River facts on which its pair rests.[^2][^3] The record assembled for this article does not establish the following from primary sources: the 1997 designation, the plant and data-center losses, or the facility's compliance with federal detention standards.[^2][^3] ## Where The [[United States Census Bureau]] gives the city's area as 43.810 square miles. Of that area, 1.484 square miles (3.39%) is water and 42.326 square miles is land.[^1] The Mississippi forms the city's southern edge. The Elk River crosses Sherburne County and joins the Mississippi on the city's western side, after passing through Lake Orono, a reservoir formed by a dam near the confluence.[^1] The cached Wikipedia article gives the distance to Minneapolis as 33.2 miles and the distance to St. Cloud as 37.4 miles. The same article elsewhere gives the distance to Minneapolis as "about 34 miles."[^1] U.S. Highways 10 and 169 share a route for 12 miles between [[Anoka]] and Elk River, where they divide. From Elk River, U.S. 10 continues toward St. Cloud and U.S. 169 runs north toward Mille Lacs Lake.[^4] Minnesota Highway 101 begins at that division and links the two highways to [[Interstate 94]], seven miles south.[^4] [[Elk River Station]] was a stop on the [[Northstar commuter rail line]] to downtown Minneapolis. The line opened in November 2009 and shut down in January 2026, when a bus service took over the route.[^4] ## When The meeting point of the Elk and Mississippi rivers was the site of two battles between the [[Dakota]] and the Ojibwe, in 1772 and 1773.[^5] [[Zebulon Pike]] crossed the area during his 1805 expedition on the Upper Mississippi. He gave the Elk River its name for the elk herds he observed.[^5] David Frederic Faribault opened a trading post near the confluence in 1846. He sold it in 1848 to H. M. Rice and S. P. Folsom, and Pierre Bottineau later acquired the post from Folsom.[^5] Bottineau put up a hotel on the Mississippi bank in 1850. In the same year, Silas Lane claimed land near the old post.[^5] In 1851 Ard Godfrey and John C. Jamieson bought Lane's claim to use the Elk River's water power.[^5] ## How many The 2010 census recorded 22,974 residents and 8,080 households.[^6] The 2020 census recorded 25,835 residents, 9,134 households, 6,651 families and 9,474 housing units.[^6] The 2024 American Community Survey estimated the following figures:[^6] - 9,835 households, averaging 2.66 persons each - 10,214 housing units - a median household income of $108,741 - about 3.4% of residents living at or below the poverty line The median age was 37.2 years.[^6] The cached article reports, citing the realtor website Zillow, an average home price of $399,244 as of August 31, 2026.[^6] ## In the at-issue record - **AI-Sherburne-076** (rank 76, section *III. The Tax Base Being Retired*, source: Sherburne Energy Brief). The brief states that Elk River has called itself "Energy City" since 1997, after a nonprofit chose it over more than thirty competing communities. In the years since, the brief states, the city lost its nuclear reactor's successor plant, the county's coal units entered retirement, and three data centers did not arrive.[^2] The pair lists two sources, from elkrivermn.gov and startribune.com, and carries the flag that primary-source confirmation of the 1997 designation is not verified.[^2] - **AI-Sherburne-088** (rank 88, section *IV. The Ask*, source: Sherburne Jail Brief). The brief states that demonstrators have gathered on Wednesdays, for years, outside 13880 Business Center Drive NW. According to the brief, the demonstrators say the facility has no outdoor recreation access, which they say federal detention standards require.[^3] The pair lists sources from co.sherburne.mn.us and mnicom.org, and carries the flag that standards compliance is an allegation not independently verified.[^3] ## In the Minnesota record ### Where - Elk River is the seat of Sherburne County, at the confluence of the Elk and Mississippi rivers.[^1] - According to the Sherburne Jail Brief, the county jail at 13880 Business Center Drive NW shares its street address with the [[County Attorney's office]].[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Elk River, Minnesota* (revision 1377112207, retrieved 2026-10-27) — lead and Geography sections: county seat, location and distances, 2020 census count, 2025 estimate, Census Bureau area figures. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_River,_Minnesota [^2]: The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025) — the presidential action to which the project's at-issue pair AI-Sherburne-076 (Sherburne Energy Brief) is anchored; the action does not itself document the "Energy City" designation or the asset losses the brief describes, and the pair flags the 1997 designation as not verified. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^3]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — the presidential action to which the project's at-issue pair AI-Sherburne-088 (Sherburne Jail Brief) is anchored; the action does not itself document the Elk River facility, its address, or the demonstrators' allegation, which the pair flags as not independently verified. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^4]: Wikipedia, *Elk River, Minnesota* (revision 1377112207, retrieved 2026-10-27) — Transportation section: U.S. 10/169 concurrency and split, Highway 101 terminus, Northstar service at Elk River Station from November 2009 to January 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_River,_Minnesota [^5]: Wikipedia, *Elk River, Minnesota* (revision 1377112207, retrieved 2026-10-27) — History section: Dakota–Ojibwe battles of 1772 and 1773, Pike's 1805 naming, the trading post of 1846–1848, and settlement of 1850–1851. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_River,_Minnesota [^6]: Wikipedia, *Elk River, Minnesota* (revision 1377112207, retrieved 2026-10-27) — Demographics section: 2010 and 2020 census counts, 2024 American Community Survey estimates, median age, Zillow home-price figure. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_River,_Minnesota