Dakota

Formed October 27, 1849 (2^nd county)

Dakota County (439,884), Hastings (22,165), Lakeville (69,496)                

The Modern courthouse was built in 1974 and sits on Frontage Street at General Sieben Street.  Minnesota State Highway 55 is 1 block to the south of the courthouse.  Ellerbe Architects provided the dark red masonry and tan brick designs.  It was enlarged in 1988.  An Administration Center was constructed in 1990.  The old courthouse was built in 1870 and remodeled in 1955.  Kaposia (1853), Mendota (1854), and Hastings (1857) have all been the county seat.  The county was organized on October 27, 1849 as the 2^nd county.  It is named for the Native American tribe.  It originally extended from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River across Minnesota and North Dakota.  The county seat’s name was the middle name of one of the city founders.  Dakota County was the birthplace of 2 Minnesota Governors, Harold E. Stassen and Karl F. Rolvaag. 

Dakota County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer, an auditor, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Thirty-nine District Court Judges serve Dakota, Carver, Goodhue, Le Sueur, McLeod, Scott, and Sibley counties (judicial.) The county is in eastern Minnesota directly south of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The Mississippi River is its northeast border.  The county center is 15 miles West of Hastings nearer Rosemount.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Ramsey and Washington counties and Wisconsin and Goodhue, Rice, Scott, and Hennepin counties. 

The area of the county is 569.6 square miles.  It is 57 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 3 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 772.3 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 87 in the state.  Dakota County has 96.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highways 35E/35W enter the county from the northeast (Ramsey County) and northwest (Hennepin County), respectively, join to form Interstate Highway 35 and exit south into Rice County.  United States Highway 52 goes northwest to southeast from Hennepin County to Goodhue County.  United States Highway 61 goes north to south from Washington County to Goodhue County.  The county is shaped like a pistol pointing north.  Hastings is in the northeast corner of the county and extends into Washington County.  Lakeville is in the northwest of the county.  Hastings is the county seat and Lakeville is the largest city.  Hastings is 5.0% of the county population while Lakeville is 15.8% of the county population.  The largest city is pronounced EE-GAN.  This county is in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area.