Kandiyohi

Formed March 20, 1858 (58^th county)

Kandiyohi County (43,733), Willmar (21,020)                

A stone Modern courthouse was built in 1964.  There were 1870 and 1890 courthouses earlier.  The current courthouse was built on Becker Avenue between 5^th and 6^th streets.  United States Highway 12 is two blocks to the north of the courthouse.  Gauger and Associates are the architects.  Marble columns are featured on the front of the facility.  The county was formed on March 20, 1858 from parts of Meeker, Renville, and Stearns counties and Pierce and Davis counties (which no longer exist) as the 58^th county.  Kandiyohi was the original county seat until 1871.  The county is Native American for “where the buffalo fish come.”  The county seat is named for founder Leon Willmar. 

Kandiyohi County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer, an auditor, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Nine District Court Judges serve Kandiyohi, Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Pope, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine counties (judicial.) The county is in south central Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is east of the county.  The county center is in Willmar 2.5 miles East-Southeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Stearns, Meeker, Renville, Chippewa, Swift, and Pope counties. 

The area of the county is 796.1 square miles.  It is 29 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 23 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 54.9 persons per square mile making it 27 out of 87 in the state.  Kandiyohi County has 62.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 12 crosses the county east to west from Meeker County to Swift County.  United States Highway 71 goes north to south from Stearns County to Renville County.  The county is a tall rectangle.  Willmar is in the western third of the county.  Willmar is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 48.1% of the county population.  The county is pronounced KAN-DEE-OE-HIE.  This county is in the Willmar Micropolitan Statistical Area.