Small Town Series

Maple Lake is a town with a population of 2,159 located in northern Wright County in Central Minnesota. Highway 55 and County Road 8 are the main access points to the city. To help tell the story of Maple Lake I was joined by volunteer archivist Sue Sylvester from the Maple Lake Library and former Wright County Archivist Betty Dircks.

Annandale is a small town in Central Minnesota known as "The Heart of the Lakes" due to the 27 lakes within a 10-miles radius of the community. Annandale is located along Highways 24 and 55.

Milaca is a small town located in central Minnesota in Mille Lacs County along Highways 169 and 23. Milaca has a population of 3,021 and is also along the Rum River. Milaca is the county seat in Mille Lacs County.

Pierz is a small town in east central Morrison County in Central Minnesota. It is located along highways 25 and 27 with a population of 1,418. Pierz was settled in the 1860s when Father Francis Xavier Pierz came to Central Minnesota as a missionary to the native Ojibwe people.

Bowlus is a town of 279 people that was settled in the early 1900s, platted in 1907 and became incorporated in 1910. Bowlus has an operating post office since 1907, a lumberyard, meat market, hair salon, restaurant, gas station, liquor store, boutique, fire department, park with bike trail going through it, Legion, and Catholic Church.

Paynesville, Minnesota is a town with a population of 2,432 in southwestern Stearns County. The town was named after Edwin E. Payne and was platted in 1857. The town consisted of 3 individual settlements known as North Town, Old Town and Jim Town.

Eden Valley is a small town located in both Stearns and Meeker counties in Central Minnesota. The town's population is 1,027 as of the 2020 census. It can be found along the intersection of Highway 55 and Highway 22.

Clearwater is a town in northwestern Wright County with a population of 1,922. It can be accessed on Interstate 94 and Highway 24. The town is 12 miles southeast of St. Cloud, 16 miles northwest of Monticello and 16 miles north of Annandale. To help tell the story of Clearwater I was joined by local historian Elaine Paumen.

Foley is a town of 2,603 people located where Highways 23 and 25 intersect in Benton County. Mary Ostby is the Executive Director of the Benton County Historical Society. She and Mayor Elect Jack Brosh joined me on WJON to talk about Foley.

Watkins is a town of 962 people located in northern Meeker County along Highway 55 west of Kimball and east of Eden Valley. It was established in the 1870s and has had a post office since 1887.