Hennepin County, Minnesota

Hennepin County is a located in the  of, named in honor of the  French explorer Father. As of 2000 the population was 1,116,200. Its is. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live in Hennepin County. The of Minnesota is located in Hennepin County, in the city of.

History
Hennepin County was created in 1852 by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. Father 's name was chosen due to the fact he originally named and recorded some of the earliest accounts of the area for the Western world. Hennepin County's early history is closely linked to the establishment of the cities of Minneapolis and St. Anthony.

Law and government
Like all counties in Minnesota, Hennepin is governed by an elected and board of commissioners. In Minnesota, county commissions usually have five members, but Hennepin,, and counties have seven members. Each commissioner represents a district of equal population. In Hennepin the county commission appoints the, county - and county recorder. The and county attorney are also elected on a nonpartisan ticket. The county government's headquarters are in  in the. They county oversees the system, which in 2008 will merge with and incorporate the  system.

The county commission elects a who presides at meetings. Commissioners as of May 2007

Key Staff
Hennepin County's normal operations are coordinated by the County Administrator Richard Johnson and Assistant County Administrator Gothriel "Cindy" LaFleur. The various departments are headed by Thomas Merkel (Corrections), Mike Freeman (Attorney, [elected]),

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,571 (606 ). 1,442 km² (557 sq mi) of it is land and 129 km² (50 sq mi) of it (8.21%) is water. The highest on the, the , discovered by Louis Hennepin, is in Hennepin County next to downtown Minneapolis, but in the 19th century, the falls were converted to a series of s. Barges and boats now pass through  to move  between the parts of the river above and below the dams.

Adjacent counties

 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (northwest)

Economy
Hennepin County has major economic centers in downtown Minneapolis and Bloomington.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 1,116,200 people, 456,129 households, and 267,291 families residing in the county. The was 774/km² (2,005/sq mi). There were 468,824 housing units at an average density of 325/km² (842/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 80.53%, 8.95% or , 1.00% , 4.80% , 0.05% , 2.06% from , and 2.60% from two or more races. 4.07% of the population were or  of any race. 22.8% were of, 12.0% , 7.6% and 7.2%  ancestry according to. There were 456,129 households out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.30% were living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.40% were non-families. 31.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 33.70% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,711, and the median income for a family was $65,985. Males had a median income of $42,466 versus $32,400 for females. The for the county was $28,789. About 5.00% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.

Hennepin County is the wealthiest county in the state of Minnesota and one of 100.

Cities and towns
† While mostly in Hennepin County, the city extends beyond the county border. ‡ Located in another county, but a part of the city extends into Hennepin County.

Colleges and universities

 * Anoka-Hennepin Technical College in Anoka
 * in downtown west, Minneapolis
 * Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Eden Prairie, and Plymouth
 * in downtown west, Minneapolis
 * Normandale Community College in Bloomington
 * , Twin Cities Campus in southeast Minneapolis

Library merger
In 2007, a merger proposal of the Minneapolis Public Library system into the Hennepin County Library system was being considered.

Smoking ban
In, Hennepin County enacted a county-wide indoor ban. Bar business depressed over the short run, as smokers went into neighboring counties to light up, but has since returned closer to normal, especially in the  clubs that are among the most popular  venues in the state. In, to great controversy, county officials responded to lobbying efforts from bar owners and returned smoking to bars located outside of Minneapolis, Bloomington and Golden Valley, which have their own municipal smoking bans.

In August of 2006, the Board voted 4-3 to levy a 0.15% within the county to fund the majority of the cost for a  stadium for the. Legislation passed by the in the waning hours of the 2005-2006 session, and signed by Governor, authorized the county to levy the tax without a voter referendum. It also created the which will construct and manage the stadium on behalf of the county. The tax will be in effect for 30 years, with clauses allowing it to be increased by the board of commissioners.