Warroad, Minnesota

Warroad is a city in Roseau County, Minnesota, United States, at the southwest corner of Lake of the Woods, 7.5 mi south of Canada. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census. Warroad had its own newspaper before it was incorporated in 1901.

Minnesota State Highways 11 and 313 are two of the city's main routes.

History


Warroad was once one of the largest Ojibwe villages on Lake of the Woods. The Ojibwe fought a long war against the Sioux for the lake's rice fields. Occupying the prairies of the Red River Valley, the Sioux often invaded the territory by way of the Red and Roseau Rivers, a route that ended at the mouth of the Warroad River. This was the old "war road" from which the river and village derive their name.

In the 20th century, Warroad had a strong commercial fishing industry, which gradually turned to sport fishing and tourism. For many years, commercial boats provided regular service to the islands and to Kenora, Ontario, at the north end of Lake of the Woods.

Warroad is also called "Hockeytown USA" for its strong hockey tradition. The Warroad High School program has earned four men's state championship titles (1994, 1996, 2003, 2005) and four women's (2010, 2011, 2022, 2023) over 20 years, and has produced NHL and Olympic players. No U.S. Hockey Olympic men's team has won a gold medal without a player from Warroad. Another important piece of Warroad hockey history is the Warroad Lakers amateur team, which existed from 1947 to 1997.

Geography
Warroad is along the southwest shore of Lake of the Woods at Muskeg Bay, east of Roseau and west of Baudette. Warroad is 7.5 miles south of Canada. The Warroad River flows through town. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 2.90 sqmi, of which 2.79 sqmi is land and 0.11 sqmi is water.

Climate
Warroad has a humid continental climate, moderately moist, in central North America but drier than those found in New England or Ontario Eastern (Dfb in the Koppen classification). It has one of the most rigorous winters in the contiguous United States, in which cold Arctic air can invade unobstructed and stay for up to a few weeks, and at its latitude, the hours of winter sunshine are relatively short, increasing the chill hours relative to other places of similar altitude. Summers are moderately hot to hot as air masses advance from the Gulf of Mexico, especially in July and August, although the average annual temperature is 36.6 F and 27.69 in of precipitation annually, concentrated heavily in summer.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,781 people, 764 households, and 452 families residing in the city. The population density was 638.4 PD/sqmi. There were 839 housing units at an average density of 300.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 83.3% White, 0.1% African American, 5.7% Native American, 8.5% Asian, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population.

There were 764 households, of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.8% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.93.

The median age in the city was 38.9 years. 25% of residents were under the age of 18; 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,722 people, 657 households, and 419 families residing in the city. The population density was 254.7 /km2. There were 766 housing units at an average density of 113.3 /km2. The racial makeup of the city was 81.65% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 7.38% Native American, 9.18% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. 0.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to the 2000 US Census, the town had the US's highest percentage of Laotian Americans.

There were 657 households, out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,948, and the median income for a family was $44,667. Males had a median income of $27,123 versus $22,465 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,412. 8.8% of the population and 7.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.7% of those under the age of 18 and 7.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Newspaper
The Warroad Pioneer was Warroad's newspaper for 120 years until its final edition on May 7, 2019.

Radio

 * KRXW FM 103.5, KKWQ FM 92.5, and KRWB (AM) 1410, all broadcast from Warroad

Notable people

 * Robert Baril, stand-up comedian
 * Henry Boucha, former NHL player and 1972 Winter Olympic Silver Medalist, hockey. Born and raised in Warroad. Member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
 * Bill Christian, 1960 Winter Olympian, Gold Medalist, hockey. Member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame.
 * Dave Christian, former NHL player and 1980 Winter Olympic Gold Medalist, hockey. Member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
 * Gordon Christian, 1956 Winter Olympian, Silver Medalist, hockey.
 * Roger Christian, 1960 Winter Olympian, Gold Medalist, hockey. Member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
 * Alan Hangsleben, former NHL player born in Warroad.
 * Gigi Marvin, member of the U.S. national women's ice hockey team, and gold medalist. Marvin made a goal in the shootout against Canada in the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic game where Team USA went on to win Gold. She also won a silver medal at the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Her grandfather is Cal Marvin, the coach of the 1958 United States Men's National Ice Hockey Team.
 * Brock Nelson, NHL player (New York Islanders)
 * T. J. Oshie, NHL player for the Washington Capitals, helped Warroad's high school hockey team win the state championship. Scored winning goal in the eighth round of the shootout in the 2014 Winter Olympics for the U.S., beating Team Russia in a preliminary game. 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Champion with the Capitals.
 * Sheila Terry, actress, 1910–1957

Popular culture
In the television show The West Wing, character Donna Moss claims to be from Warroad in the episode "Dead Irish Writers". She becomes classified as a non-U.S. citizen when the Canada–US border is moved such that Warroad is in Canada.