Karlstad, Minnesota
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Karlstad City. It lies in ZIP code area 56732. The Survey maps it on the Karlstad quadrangle. 710 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,050 feet above sea level.
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Population over time
2 figuresKarlstad fell from 760 to 710 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 760 | |
| 2020 | 710 | -50 (-7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1952 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Karlstad quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Karlstad quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Hallock quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
253 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 253 fires within 5 miles of Karlstad between 1992 and 2020, burning about 27,754 acres in total. None started naturally. 172 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 172 |
| Debris and open burning | 52 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 88 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,440 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | COUNTY 27 FIRE |
| 30 September 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 September 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 75 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 September 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 24 September 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Karlstad: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karlstad Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
36 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Karlstad in 36 storm reports between 1996 and 2022: 16 hail, 15 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | $600,000 | The county highway department building was severely damaged. Equipment in the building was also damaged. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph based on extreme structural damage and related tree damage. Trees and power lines were down all around Karlstad. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | $200,000 | Widespread wind damage was noted across Deerwood and Arveson townships. Numerous large tree limbs were broken down in yards, shelterbelts, and groves. Peak winds were estimated at 85 to 95 mph. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Karlstad | $20,000 | Fields and farm access roads were flooded between Karlstad and Halma in western Deerwood Township. |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Karlstad | $5,000 | Street flooding was reported in Karlstad after 3.95 inches of rain fell. |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | Peak wind was measured at a RAWS station near highway 11. Time estimated based on radar and other nearby wind sensor reports. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | Peak wind was measured at the Kittson RAWS station in the Twin Lakes Wildlife Management Area. Time estimated based on radar. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | The strong wind gusts caused minor damage to a house and blew down tree branches. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | The wind gust was measured by a RAWS mesonet sensor. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | The wind gust was measured by a RAWS mesonet sensor. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | Numerous trees were snapped in shelterbelts and groves. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | The wind gust was measured at the Kittson RAWS station. Numerous tree branches were broken down in and around Karlstad. |
| September 2018 | Hail | Karlstad | - | The hail was mostly dime to nickel size. |
| July 2015 | Flood | Karlstad | - | Ditches and fields were flooded between Stephen and Karlstad. |
| July 2011 | Hail | Karlstad | - | The hail was mostly pea sized, but there were a few quarters mixed in. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | Several large branches were blown down just east of Pelan. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Karlstad | - | Hail covered highway 11. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | Numerous 4 to 12 inch diameter tree branches were broken off. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | The strong wind knocked down power lines. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | Several trees and power lines were blown down in Karlstad. A portion of the Cenex fertilizer plant roof was blown off. |
| July 2005 | Hail | Karlstad | - | Most of the hail was dime to quarter size. |
| July 2005 | Hail | Karlstad | - | Dime to golfball sized hail fell. |
| July 2005 | Hail | Karlstad | - | Pea sized hail covered the ground, mixed with a few hailstones up to a nickel size. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Karlstad | - | The tornado touched down just south of highway 11. |
| August 2004 | Hail | Karlstad | - | Hail covered the ground. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Karlstad | - | The tornado touched down in an open field. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Karlstad | - | The roof on an apartment building was lifted up 4 feet before settling back down. Numerous trees were blown down. |
| July 2011 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Karlstad | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deerwood | 4.0 miles | 10 | |
| Halma | 7.2 miles | 10 | |
| Pelan | 8.1 miles | 10 | |
| Lake Bronson | 13.3 miles | 10 | |
| Enok | 13.7 miles | 11 | |
| Donaldson | 19.9 miles | 11 | |
| Kennedy | 21.1 miles | 11 | |
| Chatham (historical) | 23.4 miles | 11 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Karlstad | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1924672 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 646041. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






