BlockBefore

Spicer, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Spicer City. It lies in ZIP code area 56288. The Survey maps it on the Spicer quadrangle. 1,112 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,171 feet above sea level.

Spicer within Kandiyohi County

On record in Spicer

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Spicer fell from 1,167 to 1,112 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,167
20201,112-55 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

1 since 2020

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Spicer in 2020, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. None was 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
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Kandiyohi County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Spicer: 9 producers. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
De Cathelineau PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Eagle Lake Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Elliot PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Mcbroom PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Oscar Erickson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Ringo Lake PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Ringo Lake Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Tallakson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Willmar Realty PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Kandiyohi County

Storms near this place

27 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spicer in 27 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 11 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 1 strong wind. The reports record 2 injuries. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2001Tornado (F1)Spicer2 hurtSheds and pole barns down. Church lost part of its roof. Two people were injured when their truck and camper were flung to the edge of a lake.
August 2020Tornado (EF1)Spicer$250,000A NWS survey, plus storm chasers video indicated an EF-1 tornado across portions of eastern Kandiyohi County, or the Irving Township area. This tornado destroyed one large shed and heavily damaged another. Drone video indicated the exact track of the tornado as it moved into Meeker County.
July 2009Tornado (EF1)Spicer$250,000A National Weather Service storm survey, plus visual reports and video, confirmed that a tornado moved through portions of Kandiyohi County near the town of Spicer. Portions of downtown Spicer were damaged, including the partial destruction of the upper level of a home, roof damage to multiple houses, several outbuildings destroyed, and a dozen or more car windows blown out at the local Green Mall parking lot. Maximum wind damage was estimated between 100 to 110 mph.
August 2020Tornado (EF0)Spicer$100,000An NWS survey found EF-0 tornado damage along and south of Green Lake around Spicer. The county emergency manager reported portion of a metal roof was blown off near the beginning of the tornado. As it moved northeast, dozens of trees were snapped, and docks along the lake sustained damage. The tornado was documented on several videos, and drone images also provided information on the damage path, including the ending point of the tornado.
April 2014LightningSpicer$50,000An early-morning lightning strike ignited a fire that caused extensive damage to a house overlooking Green Lake near Spicer, Minnesota. The lightning sparked a fire which destroyed a utility room and moved upward to the second story and roof. The interior suffered smoke damage, the electrical system was destroyed, and there was other charring and heat damage.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindSpicer$10,000Power poles were blown down near Spicer.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindSpicer$10,000A National Weather Service storm survey found straight-line wind damage associated with the rear-flank downdraft of the tornadic thunderstorm that went through Spicer. Localized extensive tree damage was observed where winds were estimated between 90 and 100 mph.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindSpicer-A thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 60 mph downed two trees in Dovre Township.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindSpicer-The local emergency manager, and a local cooperative observer reported numerous trees, some up to 30 inches in diameter, blown down from north of Willmar to Green Lake, or around Spicer.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindSpicer-Several power lines were blown down and caused power outages around the area.
June 2005HailSpicer-Nickel sized hail fell at the intersection of Highway 71 and County Road 10.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindSpicer-A garage under construction on 113th Ave. NE (Route 10) was damaged. The time was estimated.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindSpicer-Large branches were downed.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindSpicer-Scattered trees down. Boats and docks lifted on Green Lake.
June 2001HailSpicer-Wind driven large hail caused major damage across Kandiyohi County. Damage estimate for the county is listed with the 3 S Sunburg to 1 E Atwater listing.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindSpicer-Several residences and vehicles damaged from falling trees.
May 1997Strong WindSpicer-Roof torn off cabin on southeast shore of Lake Florida. Wind estimated at 45 knots.
September 2020HailSpicer-no account filed
September 2020HailSpicer-no account filed
May 2012HailSpicer-no account filed
August 2011HailSpicer-no account filed
July 2008HailSpicer-no account filed
September 2005HailSpicer-no account filed
June 2002HailSpicer-no account filed
July 1999HailSpicer-no account filed
May 1998HailSpicer-no account filed
August 1993Thunderstorm WindSpicer-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kandiyohi County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
New London4.7 miles8
Kandiyohi7.0 miles10
Willmar9.4 miles10
Hawick9.9 miles8
Parkwood Estates10.5 miles10
Atwater10.8 miles10
Norway Lake10.9 miles8
Regal13.0 miles8

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 SpicerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2088811The 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 652380. 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.