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Ulen, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Ulen City. It lies in ZIP code area 56585. It stands on Stiner Creek. The Survey maps it on the Ulen quadrangle. 476 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,152 feet above sea level.

Ulen within Clay County

Population over time

2 figures

Ulen fell from 547 to 476 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
2010547
2020476-71 (-13%)

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

4 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Ulen between 1993 and 2015, burning about 90 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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
Recreation and ceremony2
Arson/incendiarism2

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
29 July 2005Recreation and ceremony10 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictWET WILLOW
21 April 1993Arson/incendiarism11 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictFLICKER TL
17 March 2015Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictKORELL 1
1 November 1993Arson/incendiarism66 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictFUGLIE

Every fire recorded in Clay County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Ulen: 2 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
Mattson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Ulven Pit & Mill No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Clay County

Storms near this place

31 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ulen in 31 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 13 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2017Thunderstorm WindUlen$250,000Twelve to eighteen inch diameter trees were blown down. Powerlines were also blown down with localized street flooding in Ulen. Wind driven hail damaged fields and buildings.
July 2017Tornado (EF2)Ulen$25,000This tornado began at 742 pm CST, 3 miles north of Borup, in Norman County. This tornado collapsed at least one shed, snapped numerous trees, and tossed large round hay bales across a sugar beet field. It also snapped at least a half dozen wooden power poles. Peak winds were estimated at 125 mph.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindUlen$20,000A tree was blown into a house, damaging the roof. A barn was also heavily damaged.
May 2013FloodUlen$15,000Heavy rains overwhelmed the city lift station and produced widespread street flooding through the early morning. Some water got into structures like garages and outbuildings.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindUlen$2,00012 inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindUlen$500Several trees were blown down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindUlen$500Several trees were damaged.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindUlen$200Tree limbs were blown down.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindUlen-Trees blown down.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindUlen-Public in Ulen reports very large tree blown over with limbs shredded. Time estimated from radar.
July 2022Funnel CloudUlen-Broadcast media partner relayed a public report of a funnel cloud that persisted for over a minute, with no touchdown apparent. Time is estimated based on radar.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindUlen-A tall, two stall garage was collapsed by the wind. Several trees were snapped or uprooted in the surrounding area. Time based on radar.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindUlen-Trees were blown down in a shelterbelt.
May 2019Funnel CloudUlen-A persistent wall cloud with a brief funnel was noted by multiple spotters.
May 2019Funnel CloudUlen-A brief funnel cloud was observed near Ulen.
August 2015HailUlen-Marble to dime size hail was reported.
June 2002Flash FloodUlen-Roads were washed out.
June 2002Flash FloodUlen-County roads were flooded by the heavy rain.
June 2020HailUlen-no account filed
August 2018HailUlen-no account filed
June 2017HailUlen-no account filed
July 2010HailUlen-no account filed
August 2004HailUlen-no account filed
June 2002HailUlen-no account filed
June 2002HailUlen-no account filed
June 2002HailUlen-no account filed
August 2002HailUlen-no account filed
June 1999HailUlen-no account filed
June 1999HailUlen-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindUlen-no account filed
June 1996HailUlen-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Clay 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
Hitterdal7.0 miles8
Manitoba Junction11.9 miles7
Dale12.2 miles7
Winnipeg Junction12.6 miles7
Felton13.1 miles8
Hawley14.0 miles8
Muskoda16.9 miles9
Averill17.0 miles23

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 UlenAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1012341The 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 653486. 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.