Kinney, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Kinney is a city in Saint Louis County
, Minnesota
, United States
. The population was 169 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Highway 169
is nearby.
, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (5.77%) is water.
of 2000, there were 199 people, 82 households, and 61 families residing in the city. The population density
was 43.6 people per square mile (16.8/km²). There were 88 housing units at an average density of 19.3 per square mile (7.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.47% White, 2.01% Native American, and 3.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.02% of the population. 25.3% were of Finnish, 19.2% German
, 8.9% Irish
, 8.2% Norwegian
, 6.8% Swedish, 6.2% French Canadian
and 6.2% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 82 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.73.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 111.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $33,125. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $17,361 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $14,756. About 9.4% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
and a supportive Kinney City Council sent the following July 13, 1977, 'tongue-in-cheek
' secession
letter to U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance
:
The secession was never officially acknowledged by Vance or the U.S. The news story broke locally in the Mesabi Daily News
on February 5, 1978, in an article by Ginny Wennen entitled "Move over Monaco, here comes Kinney." The story garnered national and international attention beginning on February 7, 1978, when the story was featured on the NBC Nightly News with David Brinkley.
Jeno Paulucci
, a businessman based in Duluth
, Minnesota
, was the first to acknowledge the new republic and offer ‘foreign aid’ in the form of a dark brown 1974 Ford LTD police squad car and 10 cases of Jenos Sausage Pizza Mix on February 13, 1978. The squad car was painted with a Republic of Kinney shield on the driver’s side that read “Commander in Chief, Republic of Kinney,” and “Chief of Police, Kinney, Mn.” on the passenger side.
In November 1978, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) approved $198,000 grant, allocated in three payments of $66,000 per year from the Taconite Area Environmental Protection Fund, to repair the existing water system, construct cement runoff basins, and install additional fire hydrants.
The Republic of Kinney would go on to create and sell over 1,600 passports alone between March and April 1978 at $1.00 apiece. Later the republic created buttons, t-shirts, and even a summer festival called ‘Secession Days’, which was first held during the weekend of August 1 & 2, 1987.
The City of Kinney celebrated the 30th anniversary of its "independence" as the Republic of Kinney during the weekend of July 13–15, 2007. In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Kinney secession, the City of Kinney published the book Republic of Kinney.
St. Louis County, Minnesota
St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 200,226. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county by total area in Minnesota, and the second largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River; in land area alone, after Aroostook...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 169 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Highway 169
U.S. Route 169
U.S. Route 169 currently runs for 966 miles from the city of Virginia, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma at U.S. Route 64.-Oklahoma:U.S. Highway 169 is a major south–north highway spanning in Oklahoma. The southern terminus for US-169 is Memorial Drive...
is nearby.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (5.77%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 199 people, 82 households, and 61 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 43.6 people per square mile (16.8/km²). There were 88 housing units at an average density of 19.3 per square mile (7.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.47% White, 2.01% Native American, and 3.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.02% of the population. 25.3% were of Finnish, 19.2% German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, 8.9% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, 8.2% Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
, 6.8% Swedish, 6.2% French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
and 6.2% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 82 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.73.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 111.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $33,125. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $17,361 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,756. About 9.4% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
Republic of Kinney
By 1977, the City of Kinney, with a population of 325 according to the 1970 census, suffered from a failing water system, and was faced with a staggering replacement cost of $186,000. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to secure funding from state and federal agencies due to bureaucratic red tape, agencies such as: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), and the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Commission (IRRRC), the city council was led to believe that it would be easier to receive foreign aid if Kinney seceded from the union, declared war, and lost immediately. Mayor Mary AndersonMary Anderson (Mayor, Kinney, MN)
Mary "Polly" Anderson was an American political figure on the Iron Range. Described as “feisty” and someone who “personified the spirit of the Iron Range,” she worked tirelessly to improve the lives of her neighbors as an active DFLer and the mayor of Kinney, Minnesota.-Life:She was born in...
and a supportive Kinney City Council sent the following July 13, 1977, 'tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
' secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
letter to U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Roberts Vance was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980...
:
City of Kinney
Clerk’s Office
KINNEY, MINNESOTA 55758
July 13, 1977
Honorable Cyrus Vance
Secretary of State
Washington, D.C.
BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Kinney, in Kinney, Minnesota, has decided to secede from the United States of America, and become a foreign country. Our area is large enough for it. We are twelve square blocks, three blocks wide and four blocks long. We will be similar to MonacoMonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. It is much easier to get assistance as a foreign country, which we need badly, and there is no paper work to worry about. If necessary, we will be glad to declare war and lose. However, if this is a requirement, we would appreciate being able to surrender real quick, as our Mayor works as a nurse in a hospital, and most of our council members work in a nearby mine and cannot get much time off from work.
CITY COUNCIL OF VILLAGE OF KINNEY
Mary Anderson, Mayor
Margaret Medure, Clerk
Al Helmin, Councilman
Lloyd Linnell, Councilman
Myron Holcomb, Councilman
Jim Randall, Village Attorney
The secession was never officially acknowledged by Vance or the U.S. The news story broke locally in the Mesabi Daily News
Mesabi Daily News
The Mesabi Daily News is a newspaper published in Virginia, Minnesota. It has a Sunday circulation of 10,000.The newspaper was founded in 1893 as the Virginia Enterprise and switched to its current name in 1945....
on February 5, 1978, in an article by Ginny Wennen entitled "Move over Monaco, here comes Kinney." The story garnered national and international attention beginning on February 7, 1978, when the story was featured on the NBC Nightly News with David Brinkley.
Jeno Paulucci
Jeno Paulucci
Jeno F. Paulucci was an American businessman and entrepreneur famous for starting over seventy companies during his long career. Paulucci's most well-known ventures included his frozen food company, Michelina's Inc., and food products such as Jeno's Pizza Rolls and the Chun King line of Chinese food...
, a businessman based in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, was the first to acknowledge the new republic and offer ‘foreign aid’ in the form of a dark brown 1974 Ford LTD police squad car and 10 cases of Jenos Sausage Pizza Mix on February 13, 1978. The squad car was painted with a Republic of Kinney shield on the driver’s side that read “Commander in Chief, Republic of Kinney,” and “Chief of Police, Kinney, Mn.” on the passenger side.
In November 1978, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) approved $198,000 grant, allocated in three payments of $66,000 per year from the Taconite Area Environmental Protection Fund, to repair the existing water system, construct cement runoff basins, and install additional fire hydrants.
The Republic of Kinney would go on to create and sell over 1,600 passports alone between March and April 1978 at $1.00 apiece. Later the republic created buttons, t-shirts, and even a summer festival called ‘Secession Days’, which was first held during the weekend of August 1 & 2, 1987.
The City of Kinney celebrated the 30th anniversary of its "independence" as the Republic of Kinney during the weekend of July 13–15, 2007. In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Kinney secession, the City of Kinney published the book Republic of Kinney.
See also
- U.S. Highway 169U.S. Route 169U.S. Route 169 currently runs for 966 miles from the city of Virginia, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma at U.S. Route 64.-Oklahoma:U.S. Highway 169 is a major south–north highway spanning in Oklahoma. The southern terminus for US-169 is Memorial Drive...