SAINT CLOUD

city, seat of Stearns county, central Minnesota, U.S., at the junction of the Mississippi and Sauk rivers, in a dairy- farming and grain region, 67 miles (108 km) northwest of Minneapolis. It extends eastward across the Mississippi to include parts of Benton and Sherburne counties. Originally a fur-trading post, it was laid out in 1854 and named for the French city. During the Sioux uprising of 1862 the settlement served as a refuge for fleeing homesteaders. It is the seat of St. Cloud State University (1869) and the Minnesota State Reformatory (1887). Nearby are St. John's University (1857) at Collegeville and the College of St. Benedict (1913) at St. Joseph. St. Cloud is known as the Granite City, and its quarries have been worked since 1870. Its diverse economy includes building and repairing of railroad cars and the manufacture of refrigeration equipment, building stone and monuments, paper, and metal products. Inc. village, 1856; city, 1868. Pop. (1990) city, 48,812; metropolitan area (MSA), 190,921.