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Location & Access Located 35 miles straight north of downtown Minneapolis on Central Avenue (Highway 65), Isanti County offers the closest tax-free JOBZ development zones to Minneapolis. Highway 95 provides easy access to Wisconsin to the east, and St. Cloud to the west. The county’s proximity to Interstate 35 and Highway 169 makes it a place of promise for companies ready to relocate or expand just north of the urban core.
Major Industries & Employment Isanti County is home to more than two dozen tech-intensive manufacturers in diverse industries – including metals, plastics, automotive parts, printing, testing labs, food processing and materials handling. Local companies provide finished goods or parts for medical devices, recreational vehicles, grain-handling equipment, food products, electronic equipment, automobiles and other products. Major employers include Team industries, Arrow Tank & Engineering, and Schlagel.
Population & Workforce Isanti County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state, due to its high quality of life and closeness to the Twin Cities. In 2002, Isanti was the 13th fastest growing county in the nation, based on new housing units. Despite the national housing slump, the Isanti County expansion continues. The population is expected to reach 43,000 by 2112 – an 11% jump from 2007. The workforce is projected to increase at the same pace. As the county seat, Cambridge is at the center of this sustained growth. Isanti County has a diverse workforce that draws from 14 surrounding counties – including those in the Metro MSP region. Nearly half of the workforce currently commutes to the Twin Cities. Expanding local employment opportunities have the potential to keep more of these employees in the county. Wages are typically lower than the Twin Cities core – a bottom-line advantage from local employers.
Transportation The county is connected by excellent highway access, daily BNSF mainline rail freight service between Minneapolis and Duluth, and a number of trucking options. Business travelers have two airport options. Isanti County is less than an hour from Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport and minutes from the Cambridge Municipal Airport.
Quality of Life Relatively low housing and land prices continue to fuel the county’s expansion. This is especially true among families and first-time home buyers. Opportunities for outdoor and indoor recreation abound. Among them is a three-mile hiking and biking trail linking Cambridge and Isanti. The trail was developed with a $200,000 "Active Living by Design" grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, one of only 25 grants awarded in the country.
Demographics Demographic profile of Isanti County
Colleges & Universities Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Cambridge Campus
Major Cities & Populations
Population Estimates: Minnesota Office of State Demographer, 2006
Economic Development Contact Jerry Tvedt, County Coordinator
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