You also might recognize the Pennington County Court by its official name the Pennington County District Court. SR 1, SR 32 and US 59 all meet in Thief River Falls.

Thief River Falls was originally developed as a lumber milling town and later also became a major agricultural service area because of the rich soil in the area. The river running through the city was given the name, "Thief River" by the Ojibwe and Dakota people. The construction of the dam in the 1890's changed a series of rapids in the river to a waterfall giving rise to the addition of "Falls" to the city's name. The Arctic Cat snowmobile was born here and the snowmobile manufactuer remains one of the major employers in the city. Probably one of the reasons the city enjoys a population of close to 8,500.

Hon. Kurt J. Marben