Mahnomen County is contained entirely within the White Earth Indian Reservation—the only such county in Minnesota. Due to the Nelson Act of 1889, land was allowed to be sold to non-natives and as a consequence Mahnomen, the county seat on the Wild Rice River, is predominantly non-native. The name “Mahnomen” translates to “wild rice” in the Ojibwe language.
Planning a visit? Stay at Shooting Star Casino & RV Park.
Raising grain and cattle are the traditional mainstays of the region, but the economic engine that drives Mahnomen is the Shooting Star Casino, delivering big-name entertainment and Las Vegas-style gaming. The nearby Mahnomen Country Club on the White Earth River began in a pasture in 1935, today the Mahnomen Shortstop at the public course reins as one of the oldest match play tournaments in the Gopher State.
The B.C. Ness Mahnomen County Historical Museum on Main Street opens in summer with agricultural, Native American and northern plains exhibits. Three nearby river systems and more than 500 lakes conspire to create over 48,000 acres and 300 miles of sportfishing waters for walleyes, northern pike and largemouth bass. And all that wild rice growing along the rivers attract turkeys for hunters.