Polk County, Minnesota  Polk County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 31,600 at the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is Crookston, and the largest community is East Grand Forks. Polk County is part of the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. In one of its early acts as a state entity, the Minnesota legislature created the county on July 20, 1858, but did not organize it at that time. The county was named for the 11th president of the United States, James Knox Polk, who signed the Congressional Act that organized the Minnesota Territory. The county was organized in 1872 and 1873, with the newly settled community of Crookston as the county seat. Polk County lies on Minnesota's border with North Dakota (across the Red River). The Red Lake River flows west through the upper central part of the county, discharging into the Red at Grand Forks. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, devoted to agriculture. The county slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near its southeast corner, at 1,519' (463m) ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 31,369 people, 12,070 households, and 8,050 families in the county. The population density was 15.9/sqmi (6.14/km²). There were 14,008 housing units at an average density of 7.11/sqmi (2.74/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.18% White, 0.33% Black or African American, 1.30% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.57% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 4.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 41.7% were of Norwegian, 19.7% German and 5.8% French ancestry. There were 12,070 households out of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.