Thief River Falls

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Thief River Falls marked the limit of navigation on the Red Lake River. The eponymous town site was established in 1887 and later incorporated as a city in 1896. In the Treaty of Old Crossing of 1863, the Moose Dung's Indian Reservation was established on the west bank of the Thief River, at its confluence with Red Lake River. This Indian Reservation was dissolved in 1904 and their population incorporated as part of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. The city is located at the confluence of the Red Lake and Thief rivers. U.S. Highway 59 and Minnesota State Highways 1 and 32 are the three main routes in the community. Thief River Falls is located approximately 70 miles south of the Canada–United States border and 52 miles northeast of Grand Forks, North Dakota, in the northwest region of Minnesota. The city has a humid continental climate (Dwb) with warm to hot summers and cold to severely cold winters.

In Their Own Story

Thief River Falls is home to snowmobile manufacturer Arctic Cat, which can trace its roots to former Polaris Industries founder Edgar Hetteen who left Polaris in 1960 and started Polar Manufacturing in Thief River Falls. Shortly after changing name to Arctic Enterprises, the new company produced snowmobiles. A few snowless winters in the early 1980s bankrupted the 20-year-old company, which closed its facilities by 1982. In 1984, Arctic Cat was reborn under a new company name, Arctco, which was changed to Arctic Cat in 1996. It was announced at the end of 2024 that Arctic Cat would close during the first half of 2025 in Thief River Falls. Digi-Key Electronics, one of the largest electronics distributors in North America, started in 1972 with Dr. Ronald A. Stordahl's interest in ham radio, which led him to assemble and sell digital electronic keyer kits to other ham radio operators for sending radiotelegraph messages. Steiger Tractors were invented by Douglas and Maurice Steiger from Thief River Falls during the 1950s. The brothers built their first tractor the winter of 1957–58 after seeing a need to cover their ground more efficiently. Steiger filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1986, and was soon after sold to Tenneco, parent company of J. I. Case.

Reader's Guide

Thief River Falls is situated on the junction of two rivers, Red Lake River from the east-southeast and the Thief River from the north. The proximity to forests and shipping made Thief River Falls ideal for logging. In the late 19th century the Great Northern Railway was built, and in 1904, the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (“Soo Line”) passed through on its route from Saint Paul to Winnipeg. Branches were later built to Drake, North Dakota, and Duluth, Minnesota. The Minnesota Northwestern Electric Railway, an electric-powered passenger train, ran from Thief River Falls to Goodridge between 1914 and 1940. Today, Canadian Pacific Railway and Minnesota Northern Railroad occupy tracks through town. Soo Line engine 1024 rests outside city hall (formerly the Soo Line Depot). Thief River Falls is home to Thief River Falls Public Schools, operating a high school (Lincoln High School), middle school (Franklin Middle School), and elementary school (Challenger Elementary School). Benefactor Ralph Engelstad, who was raised in Thief River Falls, built an $11.5 million hockey arena for the high school hockey team, called Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Did You Know?

• The name of the Thief River is a loose translation of the Ojibwe phrase Gimood-akiwi ziibi, meaning 'Stolen-land river' or 'Thieving-land river'.
• In the Treaty of Old Crossing of 1863, the Moose Dung's Indian Reservation was established on the west bank of the Thief River, at its confluence with Red Lake River.
• Arctic Cat was originally founded as Polar Manufacturing in Thief River Falls in 1960 by Edgar Hetteen, who had previously founded Polaris Industries.
• Digi-Key Electronics started in 1972 when Dr. Ronald A. Stordahl assembled and sold digital electronic keyer kits to ham radio operators.
• Steiger Tractors were invented by Douglas and Maurice Steiger from Thief River Falls, who built their first tractor in the winter of 1957–58.