Which county in Minnesota touches the most other counties in Minnesota?

The key to winning this title is being a big county surrounded by smaller counties, yet not being a border county. The result is a tie between Beltrami County and Stearns County. Both touch nine other Minnesota counties.

Some that touch eight counties are Cass, Aitkin and Renville. Mille Lacs, Blue Earth, Otter Tail and Hennepin touch seven counties. The biggest county, St. Louis, only touches five other counties, but that’s what happens when your northern border is Canada and your southern border is Wisconsin. We are only talking Minnesota counties here.

Here is an easier question: Which county in Minnesota touches the least other counties in Minnesota?

Of course, it is Cook County, the tip of the Arrowhead. Cook only touches one county, and that is Lake County.

Is there any other place in the United States where a county only touches one other county in the same state? Yes, in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Cimarron County only touches Texas County. On the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, Clallam County only touches Jefferson County. Populous El Paso County in Texas only touches sparse Hudspeth County. In the Florida Panhandle, Escambia County touches only Santa Rosa County. The list goes on of isolated counties: Keweenaw County in Michigan, Door County in Wisconsin, Boundary County in Idaho, Hawaii and Kauai counties in Hawaii, and Sussex and New Castle counties in Delaware.

How many interstate highways cross Freeborn County?

That’s easy. Two. They are I-35 and I-90.

How many interstates cross Minnesota? Remember, the key word is cross.

The answer is two. I-35 does not cross the state. It ends in Duluth. Only I-90 and I-94 cross Minnesota.

OK, wise guy, how many interstates exist in Minnesota?

The answer is eight. They are I-35, I-90, I-94, I-35W, I-35E, I-394, I-494 and I-694.

True or false? Where Freeborn, Mower, Dodge and Steele counties meet is a true four corners.

False. Mower touches Steel but Freeborn does not touch Dodge. The boundary running north-south between Steele and Dodge is off by about two furlongs from the north-south boundary between Freeborn and Mower. It must have been a good spot for a correction line. If you don’t know what a correction line is, you probably are from the city and not the country.

Who can make it better, a country kid in the city or a city kid in the county? A country kid in the city. (Hey, it’s my column.)

Can you name the Minnesota counties that surround Freeborn County?

Well, you know you can rule out Dodge County. That means only Mower, Faribault, Waseca and Steele counties touch Freeborn.

Can you name the two Iowa counties that border Freeborn County?

That should be easy. They are Winnebago and Worth counties.

True or false? More Iowa counties border Minnesota than Minnesota counties border Iowa.

True. Iowa generally has smaller counties than Minnesota. Eleven counties in Iowa touch the border, while nine counties in Minnesota touch it.

OK, let’s test some of them local fishermen who like to head north. Can you name the two Canadian provinces that border Minnesota?

They are Manitoba and Ontario.

Can you name the seven Minnesota counties that border Canada?

They are Kittson, Roseau, Lake of the Woods, Koochiching, St. Louis, Lake and Cook.

Can you name the Minnesota county that borders both Ontario and Manitoba?

The answer is Lake of the Woods County.

OK, here’s a tricky question: Canadian provinces are divided into districts, instead of counties? Can you name the districts in Manitoba and Ontario that border Minnesota?

In Manitoba, they are Franklin, Stuartburn and Piney. In Ontario, they are Kenora, Rainy River and Thunder Bay.

The U.S. Census Bureau provides many interesting statistics. One is the average travel time to work. What county in Minnesota ranks the highest for average travel time to work?

Isanti County. People there take an average of 33 minutes to get to work. After that, the next counties are nearby Isanti, in this order: Chisago, Kanabec and Pine. Freeborn County ranks 50th out of the 87 counties in Minnesota. It seems that Minnesotans in the southern and western areas take less time to reach work than their northern and metro counterparts. Stevens County ranks 87th.

Many people wonder about Freeborn County’s aging population. At 26.5 percent, Traverse County has the highest percentage of population older than 65. It’s followed in rank by Lincoln, Big Stone, Lac qui Parle, Aitkin, Grant, Faribault, Cottonwood, Kittson and Pope counties. Freeborn comes in at 26th among the 87 counties, with 18.9 percent over 65.

Minnesota ranks 48th in the country among states when it comes to the poverty rate, which is a good thing. Only Connecticut and New Hampshire have less poverty. Within Minnesota, Beltrami County has the worst poverty rate, followed by Mahnomen, Clearwater, Wadena and Stevens counties. Freeborn County ranks 55th. Mower County is 43rd. Faribault County is 48th. Waseca County is 70th. Steele County is 74th. Coming in at 87th, Washington County has the lowest poverty rate, and Scott County comes in at 86th.

I could share this with you all day. Tell you what. I’ll have more next week.

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.