A perusal of wikipedia's entry on Grand Rapids, MN should be illuminating.
Coordinates: 47°14′0″N 93°31′45″W .
The city of Grand Rapids is named for the local rapids in the Mississippi river, which was the uppermost limit of practical steamboat travel during the late 1800s. Today, those rapids are hidden underneath the dam of the Blandin Paper Mill.
The current economy has a large tourist footing, with many local resorts, golf courses, and excellent regional hunting and fishing. Grand Rapids is famous as the birthplace of entertainer Judy Garland.
Grand Rapids is also the starting point of State Highway 38, running north along the Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway towards Bigfork, Minnesota. State Highway 38 has been designated a National Scenic Byway by the United States Department of Transportation.
The entry also lists numerable hockey players that have come out of the town:
+ Bill Baker
+ Jon Casey
+ Erick Johnson
+ Jeff Nielsen
+ Steve Wagner
+ Pat White
That last one isn't actually listed on the Grand Rapids entry, but leave it to a Grapidian to get the scoop before anyone bothers to update Wikipedia. After all, "Whitey" isn't exactly playing professionally yet.
Also, I haven't realized it, but the town has been putting up a lot of new facilities. I bitch and moan about the new Super Wal-Mart, but I have to admit the new Middle School, hospital, library, KAXE building, Brewed Awakenings cafe, and Itasca Community College buildings have made certain sections of the town look rather spiffy. Some of this is thanks to the Blandin Foundation, an endowment by the original owner of the Blandin Paper Mill which gives out gobs of money for the community. Not bad.
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