Sauk Rapids Was the “Big City” in the Area Until This Happened

I hate tornados.  They honestly scare the crap out of me.  But with that said, I've never had to experience one first hand.  Thank God!  I never want to either.  Especially when you see and hear about the devastation that they can cause. Throw hurricanes in there too especially after what we've seen this past week in Florida.

There was a HUGE tornado back in 1886 that basically wiped out the city of Sauk Rapids.  According to Bring Me the News, this was the deadliest tornado outbreak in Minnesota.

The tornadoes killed 72 people. Eleven of the victims were members of a wedding party, including the groom. A total of 213 people were injured.

Since Sauk Rapids was basically wiped out by this tornado outbreak, that gave St. Cloud the opportunity to take over as the main city in the area.  What a difference that would be now if that hadn't happened.  Although, I do like how the downtown area of Sauk Rapids has grown, and now is a very "cute" small town with shops, restaurants and businesses.

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Three years prior, in 1883, to this tornado in Sauk Rapids, there was a tornado outbreak in Minnesota that wiped out hospitals that were in the area from the Twin Cities area and South to the Rochester area.  The Mayo brothers were there to help the victims that brought them to open and start the Mayo Clinic that we know to this day.  We all know how well the Mayo Clinic is known world wide and is considered as one of the best, if not the best medical facility.  What would have happened if the tornado outbreak wouldn't have happened?  At least something good came out of the mass destruction that the tornados.

You can read more about the outbreak, and also how many tornados Minnesota gets on average here.