There’s An Independent Republic Surrounded By Minnesota, And It’s One Of The Quirkiest Places You’ll Ever Go

Did you know that a Minnesota town once seceded from the United States? It’s true! The small town of Kinney announced its secession in 1977. The secession was never officially acknowledged, but the Republic of Kinney is one of the quirkiest places you can visit in (near?) the state of Minnesota.

Kinney is a tiny town of about 150 people on the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota.

It’s located between the larger towns of Mountain Iron and Buhl. The landscape around the town still wears the scars of Minnesota’s iron mining industry.

Kinney, itself, was an iron-mining boom town named for one of the original local mine owners in the late 1800s.

Settled largely by Finnish immigrants who worked in the local mine, Kinney’s population peaked at 1,200 in the 1920s. It’s fallen by almost 90 percent over the following decades.

In the mid-1970s, the town was in need of a new water system. But with a population of fewer than 200 people, it lacked the tax base it needed to pay for it. Nor could it obtain funding from other governmental sources.

So, in 1977, Kinney’s town leadership drafted a letter to then U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, announcing its secession from the United States. The town believed it would be easier to obtain aid for fixing its water system as a foreign country than as an Iron Range town.

The town then established itself as the Republic of Kinney.

A flag was designed.

And passports were issued and sold for $1 each.

Despite the town’s population of just over 160, more than 1,600 passports were sold.

Duluth businessman Jeno Paulucci (of Jeno’s Pizza Rolls fame) took up the cause and donated a vehicle to Kinney. The doors were emblazoned with the republic’s seal.

He also donated a bunch of Jeno’s pizza kits.

Eventually, a regional economic development organization helped Kinney solve its water troubles.

Today, things are a little quieter in the republic.

However, folks are still attracted to the area, thanks to development of its natural beauty for recreational use.

And visitors don’t need a passport to visit the Republic of Kinney these days.

The Mesabi Trail is an awesome way to visit Kinney and many of the other fascinating small towns on the Iron Range. If you’re looking for another oddball Minnesota destination, be sure to visit the wacky Franconia Sculpture Park and prepare to have your mind blown.

Have you visited Kinney or, better still, are you a Republic of Kinney passport holder? Let us know in the comments.