| ||||||
| Capital | Linton | |||||
| Largest City | Fargo | |||||
| Other Cities | Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Bismarck, Yankton | |||||
| Language | English | |||||
| Ethnic Groups Main |
White (non-Hispanic) | |||||
| Others | Native American, Black, Asian White (Hispanic) | |||||
| Demonym | Dakotan | |||||
| Government | Representative democracy | |||||
| Legislature | State Legislature | |||||
| Governor | Ed Schafer (R) | |||||
| Area | 147,816 sq. mi. | |||||
| Population | 1,982,000 | |||||
| Admission | November 1889 | |||||
| Currency | USD | |||||
| Time Zone | Central | |||||
| Abbreviations | DA | |||||
Dakota (DA) is a state located in the Midwestern Region of the United States. Admitted to the Union as the 41st state on November 2, 1889, it is largely rural, with a population of just over 1.9 million, and most of that population living in cities like Fargo (pop. 131,000), Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Bismarck, Yankton, and the state capital of Linton. Dakota shares borders with Minnesota and Iowa to the east, Nebraska to the south, Cheyenne and Absaroka to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Assiniboia and Manitoba to the north. And with an area of 147,816 sq. miles, Dakota is the 2nd-largest state in the US, after Texas.
The southern region of Dakota is also the site of some of the most violent anti-government militia attacks of the past twenty years, and a center for militia operations throughout the Midwest. The most violent of these acts of militia aggression took place in the Washabaugh County seat of Brownburg in February 1982, an event known as the '82 Brownburg Shootings in which 17 locals and 6 State Troopers were gunned down, with a further 25 injured. That event ignited a new wave of militia violence that continues across the nation to this day.
Counties[]
Dakota is subdivided into 114 counties, of which, the ten largest in the state are listed below by population.
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Map of counties in Dakota.
| Rank | Name | County Seat | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menihaha County | Sioux Falls | 167,000 |
| 2 | Cass County | Fargo | 145,000 |
| 3 | Pennington County | Rapid City | 100,000 |
| 4 | Emmons County | Linton | 100,000 |
| 5 | Burleigh County | Bismarck | 80,000 |
| 6 | Grand Forks County | Grand Forks | 62,500 |
| 7 | Ward County | Minot | 59,000 |
| 8 | Lincoln County | Canton | 43,000 |
| 9 | Brown County | Aberdeen | 40,000 |
| 10 | Brookings County | Brookings | 32,000 |