Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

in the east–central and northeast parts of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, which starts at its split from

I-35W Interstate 35W may refer to: *Interstate 35W (Texas), an Interstate highway serving Fort Worth, Texas, and its suburbs *Interstate 35W (Minnesota), a Interstate highway serving Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its suburbs **The I-35W Mississippi River ...

, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resume at the

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, thei ...

with ''

Washington Avenue Washington Avenue may refer to: United States * Washington Avenue (Miami Beach) in Miami Beach, Florida * Washington Avenue (Milford Mill, Maryland) * Washington Avenue (Towson, Maryland) * Washington Avenue (Minneapolis), a major street in Minn ...

'' (Hennepin County Road

152 Year 152 ( CLII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Glabrio and Homullus (or, less frequently, year 905 ''Ab urbe condita'' ...

) at the north end of downtown

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

to continue north to its northern terminus at its intersection with

U.S. Highway 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...

(US 71) in

Littlefork Littlefork is a city in Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 553 at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 71 and state highways 65 and 217 are three of the main routes in Littlefork. History A post office called Littlefork ...

near

International Falls International Falls (sometimes referred to as I-Falls) is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota. The population was 5,802 at the time of the 2020 census. International Falls is located on the Rainy River directly acro ...

. Highway 65 is a four lane expressway between

Interstate 694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US H ...

(I-694) in

Fridley Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as ...

to just north of State Highway 95 at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

. The route continues as a two-lane roadway from Cambridge to its northern terminus at

in northern Minnesota. At in length, State Highway 65 is the third longest state route in Minnesota, after

MN 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs rough ...

and MN 1.

Route description

State Highway 65 serves as a south–north route between

, Blaine,

, Mora, McGregor, Nashwauk, and

in east–central and northeast Minnesota. The roadway is one of three Minnesota state-marked highways to carry the same number as an existing U.S. marked highway within the state, the others being Highways 61 and

169 Year 169 ( CLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Apollinaris (or, less frequently, year 922 ''Ab urbe c ...

. State Highway 65 begins at a split from

south of downtown Minneapolis. The ramps end at an intersection with Tenth Street South, and so does the State Highway 65 designation, due to MnDOT returning control of the section through downtown to the city in 2005. The State Highway 65 designation resumes at the intersection of ''Washington Avenue'' (County

) and ''3rd Avenue South'' at the north end of downtown

. Highway 65 is signed locally as ''3rd Avenue South'' in downtown Minneapolis. ''3rd Avenue South'' leads to the Third Avenue (Mississippi River) Bridge and becomes ''Central Avenue'' upon crossing the river. After its intersection with

Hennepin Avenue Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery (at West 36th Street), north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the Virginia Triangle, the former "Bottleneck" ...

, the route becomes ''Central Avenue NE''. Highway 65 is signed locally as ''Central Avenue NE'' for this section. Many Minnesota landmarks are located on ''Central Avenue NE'' including the Aveda Institute, the

Heights Theater The Heights Theater is a historic theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. The Theater touts itself as "the Twin Cities longest continuously operated show house." Location It is located at 40th and Central. History The theater was built in the ...

, and the

National Sports Center The National Sports Center (NSC) is a multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota. Its site includes a soccer stadium, over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the Supe ...

. The route remains ''Central Avenue'' until separating in

Ham Lake Ham Lake is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. It is a suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The population was 15,296 at the 2010 census. It is in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, one of Minnesota's larg ...

, except for a split in

and Spring Lake Park between

I-694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US Hi ...

and US 10. The route is a

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

from Minneapolis to Cambridge, with a speed limit, increasing to speed limit beginning in

, just outside Blaine. For part of its route (23 miles), MN 65 runs concurrently with MN 27 in Kanabec and Aitkin counties between

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

and Rice River Township.

Savanna Portage State Park Savanna Portage State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, established in 1961 to preserve the historic Savanna Portage, a difficult trail connecting the watersheds of the Mississippi River and Lake Superior. The portage trail crosses a drai ...

Aitkin County Aitkin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,697. Its county seat is Aitkin. Part of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in the county. The county was created in 1857 and organiz ...

is located northeast of the junction of Highway 65 and County Road 14 in Shamrock Township near McGregor. The park entrance is located on County Road 14 in nearby Balsam Township.

History

State Highway 65 was authorized in 1934 and 1935. The route was numbered as an extension of old US 65. By 1940, the route was paved from

to just north of

McGrath McGrath or MacGrath derives from the Irish surname Mac Craith and is occasionally noted with a space: e.g. Izzy Mc Grath. In Ireland, it is pronounced "Ma Grah". In Australia and New Zealand it is pronounced ''MuhGrah''. Notable people with the su ...

in Aitkin County. By 1949, the route was paved as far north as

Libby Libby as a feminine given name is typically a diminutive form of Elizabeth, which is less commonly spelled 'Libbie' or ' Libi'. In recent years, it has been used as a shortened version of the name Liberty. As a surname, it can also be spelled ...

. By 1953, the route was paved north to its intersection with US 2 at Swan River in Itasca County. Sections of Highway 65 north of US 2 were paved in the 1960s and 1970s. The last section of Highway 65 paved was through the Nett Lake Indian Reservation in 2000. The expressway section of Highway 65 between

to Spring Lake Park was constructed on a new alignment in 1953. The Highway 65 expressway bypass in

was completed . A portion of State Highway 65 used to be part of old US 65. US 65 still enters Minnesota from

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, but ends now in the city of

Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. * Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with th ...

, where it has a

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

with

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

. I-35 and

roughly follow the same route old US 65 used to take from Albert Lea to downtown Minneapolis. Before the freeways were built, the original US 65 had followed ''Lyndale Avenue'' between Burnsville and

. In July 2005, the eight-block-long section of State Highway 65 in downtown Minneapolis, between ''Washington Avenue'' and the junction of ''Tenth Street South'' with the on/off ramps to

, was turned back to city maintenance. This turn-back leaves State Highway 65 with a gap through downtown. The ramps leading to/going from Minneapolis surface streets south to their junction with Interstate 35W are still part of State Highway 65 according to State Highway Logs (on pg 613), as indicated by the MN 65 shields used on the updated mileposts along those ramps. It was the last Minnesota State Highway (along with

Minnesota State Highway 55 Minnesota State Highway 55 (MN 55) is a highway in west-central, central, and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the North Dakota state line near Tenney and continues east and southeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. H ...

) to directly run through Downtown Minneapolis, ending a 70-year era in which Minnesota State Trunk Highways would have a segment running directly through Downtown Minneapolis. Highway 65 is designated as

Legislative Route In the United States, a legislative route (LR) or legislative highway is a highway defined by laws passed in a state legislature. The numbering of such highways may or may not correspond to the numbers familiar to the public as part of the state ...

105 between ''Washington Avenue'' and ''37th Avenue Northeast'', then as

Constitutional Route In the U.S. state of Minnesota, a legislative route is a highway number defined by the Minnesota State Legislature. The routes from 1 to 70 are constitutional routes, defined as part of the Babcock Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution, pa ...

5 from Minneapolis to Swan River, then as Legislative Route 159 to

Little Fork Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

. The route is not marked with those numbers.

Cultural district

In 2020, Minneapolis officials designated a portion Central Avenue as one of seven cultural districts in the city. The district's boundaries were centered around the intersection of Central and Lowry avenues in the

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

and Windom neighborhoods, from 26th to 18th avenues northeast. The purpose of the cultural district was to promote racial equity, preserve cultural identity, and promote economic growth:

Major intersections

References

External links