Town file
Ham Lake, Minnesota
Ham Lake, Minnesota is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 287, "Meat Cleavers & Ham Fishing" (28 May 2022).
- Town
- Ham Lake
- State
- Minnesota
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 287
- Approximate location
- 45.254, -93.195
Episode 287 / 28 May 2022 / 65 min / express
Meat Cleavers & Ham Fishing
"We're gonna go to Minnesota ... Ham Lake, Minnesota, only a half hour outside Minneapolis" about 0:02:19
The case: Murder of Blake Nelson and Joan Carlson (August 7th, 1978). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2022
- Population
- over 16,000
- Median household income
- $90,000 a year
- Median home value
- $422,700
History, in brief
- Earliest white settlers arrived in 1855 and named the place Glen Carrie, a Scottish name meaning beautiful valley. about 0:03:22
- They advertised it across the United States as a future city. about 0:03:38
- In 1957 a prairie fire destroyed everything and nobody lived there for about ten years. about 0:03:47
- In 1866 a Norwegian man arrived and other Scandinavian settlers followed. about 0:04:57
- In the early 1900s potato farming was at its peak here, along with sod farms. about 0:05:41
- It did not become a town officially until 1974. about 0:06:00
- The town motto is convenient country living. about 0:06:14
The reviews read out
5 stars
"The perfect location for quietness but also quick access to nearby areas."about 0:06:55
3 stars
"Ham Lake is odd; it is a small town and the businesses here are just plain weird, including a cowboy church."about 0:07:34
1 star
"The water is contaminated and has cancerous properties in all the well water; very racist area."about 0:08:33
1 star
"I was promised food but I got clapped with some ham 20 minutes ago at a gas station, not funny."about 0:09:10
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Andover, Minnesota6.9 miles
- Lino Lakes, Minnesota8.0 miles
- Crystal, Minnesota17 miles
- Corcoran, Minnesota21 miles
- Woodbury, Minnesota27 miles
- Shakopee, Minnesota36 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.