Northern Lakes Cooperative

Northern Lakes Cooperative was formed in 1932 by a group of sixty farmers that was fed up with paying high fuel prices to large petroleum monopolies. Through the 1930's the cooperative added fuel outlets in surrounding communities, as well as groceries, farm supplies, and a grain elevator. By the late 1950s, the Northern Lakes Cooperative complex consisted of bulk fuels, grocery, feed mill, hardware, clothing, a gas station and garage, a lunch counter and a credit union. There were 1,700 stockholders and 35 employees.