Kandiyohi County is a county located in the state of Minnesota. As of 2000, its population was 41,203. Its county seat is Willmar.
Kandiyohi County is named after a Dakota word meaning "where the buffalo fish come." Kandiyohi County was organized in 1858 with its county seat in Kandiyohi, which was then called Kandiyohi Station and was just a railroad stop. The original county occupied only the southern half of its current area. Development was slow, and in 1870 the state legislature called for Monongalia County to merge with Kandiyohi and make one larger county. It took until November 21, 1871 to agree on the centrally located Willmar as the county seat.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 862 square miles (2,232 kmē), of which 796 square miles (2,062 kmē) is land and 66 square miles (171 kmē) (7.65%) is water.
