Grand Rapids is a city in, and the county seat of, Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,126 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) long rapids on the Mississippi River that was the uppermost limit of practical steamboat travel in the late 19th century. Today the rapids are hidden below the dam of UPM Paper Company.