Donaldson, with a population of 44, is located west of Karlstad on State Highway 11 and between Stephen and Kennedy on U.S. Highway 75. As with much of northwestern Minnesota, agriculture is an important part of the Donaldson area. The city is home to several businesses which include two potato warehouses, two grain elevators and a combined grocery store and restaurant.
 
   The city of Donaldson was named for Captain Hugh Donaldson who was a veteran and Civil War officer from the eastern United States. He arrived in this new frontier around 1878, when the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad reached Canada.  It was shortly after this that the settling of Kittson County began.