Northern Star Council, headquartered in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, serves more than 75,000 young people in 21 counties across central Minnesota and four counties in western Wisconsin. The council is among the five largest in the United States and is led by over 21,000 volunteers. More than 1,100 community organizations, representing educational, religious, non-profit, civic, and business organizations join in partnership with Northern Star Council by chartering 1,417 Scouting units (packs, troops, teams, crews, posts and groups). The Northern Star Council was created through the merger of the former Viking (Minneapolis) and Indianhead (St. Paul) Councils on July 1, 2005.