The Red Lake River is a river located in northwestern Minnesota. The river begins on the western side of the Lower Red Lake and flows westward. After passing through Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, and Crookston, the river merges with the Red River of the North in East Grand Forks. The total length of the river is 193 miles (311 km) The term "Forks" in Grand Forks comes from this forking (confluence) of the Red and Red Lake rivers near downtown Grand Forks.

Thief River Falls, sometimes referred to as Thief River or abbreviated as TRF, is a city in, and the county seat of, Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census.