[3] An outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities, Chaska is home to the Hazeltine National Golf Club and is known for its historic downtown area located on a bend of the Minnesota River.

[7][8] French Canadian fur traders traveled the waterways, trading with the Dakota in the early 19th century.

[7] In the same year, construction began on the original Carver County Courthouse located where the post office and KleinBank now stand in downtown Chaska.

[7][8] Bricks were shipped by boat to Saint Paul and, although the city grew as a result of steamboat trade, it was not until the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway was built through town in 1873 that rapid expansion began.

[10] In September 2016, Chaska hosted the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Course,[11] and in March 2018, the PGA of America, with help from the U.S.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Chaska's population averaged about 2,000 and the nature of the city remained unchanged.

This freeway includes a bus rapid transit route serving Chaska with fast, efficient mass transit, along with convenient access to the Light Rail system which connects the southwest suburbs to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul.

Starting in 2004, the city government offered low-cost, high-speed wireless internet service for residents, businesses, and government entities throughout the community through a service called Chaska.net, but the program was canceled, after more than 10 years, in 2015 due to a decreasing customer base and large costs to upgrade equipment.

Among them are TPI Specialties, Update Ltd, Wigen Water Technologies, Beckman Coulter and Hartman Homes.

Over the years, Chaska has also been the birthplace of several well known products and companies, including Softsoap, NordicTrack,[19] and Heartland America.

[20][21] One such company, My Pillow, has received significant media coverage for multiple lawsuits as well as controversial issues focusing on its founder, Mike Lindell.

Opening in December 2015,[22] the Chaska Curling Center has exceeded expectations as becoming a landmark in the city.

[23] The Center has helped with not only expanding Chaska community engagement and positively impacting downtown businesses, but also bringing the city national and international recognition as well as tourism.

Chaska is located in Minnesota's 6th congressional district, represented by Tom Emmer, a Republican.

In the 2016 United States presidential election in Minnesota, Donald Trump won the city by three points.

In the 2020 United States presidential election in Minnesota, turnout increased from 2016 and Democrat Joe Biden won the city by nine points.

In the 1996 film Fargo, written by Minnesota's own Joel and Ethan Coen, Chaska was represented by two of the supporting characters, real-life Tony Denman (who played Scotty Lundegaard), a Chanhassen native, attended Chaska High School, and a young prostitute (played by Larissa Kokernot) who claimed not only to have serviced Carl Showalter (played by Steve Buscemi), but also to be from Chaska, Minnesota.

Cheryl Strayed briefly lived in Chaska during her early life, and mentions so in her popular book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.