- Austin, Minnesota
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City of Austin — City — Nickname(s): Spamtown, USA Location of Austin within Mower County, Minnesota
Coordinates: 43°39′59.76″N 92°58′29.50″W / 43.6666°N 92.974861°WCoordinates: 43°39′59.76″N 92°58′29.50″W / 43.6666°N 92.974861°W Country United States State Minnesota County Mower Established 1853 Incorporated 1856 Government – Mayor Tom Stiehm Area – Total 10.84 sq mi (28.08 km2) – Land 10.75 sq mi (27.84 km2) – Water 0.09 sq mi (0.23 km2) Elevation 1,184 ft (360 m) Population (2010)[1] – Total 24,718 – Density 2,168.2/sq mi (837.2/km2) Time zone CST (UTC-6) – Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 55912 Area code(s) 507 FIPS code 27-02908[2] GNIS feature ID 0639531[3] Website www.ci.austin.mn.us 
Interstate Hwy. 90 Business Loop (Oakland Avenue) runs through the center of Austin.
Hormel Spam Museum.Austin is a city in Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,718 at the 2010 census.[1] It is the county seat of Mower County.[4] The southern part of the city is in Austin Township while the northern part is in Lansing Township; the city is politically independent of both. Austin is located at the intersection of Interstate Highway 90 and U.S. Highway 218 in the southeastern part of the state. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and it has two man-made lakes called East Side Lake and Mill pond.
Hormel Foods Corporation is the largest employer in Austin, where its factory makes most of North America's Spam tinned meat. The Austin Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors an annual Independence Day Freedom Fest. Austin is sometimes called "Spam Town USA", as it is home to Hormel's headquarters and is home to the Spam Museum. Austin is also home to the Austin Bruins which are a junior hockey team in the NAHL.
Contents
History
The city was named for Austin Nichols, an early settler.[5]
Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.8 square miles (28 km2).10.8 square miles (27.8 km²) of it is land; 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.83%) is water. Its elevation is approximately 1,200 ft (370 m).
Major Tornadoes
August 20, 1928
F-2 size. Touchdown on Winona Street (1st Ave.) damage path ran from the southern edge of Austin High School to the Milwaukee Road railyards on the city's east side. Buildings ruined or damaged: St. Olaf Lutheran church, Carnegie Library, main street, spire on the old courthouse, Grand Theatre, (replaced in 1929 with the Publix Theatre which is now called the Paramount Theatre), Austin Utilities, Lincoln school, damage to boxcars at Milwaukee yards before it dissipated. Austin residents noticed debris raining out of the sky, such as straw and laundry.
August 1961
F-2 Touchdown in backyard at 808 18th St. S.W. (Sucha residence) Gained strength as F-3, when it hit block at 17th St. S.W. and blew up a garage. Lifted and touched down in fairgrounds and hit the grandstand roof, tearing off parts and damaging beams.
June 27, 1998
Disputed tornado or straight line winds took down massive amounts of branches and trees, uprooting smaller trees and knocking large branches across streets. In the northwest quarter of the city, the storm had the effect of blocking several side streets, 8th Ave Northwest near Sumner Elementary School, and 14th St. Northwest between I-90 and 8th Ave. The event caused disruption in Sunday church services the next morning as many congregations organized clean up activities instead of regularly scheduled events
Summer 1984
Tornado destroyed Echo Lanes Bowling Alley as it swept through the S.E. part of Austin. Neighboring Bo-Dee Campers had suffered considerable damage, as well.
May 1, 2001
Touchdown in Glenville, with twister gaining strength before it turned into a F-3 headed for Austin. Dissipated before hitting town. Notable damage path in Glenville, and damage in Austin.
June 17, 2009
An EF2 tornado touched down outside of Austin and moved across the northwest and northern parts of the city, gradually weakening as it moved east. The worst damage in Austin was about 3 miles north of downtown. There were a few minor injuries. [1]
Major Floods
1983
Red Cedar River rose and flooded much of Austin, Lansing, and surrounding areas. Many dollars worth of damage was the result. Heavy rains that were proceeded by a drought were to blame.
September 2004
A huge rainstorm that dropped 12 inches of rain north of Austin caused a major flood throughout Austin and surrounding areas. The flood was responsible for two lives lost. Many businesses were flooded. Citizens of Austin worked together to fix up the city and pass a 0.5% sales tax that was used to build flood protection (dikes) along the Cedar River.
September 2010
Major flooding occurred after a few days of heavy rain.
Demographics
Historical populations Census Pop. %± 1860 200 — 1870 2,039 919.5% 1880 2,305 13.0% 1890 3,901 69.2% 1900 5,474 40.3% 1910 6,960 27.1% 1920 10,118 45.4% 1930 12,276 21.3% 1940 18,307 49.1% 1950 23,100 26.2% 1960 27,908 20.8% 1970 25,074 −10.2% 1980 23,020 −8.2% 1990 21,907 −4.8% 2000 23,314 6.4% 2010 24,718 6.0% U.S. Decennial Census As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile (837.4/km²). There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile (368.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.6% White, 0.81% African American, 0.18% Native American, 2.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.09% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 6.12% of the population.
There were 9,897 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18, 48.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29; the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $42,691. Males had a median income of $31,787 versus $23,158 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,651. About 7.5% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
With Hormel's corporate headquarters and main production facility located in Austin, food processing plays a dominant role in the city's economy. Hormel and Quality Pork Processors, a contract food processing firm serving Hormel, are by far the largest private employers in Austin.[6]
The government, education, hospitality, and retail sectors comprise much of the remainder of Austin's employment base.
Austin area businesses and community leaders continue to support the application to participate as a test community in the Google Fiber project, started in 2010.[7]
Government
- Tom Stiehm - Mayor
- City Council
- Janet Anderson - Council Member-At-Large
- Brian McAlister - Council Member, First Ward
- Jeffrey Austin - Council Member, First Ward
- Richard Pacholl - Council Member Second Ward
- Steve King - Council Member Second Ward
- Marian J. Clennon - Council Member Third Ward
- John P. Martin - Council Member Third Ward
Austin is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional district, represented by Mankato educator Tim Walz, a Democrat.
Education
- Colleges
- High Schools (Grades 9-12)
- Austin High School
- Pacelli High School (Grades 6-12)
- Middle Schools (Junior High) (Grades 6-8)
- Ellis Middle School
- Pacelli High School (Grades 6-12)
- Elementary Schools (Grammar) (K-5)
- Pacelli Elementary School
- Banfield Elementary School
- Neveln Elementary School
- Shaw Elementary School (last year of operation: 1992)
- Southgate Elementary School
- Sumner Elementary School
- Woodson School (Kindergarten only)
Sports Teams
The Austin Bruins are a North American Hockey League team that began play during the 2010-11 season. Austin previously was represented in Junior hockey by the Austin Mavericks, a team that first participated in the Midwest Junior Hockey League from 1974–1977 and following a league merger competed in the United States Hockey League from 1977-1985.
Notable residents and natives
- Josh Braaten, actor
- Trace Bundy, instrumental acoustic guitar player
- Shannon Frid, violinist for Cloud Cult
- Richard Eberhart, United States Poet Laureate
- Amanda Hocking, writer of paranormal romance young-adult fiction[8]
- Lee Janzen, professional golfer
- Tom Lehman, professional golfer
- John Madden, retired Oakland Raiders head coach, NFL commentator, and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- John Maus, musician
- Bob Motzko, St. Cloud State University head men's ice hockey coach
- Tim O'Brien, novelist
- Charlie Parr, Musician
- Michael Wuertz, Major League Baseball Pitcher previously with the Chicago Cubs and currently with the Oakland A's
- Rick Zombo, Retired Defenseman for 12 seasons in the National Hockey League
References
- ^ a b "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Profile for Austin, Minnesota". ePodunk. http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=20823. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
- ^ Major Employers & Workforce
- ^ Austin High Rallies for Google Fiber
- ^ Vezner, Tad (April 5, 2011). "Young Austin, Minn., author finds fame — and fortune — publishing her work online". Pioneer Press. http://www.twincities.com/ci_17569329?nclick_check=1. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
Further reading
- Mill on the Willow: A History of Mower County, Minnesota by various authors. Library of Congress No. 84-062356
External links
Municipalities and communities of Mower County, Minnesota County seat: AustinCities Adams | Austin | Brownsdale | Dexter | Elkton | Grand Meadow | Le Roy | Lyle | Mapleview | Racine | Rose Creek | Sargeant | Taopi | Waltham
Townships Categories:- Cities in Minnesota
- Populated places in Mower County, Minnesota
- County seats in Minnesota
- Populated places established in 1853
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