Austin, Minnesota

Austin is a city in Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,718 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mower County. 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.

History
The city was named for Austin Nichols, an early settler.

Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.8 square miles (28.1 km²).10.8 square miles (27.8 km²) of it is land; 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) (0.83%) is water. Its elevation is approximately 1200 ft.

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 F4 touched down in the north side of Austin, with one funnel touching down next to the K-Mart store near Highway 218. Plus 8 or 10 more touchdowns that night all over town. There was damage in Austin, plunging the city in darkness without power. One injury, a minor cut, was treated. 

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
As of the census 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.

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.

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.

Mayors of Austin
Source: List is incomplete and contains seeming contradictions. Years given are years in office or start of office.
 * George Cameron 1868
 * Charles Cook 1870
 * John F. Cook 1870-1874
 * D.B. Smith 1871
 * Seymour Johnson 1872
 * Edward C. Dorr 1881 - 1885
 * LaFayette French 1885 - 1887 (namesake of LaFayette Park)
 * Dr. Oris Gibson 1888 - 1892
 * Lyman D. Baird 1894
 * Charles Harcourt Johnson 1895 - 1902
 * Frank Irving Crane 1896
 * Charles L. West 1901 - 1902
 * George H. Sutton 1906 - 1909 (namesake of Sutton Park)
 * Alexander S. Campbell 1910 - 1911
 * John H. Anderson 1916 - 1918
 * Alfred C. Page 1920 - 1922
 * George Hirsh 1918 - 1920; 1922–1924
 * William Owen 1924 - 1926
 * Edward B. Carter 1926 - 1930
 * Jacob Becker 1926 - 1932; 1938–1942
 * Harry Poll 1932 - 1933
 * Hans J. Marcusen 1933 - 1938 (namesake of Marcusen Park)
 * Tunis B. Rockne 1942 - 1947
 * Merril Glen Rolfson 1948 - 1954
 * Charles R. "Baldy" Hansen 1954 - 1962
 * Roger Svejkovsky 1962 - 1964
 * Fayette Sherman 1964 - 1968 (namesake of Sherman Park)
 * Robert J. Enright 1968 - 1970; 1975–1983
 * Leo Reding 1970 - 1974
 * Tom Kough 1982 - 1986
 * John O'Rourke 1987 - 1997
 * Bonnie Rietz 1997 - 2007
 * Tom Stiehm 2007–Present http://www.ci.austin.mn.us/Mayor/mayor1.html

Education

 * Colleges
 * Riverland Community College
 * 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
 * Amanda Hocking, writer of paranormal romance young-adult fiction
 * 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
 * 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