Monticello, Minnesota

Monticello is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. Monticello was founded in 1856 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2006. The population was 12,759 at the 2010 census. The name Monticello is derived from the Italian word for "Little Mountain," it translates literally to English as hillock or small hill. The name Monticello was chosen because the city is situated at the base of a little mountain. In Monticello, an elementary school, a church and two businesses include Little Mountain in their name.

Monticello is located on the Mississippi River at the northern edge of Wright County. Each winter, hundreds of trumpeter swans nest near Mississippi Drive Park in Monticello as the Mississippi River is heated from warm water discharged by the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant.

In anticipation of rapid population growth, Monticello created a comprehensive growth plan in 1996. A new high school was constructed in 1999. A new interchange was completed in 2006 on the east end of town, allowing residents full access to Interstate 94 from County Road 18. Since 2002, many retail outlets have been constructed, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a SuperTarget store, a Muller Family Movie Theatre, a new bowling alley, The Home Depot, Applebee's, Taco John's and an Arby's. This planned growth has also brought new auto dealerships, hotels, and industrial development. Monticello continues to attract new construction and business opportunities. A new Mills Fleet Farm store was planned for 2008 on the east end of Chelsea Road, but that endeavor was never realized. A 2004 annexation agreement with Monticello Township is expected to help sustain Monticello's growth for the next twenty years.

Monticello has many fine walking trails and parks, and it has one of the most impressive community centers in outstate Minnesota. The facility is widely used by local residents. Monticello's local newspaper is the Monticello Times.

Major Events
One of Monticello's largest employers, Cargill Kitchen Solutions(formerly Sunny Fresh Foods), a Cargill Foods Company, received the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for business performance excellence in 1999 and 2005. Sunny Fresh is one of the few nationwide businesses and the only food company to win this award twice. For more information visit www.baldrige.nist.gov.

The Great American Smokeout day, held annually by the American Cancer Society, was based on an idea of the editor of the Monticello Times, Lynn R. Smith. He promised to publish the names of 300 people who pledged to quit smoking for one day (January 6, 1974) on the front page of the Times. This caused a sensation and led to Minnesota's first statewide D-day (Don't Smoke Day). In 1976, the California chapter of the American Cancer Society held a similar Don't Smoke Day, encouraging almost one million people to quit that day. After that, starting in 1977, the Great American Smokeout day has been a national event, held on the third Thursday each November (one week before Thanksgiving).

On July 1, 1997 Monticello and its surrounding cities were hit with severe storms. According to the local news stations, the storm was classified as straight line winds. However, many residents disagreed, believing a tornado tore up their hometown. Later data showed that there were actually 17 tornadoes that evening. The damages to the town were extreme as debris from damaged buildings was scattered everywhere, rooftops were lifted from homes, trees were uprooted, and power poles toppled. Although the damage to buildings have been repaired, the extensive loss of mature trees has significantly altered the landscape of Monticello.

On May 3, 2006 the Monticello Middle School had an electrical fire from the large amount of rain settling on the roof. The smoke damage to the school caused the school to be closed for the rest of the school year. As a result, middle school and high school students had to share usage of the high school building on an alternate-day schedule. The school year did not get extended, and the clean up was completed in time for the 2006-07 school year. 

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16.1 km²), all of it land. Lake Maria State Park is nearby. The city's latitude is 45.305 degrees North and its longitude is 93.793 degrees West. Its elevation is 922 feet. It is in the Central time zone.

Demographics
As of the 2006 U.S. census estimates, there were 11,414 people, 2,944 households, and 2,066 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,264.6 people per square mile (488.4/km²). There were 3,030 housing units at an average density of 487.0 per square mile (188.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.96% Caucasian, 0.33% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.03% of the population.

There were 2,944 households out of which 43.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,384, and the median income for a family was $53,566. Males had a median income of $41,057 versus $25,854 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,229. About 4.2% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Athletics
Monticello High School (1,314 est.), is Wright County's third largest school. The nickname for the school's athletic teams is the Magic. Its main rival is Buffalo High School (1,596).

Boys' basketball is a notable MHS athletic program. The team made several trips to the state tournament in the 1990s and from 2004 to 2006. The team's highest tournament finish is 4th place, igniting humorous theories of a possible "4th place curse". Two Minnesota high-school basketball Players of the Year have come out of Monticello: Nate Holmstadt and Joel Przybilla. The 7-foot Pryzbilla went on to play for the University of Minnesota and is now a center in the NBA for the Charlotte Bobcats. Varsity tennis has also gone to state each year from 2004-2010. Track and Swimming are also noted to be at very high standards.

The Moose Sherritt Ice Arena, attached to the Middle School, was completed in 2005 due to the efforts of the Monticello-Annandale-Maple Lake Youth Hockey Organization, community members, the mayor, the city council, the school board, businesses and the Sherritt family. "Moose" Sherritt played for the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and the USHL's Minneapolis Millers among other teams in the 1940s.

Notable natives
Joel Przybilla - plays for the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA