Mankato is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, home to
several institutions of higher education, including Minnesota
State University, and has a presence as a university town. It is
a somewhat colorful neighborhood that has been home to literary
figures such as Sinclair Lewis, Betsy, and Tacy, as well as such
notables as Ron Johnson and Mike Lindell (although his pillow
store is no longer there). It was also the setting for the dark
events of 1862, during the height of the Civil War, when 38
people were executed in the Dakota Rebellion. President Lincoln
attempted to balance the situation by reducing the number of
executions, which were originally much higher.
Land of Memories Park along the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers
The Verizon Wireless Center (formerly Midwest Wireless Civic Center and
Alltel Center) is an event center in Mankato, Minnesota. It offers one
of the largest sports and concert halls in southwestern Minnesota and is
home to the Mavericks, the collegiate ice hockey team of Minnesota State
University, Mankato. The center was built at a cost of around 20 million
US dollars and opened on February 5, 1995. The regional telephone
company Midwest Wireless received the naming rights. After being
acquired by Alltel, the arena was renamed the Alltel Center in July
2007. In 2009 it received its current name. Verizon Wireless pays
$110,000 annually for the naming rights. The center includes the arena,
which is mainly used for sporting events and concerts. In addition to
regular ice hockey events, where the ice surface corresponds to
international size, wrestling and monster truck events also take place
there. In addition, there is a festival and exhibition hall, a historic
reception hall and various conference rooms in the building.
the
Minneopa State Park, west of Mankato
the River Hills Mall
Mount
Kato
European Americans did not settle in Mankate Township until February
1852, when Parsons King Johnson, a 19th century immigrant from the East
to the Midwest, settled the area. The new residents organized the city
of Mankate on May 11, 1858, when Minnesota became a state. The city was
organized by Johnson, Henry Jackson, Daniel A. Robertson, and Justus C.
Ramsey. According to popular belief, the city was to be named Mahakat,
but due to a typographical error by the clerk, it became Mankato.
According to Warren Upham, quoting Mankato city historian Thomas Hughes,
"The honor of naming the new city went to Colonel Robertson. Colonel
Robertson took the name from Nicolet's book, in which the French
explorer compares the "Mahakat" or Blue Earth River, including all its
tributaries, to the water nymph and her uncle in the German legend of
Undine. It is not clear whether the city was intended to be called
Mahakat, but the Dakota called the river Makato Osa Watapa ("Gathering
River of the Blue Earth"). Anglo settlers called it the Blue Earth
River. Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North
of Mexico (Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico), states that
the name of this town was given by the Santee Dakota tribe of He states
that it was named after the older of two Mdewakanton chiefs of the same
name.
Ishtakaba, also known as Chief Sleepy Eye of the Sisseton
Band, is said to have led the settlers to this location. He said the
site, at the confluence of the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers, was
suitable for building and river traffic, yet safe from flooding.
On December 26, 1862, the United States Volunteer Army in Minnesota
conducted the largest mass execution in U.S. history at Mankato since
the Dakota War of 1862. Companies from the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th
Minnesota Infantry Regiments and the Minnesota Cavalry oversaw the
hanging of 38 men, 35 Santee Sioux and three mixed-race French and
Native Americans, for their involvement in war crimes committed during
the uprising. The crimes included the intentional killing, mutilation,
and rape of hundreds of unarmed civilians. Although nearly 500 trials
were held before U.S. military tribunals, 303 of which resulted in death
sentences, President Lincoln requested the trial files. President
Lincoln reviewed them, gave the rape cases top priority, and pardoned
265 of them. Episcopal Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple asked for leniency,
but Lincoln replied that a balanced approach must be taken. His position
and dismissal were unpopular in Minnesota. A large granite marker was
erected to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the incident and remained
in place until the city removed it in 1971. Today, another monument
marks the execution site. Across the street, in what is called
Reconciliation Park, there are two Native American monuments. The Blue
Earth County Library, Main Street, and Reconciliation Park cover the
immediate vicinity of the execution site.
In 1880, Mankato was
the fourth most populous city in Minnesota with 5,500 residents.
On January 13, 1885, former Vice President Schuyler Colfax died while
traveling through Mankato.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.26 square miles (47.29 km2), of which 17.91 square miles (46.39 km2) is land and 0.35 square miles (0.91 km2) is water. The Minnesota, Blue Earth, and Le Sueur rivers flow through or near the city.
The city has a humid continental climate. Winters are cold, with
snowfall usually beginning in mid-November to mid-December and ending in
March. However, snowfall is less than in areas to the north and east of
the city. For example, in Minneapolis, 75 miles (121 km) northeast of
Mankato, the average winter snowfall is over 54 inches (140 cm),
compared to 35 inches (89 cm) in Mankato. The average monthly
temperature in January, the coldest month, is about 14°F (-10°C). Winter
brings dangerously low temperatures as arctic air flows in from Canada
with strong winds.
Summers are warm, with occasional, usually
brief, hot and humid periods, during which cold air from Canada flows
in, often resulting in showers and thunderstorms. The average monthly
temperature in July, the hottest month, is about 22.8°C (73°F).
Precipitation is heavy throughout the year, but snow falls mainly from
December to February and sometimes in March, and showers and
thunderstorms occur during the warmer months of May to September. The
wettest months in Mankato are June through August, when thunderstorms
are common. Mankato is located on the northern edge of the major tornado
belt in the central United States and is less at risk than Iowa and
Missouri to the south. The highest risk of severe thunderstorms and
(rare) tornadoes occurs from May through July. However, on March 29,
1998, a very rare early tornado event occurred when an F3 tornado struck
St. Peter, 13 miles (21 km) north of Mankato, damaging areas within 20
miles (32 km) of Mankato. on August 17, 1946, a tornado struck southwest
Mankato and southeast of town of Wells, killing 11 people.
According to the 2000 census, 32,427 people live in 12,367 households
and 6059 families in Mankato. The population density is 323.9
inhabitants per km². Ethnically, the population is made up of over 93
percent white people and a Hispanic or Latino-American minority.
Children under the age of 18 live in 23.6% of the 12,367 households,
married couples live in 36.7%, single women live in 8.8% and 51.0% are
non-family households. 32.2% of all households consist exclusively of a
single person and 9.9% are single people over the age of 65.
In
relation to the entire city, the population consists of 16.9% residents
under the age of 18, 32.5% between 18 and 24 years, 23.9% between 25 and
44 years, 15.4% between 45 and 64 years and 11.3% over 65 years. The
median is 25 years. About 51% of the population is female.
The
median income for a household is USD 33,956 and for a family USD 47,297.
The per capita income is USD 17,652. About 19.0% of the population and
8.5% of families live below the poverty line.
Mankato is home to the following higher education institutions + high
schools
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Bethany Lutheran
College
Rasmussen College
South Central College
East High
School
West High School
Robert Louis Hodapp (1910–1989), Bishop of Belize
Earl Howard Wood
(1912–2009), cardiologist and physiologist
Daniel Leo Ryan
(1930–2015), Bishop of Springfield, Illinois
Ron Johnson (born 1955),
politician
Mike Lindell (born 1961), entrepreneur and conspiracy
ideologist
John Landsteiner (born 1990), curler
Associated with
Mankato
Melissa Peterman (born 1971), actress, studied in Mankato
Tim Walz (born 1964), politician, worked as a teacher in Mankato