Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fergus Falls | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Flag | |
 Location in Otter Tail County and the state of Minnesota | |
  Fergus Falls Location in Otter Tail County and the state of Minnesota | |
| Coordinates: 46°17′03″N 96°09′24″W / 46.28417°N 96.15667°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Otter Tail |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ben Schierer |
| Area | |
| • Total | 15.67 sq mi (40.58 km2) |
| • Land | 14.37 sq mi (37.23 km2) |
| • Water | 1.29 sq mi (3.35 km2) 8.20% |
| Elevation | 1,181 ft (360 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 13,138 |
| • Estimate (2018)[3] | 13,845 |
| • Density | 958.88/sq mi (370.22/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (Central) |
| ZIP Code | 56537 |
| Area code(s) | 218 |
| FIPS code | 27-20906 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0643602[4] |
| Website | ci.fergus-falls.mn.us |
Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.[5][6]
Contents
History[edit]
The falls from which the city gets part of its name were discovered by Joe Whitford (a Scottish trapper) in 1856 and promptly named in honor of his employer, James Fergus,[7] it is not known whether Fergus ever visited the city, but Whitford did not live to see the city develop, as he was killed during the 1862 Dakota war in western Minnesota. In 1867, George B. Wright was at the land office at St. Cloud and found Whitford's lapsed claim, purchased the land, and built what is now the Central Dam in downtown Fergus Falls around 1871. After Wright died in 1882, his son Vernon moved from Boston to Minnesota and took over his father's interests in the town. Vernon Wright was also one of the two people who established the Otter Tail Power Company in 1907; the city was incorporated in the late 1870s and is situated along the dividing line between the former great deciduous forest of the Northwest Territories to the east and the great plains to the west, in a region of gentle hills, where the recent geological history is dominated by the recession of the glaciers from the last great Ice Age, with numerous lakes and small rivers.
Two major tornadoes hit Fergus Falls during the early 20th century, the second, the 1919 Fergus Falls tornado, being the greater; the only church edifice left standing after the great cyclone was the predominantly black Baptist church.
21st century[edit]
Fergus Falls features many different parks (tallgrass prairie and eastern woodlands), stores, and other tourist attractions; the Union Avenue Bridge spans the Otter Tail River, and was reconstructed in 2004. Just below the bridge is part of scenic River Walk Park, which spans about a mile of the river; the part nearest the Union Avenue Bridge was redone along with the bridge. The town hall was modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia, its west wing housed the city fire station until the 1970s. Other points of interest include the county museum, Lake Alice, George B. Wright Park, Pebble Lake Golf Course, and Veteran's Memorial Park. Arts in Fergus Falls are booming with a community theater program downtown. Many local and professional artists perform at A Center for the Arts.
The city also lends its name to the song "Fergus Falls" by the band Field Report on its 2012 self-titled album.
Fergus Falls received international coverage in early 2017 [8] and late 2018 after a news article in Der Spiegel falsely claimed there was an anti-Mexican sign at the city's entrance and fabricated other things about the town;[9] the story's author, Claas Relotius, admitted to numerous instances of journalistic fraud.[10][11][12] In December 2018 two residents of Fergus Falls, Michele Anderson and John Krohn, published a report pointing out the "11 most absurd lies" of the 2017 article;[13] the same month Der Spiegel also sent a reporter to Fergus Falls to investigate and apologize.[14]
Ethnicity[edit]
A strong economic division between later Scandinavian immigrant farmers and the earlier English and Scottish war veterans who retained control of the principal businesses of the city center, the banks, and the increasingly important Otter Tail Power Company, persisted for decades until several generations of ethnic intermarriage and continuing inward and outward migration largely erased the divisions along ethnic lines; the small black community, largely Baptist, which clustered in the Southeast section of the city, gradually dwindled.
Growth[edit]
The dams built on the Otter Tail River beginning in the 1880s were powerful economic forces that shaped the area's development. Returning soldiers from the American Civil War settled in the region, mostly as farmers (wheat and corn in the western plains and dairy and hogs in the eastern hills and forests); the importance of the Civil War experience to these early settlers is highlighted by the town's street names: the intersecting principal thoroughfares are Lincoln Avenue and Union Avenue. The oldest parts of the town have streets with names such as Sherman, Sheridan, and Vernon; the early English wave of settlement claimed control of the falls along the Otter Tail River and established the first Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches.
Immigration[edit]
Almost as soon as the foundational structure of the town was laid, an influx of Norwegian immigrants arrived, by way of the Scandinavian migration of Chicago and Minneapolis, often on the Great Northern Railway. Primarily dairy farmers, they established numerous Lutheran churches in the area; the Lutheran Brethren (Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America) established an academy in Fergus Falls, which today operates a private high school, theological seminary and mission society, with an office in Fergus Falls. The pietistic, low-church Lutherans constituted one cultural center of the Norwegian-German community, while the high-church First Lutheran constituted a separate center, which attracted a more upwardly mobile class of parishioner.
Population growth and loss[edit]
After the Interstate Defense Highway System built Interstate 94 along the western edge of Fergus Falls in the late 1950s, population mobility increased dramatically, and high school graduates increasingly left the town to attend colleges in Morris, Fargo-Moorhead, or the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul; as farming declined as an occupation and lifestyle, with large-scale commercial farming gradually replacing the family farm system during the second half of the 20th century, the city appeared increasingly destined to become a retirement and nursing community until a new migration of younger families was made possible by the Internet, which created opportunities for telecommuting and e-business. The bucolic environment, with abundant sporting opportunities that had long attracted summer vacationers, combined with the relatively low cost of real estate and cost of living have brought people wishing to raise their children away from the comparatively commercialized and higher crime environments of larger cities.
Geography[edit]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.37 square miles (39.81 km2), of which 14.11 square miles (36.54 km2) is land and 1.26 square miles (3.26 km2) is water.[15]
Interstate 94 / U.S. Highway 59/U.S. Highway 52 and Minnesota State Highway 210 (co-signed); and County Highways 1, 82 and 88 are the main routes in Fergus Falls.
Lakes[edit]
| Lake Name | Size (Acres) |
|---|---|
| Alice | n/a |
| Chautauqua | n/a |
| Devils | n/a |
| Hoot | 161 |
| Horseshoe | n/a |
| Iverson | 54 |
| Jewett | 737 |
| Larson | n/a |
| Opperman | n/a |
| Orwell | 782 |
| Pebble | 169 |
| Spring | 47 |
| Swan | 689 |
| Wright | 66 |
Major highways[edit]
The following routes are located within the city of Fergus Falls.
Interstate 94
U.S. Highway 59
Minnesota State Highway 210- Otter Tail County Highway 1
- Otter Tail County Highway 82
- Otter Tail County Highway 88
Demographics[edit]
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 1,635 | — | |
| 1890 | 3,772 | 130.7% | |
| 1900 | 6,072 | 61.0% | |
| 1910 | 6,887 | 13.4% | |
| 1920 | 7,581 | 10.1% | |
| 1930 | 9,389 | 23.8% | |
| 1940 | 10,848 | 15.5% | |
| 1950 | 12,917 | 19.1% | |
| 1960 | 13,733 | 6.3% | |
| 1970 | 12,443 | −9.4% | |
| 1980 | 12,519 | 0.6% | |
| 1990 | 12,362 | −1.3% | |
| 2000 | 13,471 | 9.0% | |
| 2010 | 13,138 | −2.5% | |
| Est. 2018 | 13,845 | [3] | 5.4% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[16] 2018 Estimate[17] | |||
2010 census[edit]
As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 13,138 people, 5,814 households, and 3,262 families residing in the city; the population density was 931.1 inhabitants per square mile (359.5/km2). There were 6,342 housing units at an average density of 449.5 per square mile (173.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.5% White, 1.1% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.
There were 5,814 households of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.9% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.84.
The median age in the city was 43.4 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 22.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.
2000 census[edit]
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,471 people, 5,633 households, and 3,306 families residing in the city; the population density was 1,031.5 people per square mile (398.3/km²). There were 5,909 housing units at an average density of 452.5 per square mile (174.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.02% White, 0.62% African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.
There were 5,633 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city, the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,454, and the median income for a family was $44,280. Males had a median income of $32,051 versus $20,841 for females; the per capita income for the city was $18,929. About 7.0% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
Economy[edit]
Fergus Falls is a micropolitan with a diversified economy that includes healthcare, manufacturing, commercial, agricultural, information technology, and utilities; the largest employer is Lake Region Healthcare, an integrated health system with a 108-bed hospital, cancer research center, assisted living community, and multiple clinics.
Largest employers[edit]
According to the Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission's 2015 Community Profile [18] the largest employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Region Healthcare | 849 |
| 2 | Otter Tail Power Company | 382 |
| 3 | Otter Tail County | 370 |
| 4 | Fergus Falls Public Schools | 337 |
| 5 | PioneerCare | 306 |
| 6 | LB Homes | 251 |
| 7 | Northern Contours | 230 |
| 8 | Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs | 196 |
| 9 | City of Fergus Falls | 186 |
| 10 | Productive Alternatives | 157 |
| 11 | Minnesota State Community and Technical College | 135 |
Education[edit]
Fergus Falls Public Schools (Independent School District #544) operates public schools.
- Elementary schools
- Adams Elementary (1-2)
- Cleveland Elementary (3-4)
- McKinley Elementary (K-1)
- Prairie Science Class (4-5)
- School of Choice, Homeschool Co-op (K-8)
- Kennedy Secondary School (5-12), with separate middle and high school divisions, is the sole public secondary school
Private schools:
- Claire Ann Shover Nursery School (Pre K)
- Trinity Lutheran Elementary (Pre K)
- Morning Son Christian School (Pre K-6)
- Our Lady of Victory School (K-6)
- Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (9-12)
- Minnesota State Community and Technical College
- Lutheran Brethren Seminary
- Park Region Luther College (no longer exists)
Arts and culture[edit]
Fergus Falls is home to several arts and culture organizations and has a reputation of being a cultural hub in West Central Minnesota.
A Center for the Arts mission is to connect artists and audiences by providing the best possible arts experiences that inspire imagination, curiosity, creativity, and learning; the building was originally built in 1921 and was home to The Orpheum Theater, producing live theater and vaudeville performances and movies. In the early 1990s, after several decades of change and transition, over $1 million was raised to renovate the theater and A Center for the Arts was founded; the Theater is also home to one of the largest pipe organs in the midwest, the Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ.
The Kaddatz Galleries is a nonprofit art gallery located in historic downtown Fergus Falls, whose mission is to foster visual arts education and appreciation, and to maintain a gallery where the works of Charles Beck and other recognized local artists are accessible to the public; the Kaddatz Galleries were founded in 2001 when Artspace bought The Kaddatz Hotel building in partnership with the Hotel Kaddatz Preservation Association. The upstairs of the Kaddatz Hotel Building is home to artist live/work spaces.
The Lake Region Arts Council serves 9 counties (Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, Wilkin, Traverse, Stevens, Grant, and Pope) and has its main office in the River Inn Building in Fergus Falls; the Lake Region Arts Council's mission is to encourage and support the arts in West Central Minnesota. Their programs and services are made possible through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature, Legacy Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund and the McKnight Foundation.
Springboard for the Arts, a nonprofit artist service organization based in St. Paul, has its only satellite office in the River Inn Building, which serves as an artist resource center. Springboard for the Arts' mission is to cultivate a vibrant arts community by connecting artists with the skills, contacts, information and services they need to make a living and a life.
The band Field Report has a song named after Fergus Falls on their eponymous debut album. Lead singer and songwriter, Chris Porterfield, once dated a woman from the town, but the song is actually about a woman he spotted at a downtown Milwaukee music festival. "I saw a girl who was pregnant, and she was with a guy who looked like an asshole," he said. "She looked like she wanted to get out of there. The song was written from her perspective." The song has received critical acclaim.[19]
Media[edit]
- Television
- Radio
- 1020 AM KJJK (AM) (Sports), Leighton Broadcasting
- 1250 AM KBRF (Talk), Leighton Broadcasting
- 88.7 FM K204FS (Christian), CSN International
- 89.7 FM KCMF (Classical), Minnesota Public Radio
- 91.5 FM KNWF (News), Minnesota Public Radio
- 96.5 FM KJJK-FM (Country), Leighton Broadcasting
- 99.5 FM KPRW (Adult Contemporary), Result Radio, Inc.
- 103.3 FM KZCR (Adult Album Alternative), Leighton Broadcasting
- Newspaper
- Fergus Falls Daily Journal
- The Midweek Inc
Sports[edit]
Fergus Falls is the proud home of the Fergus Falls Otters as well as home to M State - Fergus Falls sports and many other local teams and organizations for children, teens, adults and seniors. [20]
Team Sports[edit]
Fergus Falls Hockey Association
Fergus Falls Youth Baseball
Backcourt Club of Fergus Falls
Fergus Falls Youth Soccer Association
Fergus Falls Area Youth Football Association
Fergus Falls Parks & Recreation
Individual Sports[edit]
Fergus Falls Flyers Swim Club
Fergus Falls Race Series
Fergus Falls Youth Wrestling Club
I-94 BMX
I-94 Speedway
Lakes Area Archers
Northern Air Bowling Lanes
Dance, Gymnastics & Figure Skating[edit]
Just For Kix
Gymnastics Academy
Martial Arts[edit]
Martial Arts Academy
Tae Kwon Do
Climate[edit]
| Climate data for Fergus Falls, Minnesota | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 16 (−9) |
23 (−5) |
35 (2) |
53 (12) |
68 (20) |
76 (24) |
80 (27) |
79 (26) |
69 (21) |
56 (13) |
36 (2) |
22 (−6) |
51 (11) |
| Average low °F (°C) | −3 (−19) |
4 (−16) |
17 (−8) |
32 (0) |
46 (8) |
55 (13) |
60 (16) |
57 (14) |
47 (8) |
34 (1) |
20 (−7) |
4 (−16) |
31 (0) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.99 (25) |
0.58 (15) |
1.45 (37) |
1.58 (40) |
2.66 (68) |
3.75 (95) |
3.34 (85) |
3.14 (80) |
2.19 (56) |
2.02 (51) |
1.17 (30) |
0.50 (13) |
23.47 (596) |
| Source: Weather.com[21] | |||||||||||||
Notable people[edit]
- Frank Albertson (1909–1964), actor who appeared in over 100 Hollywood movies including It's a Wonderful Life and Psycho.[22]
- Marcus Borg, theologian; one of the leaders of the Jesus Seminar
- Peter Brandvold, author
- Moses Clapp, Minnesota politician
- Donald Cressey, (1919 – 1987) American penologist, sociologist, and criminologist who made innovative contributions to the study of organized crime, prisons, criminology, the sociology of criminal law, white-collar crime. His work is still used in Fraud investigations today.
- Chad Daniels (b. 1975), comedian, "Comedy Central Presents: Chad Daniels" (2008, 1/2 hour TV special)[23]
- Roger L. Dell, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court[24]
- Richard Edlund, multi-Academy Award-winning visual effects artist for his work on Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Return of the Jedi
- Clifford L. Hilton, Minnesota Supreme Court justice
- Charles Lundy Lewis, Minnesota Supreme Court justice
- Mary MacLane (1881-1929), pioneering feminist author, film-maker, and media personality. Her tomboy youth was spent in Fergus Falls from approximately 1884-1889.
- Mark W. Olson, former member of Board of Governors of U.S. Federal Reserve
- Cliff Sterrett (1883-1964), innovative and influential artist and cartoonist
- Dave Theurer, creator of Atari's Missile Command, Tempest (video game), and I, Robot (video game)
- Matt Winans, Admin for The Surge Movement, credited with bringing SURGE Soda back to market.
- Herbert Arthur Krause (1905-1976),an American Historian,author and college professor. Krause wrote three novels: Wind Without Rain, The Thresher and The Oxcart Trail.
City Council[edit]
The Fergus Falls City Council holds an Open Forum session from 5:20-5:30 pm in the City Council Chambers; those wishing to address the City Council regarding an item not on the agenda are asked to completely fill out the Open Forum registration form by noon the day of the City Council meeting.[25] Local city positions besides Mayor are up for election every two years as one Council Member from one of the four wards makes up the city council with the whole council being the Mayor and two council members from each ward. [26]
The list below is the history of the Mayor of Fergus Falls, MN.
| Full Name | Term Years | Party Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Schierer | 2017-2020 | DFL |
| Hal Leland | 2008-2017 | |
| Gus M. Kantrud | ?-2008 |
References[edit]
- ^ "2017 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 394.
- ^ https://magazin.spiegel.de/SP/2017/13/150231550/index.html
- ^ Ferber, Matt; Smith, Mitch (2018-12-30). "Minnesota Town Defamed by German Reporter Is Ready to Forgive". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-12-30 – via MSN.
- ^ Thomas Borgböhmer (20 December 2018). "Der Spiegel and its noble Faker: Two inhabitants of a small US town show how boldly Relotius falsified reports". MEEDIA (in German). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
The extent to which Relotius has falsified his reportage is now demonstrated by an article published Wednesday evening on the portal Medium.com, which refers to the Der Spiegel story of late March 2017, a snapshot from Fergus Falls in Minnesota
- ^ Kelly Smith (20 December 2018). "German journalist admits to fabricating 2017 article on Fergus Falls". Star Tribune. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
Relotius traveled to Fergus Falls, a city of 13,000 residents in Otter Tail County, and spent three weeks there, hoping to interview voters in one of the rural Minnesota counties Trump won. Der Spiegel said it sent Relotius to write an article to give readers better insight into Americans.
- ^ IAN STEWART (19 December 2018). "Celebrated 33-Year-Old German Journalist Adds A Line To His Resume: Fraudster". NPR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
A 2017 piece about a rural Minnesota town's love of President Trump opened with a striking anecdote about a sign at the city's entrance that read "Mexicans keep out." Der Spiegel now says the sign never existed. Two residents of the town posted an article Wednesday outlining other fabrications in the piece.
- ^ Michele Anderson, John Krohn (December 17, 2018). "Der Spiegel journalist messed with the wrong small town". Medium.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
- ^ Christoph Scheuermann (December 23, 2018). "Fergus Falls - A Fantastic Town". Der Spiegel. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ^ "Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission 2015 Community Profile". Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ Steven Hyden (May 4, 2012). "Field Report Set a Course for Breakout Debut | Music News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "Fergus Falls Sports Teams & Organizations | #FFGameOn". visitfergusfalls.com. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ "Average Weather of Fergus Falls, Minnesota". The Weather Channel. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0007214/
- ^ http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/2009/12/05/fergus-comedian-hits-the-big-time/
- ^ Minnesota State Law Library-Roger L. Dell Archived 2014-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Mayor and City Council Members". Retrieved August 12, 2018.
- ^ "Elections". Retrieved August 12, 2018.
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fergus Falls, Minnesota. |
 |
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Fergus Falls. |
- City website
- Fergus Falls Chamber of Commerce
- Fergus Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau – Visitor Information Site
- Otter Tail County Historical Society
- Fergus Falls Daily Journal Online
Municipalities and communities of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Townships |
| |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Coordinates: 46°16′59″N 96°04′39″W / 46.28306°N 96.07750°W
