Mankato, Minnesota, United States

🇺🇸 Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. It is the twenty-first largest city in Minnesota outside the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. It is situated along a large bend of the Minnesota River at its confluence with the Blue Earth River. Mankato is across the Minnesota River from North Mankato. It completely encompasses the town of Skyline. North of Mankato Regional Airport, a tiny non-contiguous part of the city lies within Le Sueur County. Most of the city is in Blue Earth County. Mankato is the larger of the two principal cities of the Mankato-North Mankato metropolitan area, which covers Blue Earth and Nicollet counties. In 2017, Schools.com named Mankato the second-best small college town in the United States.

History Mankato Township was not settled by European Americans until Parsons King Johnson in February 1852, as part of the 19th-century migration of people from the east across the Midwest. New residents organized the city of Mankato on May 11, 1858, the day Minnesota became a state. The city was organized by Johnson, Henry Jackson, Daniel A. Robertson, Justus C. Ramsey, and others. A popular story says that the city was supposed to have been named Mahkato, but a typographical error by a clerk established the name as Mankato. According to Warren Upham, quoting historian Thomas Hughes of Mankato, "The honor of christening the new city was accorded to Col. Robertson. He had taken the name from Nicollet's book, in which the French explorer compared the 'Mahkato' or Blue Earth River, with all its tributaries, to the water nymphs and their uncle in the German legend of Undine…No more appropriate name could be given the new city, than that of the noble river at whose mouth it is located". While it is uncertain that the city was intended to be called Mahkato, the Dakota called the river Makato Osa Watapa ("the river where blue earth is gathered"). The Anglo settlers adapted that as "Blue Earth River". Frederick Webb Hodge, in the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, said the town was named after the older of the two like-named chiefs of the Mdewakanton nation of the Santee Dakota, whose village stood on or near the site of the present town.

Ishtakhaba, also known as Chief Sleepy Eye, of the Sisseton band, was said to have directed settlers to this location. He said the site at the confluence of the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers was well suited to building and river traffic, and yet safe from flooding.

On December 26, 1862, United States Volunteers of the State of Minnesota carried out the largest mass execution in U.S. history at Mankato after the Dakota War of 1862. Companies of the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th Minnesota Infantry Regiments, and Minnesota Cavalry oversaw the hanging of 38 men: 35 Santee Sioux and 3 biracial French/native American, for their involvement in the war crimes committed during the uprising. The crimes included intentional killings, mutilations and rapes of hundreds of unarmed civilians. A USV military tribunal reviewed nearly 500 cases, of which 303 received a death sentence, but President Lincoln requested the court files. He reviewed them, placing the rape cases at the top, and pardoning 265. Episcopal Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple urged leniency to which Lincoln responded that he had to take a balanced approach. His position and dismissals were unpopular in Minnesota. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event a large granite marker was erected that stood at the site until 1971, when the city took it down. Today, a different monument marks the execution site. Across the street are two monuments to the indigenous people in what it called Reconciliation Park. The Blue Earth County Library, Main street and Reconciliation Park cover the immediate vicinity of the execution site.

In 1880, Mankato was Minnesota's fourth-most populous city, with 5,500 residents. Former Vice President Schuyler Colfax died while traveling through Mankato on January 13, 1885.

Geography 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 all flow through or near the city.

Demographics As of the 2020 census, there were 44,693 people and 17,196 households residing in the city. The city's racial makeup was 85.7% White, 6.9% African American, 0.1% Native American, 3.4% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.4% of the population. The city's gender makeup was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.

Economy: Top employers According to a recent Financial Report, the top employers in the city include: 1 Mayo Clinic Health System; 2 Minnesota State University; 3 Independent school District 77; 4 Mankato Clinic; 5 Hy-Vee; 6 Blue Earth County; 7 Mankato Rehabilitation Center Inc; 8 Monarch Healthcare Management; 9 The City of Mankato; 10 Walmart.

Major events • Minnesota State University was home to the Minnesota Vikings summer training camp for 52 years. The Vikings announced their training camp would move to Eagan starting in 2018.

Places of interest • The Betsy & Tacy Houses • Blue Earth County Courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) • Federal Courthouse and Post Office (NRHP) • First National Bank of Mankato (NRHP) • First Presbyterian Church (NRHP) • Good Counsel Hill • Happy Chef original restaurant and company headquarters; Mankato also is home to the last surviving 36-foot Happy Chef statue • The Hubbard House Blue Earth County Historical Society – French Second Empire style built in 1871 (NRHP) • ISG Field, home of the Mankato Moondogs of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league • The Cray Mansion (NRHP) • River Hills Mall • Sibley Park is a city park along the river in Mankato. • The Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, an arena in downtown Mankato formerly operated under the names Mankato Civic Center, Midwest Wireless Civic Center, Alltel Center, Verizon Wireless Center, and Verizon Center

Library The Blue Earth County Library, part of the Traverse des Sioux Library System, serves the city.

Government Mankato is in Minnesota's 1st congressional district. It is in Minnesota Senate district 19, and Minnesota House district 19B.

Education The Mankato Area Public Schools are consolidated to include the cities of Mankato, North Mankato, Eagle Lake, and Madison Lake. There are ten elementary schools (Franklin, Eagle Lake, Kennedy, Washington, Roosevelt, Jefferson, Monroe, Hoover, Rosa Parks, and Bridges); two middle schools (Dakota Meadows Middle School and Prairie Winds Middle School); and two high schools (Mankato West High School and Mankato East High School).

Mankato has four parochial schools: Loyola Catholic School, Immanuel Lutheran Grade School and High School (K–12), Mount Olive Lutheran School (K–8) and Risen Savior Lutheran School (K–8). There is also a public charter school, Kato Public Charter School. The alternative school Central High, on Fulton Street, is another educational option.

Education: University • Minnesota State University was opened as the second state normal school in 1868 and is the second largest university in the state of Minnesota by enrollment. With an annual operating budget of over $200 million, Minnesota State provides a net economic benefit of over $452 million annually to Minnesota's south-central region. It is one of the largest employers in the Mankato area. • South Central College • Bethany Lutheran College • Rasmussen University.

Media The major daily newspaper in the area is the Mankato Free Press.

Television • KMNF-LD 7 (NBC/CW) • KEYC-TV 12 (CBS/Fox) • K14KE-D 14 (Independent, repeater of KSTC) • K26CS-D 26 (PBS, repeater of KTCA) • K29IE-D 29 (PBS, repeater of KTCI) • K30FN-D 30 (ABC, repeater of KSTP-TV).

Media: Radio FM • 89.1 FM, KTIS (AM), Christian talk and teaching • 89.7 FM, KMSU, college radio • 90.5 FM, KNGA, Minnesota Public Radio • 91.5 FM, KGAC, classical • 93.1 FM, KATO-FM, classic hits • 94.1 FM, KXLP, classic rock • 94.9 FM, KTIS-FM, contemporary Christian music • 95.3 FM, KCMP, adult album alternative • 95.7 FM, KMKO-FM, active rock • 96.7 FM, KDOG, top 40 • 99.1 FM, KEEZ-FM, adult contemporary • 100.5 FM, KXAC, country • 101.5 FM, KEMJ, adult contemporary • 101.7 FM, KMKO-FM, active rock • 102.7 FM, KTOE, news/talk • 103.1 FM, KFSP, sport talk • 103.5 FM, KYSM-FM, country • 104.5 FM, KJLY, Christian • 105.1 FM, KCMP, adult album alternative • 105.5 FM, KRBI-FM, adult contemporary • 107.1 FM, KJLY, Christian; AM • 860, KNUJ (AM), news/talk • 1230, KFSP, sports talk • 1420, KTOE, news/talk.

Transport Public transportation in Mankato is provided by the Mankato Transit System. The city is served by Mankato Regional Airport, which has no commercial flights. Under MnDOT's 2015 State Rail Plan, Mankato is listed as a Tier 1 Corridor for regional rail service from Minneapolis and/or St. Paul. U.S. Highways 14 and 169 and Minnesota State Highways 22 and 60 are four of Mankato's main routes.

Transport: Road The following routes are within the city of Mankato. • U.S. Highway 14 • U.S. Highway 169 • Minnesota State Highway 22 • Minnesota State Highway 60.

In popular culture The protagonist of Sinclair Lewis's 1920 novel Main Street, Carol Milford, is a former Mankato resident. Lewis describes Mankato as follows: "In its garden-sheltered streets and aisles of elms is white and green New England reborn", alluding to its many migrants from New England, who brought their culture with them. Lewis wrote a substantial portion of the novel while staying at the J.W. Schmidt House at 315 South Broad Street, as now marked by a small plaque in front of the building.

In 1996, Don Descy created city-mankato.us as a teaching tool and example that not everything on the Internet should be believed.

Hotdish In 2016 Food & Wine credited a 1930 Mankato church congregation cookbook as the first written record of a hotdish recipe. Many churches publish cookbooks with recipes submitted by their congregation as fund raisers. The source included neither the name of the woman who invented the recipe nor the source. Mankato resident Joyce Nelson had a copy of the 1930 Lutheran church recipe book and it was found that the recipe was indeed included in that year's cookbook. Mrs. C. W. Anderson had submitted a recipe for a "HOT DISH" made with hamburger, onions, Creamette pasta, celery, a can of peas, tomato soup and tomatoes.