Heron Lake, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Heron Lake is a city in Jackson County
, Minnesota
, United States
. The population was 698 at the 2010 census.
, the city has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), all of it land.
Minnesota State Highway 60
serves as a main route in the community.
of 2000, there were 768 people, 285 households, and 174 families residing in the city. The population density
was 723.4 people per square mile (279.7/km²). There were 322 housing units at an average density of 303.3 per square mile (117.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.58% White, 0.52% Asian, 6.38% from other races
, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.55% of the population.
There were 285 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 34.4% 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 2.52 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,222, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $28,958 versus $19,219 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $15,657.
Walter Mondale
, Vice-President of the United States under Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981) and the Democratic Party's nominee for President in 1984, attended Heron Lake Public High School and lived in the Methodist Episcopal Church
parsonage (still present in the town) for three years prior to 1946. His father was minister at the church during that time. Many residents of the town from that time have tales of the young Mondale's shenanigan
s. The local voters, unlike the rest of Minnesota, voted overwhelmingly against Mondale in the 1984 election.
Inkpaduta
, a Mdewakanton
Sioux Indian leader in the area from the 1850s until his departure to join Sitting Bull
's band in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, camped at Heron Lake both before and after his participation in the Spirit Lake massacre
and Dakota War of 1862
, also known as the Sioux uprising.
Juliet Peterson, a Big Brother 13 Contestant.
Several residents at the time claimed to have seen Al Capone
in the town at one point during Prohibition
. The town was on the route from the Twin Cities to Sioux City at the time, so the reports are intriguingly plausible if not substantiated.
, represented by Mankato
educator Tim Walz
, a Democrat
. At the state level, Heron Lake is located in Senate
District 22, represented by Republican
Doug Magnus
, and in House
District 22B, represented by Republican Rod Hamilton
.
Jackson County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,268 people, 4,556 households, and 3,116 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 5,092 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 698 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), all of it land.
Minnesota State Highway 60
Minnesota State Highway 60
Minnesota State Highway 60 is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line , where the route becomes Wisconsin Highway 25 upon crossing the Mississippi River.Highway 60 is...
serves as a main route in the community.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 768 people, 285 households, and 174 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 723.4 people per square mile (279.7/km²). There were 322 housing units at an average density of 303.3 per square mile (117.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.58% White, 0.52% Asian, 6.38% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.55% of the population.
There were 285 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 34.4% 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 2.52 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,222, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $28,958 versus $19,219 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $15,657.
Notable people
Roman Catholic Bishop Frederick William Freking of the Diocese of La Crosse was born in rural Heron Lake.Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
, Vice-President of the United States under Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
(1977–1981) and the Democratic Party's nominee for President in 1984, attended Heron Lake Public High School and lived in the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
parsonage (still present in the town) for three years prior to 1946. His father was minister at the church during that time. Many residents of the town from that time have tales of the young Mondale's shenanigan
Shenanigan
Shenanigan or shenanigans may refer to:* Shenanigans , a 1964-65 children's television game show* Shenanigans , a 1995 EP by the American punk rock band Squirtgun* Shenanigans , a 2002 album by Green Day...
s. The local voters, unlike the rest of Minnesota, voted overwhelmingly against Mondale in the 1984 election.
Inkpaduta
Inkpaduta
Inkpaduta was a war chief of the Santee Sioux during the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre and the 1862 Dakota War against the United States Army in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory.-Early life:Inkpaduta was born in what later became the Dakota...
, a Mdewakanton
Mdewakanton
Mdewakantonwan are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti Dakota . Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota, which in the Dakota language was called mde wakan .As part of the Santee Sioux, their ancestors had migrated from the Southeast of the present-day United States, where the...
Sioux Indian leader in the area from the 1850s until his departure to join Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
's band in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, camped at Heron Lake both before and after his participation in the Spirit Lake massacre
Spirit Lake Massacre
The Spirit Lake Massacre was an attack by a Wahpetuke band of Santee Sioux on scattered Iowa frontier settlements during a severe winter. Suffering a shortage of food, the renegade chief Inkpaduta led 14 Sioux against the settlements near Okoboji and Spirit lakes in the northwestern territory of...
and Dakota War of 1862
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...
, also known as the Sioux uprising.
Juliet Peterson, a Big Brother 13 Contestant.
Several residents at the time claimed to have seen Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
in the town at one point during Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. The town was on the route from the Twin Cities to Sioux City at the time, so the reports are intriguingly plausible if not substantiated.
Politics
Heron Lake is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional districtMinnesota's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. The First District is primarily a rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, although this is changing rapidly due to strong population growth in...
, represented by Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
educator Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
, a Democrat
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
. At the state level, Heron Lake is located in Senate
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
District 22, represented by Republican
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
Doug Magnus
Doug Magnus
Douglas Rudy "Doug" Magnus is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate, representing District 22, which includes all of Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone and Rock counties in the southwestern part of the state...
, and in House
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
District 22B, represented by Republican Rod Hamilton
Rod Hamilton
Rodney W. "Rod" Hamilton is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 22B, which includes all or portions of Cottonwood, Jackson and Nobles counties in the southwestern part of the state...
.