| Worthington, Minnesota | |
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| Motto: You'll Come To Love Us | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Nobles |
| Area | |
| - Total | 8.5 sq mi (22.0 km²) |
| - Land | 7.1 sq mi (18.5 km²) |
| - Water | 1.4 sq mi (3.5 km²) |
| Elevation | 1,591 ft (485 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 11,283 |
| - Density | 1,578.9/sq mi (609.6/km²) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 56187 |
| Area code(s) | 507 |
| FIPS code | 27-71734GR2 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0654391GR3 |
Worthington is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,283 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Nobles County6. The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway, later the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad) where steam engines would take on water from adjacent Lake Okabena. More people entered along with one A.P. Miller of Toledo, Ohio, under a firm called the National Colony Organization. Miller named the new city after his wife's maiden name.
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Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22.0 km²), of which, 7.2 square miles (18.5 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²) of it (16.10%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 11,283 people, 4,311 households, and 2,828 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,578.9 people per square mile (609.3/km²). There were 4,573 housing units at an average density of 639.9/sq mi (246.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.81% White, 1.91% African American, 0.49% Native American, 7.06% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 11.49% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.28% of the population. There were 4,311 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.12. In the city the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $44,643. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $20,880 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,078. About 9.1% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Worthington is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional district, represented by Mankato educator Tim Walz, a Democrat. There's a sister-city relationship between Worthington and Crailsheim, Germany founded in 1947 and therefore is considered to be the oldest relationship between an American and a German city that has survived post-WWII.[1]
Education
Worthington's currently used schools include Prairie Elementary School, Worthington Area Middle School, and Worthington Area Senior High School. They also have an Area Learning Center, Prairie Lakes Center, St. Mary's Catholic School, and Christian School. There are also many opportunities for preschool in Worthington: Head Start, Hi-Ho Nursery School, Montessori, and Sunny Days. [2]
Prairie Elementary School ...opened the fall of 2001, at which time it was the largest Greater Minnesota elementary school. Pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students from Bigelow, Reading, Rushmore, Wilmont, and Worthington attend this state-of-the-art, 149,000-square foot facility. The addition of all day, every day kindergarten was one of the most recent accomplishments. The staff at Prairie Elementary is highly qualified with many teachers having a Masters Degree. The staff is a group of highly caring individuals that are always seeking ways to improve what they do for the benefit of the students. Decisions are based on Minnesota standards and what is best for each student. Prairie students have many opportunities daily; they receive excellent instruction in the classroom as well the other places they go in the building where they are instructed by licensed teachers in the areas of music, physical education, media, Spanish, Special Education, English as a Second Language, Reading Recovery, Title, band, orchestra, and the After School Academic Program. Technology is up-to-date and accessible for all students and staff; there are five upgraded computer labs in the building. Students are able to attend many activities after school in collaboration with Community Education, Nobles County Integration Collaborative, 21st Century Learning Community, and the Worthington YMCA.[3] Worthington Middle School The Middle School Philosophy is fully implemented in grades 6-8 at the Worthington Middle School. As a Middle School, the staff is committed to implementing our mission of preparing early adolescents to be responsible citizens and life-long learners by guiding and supporting their academic, physical, emotional and social development. Worthington Middle School is an NCA accredited school. Built in 1981, Worthington Middle School received a six-classroom addition what was finished in February 2000 and fully used for the 2001-2002 school year. The Middle School is a one story, steel frame, masonry-designed exterior building with 105,000 square feet of space. It has regular classrooms, special education classrooms, a media center, laboratory classrooms, music rehearsal classrooms, gymnasium lockerooms, cafeteria food service area, student personal locker area, and offices. It is located on the NW side of Worthington. Interdisciplinary teaming is the central theme of Middle School philosophy. Interdisciplinary teaming means common groups of teachers - 2 to 5 - who share the same part of the building and are grouped according to different subject areas: language arts, reading, math, social studies, science and special education. They utilize common team planning time to discuss student's academic as well. Other important Middle School components include an advisor/advisee program, an extensive exploratory program, a reading period, flexible scheduling, extra-curricular activities, quarterly classes and an eight-period day. The Middle School grounds include three baseball/softball fields with a dirt/sand track around a football field. [4] Worthington Senior High School Worthington High School serves students in grades 9-12 from the communities of Bigelow, Reading Rushmore, Wilmont, and Worthington. A new addition and extensive remodeling in 1999 provided a new media center, greenhouse, an auxiliary gym, a fitness room, spacious art rooms, and science classrooms. The high school offers a comprehensive program of studies carried out in a four-period block schedule with 85-minute classes. Course offerings include Advanced Placement Science, English, Psychology, Environmental Management and Calculus classes. College Bound classes are offered in every core area. A wide variety of post-high school preparation classes are offered in Agriculture, Business, Art, Family and Consumer Science and Industrial Technology. Extra Curricular/Co-Curricular Activities include over 20 interscholastic athletic opportunities. The music program provides a concert orchestra, four instrumental groups, six different vocal groups and a musical. Academic activities include Debate, Declam, Theater, Yearbook, TV News, etc. [5]
Worthington in the news
On December 12, 2006 the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) staged a coordinated predawn raid at the Swift & Company meat packing plant in Worthington and at five other Swift plants in western states, interviewing workers and hauling hundreds off in buses.[1][2][3]
Notable natives
- George Dayton was a banker and a real estate developer in Worthington before moving to Minneapolis to start Dayton's Department Store (now part of Macy's). Recently restored, the 1890 Dayton House is a community gem.
- Tim O'Brien, an American Novelist known for his astute Vietnam War literature, grew up in Worthington in the 1950's. He references Worthington in several of his novels, including driving around Lake Okabena in The Things They Carried, published in 1990.
References
- ^ "U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case", article New York Times by Julia Preston, December 13, 2006
- ^ "Series of Immigration Raids Hits Identity-Theft Ring", article NPR by Pam Fessler, December 13, 2006
- ^ "Worthington shaken after ICE raid", article Star Tribune by Richard Meryhew, December 14, 2006
External links
- Community webpage of Worthington, Minnesota
- Video: 50 Years of Turkey Day, an annual celebration in Worthington, MN
- Video: the Unvarnished Music Festival, an annual event in Worthington
- Videodocumentary on the 2003 National Windsurfing Championship held in Worthington, MN
- Videodocumentary on George Dayton and the Dayton House
