Appleton, Minnesota Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Appleton
City
Appleton's Old City Hall
Nickname(s): "Home of Honored Veterans"
Location of Appleton within Swift County, Minnesota
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Swift
Area
• Total	1.92 sq mi (4.98 km²)
• Land	1.87 sq mi (4.84 km²)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.14 km²)
Elevation	1,007 ft (307 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	1,392
• Density	744.39/sq mi (287.34/km²)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	56208
Area code(s)	320
FIPS code	27-01864
GNIS feature ID	2393968
Website	www.appletonmn.com

Appleton is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 1,412 at the 2010 census. The town is home to a vacant medium-security prison, the Prairie Correctional Facility, which is wholly owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Appleton also includes a plant-protein factory operated by Eat Just, Inc.

Elmer A. Benson, who served as a United States Senator and as governor of Minnesota, was born in Appleton on September 22, 1895. Appleton is also home to many retirees and military veterans. All of its twenty-odd streets, except Minnesota Street, are named for local veterans who died in combat.

History
Geography
Demographics
- 2010 census
Education
Media
- Television stations
Notable people
See also

History

Appleton was laid out in 1872, and named after Appleton, Wisconsin. A post office has been in operation at Appleton since 1873. Appleton was incorporated in 1881.

Gethsemane Episcopal Church, on North Hering Street at Snelling Avenue, was built in 1879 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.04 sq mi (5.28 km²); 1.97 square miles (5.10 km²) are land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) is covered by water. The Pomme de Terre River flows through the city and continues 10 miles to the west and south into Marsh Lake on the Minnesota River.

U.S. Highway 59 and Minnesota State Highways 7 and 119 are the main routes in the city.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	400	—
1890	994	148.5%
1900	1,184	19.1%
1910	1,221	3.1%
1920	1,579	29.3%
1930	1,625	2.9%
1940	1,877	15.5%
1950	2,256	20.2%
1960	2,172	−3.7%
1970	1,789	−17.6%
1980	1,842	3.0%
1990	1,552	−15.7%
2000	2,871	85.0%
2010	1,412	−50.8%
2020	1,392	−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, 1,412 people, 677 households, and 342 families were living in the city. The population density was 716.8 inhabitants per square mile (276.8/km²). The 851 housing units averaged 432.0/sq mi (166.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.8% White, 1.3% African American, 1.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.2% of the population.

Of the 677 households, 22.3% had children under 18 living with them, 35.6% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 49.5% were not families. About 44.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.00, and the average family size was 2.78.

The median age in the city was 48.5 years; 20% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.5% were between 18 and 24; 20% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 27.5% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

Education

Appleton Public Schools are part of the Lac qui Parle Valley School District. Schools in the district include MMN Elementary School, Appleton Elementary School, LqPV Middle School and Lac qui Parle Valley High School.

Appleton Elementary School is located in Appleton.

Ranae Tostenson is the superintendent of schools.

Media

Television stations

Appleton did have one full-service television station, PBS member station KWCM-TV. Pioneer Public TV moved from Appleton to Granite Falls in 2016. Appleton is also home to several low-power free-to-air and pay TV stations that show programming normally seen on cable television. While this phenomenon is fairly common in Canada, it is unusual in the United States. These stations are licensed to Appleton:

Free-to-air stations:

KWCM-TV analog 10/digital 31 (PBS)
K56BZ analog 56 - KARE via K50AG (NBC)
K58EO analog 58 - WFTC (MyNetworkTV)

Defunct TV stations:

K15DC analog 15 - A&E
K17CS analog 17 - TBS (not WTBS)
K19CW analog 19 - USA Network
K21AK analog 21 - Nickelodeon (owned by Teleview Systems of Minnesota, Inc.)
K23DF analog 23 - Discovery Channel
K29CC analog 29 - ABC Family
K31BT - (formerly CNN, shut down for KWCM-DT's signal)
K33CR - (formerly Showtime)
K49ED analog 49 - TNT
K52AH analog 52 - Spike TV (formerly TNN)
K54AK - KMSP-TV (Fox)
K60AB - (formerly FSN North)

Notable people

Elmer Austin Benson (September 22, 1895 – March 13, 1985) was an American lawyer and politician from Appleton, Minnesota. In 1935, Elmer Benson was appointed to the U.S. Senate following the death of Thomas Schall and in 1936 he was elected as Governor of Minnesota (1937 – 1939).
Charles Peter “Chuck” Brown (April 3, 1951 – August 14, 2003) - politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (1985 – 1996)
Jerry Koosman - former Major League Baseball pitcher
Martin J. McGowan, Jr. (October 28, 1920 – August 13, 2009) - editor, publisher of the Appleton Press, (1942 - 1964), and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (1959 – 1966)
Brad Rheingans - former professional wrestler
Clinton Sundberg - Hollywood actor
Herbert A. Winkelmann - pioneering rubber chemist at B.F. Goodrich
Edward T. Young (October 27, 1858 – September 19, 1940) - Minnesota Attorney General (1905 - 1909), Minnesota House of Representatives (1889 - 1890 and 1893 - 1894) and Minnesota Senate (1895 - 1902)

Appleton, Minnesota facts for kids

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