Minden, Nevada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Minden, Nevada
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Douglas County Courthouse (2006)
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Location within Douglas County and Nevada
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| Country | United States | |
| State | Nevada | |
| County | Douglas | |
| Founded | 1906 | |
| Named for | Minden, Germany | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 3.72 sq mi (9.64 km2) | |
| • Land | 3.70 sq mi (9.59 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) | |
| Elevation | 4,725 ft (1,440 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 3,442 | |
| • Density | 930.02/sq mi (359.04/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific (PST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) | |
| ZIP code |
89423
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| Area code | 775 | |
| FIPS code | 32-47000 | |
| GNIS ID | 860600 | |
| Website | ||
| Reference #: | 130 | |
Minden is a small community in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It's known as a census-designated place (CDP). In 2020, about 3,442 people lived there. Minden is the county seat of Douglas County, which means it's where the county's main government offices are. It is also very close to the town of Gardnerville. You can find a campus of Western Nevada College in Minden.
Contents
History of Minden
Minden was started in 1906 by a man named Heinrich Friedrich Dangberg Jr. He named the town after Minden, a city in Germany. This German city was near where his father was born. Many of the first people who settled in Minden were from Germany.
The town was built on land owned by the Dangberg Home Ranch. Heinrich Dangberg Jr. was also in charge of building many of the first buildings in Minden. The town has had its own post office since 1906.
The Sundown Siren's Story
For a long time, from 1917 until 2023, Minden had a "sundown siren" that sounded almost every evening at 6 PM. This siren originally meant that members of the Washoe Indian tribe had to leave town by 6:30 PM. If they didn't, they could be arrested or fined.
In the mid-1970s, Douglas County officially ended this rule. However, the siren continued to sound.
In 2021, the State of Nevada passed a new law. This law made it illegal for communities to use signals that were linked to old laws. These old laws had forced people of certain races or backgrounds to leave town by a specific time. Minden's Town Manager, J. D. Frisbee, said the law didn't apply to them. He stated that the siren was for honoring first responders and never sounded at 6:30 PM.
After another Nevada law, S.B. 391, was passed in 2023, Minden finally stopped sounding the siren. Marty Meeden, a retired teacher of Washoe descent, shared her relief. She spoke about the difficult history the siren represented for her community.
Geography of Minden
Minden is a census-designated place (CDP) with a total area of about 4.3 square miles (11.1 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 4.3 square miles (11.1 square kilometers), is land. A very small part, about 0.04 square miles (0.1 square kilometers), is water.
Gliding Capital
The Carson Valley, where Minden is located, is famous for gliding. It's considered one of the best places in the world for sailplane flights. Some flights from this area have covered more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers)! This is because Minden is east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This location helps create special air currents called lee waves. Also, the Nevada desert, east of the Pine Nuts mountains, creates strong warm air currents, which are great for gliding.
Roads and Highways
U.S. Highway 395 goes right through Minden. It is also the end point for State Route 88. This road becomes California State Route 88 when you cross into California.
Minden's Climate
Minden has a cool semi-arid climate. This means it's often dry, but not extremely hot like a desert. It has big temperature changes between day and night in all seasons.
In summer, days can be hot or very hot. Temperatures often reach over 90°F (32°C). Sometimes they even go above 100°F (38°C). But even in summer, mornings are usually cool or cold. It can even freeze in the mornings in June, July, or August. Rain is very rare during the summer months.
Winter afternoons are cool and often sunny. However, mornings are very cold, often freezing. Temperatures can drop to 0°F (-18°C) or even lower a few times each winter. Most winter afternoons stay above freezing. Many afternoons in winter can even reach over 50°F (10°C).
The hottest temperature ever recorded in Minden was 109°F (43°C) on July 6, 2007. The coldest was -24°F (-31°C), which happened on three different dates.
Most of Minden's rain comes from Pacific storms in winter. However, the Sierra Nevada mountains block a lot of the rain. This means Nevada gets less precipitation. The wettest year on record was from July 1937 to June 1938, with 17.18 inches (436 mm) of rain. The driest was from July 1959 to June 1960, with only 3.31 inches (84 mm).
Even though it's cold in winter, most precipitation falls as rain. However, Minden does get snow. On average, it gets about 21.8 inches (55 cm) of snow each year. The snowiest month was January 1916, with 52.0 inches (132 cm) of snow. The snowiest season was from July 1908 to June 1909, with 70 inches (178 cm).
| Climate data for Minden, Nevada, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1906–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) |
77 (25) |
84 (29) |
90 (32) |
98 (37) |
105 (41) |
109 (43) |
105 (41) |
102 (39) |
94 (34) |
84 (29) |
73 (23) |
109 (43) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 63.3 (17.4) |
67.5 (19.7) |
75.2 (24.0) |
81.8 (27.7) |
89.3 (31.8) |
96.8 (36.0) |
101.3 (38.5) |
100.0 (37.8) |
96.0 (35.6) |
87.7 (30.9) |
74.5 (23.6) |
64.6 (18.1) |
102.2 (39.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 46.6 (8.1) |
51.4 (10.8) |
58.2 (14.6) |
63.8 (17.7) |
72.6 (22.6) |
82.6 (28.1) |
91.2 (32.9) |
90.3 (32.4) |
83.4 (28.6) |
71.2 (21.8) |
56.8 (13.8) |
45.8 (7.7) |
67.8 (19.9) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 32.8 (0.4) |
36.7 (2.6) |
42.5 (5.8) |
47.1 (8.4) |
55.2 (12.9) |
63.1 (17.3) |
70.1 (21.2) |
68.5 (20.3) |
61.8 (16.6) |
51.1 (10.6) |
39.8 (4.3) |
32.2 (0.1) |
50.1 (10.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 19.0 (−7.2) |
22.1 (−5.5) |
26.8 (−2.9) |
30.4 (−0.9) |
37.7 (3.2) |
43.7 (6.5) |
49.0 (9.4) |
46.6 (8.1) |
40.2 (4.6) |
30.9 (−0.6) |
22.8 (−5.1) |
18.7 (−7.4) |
32.3 (0.2) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 3.0 (−16.1) |
7.7 (−13.5) |
13.6 (−10.2) |
18.5 (−7.5) |
26.6 (−3.0) |
32.0 (0.0) |
40.7 (4.8) |
37.9 (3.3) |
30.4 (−0.9) |
18.7 (−7.4) |
8.5 (−13.1) |
2.2 (−16.6) |
−3.1 (−19.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −24 (−31) |
−24 (−31) |
−9 (−23) |
9 (−13) |
16 (−9) |
22 (−6) |
29 (−2) |
28 (−2) |
20 (−7) |
3 (−16) |
−12 (−24) |
−22 (−30) |
−24 (−31) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.70 (43) |
1.30 (33) |
1.25 (32) |
0.49 (12) |
0.61 (15) |
0.33 (8.4) |
0.25 (6.4) |
0.26 (6.6) |
0.21 (5.3) |
0.61 (15) |
0.79 (20) |
1.54 (39) |
9.34 (235.7) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.6 (14) |
4.1 (10) |
3.4 (8.6) |
1.5 (3.8) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
1.6 (4.1) |
5.2 (13) |
21.8 (54.51) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 6.4 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 43.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 10.9 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
Minden's Population and People
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1990 | 1,441 | — | |
| 2000 | 2,836 | 96.8% | |
| 2010 | 3,001 | 5.8% | |
| 2020 | 3,442 | 14.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2000, there were 2,836 people living in Minden. They lived in 1,166 households. Most people (94%) were White. About 0.7% were Native American and 1.1% were Asian. Around 6.6% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.
About 28% of households had children under 18 living with them. The average household had 2.38 people. The average family size was 2.78 people.
The population was spread out by age. About 21.9% of people were under 18. About 23.5% were 65 years old or older. The average age in Minden was 46 years.
Education in Minden
All schools in Douglas County, including those in Minden, are part of the Douglas County School District. Minden also has a public library. It is a branch of the Douglas County Public Library.
Local News and Media
Minden has a few local news sources. These include the Carson Valley Times and The Record-Courier.
Notable People from Minden
Many interesting people have connections to Minden:
- Donald E. Bently – A successful businessman who lived in Minden for a long time.
- Shaaron Claridge – A voice actress known for her police dispatch voices in TV shows like Adam-12 and Columbo.
- Shawn Estes – A baseball player who went to high school in Minden.
- Nicholas Furlong – A talented songwriter and music producer.
- Howard D. McKibben – A Federal Judge who practiced law in Minden for several years.
- David Derek Stacton – An author who was born in Minden.
- Tanner Thorson – A racing driver who was born in Minden.
- Eric Whitacre – A famous composer who attended high school in Minden.
- Jeff Nady – A football coach who also attended high school in Minden.
See also
In Spanish: Minden (Nevada) para niños
