Kasson ( ) is a city in Dodge County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The population was 6,851 at the 2020 census. The city is located west of Rochester along U.S. Highway 14 and is one of the endpoints of Minnesota State Highway 57. The

Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Before its purchase, it was the largest Class II railroad in the United States, operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesot ...

's main

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

line also runs through the city. Kasson shares a school system with nearby Mantorville (the "K–M Komets"). The K–M school system is a member of the Zumbro Education

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

(ZED). Kasson is part of the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

According to

Warren Upham Warren Upham (March 8, 1850 – January 29, 1934) was an American geologist, archaeologist, and librarian who is best known for his studies of glacial Lake Agassiz. Biography Warren Upham was born in Amherst, New Hampshire and attended Dartmout ...

, superintendent of the

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Educational institution, educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the Minnesota Terr ...

from 1896–1934, the city of Kasson was incorporated on February 24, 1870, and again on April 22, 1916, separating from the township on March 21, 1917. The town was named after Jabez Hyde Kasson, owner of the original townsite. Kasson was born on January 17, 1820, and moved to

in 1856. He settled on a farm in the township, and laid out the village along with others. The plat was recorded on October 13, 1865. It had a station of the

Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, and its post office opened in 1866.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Kasson is located west of Rochester, and south of Mantorville.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 5,931 people, 2,224 households, and 1,569 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,340 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 4.2% of the population. There were 2,224 households, of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.5% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.18. The median age in the city was 33.1 years. 31.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.7% were from 25 to 44; 21% were from 45 to 64; and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 4,398 people, 1,678 households, and 1,179 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,711 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.29%

, 0.39%

, 0.02% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 1.41% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 2.30% of the population. There were 1,678 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were

living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.12. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $49,022, and the median income for a family was $55,880. Males had a median income of $36,045 versus $25,810 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $19,249. About 2.5% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The City of Kasson utilizes a city council/city administrator form of government with a mayor and four city council members. Two council members and the mayor are elected every two years via a citywide vote. Among its primary duties, the City Council makes laws, sets policies, adopts budgets and oversees a wide-ranging agenda for the community. The City Administrator is appointed by the City Council to implement these initiatives. This official heads the administrative branch of city government and directs all city operations, projects and programs. Various advisory boards and commissions provide information and makes recommendations to the City Council. These include the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Park & Recreation Commission, the Economic Development Authority, and the Library Board.

Historic 1918 Kasson Public School

Due to efforts of Kasson's non-profit historic preservation group Kasson Alliance for Restoration (KARE) the 2012-era Kasson Public School building has officially been placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Kasson's elementary and high school students began using the stately building on December 5, 1918. The school's nomination to the National Register was approved on December 6, 2007, almost exactly 89 years later. The school joins the Jacob Leuthold Jr. House, the Eureka Hotel the Kasson Municipal Building, and the Kasson Water Tower on the list of Kasson's buildings on the

. KARE and the City of Kasson co-sponsored an Historic Properties Reuse Study to investigate ways to use the Kasson Public School building. The Reuse Study Report was published in October 2009. A citizen task force was formed in November 2009 and began meeting in January 2010 to investigate the

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse is the reuse of an existing building for a purpose other than that for which it was originally built or designed. It is also known as recycling and conversion. The adaptive reuse of buildings can be a viable alternative to new con ...

s options outlined in the report which included a survey distributed to all of Kasson's 5,000 citizens. 581 citizens responded. In May 2010 the Task Force presented the survey results to the City Council. 58% of the respondents favored rehabilitating/reusing the school. At a city council meeting in August 2010, Mayor Tim Tjosaas asked the council to form a Library Building Committee (LBC) composed of citizen volunteers; this was approved. The LBC began meeting in September 2010. In February 2011 the LBC announced that they had met with Deb Parrott of the engineering and architecture firm Widseth, Smith, Nolting and Associates. Parrott, who has experience with library design, was asked to prepare three library design proposals for the historic school, as follows: 1) total rehabilitation of the 1918 school building, 2) a partial or modified rehabilitation of the school building and 3) a completely new structure on the general footprint of the existing building (after demolition of the 1918 school). KARE rejected all three proposals and the building sits vacant to this day.

Festival

Kasson is known for its annual Festival in the ParkFestival in the Park
/ref> celebration in August, a volunteer-organized weekend with events celebrating the town's heritage and bringing together members of the community. The festival began in 1991 and has continued to grow over the years, including traditional events like a parade, a fireworks display, and the "Miss Kasson" ceremony, which was recently changed to "Kasson Ambassador," allowing men to take part. More recent events include a bellyflop contest, an eating contest, and a musical showcase. The festival takes place the second weekend in August every year at the North Park.

Notable people

* Philip S. Duff, Minnesota state legislator and newspaper editor * Alfred M. Falkenhagen, Minnesota state legislator and farmer *

Peg Lynch Margaret Frances "Peg" Lynch (November 25, 1916 – July 24, 2015) was an American writer, actress, and sitcom creator. The BBC dubbed her, “the woman who invented sitcom”. Lynch created the radio and television sitcoms ''Ethel and Albert'', ...

, radio and early television personality; raised in Kasson

References

External links

City of Kasson, Minnesota official websiteKasson Alliance for Restoration (KARE)Kasson Festival in the Park
{{authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Dodge County, Minnesota Rochester metropolitan area, Minnesota