Several indigenous peoples such as Dakota, Ojibway, and Winnebago inhabited the Rochester area.[8] The area developed as a stagecoach stop between Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Dubuque, Iowa near the Zumbro River. The community was founded by George Head and his wife Henrietta who built a log cabin named Head's Tavern in 1854 and named the city after his hometown of Rochester, New York.[9] When the Winona and St Peter Railroad initiated service in October 1864, it brought new residents and business opportunities and spurred growth. In 1863, William W. Mayo arrived as the examining surgeon for Union draftees in the Civil War.
St. Marys Hospital
St. Marys Hospital (1910)
On August 21, 1883, the Great Tornado demolished much of Rochester, leaving 37 dead and approximately 200 injured. As there was no medical facility in the immediate area at the time, Mayo and his two sons worked together to care for the wounded. Donations of US$60,000 (US$1,932,562 in 2022) were collected and the Sisters of St. Francis, assisted by Mayo, opened a new facility named St. Marys Hospital in 1889.[10]
Geography
Zumbro River in downtown Rochester
Rochester lies alongside the South Fork of the Zumbro River which is 57.6 miles (92.7km) long[11] and is ringed by gentle hills and largely surrounded by farmland within a deciduous forestbiome. The Zumbro Watershed flows through 1,422 square miles (3,680km2)[12] of agricultural and urban lands. Located in southeast Minnesota, the City of Rochester lies at the western edge of the Driftless Area, a region that was never glaciated and contains deeply-carved river valleys. The rugged terrain is due both to the lack of glacial deposits, or drift, and to the incision of the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries into bedrock. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.75 square miles (141.80km2), of which 54.59 square miles (141.39km2) of it is land and 0.16 square miles (0.41km2) is water.[13] The city is located 85 miles (137km) southeast of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.[14]
Rochester is in Olmsted County, one of only four counties in Minnesota without a natural lake. Artificial lakes exist in the area, including Silver Lake, a dammed portion of the South Fork Zumbro River just below the convergence with Silver Creek near the city center. Silver Lake was once used as a cooling pond when the coal-burning power plant was operated by Rochester Public Utilities at the lake. When operational, the RPU coal plant's heated water output prevented the lake from generally freezing over during the winter months, attracting large numbers of migratinggiant Canada geese. Large murders of crows are known to flock to Rochester during winter, including the Rochester cemetery downtown.[15]
Rochester has an extensive parks system, the largest of which are Silver Lake and Soldiers Field in the central part of the city. A major flood in 1978 led the city to embark on an expensive and successful flood-control project that involved altering many nearby rivers and streams. The Zumbro River flowing through the center of the city is presently being readdressed for increased development and use as part of city planning in conjunction with funding from the Destination Medical Center project.
Climate
With a slightly higher altitude and without the UHI as the Twin Cities, the climate is warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) even being further south, with warm summers and cold winters.[16] The city features four distinct seasons. Rochester sees on average 33.02 inches (839mm) of rainfall and 51.9 inches (132cm) of snowfall per year. Significant snow accumulation is common during the winter months. Spring and fall are transitional seasons, with a general warming trend during the spring and a general cooling trend during the fall. However, it is not uncommon to see some snowfall during the early month of spring and the later month of fall.[17] Rochester is the second windiest city in the United States, with wind speeds averaging 12.6mph (20.3km/h).[18] January to April are the windiest months on average, according to The Weather Channel. Rochester has been hit by two F4 tornadoes since 1950 (the first on May 10, 1953, and the other on September 16, 1962).[19] The city has also been hit by two tornadoes in the past decade. On June 17, 2010, a tornado hit the city's northwest side, damaging or destroying several homes and businesses around the Lincolnshire neighborhood.[20] Another tornado struck the city on June 4, 2019, causing damage to parts of Southwest Rochester.[21]
↑ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
In terms of ancestry, the 2005–2007 American Community Survey found German Americans to be the largest single ethnic group in Rochester, making up 35.5% of the city's population. Norwegian Americans made up 15.9%, while Irish Americans contributed to 11.6% of the city's populace. English Americans made up 8.2% of the population and Swedish Americans were 5.0% of the city's population. In the mid-1980's Rochester had fewer than 40 Hmong persons.[14] The 1990 United States census counted 200 Hmong persons in Rochester. This increased to 300 by 1998. Cathleen Jo Faruque, author of "Migration of Hmong to Rochester, Minnesota: Life in the Midwest," wrote in 2003 that there was "every indication that this trend will continue".[26]
There were[when?] 43,025 households, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.6% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.04.
The median age in the city was 35 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.8% were from 45 to 64; and 12.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
As of the 2011–2015 American Community Survey, the median household income was $68,023.[27]
Rochester, Minnesota – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Mayo Clinic forms the core of Rochester's economy. As of 2016, it employs 51,000[31] people and draws more than 2 million visitors annually.[32] The clinic's many facilities, along with hotels, restaurants and retail stores, comprise nearly all of the city's downtown. Excluding the state government, Mayo Clinic is the largest employer in Minnesota.[33] Other care providers, including the Rochester Federal Medical Center, are significant employers.
The Rochester Technology Campus is a sprawling 2.56 million sq. ft. leasable facility with uses ranging from office space, manufacturing, warehousing, data centers, and laboratories. It has been home to several technology companies. This is where IBM designed and produced its midrange computer series.[34] It was also the home of the first Blue Gene prototype and contributed the servers for Roadrunner.[35]
The economy of Rochester is also influenced by the agricultural nature of the region. There are multiple dairy producers that are active in the area. In addition, Kerry Flavours and Ingredients, a subsidiary of the global Irish company called Kerry Group, maintains a production plant in Rochester that specializes in fermented ingredients, found in breads, meats and other processed foods.
Downtown Hilton, completed in 2019, is one of the first major DMC projects.
In 2013, Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill known as Destination Medical Center (DMC). It intends to increase Minnesota's tax base, and promote business and economic growth throughout the state.[37] Because of this legislation, The Mayo Clinic will invest in $3.5 billion to upgrade patient rooms, add additional workspace, and build research and administrative buildings.[38]
The main developments of this plan will be in the DMC sub-districts. The Downtown Waterfront district will cover The Government Center, The Civic Center, and most areas near the Zumbro River. The Central Station district includes Central Park and most of Civic Center Drive, aimed to become a transportation hub of the city. St. Marys Place will cover St. Marys hospital and St. Marys Park, as well as most of 2nd Street. The Heart of the City will feature the Mayo Clinic campus and major residential, commercial, and retail companies. The Discovery Square area will include scientific and technology research facilities. Lastly, The UMR and Recreation district will feature Soldiers Field and the University of Minnesota Rochester campus.[39]
Founded in 1946, the Rochester Art Center is located downtown, just south of the Mayo Civic Center. In 2017, the Rochester Art Center's financial troubles[42] brought a renewed focus on the need for both formal and informal arts spaces in the city.[43]
In the summer from June to the end of August, every Thursday the city puts on Thursdays Downtown [44] where local restaurants and artists can set up booths all along First Avenue downtown Rochester. There are two stages where bands perform and provide entertainment. There are also a number of street musicians sitting on walls or standing on the sidewalks.
The oldest cultural arts institution in the community, Rochester Symphony Orchestra & Chorale was founded in 1919 as a professional performing arts organization called the Rochester Orchestra. Its earliest ensemble, the Lawler-Dodge Orchestra, was founded in 1912 as a volunteer orchestra, driven by Daisy Plummer, wife of Mayo Clinic physician, Dr. Henry Plummer, and directed by Harold Cooke. In the early years, the Orchestra appeared in the former Chateau Theatre where they performed background music for silent movies.
Rochester has an extensive network of bike and pedestrian paths.
Rochester's city park system has more than 100 sites covering 5 square miles (13km2), including parks located along Bear Creek and South Fork Zumbro rivers. The city also maintains 85 miles (137km) of paved trails.[49]
The city also maintains four public golf courses: Northern Hills, Eastwood Golf Club, Hadley Creek, and Soldiers Field Golf Course located downtown.[50] In addition, a number of private courses are located in the Rochester area, including Willow Creek Golf Club, Oak Summit Golf Club, and the Rochester Golf and Country Club along with a number of courses in smaller surrounding communities. The city of Rochester has also started the bike share program for its community members where the registered members and visitors can rent a bike for free through one of its bike share locations at Rochester Public Library, Peace Plaza or Rochester City Hall.[51]
Quarry Hill
The foundation of Rochester State Hospital began in 1875 as the Minnesota Inebriate Asylum funded by a tax on liquor dealers. Land was purchased in 1876 and construction began in 1877, including the building of a hospital and the park nearby which was used by the patients and their families. In 1965, the park was transferred from the hospital to the state for the use of general public and since then there have been various developments in the park including the laying of paved trails. The 329-acre (133ha) park contains over 8mi (13km) of paved and hiking trails, a pond, and a historical sandstone cave carved in 1882. This soft St. Peter sand stone cave was dug in the late 1800's to store food for the patients of the state hospital. The cave was later abandoned with the invention of modern refrigerators, and is now a historic site.
Quarry Hill Nature Center is the center stone of the Quarry Hill Park in Rochester. The Nature Center opened in 1973, and was expanded in 1990. In 2017, the facility added additional nordic skiing. These facilities include modern educational facilities, and a 19th-century prairie style home where skis and snow shoes could be rented.[52]
Rochester is governed by a mayor-council government with a seven-member city council.[53] The current mayor is Kim Norton.[54] As of January 2021,[55] the city council comprises: Brooke Carlson, City Council President; Patrick Keane, 1st Ward; Mark Bransford, 2nd Ward; Nick Campion, 3rd Ward; Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick, 4th Ward; Shaun Palmer, 5th Ward; and Molly Dennis, 6th Ward.[56]
All municipal elected offices in Rochester are non-partisan, as stated in the city's charter.[57]
2020 Presidential Election by Precinct Biden:40–50%50–60% 60–70%70–80% Trump:40–50%50–60%
Rochester is the seat of Olmsted County, run by a seven-member elected county board, each representing district residents.[58] The County Board of Commissioners oversee county operations and address citizen concerns. When a commissioner is elected, they are elected to serve a 4-year term. When that term ends, the commissioner can run for re-election if they so desire. The County Attorney and the County Sheriff are also elected to 4-year terms and can run for re-election when the term expires if they choose. Each of these elected officials acts as the director for his/her office, and are accountable to the residents of Olmsted County.[59]
Rochester falls under the Olmsted County District Court within the Third Judicial District of the State of Minnesota.[60]
Rochester continues to trend Democratic in local and federal elections which has resulted in Olmsted County also seeing a shifting electorate.[63] In the 2020 presidential election President Joe Biden obtained nearly 60% of the vote in the city, the highest vote total for a Democratic candidate in history.
Courtyard and greenhouse of John Marshall Senior High SchoolMayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Rochester Public Schools enroll 16,300 students in 23 public primary and secondary schools.[65] The city is divided into three public high school attendance zones: John Marshall, Mayo and Century. Private schools in the city include Lourdes, Schaeffer Academy, and Rochester Central Lutheran School amongst various smaller private religious schools. Studio Academy, a fine arts-focused charter school operated for 10 years in Rochester and closed its doors in 2011 upon losing its charter.[66][67] The Rochester STEM Academy opened in 2011, occupying the former Studio Academy building.
According to the United States Census Bureau 2011–2015, the number of high school graduates or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+ was 94.1%. The number of bachelor's degree or higher percent of persons age 25+ was 41.3%.[27]
The city newspaper is the Post-Bulletin, an afternoon paper which publishes Monday through Saturday. The Post-Bulletin company also publishes Rochester Magazine, a monthly features periodical.[70][71]
There are four television stations based in Rochester: KTTC channel 10.1 (NBC), KTTC-(CW) channel 10.2, and KXLT-TV channel 47 (Fox) are a virtual duopoly. The stations share studios as part of a special agreement between Gray Television and SagamoreHill Broadcasting. ABC affiliate KAAL (channel 6) and CBS affiliate KIMT (channel 3) are also based in Rochester. Channel 15 KSMQ (PBS) in Austin and channel 24 KYIN (PBS) in Mason City are among the stations that serve the market. KAAL is licensed to Austin and KIMT is licensed to Mason City, but have a studios in Rochester. KIMT opened a studio in Rochester in late 2017, which now serves as the main setting for their newscasts.
The Rochester area is provided cable service by Charter Communications, which holds a monopoly in the area. Indiana-based Metronet is currently in the process of developing the fiber-optic network to provide cable service to Rochester.[72]
Transportation
Bike on Rochester city bus
Rochester is served by three U.S. highways (U.S. 14, U.S. 52, and U.S. 63), and the southern edge of Rochester is skirted by Interstate 90 and State Highway 30. Olmsted County Highway 22 is also a main highway in the city. A combination of skyways and subterranean walkways link most downtown buildings, which residents often use to avoid harsh winter weather conditions. Public bus transit is run by Rochester Public Transit. Its operations are carried out by First Transit. The City of Rochester encourages biking through its numerous trails and to facilitate the biking program all the city buses have bike carriers for easy transportation of bikes.
Rochester International Airport is located seven miles (11km) south of downtown. The airport is the second busiest commercial airport in Minnesota.[73] It has direct flights to Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, and Minneapolis, with occasional charter flights servicing Riverside Resort in Laughlin, Nevada.[74] Nonstop flights to Phoenix and Fort Myers were scheduled to begin in early 2022.[75]
Rochester has a shuttle service connecting to the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport by Rochester Shuttle Service and Groome Transportation (formerly Go Rochester Direct).
Rochester is planning a 2.6mi (4.2km)bus rapid transit line known as Link. The route will have seven stations along 2nd Street SW and is expected to open in 2025. It will be the first bus rapid transit line in Minnesota outside the Twin Cities.[77]
Minnesota is a 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 south, and North Dakota and South Dakota to the west. It is the 12th-largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd-most populous, with around 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"; it has 14,420 bodies of fresh water covering at least ten acres each. Roughly a third of the state is forested. Much of the remainder is prairie and farmland. More than 60% of Minnesotans live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the "Twin Cities", which is Minnesota's main political, economic, and cultural hub and the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Other minor metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud.
Saint Paul is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center of Minnesota's government. The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices all sit on a hill close to the city's downtown district. One of the oldest cities in Minnesota, Saint Paul has several historic neighborhoods and landmarks, such as the Summit Avenue Neighborhood, the James J. Hill House, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Like the adjacent city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers.
Wabasha County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,387. Its county seat is Wabasha.
Olmsted County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population is 162,847. Its county seat and most populous city is Rochester.
Dodge County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 20,867 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat is Mantorville.
Claremont is a city in Dodge County, Minnesota, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 14, Claremont lies in southeastern Minnesota and is part of the Rochester metropolitan area. The city had a population of 513 according to the 2020 census.
Austin is a city in and the county seat of Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Pond. It was named for Austin R. Nichols, the area's first European settler.
Zumbro Falls is a city along the Zumbro River in Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 155 at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 63 and Minnesota 60 intersect in Zumbro Falls.
La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the La Crosse–Onalaska metropolitan area, which includes all of La Crosse County and Houston County, Minnesota, with a population of 139,627.
Pine Island is a city in Goodhue and Olmsted counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Most of Pine Island is in Goodhue County, but a small part extends into Olmsted County, making that portion part of the Rochester metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,769.
Eau Claire is a city in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the seat of Eau Claire County. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the state's eighth-most populous city. It is the principal city of the Eau Claire metropolitan area, locally known as the Chippewa Valley, which had 172,007 residents in 2020.
Rochester International Airport is an international airport located seven miles (11 km) south of downtown Rochester in Olmsted County, Minnesota. It is the second-busiest airport in Minnesota. Its name used to be "Rochester Municipal Airport", before adding customs and immigration facilities specifically for Mayo Clinic purposes in 1995.
Wausau is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Wisconsin River. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 39,994. It is the core city of the Wausau metropolitan area, which includes all of Marathon County and had a population of 138,013 in 2020. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and Rothschild.
The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is 64.6 miles (104.0 km) long from the confluence of its principal tributaries and drains a watershed of 1,428 square miles (3,700 km2). The river's name in English is a change from its French name Rivière des Embarras due to its mouth near Pine Island in the Mississippi River; the pronunciation changed from to. The Dakota name for this river is Wapka Wazi Oju, having reference to the grove of great white pines at Pine Island.
On August 21, 1883, a devastating tornado affected southeastern portions of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The massive tornado, retrospectively estimated to have been an F5 on the modern Fujita scale, caused at least 37 deaths and over 200 injuries. The tornado was part of a tornado family, a series of tornadoes produced by a supercell, that included at least two significant tornadoes across Southeast Minnesota on August 21. A third significant tornado occurred two hours before the main event hit Rochester. The Rochester tornado indirectly led to the formation of Saint Mary's Hospital, now part of the Mayo Clinic. The tornado closely followed destructive tornadoes a month earlier in the same area: on July 21, two significant, deadly tornadoes hit the area, including an F4 tornado family that killed four people in Dodge and Olmsted Counties, especially near Dodge Center.
The United States Census Bureau defines the Rochester, Minnesota Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as an area consisting of five counties in southeast Minnesota, anchored by the city of Rochester. As of 2018, the US Census Bureau estimates that the Rochester metropolitan statistical area has a population of 221,587. The Rochester–Austin combined statistical area has a population of 259,813 as of 2018.
U.S. Route 63 is a highway in southeastern Minnesota that runs from the Minnesota-Iowa border south of Spring Valley to the Mississippi River at Red Wing. It connects the cities of Spring Valley, Stewartville, Rochester, and Lake City.
The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) is a unique records-linkage research infrastructure that has existed since 1966, and allows for population-based medical research in Olmsted County, Minnesota and an expanded region of 27 counties in Southern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. The project has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1966. Specifically, the REP links medical data to unique persons across the many participating medical providers in the region. The project is a collaboration between Olmsted Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, Olmsted County Public Health Services, Mayo Clinic Health System, Zumbro Valley Health Center, and many other historical partners.
Link, previously known as Rochester Rapid Transit and the Downtown Circulator, is a bus rapid transit line planned for downtown Rochester, Minnesota. The 2.6 mile route would connect downtown Rochester, Mayo Clinic's downtown campus, Mayo Clinic's Saint Mary's campus, University of Minnesota Rochester, and a new 13-acre transit-oriented development at the western terminus. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2024, with operations commencing 2026.
The History Center of Olmsted County (HCOC) is a non-profit organization located in Rochester, Minnesota, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of Olmsted County. Founded in 1926 as the Olmsted County Historical Society.
↑ "Station: Rochester INTL AP, MN". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
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