Austin Area Facts

LOCATION

Austin, the county seat of Mower County, is located in southeastern Minnesota, approximately 100 mile south of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, and about 12 miles north of the Iowa border.

CLIMATE

Austin's coldest month is January with a mean daily maximum of 17ºF. and a daily minimum of -2ºF.   The hottest month is July with a mean daily maximum of 85ºF. and a mean daily minimum of 62ºF.  Out average annual snowfall is 41 inches and the number of days between killing frosts is 159.

HEALTH CARE

Austin Medical Center supplies complete medical services.  Through the center, most major medical services are provided, including cardiac rehabilitation, chemical dependency, mental health, emergency care and impatient acute care.   Specialty physicians include orthopedics, obstetrics/gynecology, urology, vascular surgery, dermatology, gastroendrology, neurology, ophthalmology, pediatrics and psychiatry.  Patients requiring subspecialty medical services are referred to Mayo Clinic, just 40 miles away.

Healthful living and healthcare have become everybody's business.   Informed residents demand health and fitness education as well as excellent medical treatment facilities.

Austin Community Services, YMCA and health organizations supplement regular public health classes with health and fitness programs for all ages.  For example, Early Childhood Family Education, a pilot program sponsored by Austin Community Services, instructs parents in nutrition, safety, first aid, massage, muscle and sensory development.  The Parenting Resource Center Inc., provides whole-health family education lectures, group discussions and material to parents at all stages of their parenting life.

EDUCATION

Austin has a well developed post-secondary system.  Riverland Community College attracts students from surrounding states to its broad range of highly regarded programs, including electronics, radio/TV broadcasting and cosmetology.  The community college also has an excellent reputation for preparing students for both the job market and upper levels of college and graduate schools.  For the general public, Austin Community Services offers numerous courses for nearly every interest, from motorcycle maintenance to foreign language training to ballroom dancing.

From preschool to college, Austin provides education for a lifetime.

INDUSTRY

The quest for quality industrial ventures reaffirms the principle on which Austin's economic security was founded:  "Don't aim to be biggest -- aim to be best."  That was George A. Hormel's goal when he started a small packing house in Austin over a century ago.  Today, Hormel Foods Corp. is a Fortune 500 company whose flagship plant in Austin -- albeit one of the "biggest" -- is generally acclaimed "best" in the industry.

This successful home-based, international enterprise has helped Austin maintain a favorable economic climate through decades of fluctuations in the general economy, including those of agri-business.

Many city leaders - mayor, city council members, educational and church board members and United Way volunteers - have come from the business and industrial sector.  Laborers and managers work with farmers, doctors, teachers and lawyers on volunteer committees and boards throughout the city.

The establishment of the Development Corporation of Austin and community support of this endeavor demonstrate the sense of civic responsibility and commitment that characterizes not only the business and industrial sector, but the Austin community as a whole.

INFORMATION CENTERS

For more information on the city and its wide variety of services, call the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau at (507) 437-4563, or 1-800-444-5713, or stop by our office at 329 Main St N, Town Center Suite 105L, Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

COMMUNICATIONS

Austin Daily Herald - 6 days a week
Mower County Shopper - 1 time a week
Television Stations
KAAL Channel 6 (ABC)
KSMQ-TV Channel 15 (PBS)
Radio
KYTC FM 102.7
KAUS FM 100 Country
KAUS AM 1480
KMSK FM 91.3

STATISTICS