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Fertile ( ) is a city in Polk 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. It is part of the Grand Forks ND- MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 804 at the 2020 census. The annual Polk County Fair is held in Fertile and dates to 1900. This is Fertile's main attraction during the summer. It holds many competitions for crops, animals, and manmade items.


History

A post office called Fertile has been in operation since 1881. The city was named after Fertile, Iowa, the former home of a share of the first settlers.


Geography and climate

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 an area of , all land. The area east, south, and southwest of Fertile is hilly while the area north and west is very flat and good for agriculture. Fertile is home to the Fertile Sand Hills, sand dunes left behind by the ancient Lake Agassiz, which host several rare plants and insects. Lake Agassiz existed mostly in what is now Canada. The Fertile Sand Hills are Minnesota's only such dune field. Parts of the Sand Hills are protected in the Agassiz Dunes Scientific and Natural Area and the Fertile Sand Hills Wilderness Sanctuary and West Mill Recreation Area''.'' Minnesota State Highways 32 and Minnesota Highway 102 are two of the community's main routes. The Agassiz Recreational Trail, a 53-mile multi-use trail built on an abandoned railroad grade, passes through the city. The city has a climate typical of a humid continental climate, with long, cold winters and warm, humid summers. The town averages of rain and roughly of snow each year. The record low is and the record high is . Because Fertile is near North America's geographic center, it experiences many types of weather.


Economy

Fertile has sandy soil, which makes the area immediately around it poor farming land, as the soil dries out very easily. The areas east and west of town, however, are prime for corn, soybeans, wheat, sunflowers, oats, barley, sugar beets (to the west of Fertile), berries, hay, potatoes, vegetables, and much more. Livestock used to be a big area of agriculture for Fertile. Remaining livestock production is mainly beef cattle, with a few dairy farms. Although not directly related to farming, another vital part of Fertile's economy is hunting and fishing. The area is prime for deer, waterfowl, small game and pheasant hunting, as well as multiple types of fishing in the area's many lakes.


Polk County Fair

Fertile has been home to the yearly Polk County Fair for over 110 years. This event is known to be family-friendly with free admission, many food stands, rides, a free stage and grandstand. The fairgrounds are east of Highway 32, providing easy access for the many visitors every year.http://www.polkcountyfairfertilemn.com/about.html , additional text.


Education

Fertile-Beltrami Public School is in Fertile at the intersection of Mill Street and Jefferson Avenue. The school is a K-12 grade building shared by Fertile and the smaller community of Beltrami, which is about 12 miles to the west. The school's team is the Fertile Falcons, which includes softball, baseball, basketball, volleyball, football, and golf. Advance Com Advance Com is a student-based web hosting service that creates and designs web pages for the community. It is managed by Year-3 computer students who "apply" and manage the school, and other websites that pay the business to update throughout the year. The business also takes on video editing jobs on occasion. Knowledge Bowl Knowledge Bowl is a question-based competition in Minnesota. The first round is a test taken by five team members to determine their ranking. The written round is usually followed by four oral rounds in which four team members participate. In 2011 the Fertile-Beltrami Knowledge Bowl went to the state competition for the first time.


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 842 people, 372 households, and 211 families living 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 428 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.1%
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 ...
, 0.5% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.3% 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 1.3% of the population. There were 372 households, of which 24.7% had children under age 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.3% were non-families. 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the city was 44.1. 23% of residents were under 18; 6.1% were between 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 21.4% were from 45 to 64; and 27.2% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.4% male and 53.6% female.


2000 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 2000, there were 893 people, 396 households, and 220 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 433 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.20%
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 ...
, 0.56% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.56% from other races, and 1.34% 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 1.34% of the population. Fertile has the nation's second-highest percentage of residents claiming Norwegian ancestry, at 54.4%. There were 396 households, of which 21.7% had children under 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.2% were non-families. 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 29.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.3% under 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 37.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 49. For every 100 females, there were 79.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 72.8 males. The median income for a household was $23,021, and the median income for a family was $30,192. Males had a median income of $27,344 versus $20,341 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 ...
was $14,866. About 11.1% of families and 17.0% 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 35.4% of those under 18 and 9.0% of those 65 or older.


References

{{Authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Polk County, Minnesota