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Morris is a city and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Stevens 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 5,105 at the 2020 census. Morris is surrounded by some of the nation's richest agricultural land, and
agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
is important to the local economy. Headquartered in Morris, Riverview LLP is Minnesota's largest dairy milking operation and one of the largest in the nation. Other large economic contributors are beef feedlots and swine producers, manufacturing, education, and healthcare industries. The town is home to the
University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN–Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal a ...
(UMM), part of the University of Minnesota system. It was established as a public college in 1960 on the grounds of a former industrial school for Native Americans. Today the campus has a population of approximately 1,900 and is ranked as a "Top 10 Public Liberal Arts College" by '' U.S. News & World Report'' and one of "America's Top Colleges" by ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
.''
"National Rankings"


History

Morris was
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1869 and named for Charles F. Morris (1827–1903), a railroad engineer. A post office has been in operation at Morris since 1871, when Morris township was organized. It was incorporated as a village in 1878 and as a city in 1902. The federal government and state in the 19th century had programs to assimilate Native Americans to the majority culture. The
Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
Roman Catholic order, led by Mary Joseph Lynch, established a boarding school for Indians in Morris, operating it from 1887 to 1896 under contract to the federal government. Initially, most students came from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, which had many Catholic converts. The Morris Industrial School for Indians was to prepare students for jobs in the industrializing culture. The federal government then appointed staff to manage the school into the early 20th century, before transferring it to the state. After the state took over the school in the early 20th century for general education, it taught agricultural topics. Agriculture has continued to be a major part of the economy. In 1909 the University of Minnesota established the West Central School of Agriculture (WCSA), and Morris closed. When the state announced a phase-out plan for Morris and similar agricultural schools, a grassroots citizens' movement convinced the state to establish a public college on the Morris campus. In the fall of 1960, the University of Minnesota Morris opened to students seeking a liberal arts education. It has been ranked a "Top 10 Public Liberal Arts College" by '' U.S. News & World Report'' and one of "America's Top Colleges" by ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
.'' The city contains five properties listed 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 ...
: the 1881 Lewis H. Stanton House, the 1899 Morris Industrial School for Indians Dormitory, the 1905 Morris Carnegie Library, and the early-20th-century West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station Historic District. Morris High School, begun in 1914, is also listed, even though it was demolished in 2013. The 1975 Morris earthquake occurred on July 9, and was the state's largest 20th-century
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
, rated at 4.6 Mn. On June 4, 1993, another quake slightly shook the community. This one measured 4.1 in magnitude and was the third-largest earthquake in Minnesota in the 20th century.


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 ...
, Morris has an area of ; is land and is water. Lake Crystal is in the southwestern part of town; the Pomme de Terre River flows through the town's eastern extremity. U.S. Highway 59 and Minnesota State Highways 9 and 28 are three of the main routes in the town.


Climate

According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Morris has a
warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Morris was on July 18, 1940, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 16, 1936.


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 5,286 people, 1,986 households, and 1,021 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 2,199 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.9%
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 ...
, 1.3%
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 ...
, 1.5% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1.1% from other races, and 2.6% 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 of any race were 3.2% of the population. There were 1,986 households, of which 23.6% had children under age 18 living with them, 41.7% 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, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.6% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the city was 26.5. 17.7% of residents were under 18; 30.8% were between 18 and 24; 17.4% were from 25 to 44; 18.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.1% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% 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 5,068 people, 1,929 households, and 985 families residing in Morris. The population density was . There were 2,067 housing units at an average density of . The town's racial makeup was 93.63%
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 ...
, 1.76%
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 ...
, 1.22% Native American, 1.54% Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.63% from other races, and 1.20% 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 of any race were 1.48% of the population. There were 1,929 households, of which 23.4% had children under 18 living with them, 42.0% 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, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.9% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town the population was spread out, with 16.7% under 18, 34.2% from 18 to 24, 19.0% from 25 to 44, 13.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 24. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 82.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,786, and the median income for a family was $46,556. Males had a median income of $34,323 versus $22,338 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 $16,607. About 8.4% of families and 22.4% 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 9.6% of those under 18 and 14.9% of those 65 or over.


Politics


Economy

Agribusiness contributes to the economy, as the region is still mostly rural. The state university is a major employer at its three facilities. Manufacturer Superior Industries employs about 800 people at its two plants in town. A majority of Superior's workforce is skilled in engineering or fabrication. The company manufactures steel conveyors and storage tanks for industries handling dry bulk, fuels and gases. In 2008, '' Inc.'' magazine ranked Superior Industries as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.


Higher education

The
University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN–Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal a ...
(UMM) is one of five campuses in the University of Minnesota system. It was established as a public college in 1960, on the grounds of the Morris Industrial School for Indians, which had also operated as an agricultural school. UMM has an enrollment of about 1,900 students and 145 teaching faculty. Some 61 students made up the first graduating class in 1961. Since then, Morris has conferred more than 10,000 degrees. Morris is home to the West Central Research and Outreach Center, a division of the greater
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. WCROC's faculty and staff study
agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
, soil science,
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
,
horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
,
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
and
swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...
production. WCROC is home to the University of Minnesota's Horticulture Gardens. During the last decade, the privately funded research gardens have gained increasing popularity. Their design has increased in aesthetic appeal while maintaining a research base. Each summer, the gardens are host to thousands of visitors.


Prairie Pioneer Days

Prairie Pioneer Days is a family festival hosted by the Morris Area Chamber of Commerce every July, which celebrates European-American settlement in the area. It includes many activities around town, including a parade, fireworks, and food and craft vendors. Since the late 20th century, festival organizers have also worked to include Native American participants and acknowledge contributions by their cultures.


Stevens County Fair

The Stevens County Fair takes place in Morris on the second full weekend in August. It is known for entertainment, 4-H events and family time. Each year people from miles around come to see the exhibits, take in some entertainment in the grandstand and see old friends while sitting on one of many benches in the shade.


Media

Four radio stations cover Morris; KMRS AM 1230, KKOK FM 95.7, and KRVY FM 97.3, all owned by Iowa City Broadcasting Company, Inc., and KUMM FM 89.7, operated by the
University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN–Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal a ...
. The '' Stevens County Times,'' a Forum Communications newspaper, publishes on Saturdays. It traces its roots to 1882.


Transportation

The city owns and operates the Morris Municipal Airport. Until 1979, Morris was served by passenger rail at the Morris station.


Notable people

* Gustav A. Anderson (1893–1983), Minnesota state legislator and farmer *
Dick Grace Richard Virgil Grace (October 1, 1898 – June 25, 1965), known as Dick Grace, was an American stunt pilot who specialized in crashing planes for films. Films that he appeared in include '' Sky Bride'', '' The Lost Squadron'', '' Lilac Time'', and ...
(1898–1965), Hollywood stunt pilot * Jim Hall,
Free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...
advocate, best known for
FreeDOS FreeDOS (formerly PD-DOS) is a free software operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. It intends to provide a complete MS-DOS-compatible environment for running Legacy system, legacy software and supporting embedded systems. FreeDOS ca ...
* Shirley A. Hokanson, Minnesota state legislator and social worker * Edwin J. Jones, Minnesota state legislator and businessman *
Mike Morley Mike Morley (born June 17, 1946) is an American golf course architect and a former professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour for 14 years. Early life Born in Morris, Minnesota, Morley was raised there and in Minot, North Dakota, where ...
, former professional golfer * PZ Myers, biologist and blogger * Zach Witt, former professional American football quarterback in the
German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is a professional American football league in Germany. The league was formed in 1979. In 1999, the league changed to its current name from American-Football-Bundesliga.
*
Trina Radke Katrina Diane Radke Gerry (born December 17, 1970) is a former competitive swimming (sport), swimmer who represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Early life and career Radke was born December 17, 1970. S ...
, Olympic swimmer *
Aaron Schock Aaron Jon Schock (born May 28, 1981) is a former American politician who was Republican Party (United States), Republican United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative for from 2009 until 2015. The district is based in Peoria, Illi ...
, former
United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
(2009–2015) * Royal A. Stone, Minnesota Supreme Court justice * Robert Ernest Strand, Minnesota state legislator and farmer * Brett Winkelman, former professional basketball player * Children 18:3, Christian punk rock band


Gallery

Morris Theater, Morris, Minnesota.jpg, Morris Theater Post Office, Morris, Minnesota-01.jpg, Post Office Public Library, Morris, Minnesota.jpg, Public Library Atlantic Avenue at 5th Street, Morris, Minnesota.jpg, Atlantic Avenue at 5th Street


References


External links

*
City of Morris official websiteMorris, Minnesota Police Department
{{authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Stevens County, Minnesota County seats in Minnesota