• Newspaper
  • Community
  • History

    The Austin Daily Herald is an award-winning, six-day a week community newspaper. The Austin Daily Herald, first published in 1891, has long been recognized as the best source of local news in Mower County.

    The Austin Daily Herald prides itself on covering the Mower County community. Armed with the latest computer technology, reporters and production personnel gives us the opportunity every day to do great things and make a difference in the community we live in.

    The focus of the Daily Herald’s editorial staff is local names and faces. With more than 40,000 residents living in the trade area, there is never a shortage of news.

    Herald editors and reporters meet the challenge of providing readers with hard news coverage as well as feature stories. The intent of the Herald’s coverage is not only to inform, but to entertain and provide readers with knowledge they can use in their daily lives.

    It is the Austin Daily Herald’s dedication to the local community that sets it a part and makes it “The Newspaper That Cares About Austin.”

    Goal

    The Herald’s goal is to provide the best and most accurate news for our readers and community.

    Circulation

    4,000 daily average. We publish Sunday (am), Monday-Friday pm. We have the Herald Early Edition that goes to non subscribers that publishes on Sunday AM, and austindailyherald.com that reaches over 7,000 unique visitors daily and over 850,000 pageviews monthly

    Internet presence

    www.austindailyherald.com

    Awards

    The Herald has won numerous state press association awards.

  • Market

    Austin is located in southeast Minnesota, 10 miles north of the Iowa border and 80 miles south of the Twin Cities. Austin is headquarters for Hormel Foods Corp., has its own public and commercial TV station and is located along Interstate 90.

    Population

    City of Austin: 24,718

    Mower County: 39,163

    Climate

    Austin experiences each of the four seasons, with winter lasting a bit longer than the other three.

    Major employers

    Hormel Foods, Quality Pork Processors Inc., Mayo Health Systems, Austin Public Schools

    Education

    Austin Public School: High school, middle school, intermediate school, four elementary schools, and a kindergarten center

    Riverland Community College’s main campus is in Austin. Campuses also are in Albert Lea and Owatonna.

    History

    The history of the County starts with Jacob McQuillin and his family settling in what was to become Mower County in 1852. By 1855 the population had grown enough to merit official formation as a county.

    On March 1, 1856, Governor Willis A. Gorman signed the act organizing Mower County and named it in honor of John Edward Mower, a member of the territorial legislature. A temporary board of three county commissioners was appointed and first met in Frankford.

    Disagreement about the location of the county seat evolved between Frankford and Austin. The County records were stolen by settlers armed with rifles, revolvers and knives. The dispute was settled in favor of Austin by a vote of the people in October of 1856.

    There were 374 votes cast. The first courthouse was built in 1868, which was the same year the number of commissioners on the County Board expanded to the current number of five. The Courthouse has been added to and remodeled several times in its history.

    Currently the County operates a number of facilities throughout the County providing service to the citizens with the courthouse in Austin remaining the main facility. Claim to fame: Home base for Hormel Foods Corp., makers of SPAM and other popular food products.

    Culture

    Austin boasts a diverse culture. Arts and music you can see hear and see are thriving in the community. With so many things to see and do Austin has something for almost everyone.

    Recreation

    Snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, golf, boating, fishing, hunting, hiking, bicycling

    Area information

    Austin Area Chamber of Commerce
    329 Main St.
    North Austin MN 55912

    (507) 437-4561
    www.austincoc.com