Mankato

City and seat of Blue Earth County, in south-central Minnesota; population (1990) 31,500. Mankato stands on the Minnesota River at the mouth of the Blue Earth River, 90 km/56 mi southwest of Bloomington. Part of the city also lies in Nicollet County.

Mankato is a distribution centre for dairy and other farms in the region, and has a number of agriculture-related industries. There are mills producing flour and livestock feed, and farm equipment is made here. Cans, generators, fishing reels, boats, and paper products are also manufactured. Limestone quarries nearby supply stoneworking facilities in the city. The name ‘Mankato’ comes from a Sioux term for the blue clay found in local riverbeds. Settled in 1852, the city was the site of a mass hanging of 38 Sioux in 1862, after they had staged an uprising and perpetrated a massacre at New Ulm. Mankato State University (founded 1867) and Bethany Lutheran College (founded 1927) are both situated here.