21st century

Fergus Falls features different parks, including tallgrass prairie and eastern woodlands, stores, and other tourist attractions. The Union Avenue Bridge spans the Otter Tail River, and was reconstructed in 2004. Just below the bridge is part of scenic River Walk Park, which spans about a mile of the river. The part nearest the Union Avenue Bridge was redone along with the bridge. The town hall was modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Its west wing housed the city fire station until the 1970s. Other points of interest include the county museum, Lake Alice, George B. Wright Park, Pebble Lake Golf Course, and Veteran's Memorial Park. Arts in Fergus Falls are booming with a community theater program downtown. Many local and professional artists perform at A Center for the Arts.

The city also lends its name to the song "Fergus Falls" by the band Field Report on its 2012 self-titled album.

Fergus Falls received international coverage in early 2017 ^[8] and late 2018 after a news article in Der Spiegel falsely claimed there was an anti-Mexican sign at the city's entrance and fabricated other things about the town.^[9] The story's author, Claas Relotius, admitted to numerous instances of journalistic fraud.^[10][11][12] In December 2018 two residents of Fergus Falls, Michele Anderson and Jake Krohn, published a report pointing out the "11 most absurd lies" of the 2017 article.^[13] The same month Der Spiegel also sent a reporter to Fergus Falls to investigate and apologize.^[14]

Ethnicity

A strong economic division between later Scandinavian immigrant farmers and the earlier English and Scottish war veterans who retained control of the principal businesses of the city center, the banks, and the increasingly important Otter Tail Power Company, persisted for decades until several generations of ethnic intermarriage and continuing inward and outward migration largely erased the divisions along ethnic lines. The small black community, largely Baptist, which clustered in the Southeast section of the city, gradually dwindled as people departed for larger cities.

Growth

The dams built on the Otter Tail River beginning in the 1880s were powerful economic forces that shaped the area's development. Returning soldiers from the American Civil War settled in the region, mostly as farmers (wheat and corn in the western plains and dairy and hogs in the eastern hills and forests). The importance of the Civil War experience to these early settlers is highlighted by the town's street names: the intersecting principal thoroughfares are Lincoln Avenue and Union Avenue. The oldest parts of the town have streets with names such as Sherman, Sheridan, and Vernon. The early English wave of settlement claimed control of the falls along the Otter Tail River and established the first Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches.

Hotel Kaddatz, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, 1920

Immigration

Almost as soon as the foundational structure of the town was laid, an influx of Norwegian immigrants arrived, by way of the Scandinavian migration of Chicago and Minneapolis, often on the Great Northern Railway. Primarily dairy farmers, they established numerous Lutheran churches in the area. The Lutheran Brethren (Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America) established an academy in Fergus Falls, which today operates a private high school, theological seminary and mission society, with an office in Fergus Falls. The pietistic, low-church Lutherans constituted one cultural center of the Norwegian-German community, while the high-church First Lutheran constituted a separate center, which attracted a more upwardly mobile class of parishioner.

Population growth and loss

After the Interstate Defense Highway System built Interstate 94 along the western edge of Fergus Falls in the late 1950s, population mobility increased dramatically, and high school graduates increasingly left the town to attend colleges in Morris, Fargo-Moorhead, or the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. As farming declined as an occupation and lifestyle, with large-scale commercial farming gradually replacing the family farm system during the second half of the 20th century, the city appeared increasingly destined to become a retirement and nursing community until a new migration of younger remote workers moved to the city. The bucolic environment, with abundant sporting opportunities that had long attracted summer vacationers, combined with the relatively low cost of real estate and cost of living have brought people wishing to raise their children away from the comparatively commercialized and higher crime environments of larger cities.

Lakes

Major highways

The following routes are located within the city of Fergus Falls.

• Interstate 94
• U.S. Highway 59
• Minnesota State Highway 210
• Otter Tail County Highway 1
• Otter Tail County Highway 82
• Otter Tail County Highway 88

Climate

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 13,138 people, 5,814 households, and 3,262 families residing in the city. The population density was 931.1 inhabitants per square mile (359.5/km²). There were 6,342 housing units at an average density of 449.5 per square mile (173.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.5% White, 1.1% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.

There were 5,814 households, of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.9% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.84.

The median age in the city was 43.4 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 22.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,471 people, 5,633 households, and 3,306 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,031.5 inhabitants per square mile (398.3/km²). There were 5,909 housing units at an average density of 452.5 per square mile (174.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.02% White, 0.62% African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.

There were 5,633 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,454, and the median income for a family was $44,280. Males had a median income of $32,051 versus $20,841 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,929. About 7.0% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Largest employers

According to the Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission's 2015 Community Profile ^[20] the largest employers in the city are:

Elementary schools

• • Adams Elementary (1-2)
  • Cleveland Elementary (3-4)
  • McKinley Elementary (K-1)
  • Prairie Science Class (4-5)

Middle school

• • School of Choice, Homeschool Co-op (K-8)

Secondary school

• Kennedy Secondary School (5-12), with separate middle and high school divisions, is the sole public secondary school

Private schools

• Claire Ann Shover Nursery School (Pre K)
• Trinity Lutheran Elementary (Pre K)
• Our Lady of Victory School (K-6)
• Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (Pre K-12)

Higher education

• Lutheran Brethren Seminary
• Minnesota State Community and Technical College
• Park Region Luther College (no longer exists)