Fertile is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the "Grand Forks-ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area". The population was 893 at the 2000 census.
The annual Polk County Fair is held in Fertile and dates back to 1900.
History
The city was originally built along the Sandhill River for a mill. There was a brick-making factory at the edge of the city that ran for many years and supplied building materials for the growing town. The city was also a center of agriculture and farmers brought their crops to the elevator for shipment around the state. In recent years, the community built a nine-hole golf course that runs along the Sandhill River across the road from the old brick-making factory.
Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land. The area east, south, and southwest of Fertile are hilly while the areas to the north and west of Fertile are very flat and good for agriculture. Minnesota Highway 32 and Minnesota Highway 102 are two of the main routes in the community.
The city has a climate typical of a humid continental climate, with long, cold winters and warm, humid summers. The town averages 24 inches (610 mm) of rain and roughly 45 inches (1,100 mm) of snow each year. The record low is −46 °F (−43.3 °C) and the record high is 105 °F (41 °C). Because Fertile is located near the geographic center of North America, the area can experience many types of weather.
Economy
The city has a sandy soil, which makes the area immediately around Fertile poor farming land as the soil dries out very easily.[citation needed] In the areas east and west of the immediate area, 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. The remaining livestock production is mainly beef cattle, with a few dairy farms here and there.
Although not directly related to farming, another big thing in the Fertile area is hunting and fishing. The area is great for deer, waterfowl, small game and pheasant hunting as well as multiple types of fishing.
Education
The Fertile-Beltrami Public School is located in Fertile at the intersection of Mill Street and Jefferson Avenue. The school is a K-12 grade building shared by the community of Fertile and the smaller community of Beltrami which is located approximately 11 miles to the west.
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 that 'apply' and these students manage the school, City, and other websites that pay the business to update throughout the year. The business also takes on Video Editing jobs on occasion.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Year |
Pop. |
%± |
| 1970 |
955 |
— |
| 1980 |
869 |
−9.0% |
| 1990 |
859 |
−1.2% |
| 1995 |
854 |
−0.6% |
| 2000 |
893 |
4.6% |
| 2008* |
839 |
−6.0% |
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 893 people, 396 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density was 471.9 people per square mile (182.4/km²). There were 433 housing units at an average density of 228.8/sq mi (88.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.20% White, 0.56% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.56% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.34% of the population.
There were 396 households out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 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 years of age 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 the age of 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 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females there were 79.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city 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 for the city was $14,866. About 11.1% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
References
Coordinates: 47°32′10″N 96°16′49″W / 47.53611°N 96.28028°W / 47.53611; -96.28028
