06/15/2026
As the Historical Society celebrates 125 years, we are looking back at the different decades of our history. This is what was happening in Blue Earth County in the 1960s!
1960 – KEYC begins broadcasting in this year. The US census puts the Mankato population at 23,797 and the total Blue Earth County population at 44,385.
1963 – KMSU begins transmitting at 10 Watts in January. This year also marked the end of passenger rail service to Mankato in July.
1964 – Businesses begin to open up in larger developments in the Madison Avenue area, shifting some retailers from downtown over time.
1965 – A blizzard in March results in a snowfall of 9.3 inches, with gusts up to 75 miles per hour, closing all State throughfares (except for HWY 169) with eight-to-ten-foot drifts. In April, beginning on the 6th, a massive flood hit, with water reaching up to 29.07 feet at its height on the 10th. An evacuation order was issued for North Mankato on the 9th, with most of the 5,900 residents already having self-evacuated. One man, Gerry Hammerschmidt, died in the flood.
1967 – The Minnesota Valley Regional Library system is established in this year linking the Blue Earth County, Mankato, Nicollet County, and North Mankato libraries.
1968 – Immanuel and St. Joseph’s hospitals merge, resulting in a combined hospital bed total of 361 in Mankato. In April, the busiest draft board month in the county to that date occurred, with 30 inductions. In July, 7 inches of rain fell on Mankato, flooding basements and streets with mud, cutting off utilities, and causing 2 million dollars in property damage with a further 2 million in cropland damage.
1969 – April saw a high-water point of 27.07 inches in the 1969 flood, which caused much less damage than in 1965 due to greatly increased city preparation. Le Hillier was evacuated as a precaution, but North Mankato and Mankato were largely unaffected.
