Town file
Red Wing, Minnesota
Red Wing, Minnesota (Goodhue County, Minnesota) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 84, "Sadistic Isn't Sexually Transmitted" (5 September 2018). Red Wing, Minnesota, lies in Goodhue County in the south-eastern part of the state, on the Mississippi River.
- Town
- Red Wing
- County
- Goodhue County
- State
- Minnesota
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 84
- Approximate location
- 44.581, -92.605
Episode 84 / 5 September 2018 / 146 min / full
Sadistic Isn't Sexually Transmitted
"It's Red Wing, Minnesota, in the southeastern part of Minnesota; Goodhue County, this town lies in, zip code 55066, area code 651." about 0:10:04
The case: Murder of Daylene Counts (March 19, 1993). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2018
- Population
- 16,445
- Median age
- 42.8
- Median household income
- about $48,000
- Median home value
- $183,400
- Cost of living
- $92,000
- Religious
- 66%
- Property crime
- ▲ above average
- Violent crime
- ▼ almost a third of the national average
History, in brief
- The town was named after a Dakota Sioux chief, Red Wing; the name means wing of the wild swan dyed red. about 0:11:14
- Dakota chiefs used the name Red Wing and a dyed swan's wing as the symbol of their rank. about 0:12:19
- This particular chief was an ally of the British soldiers in the War of 1812. about 0:12:32
- The federal government established an Indian reservation in 1889 along the Mississippi River, to free up land for new settlers. about 0:13:37
- The city of Red Wing developed around the community; in the 1850s Mississippi River steamboats brought people who settled and farmed there. about 0:14:27
- In 1873 Red Wing led the country in the amount of wheat sold by farmers. about 0:17:13
- The warehouses in the port of Red Wing could store and export more than a million bushels of wheat. about 0:17:20
- Once the railroads came, things started to pick up. about 0:17:53
- The Aurora Ski Club was founded in 1887 and was one of the first ski clubs in North America. about 0:17:58
- Its members developed their own Red Wing style of skiing. about 0:18:10
- A Norwegian immigrant named Mikjel Hemistvit set the first American ski jumping record with a 37-foot flight. about 0:18:28
- The immigrants in the area were German, Irish, Norwegian and Swedish. about 0:19:37
- Industries included tanning, shoemaking, bricks, barrels, boats, furniture, pottery, buttons, beer, lumber and stone cutting. about 0:20:36
- Red Wing Potteries was founded in 1878 and its factory closed in 1967. about 0:22:00
- The Prairie Island nuclear plant was built in 1973. about 0:22:22
- Red Wing shoes are manufactured in the town. about 0:22:36
- Redell ice and roller skates were made there. about 0:22:42
- The Treasure Island Resort and Casino is operated by Native Americans there. about 0:22:47
- The town's sister cities are Ikata in Japan, Kyushu in China and Kongsberg in Norway. about 0:22:53
- The town motto on its website is come for a visit, stay for a lifetime. about 0:10:33
- The town covers 41 square miles, 34 of them on land, with the rest made up of the river. about 0:10:12
The reviews read out
"Titled very stagnant, the review calls Red Wing a pretty town along the river but says the town is old, has no 20 to 30-year-old youthful vibe, only the Sheridan Theater for culture and a mall with about a dozen stores. It says manufacturing has dried up, jobs have gone with it, Jostens, Pirelli and the tannery are gone, even Red Wing Shoe has had tough times, and Walmart wages are hard to raise a family on."about 0:23:50
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Woodbury, Minnesota27 miles
- Menomonie, Wisconsin40 miles
- Shakopee, Minnesota45 miles
- Eyota, Minnesota45 miles
- Spring Brook, Wisconsin45 miles
- Lino Lakes, Minnesota47 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.