Worthington/Southwest Minn. (Tracy, Alberta: apartment, rentals, crime)

[Hypestyle]

...I'm from Detroit, looking to finish a bachelor's degree in mass comm. in 12 months; trying to segue into radio/newspaper work.. often, you're expected to start out in a smaller-town/market area.. I saw a jobs listing for a radio station based out of Worthington, Radio Works LLC.. Can anyone speak with veracity on the local culture, living situation in Worthington and vicinity What are the apartment choices like out that way? expensive? relatively cheap?

[sholomar]

likely similar to the town I live in, Brookings, SD.. same distance from sioux falls, both along the interstate. You should be able to find affordable rentals without much of a problem. Looks like they are even cheaper there then here. Despite fairly heavy building the last 4 years, still a shortage here.

I'm surprised how many hispanics live there, and how almost zero live here.. two towns that are fairly similar to one another and not that far apart. It would be interesting to hear how they got there, to hear their stories.. did they all come at once? There's almost no minority races in this town for whatever reason.

For real nightlife/culture, you'll probably want to travel to Sioux Falls. Someone who lives in the town could give more details. It's mostly just sports bars and local pubs here. Filled with college students due to the large university here.

[tracymn]

there isn't alot in worthington.... people will make trips there to go to walmart, shopko, furniture stores and maybe a few other clothing stores but as far as I know people try to stay away from worthington. Because of the Pork plant there they have a high number of hispanics and the town is pretty based around that..... If you want to do any real shopping in the area you would probably have to go to sioux falls which would be the closest. As far as rent I am not sure what the cost is there I have noticed a lot of new apartment buildings going up. They do have a community college in the town. A lot of people that I know that work in Worthington will live in a small town around worthington for many reasons. one reason that i have heard they don't live in worthington is that they don't want there kids going to school there. Although I do find that people that work in worthington at the stores are generaly very nice. Whenever we have been to Graham Tire, Ron's Repair, Maurices and the bank the people working were all VERY helpful and nice. Also we ate at the ground round and had a male server who did a great job.....probably the best service we have had in a long time at any restaurant.

[west336]

Why is everyone afraid of Hispanics in SW MN? Yes, Worthington is heavily Hispanic for a small town, let alone any U.S. town (I think it's close to 50% Hispanic). I'm not sure how that diminishes the quality of life whatsoever though, and I think it's actually been a boon to that small town (I could very well be wrong). I haven't heard ANY grumblings about crime or poverty as a result of the HIspanic influx though, so I'm not sure where the attitude comes from (aside from general misperceptions and prejudice).

[tracymn]

I am just letting him know what there is in worthington and that there are hispanics there and that people stay out of worthington. i didn't ever say they are afraid of them or that they cause a lot of trouble just saying that people work there but will tend to live in a small town outside of worthington and or wont go shopping there...........

[audadvnc]

Originally Posted by tracymn

...there are hispanics there and that people stay out of worthington...

Because hispanics don't qualify as people?

You know what the calling card of a closet racist is? "I'm not a racist, but..."

[tracymn]

REALLY maybe you should read that sentence agian i never said that people stay out of worthington BECAUSE of the hispanics although people do but all i said was I was telling him that there are hispanics in that town and many people try to stay out of worthington............... but it does really suck when you go somewhere and everyone around you is talking spanish and you have no idea what they are saying when you are in AMERICA......never said i wasn't racist so how can i be a closet racist??

[601halfdozen0theother]

You can't criticize poor Tracy for just telling the truth about the way people really behave in that area. She's just telling it how it is, because OP expressed a desire to know how how things are in Worthington.

Criticizing a poster for just expressing reality doesn't eliminate racism, just eliminates open discussion.

[sholomar]

I have no problem expressing my problems with inner city blacks, because the facts support them, however that doesn't mean every member of that race acts the same way. It's more of a cultural thing than a racial thing. I dislike whites who listen to rap and act like wiggers with the same aggressive demeanor as well.

I don't see the issue in pointing out the racial makeup of a town. It's a perfectly valid question to act. Certain races tend to trend towards certain cultural behaviors. Crime stats show Worthington's crime is fairly low. Crime in my town is absurdly low, though it's a boring town. I'd rather live in Sioux Falls and take a bit more crime. I hear people say things about Rapid City and crime, but I never had a problem. Some people just want everyone to be happy cheery and say Hi all the time to each other, and are shocked when people just go about their business in a quiet manner and/or ignore each other when passing by in the street like they tend to do in any larger community.

On another note, I wish city-data would update the populations with the 2010 census data.

[JohnBanson]

Oddly enough, I've got extended family in Worthington. They absolutely hate it, and can't wait to get out. They say it's one of the harshest weather places in the country. The wind is ALWAYS blowing, and Alberta Clippers seem to be the norm in the winter. They also talk about the non-Hispanic locals having a bizarre, "We're awesome & you should be grateful we let you live here!" attitude.

Again, they absolutely hate Worthington and can't wait to leave.


By the way, the main reason Worthington has such a high Hispanic population is because it's a packing-plant town. In fact, the huge pork packing plant is about the only vital business in the town.