Worthington, Minnesota
Q: Where is Worthington?
A: Worthington is located in southwest Minnesota, 10 miles from Iowa and 40 miles from South Dakota. The largest nearby city is Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but Minneapolis and Omaha are manageable 3-hour drives away. Worthington is the seat of Nobles County.
Q: What is there to do in Worthington?
A: Worthington offers many outdoor activities at all times of the year. The city is nestled around a large recreational lake and boasts many parks and trails for people of all ages to enjoy. Read more about annual festivities and amenities on the City of Worthington’s webpage and be sure to follow the City of Worthington’s active Facebook page to learn about food truck nights, festivals, and outdoor concerts.
Q: How do I find housing in Worthington?
A: Housing in Worthington is not easy to find online. But don’t worry! Kivu Law staff are more than happy to connect a new employee moving to Worthington with local realtors and landlords to explore single-family homes or apartments available to own or rent in the Worthington area. As one may expect, the cost of living in Worthington is significantly lower than in metro areas.
Q: How many people live in Worthington and what are the City’s demographics?
A: Nearly 14,000 people live in Worthington, according to 2020 US Census data. MPR named Nobles County, home of Worthington, as the “fastest diversifying county in Minnesota.” Thirty percent of Worthington residents were born outside the United States, and nearly half of households speak a language other than English. Thirty-nine percent of residents are white non-Hispanic; this shrinking demographic is generally third- and fourth-generation Americans of northern European ancestry, many with roots in agriculture. Immigrants who arrived more recently have ancestry from Mexico and Central America, East Africa, and southeast Asia.
Q: Why is Worthington so diverse?
A: Worthington is unusually diverse for rural cities in the upper Midwest. In the 1990s and 2000s, economic opportunities in agriculture and food processing attracted immigrants from Mexico and Central America. In the 2010s, refugees from East Africa and Southeast Asia saw Worthington as a city that offered safety and prosperity. That remains true today, and now family unity seems to be the primary driver for immigration to Worthington. Today, most new arrivals come from Northern Triangle countries. Like immigrants who settled in Worthington in the mid-late1800s, many new immigrants come from rural, agricultural areas of their origin countries and find comfort living in a small community.
Q: Why do so many Unaccompanied Children live in Worthington?
A: Nobles County is home to a significant number of Unaccompanied Children who are sponsored by family members living in the Worthington area. Learn more through this NPR interview with Attorney Erin or through local stories on this topic by The New York Times and The Washington Post. Kivu Law represents many Unaccompanied Children in applications for asylum or Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
Q: Why is Kivu Law located in Worthington?
A: Kivu Law is dedicated to providing in-person legal assistance in Worthington because of the earlier lack of legal representation available in the region on immigration issues. Attorney Erin moved back to her hometown specifically to address the justice gap and make legal representation more accessible to southwest Minnesotans. While Kivu Law is capable of providing virtual representation to clients around the world, the law firm remains committed to providing accessible, in-person legal representation to immigrants in our local area.
