Minneota, MN

Minneota is a Lyon County city whose name comes from the Dakota language for ‘much water.’ The town was platted in 1881 when the railroad reached this part of southwest Minnesota, and the South Branch of the Yellow Medicine River still runs through the city. The city’s current civic map includes City Hall, a public library, Minneota School District, and the summer calendar, while the river and rail line show why the town took shape here. The local shorthand is Dakota name, railroad town, Yellow Medicine branch, and a city that keeps its water story in its name.