Editing Austin, Minnesota (section)

==Infrastructure==
[[Image:I90AustinMN2006-05-20.JPG|thumb|[[Interstate 90|Interstate Hwy. 90]] Business Loop (Oakland Avenue) runs through the center of Austin.]]

===Transportation===

====Airports====
Austin is served by [[Austin Municipal Airport]], a public-owned, public-use airport located on the east edge of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.airnav.com/airport/KAUM |title=KAUM - Austin Municipal Airport |author=<!--not stated--> |website=AirNav.com |access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref> The nearest commercial international airports are located in Rochester ([[Rochester International Airport|RST]]), {{convert|35|mi}} to the northeast, and the Twin Cities ([[Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport|MSP]]), {{convert|95|mi}} to the north.

====Bus and mass transit====
[[Southern Minnesota Area Rural Transit]] (SMART) provides bus transit within Austin and Mower County; daily routes, as well as on-demand pick-up and drop-off service is available.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://smartbusmn.org/ |title=SMART |author=<!--not stated--> |access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref> Rochester City Lines provides daily bus transportation between Austin and Rochester.  For travel within the city, there is also local taxi service available.

====Major highways====
Austin is located at the intersection of [[Interstate 90]] and [[U.S. Route 218]].  [[Minnesota State Highway 105]] runs from Austin south to [[Iowa]].
* [[File:I-90.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 90 in Minnesota|Interstate 90]] runs east-west through the north side of the city. The highway leads west to [[Albert Lea, Minnesota|Albert Lea]] and northeast to the [[Rochester, Minnesota|Rochester]] area.
* [[File:US 218.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 218#Minnesota|U.S. Route 218]] passes through the east side of the city as 21st Street, joins I-90 through the north side of the city between exits 180 and 177, and leaves through the northwest part of the city on 14th Street.
* [[Image:MN-105.svg|20px]] [[Minnesota State Highway 105]] passes through the southern and western sides of the city as 12th Street SW and West Oakland Avenue. It terminates at I-90 in the western end of the city.

====Rail====
[[File:Milwdepot-austinmn.jpg|thumb|Passenger trains once traveled the "Smoky Valley" line between Austin and [[La Crosse, Wisconsin|La Crosse]], and on to [[Madison, Wisconsin]].]]
Austin was once a railroad town. It was a division point and the site of car shops for the [[Milwaukee Road]], five lines of which met in Austin.<ref>Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn, [https://archive.org/details/historyofmowerco00curt <!-- quote=History of mower county, minnesota. --> ''The History of Mower County, Minnesota'']. Chicago:  H. C. Cooper & Co., 1911. pp. 99-102, 221, 236, 242.</ref> The community was also served by the [[Chicago Great Western]]'s north–south mainline for trains between the [[Twin Cities]] and Omaha. All lines served passengers, and the Milwaukee Road Depot was a busy station ferrying travelers to and from Austin. Passenger rail service on the Milwaukee Road through Austin between Calmar, Iowa and St. Paul ended in 1953, and Pullman sleeper service on the Milwaukee between Austin and Chicago ended in 1960. An overnight train on the Chicago Great Western between the [[Twin Cities]] and Omaha called at Austin, with the southbound coming through late in the evening and the northbound train stopping early in the morning.<ref>''Official Guide'', April 1965, p. 688.</ref> This train last ran on September 30, 1965, ending all passenger train service to Austin.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Chicago Great Western Railway| last=Fiore | first=David J.| publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] | year=2006| isbn= 0-7385-4048-X | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9oK-GKk71rUC | page=68}}</ref> Freight service continues on the former Milwaukee Road mainline on that railroad's successor, the [[Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad]], a subsidiary of [[Canadian Pacific Railway|Canadian Pacific]], but the Chicago Great Western was abandoned and torn up after the [[Chicago and North Western Railway]] acquired it in 1968.

====Trails====
Austin has an extensive network of paved recreational trails for biking and hiking. There are several miles of bike paths extending north to Todd Park and the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center. There is also a mountain biking trail, completed in 2015, that hosted a Minnesota High School Cycling League competition in its inaugural year.

Extensions to these existing non-motorized trails will connect Austin to the Blazing Star Trail (west toward Albert Lea and [[Myre-Big Island State Park]]) and the [[Shooting Star State Trail]] (east toward Rose Creek, Adams, and Leroy).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://havefunbiking.com/blazing-star-trail/|title=Hayward waits for bridge to complete Blazing Star Trail|first=Russ|last=Lowthian|date=July 22, 2016|website=havefunbiking.com|access-date=May 12, 2019}}</ref>

===Health care===
[[File:Austin Medical Center - Mayo Clinic Health System.jpg|thumb|right|Austin Medical Center, a full-service hospital and clinic, is part of the Mayo Clinic Health System.]]
The Mayo Clinic Health system operates a full-service hospital and clinic in Austin, the Austin Medical Center. Both primary care and specialty care services are available locally. The campus also provides emergency and urgent care services, a complete pharmacy, and a recently expanded pediatrics department. Before joining the Mayo system, Austin Medical Center was St. Olaf Hospital.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mayoclinichealthsystem.org/locations/austin/about-us/history |title=History |author=<!--not stated--> |website=Mayo Clinic Health System |access-date=September 5, 2016}}</ref>

The [http://www.hi.umn.edu/ Hormel Institute] is a medical research branch of the University of Minnesota. Established in 1942, it has become one of the world's leading cancer research facilities. In 2016 the institute was expanded to twice its original size.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/hormel-institute-expansion-includes-new-learning-center/article_d44d260b-8ae9-5992-afc7-7b96d6f75aa3.html |title=Hormel Institute expansion includes new learning center |last1=Yang |first1=Hannah |date=August 11, 2015 |website=Rochester Post-Bulletin |access-date=March 25, 2016}}</ref> Tours of the institute are available but must be arranged through Discover Austin, the local convention and visitors bureau.