[6] Hormel Foods Corporation is Austin's largest employer, and the city is sometimes called "SPAM Town USA".

Growth was slow during the first two decades, but the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad arrived in the late 1860s, hastening economic development.

At the time, the land was "one of the beauty spots of Southern Minnesota, but of late years has not been cared for and in places the banks have been disfigured by dumping along the shore of the stream," according to the bill's author, Senator Charles F.

Wilson Food Company declared bankruptcy in 1983, allowing them to cut wages from $10.69 to $6.50 and significantly reduce benefits.

In January 1986 some workers crossed the picket lines, leading to riots; the conflict escalated to such a point that Governor Rudy Perpich called in the National Guard to keep the peace.

[17] Austin completed a new $28 million courthouse and jail in 2010, a new intermediate school in 2013, and has a major redevelopment project at the site of the former Oak Park Mall.

[20] One goal is to make the downtown business district more of a destination, aided in part by the Spam Museum's relocation to Main Street in 2016.

This involved the purchase and demolition of buildings within the floodplain, converting low-lying areas of town to parks, and the installation of a flood wall to protect downtown.

The damage ran from the southern edge of Austin High School to the Milwaukee Road railyards on the city's east side.

The twister lifted briefly, touching down in the city fairgrounds and hitting the grandstand roof, tearing off parts and damaging beams.

With Hormel's corporate headquarters and main production facility in Austin, food processing plays a dominant role in the city's economy.

[32] Though most famous for SPAM, Hormel also produces many other brands, such as Jennie-O turkey, Muscle Milk, Skippy peanut butter, and Dinty Moore beef stew.

Hormel's consistent and steady growth have resulted in below-average unemployment rates for Austin and Mower County in recent years.

[36] Though unsuccessful in their bid, the adoption of high-speed fiber optic and wireless internet throughout Austin is one of the Vision 2020 committee's goals.

[37] Austin's retail business struggled during the Great Recession, including the demise of the Oak Park Mall.

[40] The Historic Paramount Theatre hosts a variety of local and regional performances,[41] and Austin High School's music programs have been recognized for decades as among the state's best.

Austin has produced many professional musicians of regional and national acclaim, including John Maus, Trace Bundy, Charlie Parr, Martin Zellar, Matthew Griswold, and Molly Kate Kestner.

In 2015 the MacPhail Center for Music, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, opened its first outstate location in Austin, at Riverland Community College.

[50] Literature Austin is the setting of Allen Eskens' novel The Life We Bury, published in 2014 by Seventh Street Books in New York.

The team finished 1st in the Central Division in the 2012–13, 2013–14, and 2014–15 seasons, and advanced to the Robertson Cup Finals in 2014 and 2015, though ultimately losing the championship both times.

[57] The rink underwent a major overhaul in 2015 when the concrete surface was relaid and the original cooling and dehumidifying equipment replaced.

These range from small, passive spaces like Sterling Park (manicured but lacking recreational equipment) to the 507-acre Jay C. Hormel Nature Center.

There are more than ten miles of trail, giving visitors the opportunity to see deer, mink, raccoons, salamanders, many different birds and other native wildlife.

It features an Interpretive Center, open daily, where visitors can learn about the history and biology of the area through hands-on exhibits, interactive displays and live educational animals.

The Nature Center offers equipment rental throughout most of the year: canoes and kayaks in the summer and cross-country skis and snowshoes while snow conditions are good.

[61] Horace Austin Park, in downtown, is the most centrally located and has a blend of modern amenities, including playground equipment, the municipal pool, and trails and green spaces surrounding Mill Pond.

Todd Park is a popular summer recreation space, with several sand volleyball courts and 11 softball and baseball diamonds.

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.

The campus also provides emergency and urgent care services, a complete pharmacy, and a recently expanded pediatrics department.