Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a 68-acre (280,000 m2) campus in Sioux City (area population 143,157 in 2008).

A group of Sioux City business leaders and Methodist ministers established the University of the Northwest in 1889 to provide educational, cultural and economic growth in the community.

The contributing objects are The Spoonholder (1908), a curved cement bench with footpad and backrest; Class of 1922 Sundial; and the three Harmony Lane Lampposts.

The Mustangs previously competed as an NAIA Independent during the 2002–03 school year; and in the defunct North Central Conference (NCC) from 1922–23 to 2001–02, which was affiliated in the NCAA Division II ranks.

The Mustangs women's basketball team won back-to-back NAIA Division II National Championships in 2004 and 2005.

Most recently, the Mustangs won the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship in 2015 with a 37–1 record.

Morningside's Department of Mass Communications has a weekly newspaper, the Collegian Reporter, it shares a public-access television cable TV as MCTV, and operates a radio station 24 hours a day at 92.9 on the FM dial, KMSC, Fusion 93.

[clarification needed] In 2005, the Hickman Johnson Furrow Library was renovated and a central campus green space and new maintenance facilities were built for $26 million.

Walkways and a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) access path cut through the upper-lawn making their way by Lewis Hall connecting the Hickman Johnson Furrow Learning and Olsen Student Centers.