Manning

History

Prior to the city's formation, the area of Manning was a swampy region occasionally used by local Iowa people for hunting. There were no nearby rivers and few trees. The Iowa Southwestern railroad was completed in 1880. Some yards and a depot were constructed at the future location of Manning in 1881. In the same year, the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad constructed a road across Iowa, south of and parallel to, the Northwest. These railroads intersected at what is now Manning. Many of these railroads went directly through where the Manning Park currently is. In 1969, an unknown saboteur used dynamite to bomb one of the rails and derail the passenger train traveling on the east-west Milwaukee railroad line (presently owned and operated by the BNSF Railway), apparently hoping that it would careen into the Nishnabotna river below. The train came to a safe stop but only after it derailed. The crime was never solved; no group claimed responsibility and no motive for the bombing was ever discovered.

Geography

Manning is located along the West Nishnabotna River near its source. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• IKM-Manning Middle School
  Middle · Manning · 284 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• IKM-Manning High School
  High · Manning · 196 students · 9.8:1 ratio