Madelia is a small rural community located in Southern Minnesota. The city, located along the
Watonwan River, has a population of 2,308 according to the 2010 census. The largest industries in the
community are food processing, health care and agriculture. A large percentage of students in the
school district identify as LatinX, many of them multiple language learners.

The Child Care Need Summary, conducted by First Children’s Finance in June 2021, reports Madelia
needs an additional 199 child care slots. Families in the area report that there is a large need for infant
and toddler care, as well as multilingual providers. The lack of child care has negatively impacted the
workforce as families often go to other communities to meet their child care needs.