Montevideo, Minnesota, is among 10 U.S. communities that have won All-America City awards for 2004.

Winners were announced Saturday in Atlanta, Ga. Montevideo, one of 30 finalists, was honored for its efforts in education, welcoming immigrants and creating affordable housing.

Montevideo's Area Learning Center, serving several communities, has a 97 percent graduation rate, Mayor Jim Curtiss said. With an influx of immigrants in recent years, he added, Montevideo has responded with positive steps "to make them part of us."

The city's third distinctive effort in the past year, Curtiss said, was creation of more housing for seniors and low-income families.

Montevideo began an affordable-housing program as part of its recovery from significant flood damage in 1997 and 2001. Federal aid has been earmarked for a multimillion-dollar flood-prevention project this year, but it depends on state matching funds now held up by the Legislature's failure to pass a bonding bill, Curtiss said.

The awards, established in 1949, are conducted by the 110-year-old National Civic League to recognize "successful resolution of community issues through collaborative effort." The late pollster George Gallup, one of the program's founders, described it as "a Nobel Prize for constructive citizenship."

Curtiss emphasized that his entire community earned the award.

Other Minnesota finalists were Morris and Red Wing. Montevideo has been a finalist in three of the past four years.


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