Kensett, Iowa
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Kensett Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50448. It stands on Elk Creek. The Survey maps it on the Manly quadrangle. 257 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,217 feet above sea level.
On record in Kensett
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
First Methodist Episcopal Churchlisted 2000
Population over time
2 figuresKensett fell from 266 to 257 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 266 | |
| 2020 | 257 | -9 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 7 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1954 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Manly quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
6 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Kensett between 2007 and 2020, burning about 42 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 July 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 17 June 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 1496 370TH ST., MANLY, IOWA |
| 12 May 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 November 2020 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 15 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Kensett: 7 producers, 6 past producers, 2 unknowns. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanson | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Jaspers Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Kensett Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Unknown | ||
| Kuennen Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Northwood Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Randall Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Stevens Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Clark Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kensett Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Moretz Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
20 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kensett in 20 storm reports between 1998 and 2022: 8 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2013 | Flood | Kensett | $100,000 | Sections of U.S. Highway 65 down to one lane due to flooding. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kensett | $20,000 | Law enforcement reported a tree blown down on a house in Kensett. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kensett | $20,000 | Fifteen power poles down at 400th and Orchid. Several trees and power poles down across the county. |
| June 1998 | Lightning | Kensett | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Kensett | $10,000 | Water was flowing over Highway 65. |
| December 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Kensett | $5,000 | This tornado developed to the west southwest of Kensett and raced northeast passing on east of Northwood near the Northwood Municipal Airport. There was a few outbuildings damaged along the path with only EF0 rating. The tornado dissipated about 2 miles northeast of Northwood. |
| August 2004 | Hail | Kensett | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kensett | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Kensett | $4,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kensett | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Kensett | $2,000 | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Kensett | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kensett | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Kensett | $1,000 | Report was relayed by KAAL TV. A possible funnel cloud was observed as well. |
| April 2004 | Hail | Kensett | $1,000 | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kensett | - | Public relayed pictures of tree limbs greater than 12 inches in diameter snapped. They estimated gusts to 70 mph. Time estimated from radar. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kensett | - | County dispatch reported significant tree damage in town. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar. |
| May 2013 | Heavy Rain | Kensett | - | Rainfall of 3.50 inches recorded. |
| July 2022 | Hail | Kensett | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Kensett | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glade | 2.7 miles | 7 | |
| Manly | 4.6 miles | 7 | |
| Bolan | 5.0 miles | 7 | |
| Northwood | 6.3 miles | 7 | |
| Grafton | 7.7 miles | 7 | |
| Hanlontown | 10.3 miles | 7 | |
| Deer Creek | 11.0 miles | 7 | |
| Somber | 11.1 miles | 7 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Kensett | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1931638 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 458045. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.




