Champlin, Minnesota

Champlin is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota,  United States. The population was 23,089 at the 2010 census.

U.S. Route 169 serves as a main arterial route in the city.

Geography
The city of Champlin is located along the Mississippi River, surrounded by the cities of Anoka, Dayton, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove and Coon Rapids, about 17 mi northwest of Minneapolis. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.8 square miles (22.8 km²), of which, 8.2 square miles (21.2 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (7.05%) is water. The average elevation is 875 ft above sea level and the Mississippi River is approximately one-eighth of a mile wide throughout Champlin.

History
The settlement of the Champlin area began when Father Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest from whom Hennepin County, Minnesota gets its name, Michael Accult and Peter Dulay were captured by the Sioux Indians. An Indian trading post was eventually established in the area. Charles Miles created the first permanent settlement in what came to be called the Marshall Township. In 1859, it was split into six towns, Champlin and Dayton.

The name Champlin came from the family name of U.S. Navy Commodore Stephen Champlin. He was active in the war against England and Canada in 1812 and in the establishment of the Canadian-United States Boundary. Unfortunately, soon after naming Champlin, Miles succumbed to depression and hung himself in a tree. A memorial to him still stands on that spot today.

The Commodore's daughter was married to John B. Cook, a partner of Minnesota's Alexander Ramsey. Although Cook was never a resident of Champlin, he was involved in real estate transactions here and in the incorporation of Champlin. In 1947 a portion of the old Township of Champlin was incorporated to form the Village of Champlin and on January 9, 1971, the Township of Champlin and the Village of Champlin consolidated as the result of a petitioned order from the Minnesota Municipal Commission to form the City of Champlin.

More information on the History of Champlin can be found by visiting the Champlin Historical Society's website.

City Council
As of January 2010, the mayor of Champlin is Mark Uglem. He serves on the Champlin City Council along with current Ward 1 Council member Julia Whalen, Ward 2 Council member Eric Johnson, Ward 3 Council member Greg Payer, and Ward 4 Council member Armand Nelson.

The mayor is elected to a two year term every even year. Wards 1 and 2 will next be elected to four year terms in 2010, and Wards 3 and 4 will next be elected to four year terms in 2012.

For more information regarding the Champlin City Council, visit the City of Champlin's website.

Administration
Champlin is managed on a daily basis by the city administrator and his subordinate department heads. The current city administrator is Bret Heitkamp, who has served as city administrator for approximately 10 years and worked for the city for over 15 years.

Police
The Champlin Police Department is composed of 26 sworn officers, three community service officers and a civilian support staff of three full-time and three part-time employees. Champlin police officers are dispatched via the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department Communication Division located in Golden Valley. The police department is located at the city campus located at 11955 Champlin Drive.

The police department moved to the new City of Champlin Public Safety Facility in February 2008. The new facility provides the police department with adequate space and facilities into the foreseeable future. Among its many features, the new facility includes indoor vehicle parking and storage to protect the police department vehicles.

Fire
Fire services for Champlin are provided by the joint Anoka-Champlin Fire Department. The cities of Champlin and Anoka have shared a fire department since 1985 with individual fire stations located in each city. The Anoka-Champlin Fire Department moved to the new City of Champlin Public Safety Facility in March 2008. The new facility provides three (one additional from the old facility) fire truck bays and should meet the city's fire protection needs for the foreseeable future.

The fire department is made up of a force of 41 volunteer firefighters. Averaging 680 calls per year, the department covers 16 sqmi with two aerial trucks, four engines, two grass rigs, two tankers, two boats, one command/rescue truck, two hazardous materials trailers, one Homeland Security truck, one ice rescue sled and two squads.

One of the most traditional fire departments in Minnesota, the Anoka-Champlin Fire Department is distinguished by its tradition of using white vehicles, a nod to the days when Anoka firefighters used white horses to pull their steam fire engines. When motorized vehicles replaced the horse-drawn engines, the department selected white for the color of its motorized equipment — a tradition that continues to this day at both fire stations.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 22,193 people, 7,425 households, and 5,925 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,713.9 people per square mile (1,047.5/km²). There were 7,514 housing units at an average density of 918.8 per square mile (354.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.01% White, 1.41% African-American, 0.43% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.13% of the population.

There were 7,425 households out of which 50.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.2% were non-families. 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 38.4% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $85,831, and the median income for a family was $98,890. Males had a median income of $45,390 versus $32,277 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,041. About 2.3% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education: K-12
The Champlin area is serviced by Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 with five primary schools. Four of the schools, Park View Early Childhood Center, Oxbow Creek Elementary, Jackson Middle School and Champlin Park High School, are clustered in an educational neighborhood near the intersection of 109th Ave N and Douglas Ave N (Champlin Park High School and Oxbow Creek Elementary School are actually located in the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota). The other school, Champlin Elementary School, is an older elementary school located near Old Town Champlin.

Champlin Elementary School was built in 1938 to service the primary educational needs of Champlin's school children. Today, it services approximately 350 students in the 1st through 5th grades - about 1/3 the size of the newer Oxbow Creek Elementary located approximately 3 mi away. Champlin Elementary School receives students directly from Park View Early Childhood Center. Champlin Elementary was closed in the summer of 2010, due to financial cuts in the district, and has been put up for sale by the city of Champlin.

Champlin Park High School is also one of the largest high schools in the state with approximately 3,172 students in the 9th through 12th grades. It is in the Northwest Suburban Conference with large athletic and music programs. Champlin Park High School receives students directly from Jackson Middle School.

Jackson Middle School was expanded in 2001 to be one of the largest junior high schools in the State of Minnesota. This was accomplished by the building of a completely new campus for Oxbow Creek Elementary (approximately 2 blocks southeast of the existing campus). Jackson Middle School then expanded into and connected (via expansion) to the former Oxbow Creek Elementary building. In 2006, Jackson Middle School built an observatory which hosts public viewing nights and provides astronomy education to its (and other Anoka-Hennepin) students. Jackson Middle School is home to approximately 2,356 students in the 6th through 8th grades. Jackson Middle School receives students directly from Champlin Elementary School, Dayton Elementary School (located in Dayton, Minnesota) and Oxbow Creek Elementary School and Monroe Elementary located in Brooklyn Park.

The new facility for Oxbow Creek Elementary School opened in 2001. The school is an exact match to Andover Elementary School as the school district utilized the same blueprints to build two elementary schools at the same time in different cities. Oxbow Creek Elementary provides educational services to 1,090 students in the 1st through 5th grades. Oxbow Creek Elementary receives students directly from Park View Early Childhood Center.

Park View Early Childhood Center provides kindergarten education and funnels its 1st graders into one of the two elementary schools in Champlin (Champlin Elementary or Oxbow Creek Elementary). Park View Early Childhood Center has a current enrollment of approximately 360 students - all in kindergarten.

Father Hennepin Festival
Each year, generally on the second weekend in June, the City of Champlin holds its Father Hennepin Festival. The festival is an annual celebration that was started in 1976 to recognize the history behind the City of Champlin. For more information regarding the festival, visit the Father Hennepin Festival website.