Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Eau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 65,883 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest municipality in the northwestern portion of the state, and the 9th largest in the state overall. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County, although a small portion of the city lies in neighboring Chippewa County. Eau Claire is the principal city of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the Eau-Claire-Menomonie Combined Statistical Area.

America's Promise named the city as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in 2007. Eau Claire was among the first Tree Cities in Wisconsin, having been recognized as such since 1980.

Name origin
"Eau Claire" is the singular form of the original French name, "Eaux Claires", meaning "Clear Waters", for the Eau Claire River. According to local legend, the river was so named because early French explorers journeying down the rain-muddied Chippewa River, happened upon the Eau Claire River, excitedly exclaiming "Voici l'eau claire!" ("Here [is] clear water!"), the city motto, which appears on the city seal.

Geography
Eau Claire is located at 44.81667°N, -91.5°W (44.8146, -91.4927), approximately 90 miles (145 km) east of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The city is located on the northern fringes of the Driftless Zone.

The city was founded near the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers as three separate settlements. The main section of downtown is on the site of the original village. West Eau Claire, founded in 1856, was across the river near the present-day county courthouse, and incorporated in 1872. Between a mile and a half and two miles downstream, the Daniel Shaw & Co. lumber company founded Shawtown, which was annexed by the 1930s. By the 1950s, the entire city had spread far enough to the east to adjoin Altoona.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.37 sqmi, of which, 30.28 sqmi of it is land and 2.08 sqmi of it (6.46%) is water.

The terrain of the city is characterized by the river valleys, with steep slopes leading from the center to the eastern and southern sections of the city. The lands into which the urban area is currently expanding are increasingly hilly.

There are two lakes in the city, Dells Pond, and Half Moon Lake. Dells Pond is a reservoir created by a hydroelectric dam, and was formerly used as a holding pool for logs. Half Moon Lake is an oxbow lake created as part of the former course of the Chippewa River.

Population
As of the 2000 census, there were 61,704 people, 24,016 households, and 13,569 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,037.8 people per square mile (786.8/km²). There were 24,895 housing units at an average density of 822.2 per square mile (317.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.44% White, 0.70% African American, 0.55% American Indian, 3.66% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population.

There were 24,016 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 22.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,399, and the median income for a family was $49,320. Males had a median income of $32,503 versus $23,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,230. About 5.5% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Metropolitan area
Together with surrounding communities, the Eau Claire metropolitan area is home to 114,483 people, according to the 2000 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties (composite 2000 population: 148,337). Together with the Menomonie Micropolitan Statistical Area (which includes all of Dunn County) to the west, the Eau Claire metropolitan area, forms the Census Bureau's Eau Claire-Menomonie Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a consolidated 2000 population of 188,195. 2004 population estimates place the two-county Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan population at 155,680, and the expanded Eau Claire-Menomonie CMSA population at 197,417.

Government
Since switching from a mayoral system in 1948, Eau Claire has had a city manager-city council form of government. The Eau Claire City Council currently consists of five members elected from districts, five at-large from the entire city, and an elected city council president who is also elected at-large. The Eau Claire City Council meets in City Hall, in downtown Eau Claire.

Five of the council members are elected in odd-numbered years from the five different aldermanic districts in Eau Claire. Five additional at-large council members are elected in even-numbered years by Eau Claire residents.

Since Eau Claire has no mayor, Eau Claire City Council Presidents are elected at-large to serve as head of the council. They are elected in odd-numbered years.

Economy
The lumber industry drove Eau Claire's growth in the late 19th century. At one time, there were 22 sawmills operating in the city.

Since the loss of several thousand manufacturing jobs in the early 1990s (due to the closure of the local Uniroyal tire plant), the city's economy was reshaped by the opening of a number of plants engaged in the construction of computer hardware, such as Hutchinson Technology's largest plant, and is home to IDEXX Computer Systems, a division of IDEXX Laboratories.

Eau Claire is home to several national and regional companies including Menards, Cascades Tissue Group, National Presto Industries, Inc., Midwest Manufacturing, Erbert & Gerbert's, and Open-Silicon.

Today retail, health care and education are the primary employment sectors in Eau Claire.

Airports
Eau Claire is served by the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport.

Mass transit

 * Eau Claire Transit bus lines

Major highways
• 2

Rail
Eau Claire is located on freight rail lines owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, formerly owned by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway (Omaha Road), and later part of the Chicago and North Western Railway. C&NW operated passenger trains from Chicago through Eau Claire to the Twin Cities area until 1963 when the Twin Cities 400 ended service. Passenger rail service to Eau Claire is seen as critical by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and they plan to return trains to the city by 2030.

Education


Eau Claire is home to two public colleges (University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley Technical College) and two private colleges (Immanuel Lutheran College and a campus of Globe University/Minnesota School of Business).

Eau Claire has two public high schools within the Eau Claire Area School District: Memorial High School and North High School. Two public charter high schools exist in Eau Claire: McKinley Charter School, a non-traditional school serving 120 students; and Technology Charter School, a non-traditional school serving 193 students. Eau Claire also has two private high schools: Catholic Regis High School and the Lutheran Immanuel Lutheran High School.

Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School, a public elementary school of the Eau Claire Area School District, is located in the Lincoln School Building on Cameron Street. It follows the teaching of Maria Montesssori and has grown steadily since it began in 2002.

Religion
In a 2000 study conducted by the Association of Religion Data Archives, they found 39,017 people in Eau Claire County do not claim any of the 188 faiths represented in their study. However, Eau Claire is home to a large number of religious congregations:


 * Apostolic Faith - 1 congregation
 * Assemblies of God - 2 congregations
 * Baptist - 8 churches variously unaffiliated (including 1 SBC congregation)
 * Catholic - 5 parishes in the Diocese of La Crosse' & Eau Claire Deanery, which has 3 other parishes, one each in Altoona, Elk Mound and Brackett
 * Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science) - 1 congregation
 * Church of Christ - 2 congregations
 * Episcopalian - 1 congregation (The Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire has its see in Eau Claire.)
 * Hmong Christian Alliance - 1 congregation
 * Islam - 0 congregations, although there is 1 mosque in neighboring Altoona
 * Jehovah's Witness - 2 congregations (both of which share the same Kingdom Hall)
 * Judaism - 1 synagogue
 * Lutheran - about 20 churches representing 6 synods
 * Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS)
 * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
 * Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America
 * Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS)
 * Church of the Lutheran Confession
 * Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)


 * Methodist - 4 congregations (one of which is located in nearby Altoona)
 * Lake Street United Methodist Church


 * Mennonite Church USA - 1 congregation meeting two Sundays per month
 * The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - 1 congregation
 * Nazarene - 1 congregation
 * Pentecostal - about 10 variously affiliated congregations
 * Presbyterianism - 2 congregations
 * Society of Friends (Quakers) - 1 congregation
 * Salvation Army - 1 congregation
 * Seventh-day Adventist - 0 congregations, although neighboring Altoona and nearby Chippewa Falls each have 1 congregation
 * Unitarian Universalist - 1 congregation
 * United Church of Christ - 3 congregations
 * Unity School of Christianity - 1 congregation
 * Wesleyan Church - 1 congregation

Print media
The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram has a daily circulation of 26,901 during the week and a circulation rate of 38,824 for the Sunday paper. The Leader-Telegram can be found online at http://www.leadertelegram.com Volume One, an alt-weekly magazine published 26 times per year with a circulation rate of 15,000 and an estimated readership of 45,000. Volume One can be found online at http://VolumeOne.org .

Television
Nielson Market Research lists Eau Claire/La Crosse as the 127th largest television market area. The major broadcast stations serving the area are: • 2

Radio
FM • 2

AM • 2

Local music scene


The Chippewa Valley, especially Eau Claire, has groups and performers in the indie rock, metal/hardcore, hip hop, jam, and jazz genres. Bands such as Bon Iver, Laarks, and The Daredevil Christopher Wright have achieved varying levels of national success. Pop-punk has created a following in the Eau Claire area, and hip-hop artists also claim Eau Claire as their homeland.

Amble Down, an Eau Claire based record label has released many local albums by bands such as The Daredevil Christopher Wright, Michael Perry and the Long Beds, Meridene, The Gentle Guest, The Cloud Hymn, We Are The Willows and Cranes & Crows.

Eau Claire is also home to one of the best jazz programs in the nation. Its top university jazz ensemble has been awarded the prestigious "DownBeat Magazine Award" for best college jazz ensemble in the nation six times, the most recent being in 2010. The community also hosts the Eau Claire Jazz Festival, which has been in existence since 1968.

Popular destinations for live music in the Chippewa Valley include: The State Theatre, The Grand Little Theater, The House of Rock, Infinitea Teahouse, Phoenix Park, The Acoustic Cafe, The Mousetrap, The Cabin and Higherground on the UWEC Campus, Hoffy's Skate America, and the Sarge Boyd Bandshell in Owen Park where the Eau Claire Municipal Band presents free family-oriented programming throughout the summer.

In 2006, during a concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bob Seger revealed that he had written the song "Turn the Page" in a hotel room in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Country Jam USA was formed in Eau Claire in 1987. In 1990 the first Country Jam was held in Eau Claire and often attracts visitors in the summer months.

Performing Arts
Eau Claire has a modest but active theatre community. Although no professional theatre groups make their home in the region, amateur and community theatres have a significant presence; the most visible of these are the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild (CVTG) and the Eau Claire Children's Theatre (ECCT). In addition, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has a robust theatre program, and traveling professional shows frequently make stops in the city. The Kjer Theatre and the State Theatre are the primary indoor performing arts venues, although both CVTG and ECCT have recently established their own independent venues, in 2006 and 2010 respectively.

Recreation
There are several large parks in the city: Owen Park, along the Chippewa River, home to a large bandshell where open air concerts are held throughout the summer; Putnam Park, which follows the course of Putnam Creek and Little Niagara Creek east from the UWEC campus; Carson Park, situated in the middle of an oxbow lake; and Phoenix Park on the site of the old Phoenix Steel plant at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa River. Phoenix Park is the host of a weekly farmers market and open air concerts during summer months. Riverview Park is also a common summer swimming destination, as well as one of the local boat landings. This park includes picnicking areas and grills, as well as public restrooms.

The City of Eau Claire also operates Fairfax public pool, and Hobbs Municipal Ice Center, an indoor ice center.

Eau Claire is at the head of the Chippewa River State Trail, a biking and recreation trail that follows the lower course of the Chippewa River.

Curling
Eau Claire Curling Club has been around for over 50 years. 

Baseball
Eau Claire has three amateur baseball teams. The Eau Claire Express are a team that plays in the Northwoods League, an NCAA-sanctioned summer baseball league. Their home games are played at Carson Park. The Eau Claire Cavaliers, also plays home games at Carson Park. The Eau Claire Bears play in the Chippewa River Baseball League. Also, three of Eau Claire's High Schools have baseball teams. Eau Claire North H.S. won the 2011 state championship.

Football
The Chippewa Valley Predators and the Eau Claire Crush, adult amateur football teams in the Northern Elite Football League, play their home games at Carson Park.

Soccer
The Eau Claire Aris FC are Eau Claire's team in the NPSL. Eau Claire United is a competitive youth soccer team competing in the MYSA.
 * Every summer, Eau Claire United hosts a soccer tournament that brings around 100 teams to the community.

Kubb

 * Eau Claire hosts the U.S. National Kubb Championship. The tournament was started in 2007. It is the largest kubb tournament outside of Europe and one of only two two-day kubb tournaments in the world, along with the Kubb World Championship in Sweden. On December 13, 2011, Eau Claire became "The Kubb Capital of North America".

Figure Skating

 * Eau Claire also has a Figure Skating club at Hobbs Municipal Ice Center.

Notable natives and residents
See Also
 * Category:People from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
 * Notable University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduates

General
• 2

Musicians

 * Sarge Boyd, award-winning conductor of the Eau Claire Municipal Band for nearly half a century
 * Geoffrey Keezer, jazz pianist—the last to play with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
 * Mark Kosower, cellist
 * Justin Vernon of Bon Iver
 * Peter Phippen, Grammy nominated world-flutist

Media

 * Waldemar Ager, Norwegian-American newspaperman and author
 * Ann Landers, advice columnist (during her time in Eau Claire she served as chair of the Democratic Party of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin).
 * Julie Nelson, TV News anchor affiliated with KARE-TV in Golden Valley, Minnesota
 * Abigail van Buren, advice columnist

Sports

 * Hank Aaron, baseball player, played in Eau Claire for the Eau Claire Bears during his first professional baseball season in 1952. Aaron has returned to the city several times since, including in 1994 for the dedication of his statue at Carson Park,    and again in 2006 as a campaign speaker for governor Jim Doyle's gubernatorial reelection.
 * Lemoine Batson, Olympic athlete
 * Mike Peplinski, Olympic athlete
 * Dick Bennett, Former Wisconsin and Washington State basketball coach; coached Eau Claire Memorial High School Old Abes (1973–1978)
 * Cub Buck, NFL player and head coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team
 * Jake Dowell, NHL player
 * Clifford Fagan, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
 * Marv Harshman, former college men's basketball coach for Washington, Washington State, and Pacific Lutheran
 * Alex Hicks, National Hockey League, a University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugold, played in the NHL for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, and the Florida Panthers. Hicks was, and remains, the only University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugold (a division III school) to play in NHL regular season and playoff games.
 * Mike Hintz, NFL player
 * Herm Johnson, former CART / Indy 500 race car driver
 * Vic Johnson, MLB player
 * Steve Lingenfelter &mdash; NBA player
 * Paul Menard, NASCAR driver
 * Chuck Mencel, NBA player
 * Pat O'Donahue, NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers
 * Willis S. Olson, Olympic ski jumper, member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
 * Sis Paulsen, ice hockey and softball coach
 * Ralph Pond, baseball player
 * Tom Poquette, MLB player for Kansas City Royals (1973, 1976–79, 1982), Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers
 * Brad Radke, MLB pitcher for the Minnesota Twins born in Eau Claire on October 27, 1972.
 * Dominic Berlin, National Football League, Punt, Pass, and Kick 2011 National Champion.
 * Bill Schroeder, NFL wide receiver (1994–2004)
 * John Stiegelmeier, head coach of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team


 * Jerry Wunsch, National Football League, offensive guard for  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997–2001) and Seattle Seahawks (2002–2005)
 * Reed Zuehlke, Olympic ski jumper

Fictional

 * Bernice, the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair.
 * John Rusk, a character from the Alexander Payne film About Schmidt mentions that he owns a Famous Footwear shoe store in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
 * Teddy Ballgame, the infamous alter-ego of the Eau Claire native Ted Carlson. Also a placekicker for the 1992 New York Jets.

Sister cities

 * Eau Claire is sistered with Lismore, New South Wales, a rural town in Australia.
 * In July 2007, Eau Claire also sistered with Miramar, Costa Rica, a rural town in the Montes de Oro canton in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica.

General

 * City of Eau Claire website
 * Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls Metropolitan Planning Organization website
 * Eau Claire Travel Bureau
 * Eau Claire Travel Bureau

History

 * Eau Claire Historic Preservation Foundation
 * Eau Claire Landmarks Commission photo collection
 * University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Special Collections and Archives
 * L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library Local History Resources
 * A City of Opportunities, Charles McArthur, National Magazine, July 1905 (with historic photos)