Maple Grove, Minnesota

Maple Grove is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 61,567 at the 2010 census. Maple Grove serves as the retail, cultural and medical center of the northwest region of the Minneapolis-St.Paul metropolitan area. One of the Twin Cities largest shopping centers is located in Maple Grove, The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes.

History
Winnebago Indians were the only inhabitants in the area of Maple Grove until 1851 when Louis Gervais arrived and settled. Four years later, in 1855, city growth included a church, town hall and many homes. The city was known for its large stands of maple trees and was, therefore, a significant source for maple syrup.

With the completion and major upgrades to Interstates 94 / 694, 494, and U.S. Route 169, Maple Grove has grown at a rapid pace since the 1970s. Maple Grove has grown into one of the most populous cities in the Twin Cities area and identified as one of the fastest growing cities in the state.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.0 square miles (90.5 km²), of which, 32.9 square miles (85.1 km²) of it is land and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) of it (5.95%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 50,365 people (10th largest city in Minnesota), 17,532 households, and 13,955 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,532.3 people per square mile (591.6/km²). There were 17,745 housing units at an average density of 539.9 per square mile (208.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.74% White, 1.05% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population. 31.9% were of German, 14.0% Norwegian, 8.5% Swedish and 7.9% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 17,532 households out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 15.8% 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 2.87 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $76,111, and the median income for a family was $89,966. Males had a median income of $52,187 versus $37,021 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,544. About 0.8% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Maple Grove is home to a regional Boston Scientific research, development and manufacturing facility, employing over 3,000 people. Other major employers include the Independent School District 279 and the City of Maple Grove.

The City is home to a 2000 acre gravel mining area (GMA) owned by C.S. McCrossan, Tiller Corporation and Aggregate Industries. Active since the 1920s, the GMA is slowly being developed into a residential and commercial downtown. The first phase included Main Street, a collection of one- and two-story buildings with storefronts built in new urbanist (or neotraditional) style. The second phase was generally considered to be the Shoppes of Arbor Lakes and the third phase was the Fountains at Arbor Lakes.

Minnesota's first so-called 'lifestyle center', The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, is designed in the spirit of a mid-century American village and includes stores such as Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, GoodThings, National Camera Exchange, Hot Mama, Teavana, Anthropologie, California Pizza Kitchen, P.F. Chang's, Borders Books & Music and numerous other upscale stores. This lifestyle center was built in 2003 and has been replicated in Woodbury, Minnesota (Woodbury Lakes). Maple Grove's Shoppes at Arbor Lakes is 412000 sqft in size and is home to more than 65 stores and restaurants.

The most recent Arbor Lakes development is a hybrid power center development called The Fountains at Arbor Lakes. At 850000 sqft, this retail complex includes stores such as Caribou Coffee, Subway, DSW, Lowe's, REI and a Holiday Inn & Suites with a water park.

Maple Grove's most recent development, The Grove, is located at the intersection of I-94 and Maple Grove Parkway. This district is home to the new North Memorial/Fairview hospital complex, SuperTarget, Home Depot, Slumberland and other stores. The central portion of the project is designed to be pedestrian-friendly and encourage a small-town atmosphere within the larger scale of the development.

Maple Grove is home to more retail than nearly any other city in the state, second only to Bloomington, the home of the Mall of America. Maple Grove itself is likely to have nearly 6 million square feet (600,000 m²) of commercial development at build out, which may soon push the city into the number one spot for retail square-footage.

Education
Maple Grove's public schools are part of the Osseo Area School District 279 (see article Education in Maple Grove and Osseo), which also serves the following areas: Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Plymouth, Corcoran, Dayton and Hassan. The superintendent is Kate Maguire. The public education system in Maple Grove is rated highly, with Maple Grove Junior High School and Maple Grove Senior High School ranking consistently at the top of state-wide testing. A portion of Maple Grove is also served by the Wayzata School District. Other schools in Maple Grove include Heritage Christian Academy and Cedarcrest Academy, both private schools.

Government and politics
Maple Grove is located in Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, represented by Erik Paulsen, a Republican.

Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers, a Republican, represents the city in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Republican senator Warren Limmer also represents Maple Grove in the Minnesota Senate. The city garnered 59% of the Republican presidential vote in 2004