Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Eden Prairie is an edge city 12 mi southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 12th largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the north bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi River. As the seventh largest suburb, Eden Prairie and nearby suburbs form the southwest portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.5 million residents. The U.S. Census Bureau recorded the city's population at 60,797 in 2010.

Comprising many large lakes and ponds, the city has more than 170 mi of multi-use trails, 2250 acre of parks, and 1300 acre of open space. Previously a bedroom suburb in the 1960s, the city is now home to more than 2,200 businesses and the headquarters of Digital River, SuperValu, Alliant Techsystems, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, MTS Systems Corporation, and the Minnesota Vikings. Regionally known for Eden Prairie Center, it is also the hub for SouthWest Transit, serving public transportation to three adjacent suburbs. Eden Prairie has been named one of Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in America since 2006 ; the city earned a first place ranking in the 2010 survey.

History
For most of its existence, Eden Prairie has been a slow-growing, pastoral village on the far southwestern fringes of the Twin Cities area. Between 1880 and 1960, Eden Prairie’s population grew by only 1,300 people, from 739 to 2,000.

Native Americans were the first to live in the area. In 1851, a treaty opened land west of the Mississippi River to settlement allowing pioneers to settle in what is now Eden Prairie. The town board of Eden Prairie held its first meeting in a log school house on May 11, 1858, the same day Minnesota became a state. Eden Prairie's farming community grew slowly over the years. Flying Cloud Airport was the first sign of big development in 1946. The 1960s and 1970s were decades of growth for the city's parks and recreation system. In the mid-'70s, the community gained a higher profile with the addition of Interstate Highway 494 and the Eden Prairie Shopping Center. Eden Prairie became a Village in 1962 and a statutory city in 1974. A popular lake in Eden Prairie is Staring Lake, which was named by Jonah Staring who built the first house by the lake.

Etymology
The city's name is attributed to Eden Prairie which was named by Robert Anderson, founder. However, a small village named Eden appears on an 1849 map located on the Minnesota River just south of the current location.

Geography
Eden Prairie is located approximately 11 mi southwest of Minneapolis along the northern side of the Minnesota River. It is located at 44.81667°N, -93.45°W at an elevation of 906 feet (276 m).

Interstate 494, U.S. Routes 169 and 212, and Minnesota State Highway 5 are four of the main routes in the city.

The land in Eden Prairie consists of rolling hills and bluffs overlooking the Minnesota River with zones of prairie and mixed (primarily deciduous) forests.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.2 sqmi—32.4 sqmi of it is land and 2.8 sqmi of it (8.04%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was 1695.1 PD/sqmi. There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile (250.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.7% White, 2.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.

There were 20,457 households out of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,328, and the median income for a family was $105,177. Males had a median income of $59,303 versus $37,196 for females. The per capita income for the city was $38,854. About 2.8% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Eden Prairie is located in Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, represented by Erik Paulsen, a Republican. City Council Officials include Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens and Council Members Brad Aho, Kathy Nelson, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, and Ron Case. The City Manager position was recently vacated; a search is currently underway to fill the position. In the meantime, Jay Lotthammer is the interm city manager.

Economy
Today, Eden Prairie is home to more than 2,200 businesses, including many that specialize in logistics/distribution, retail and wholesale trade, health care, industrial equipment, communications, and information technology. The unemployment rate as of 2010 is 5.1%.

Public schools
The first school in Eden Prairie was Anderson School, a schoolhouse near a farm. At the time of its construction, it was in the center of the city. The old Eden Prairie Consolidated School, built in 1924, is now the school district Administration Building, and is next to Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion school and Central Middle School.

Eden Prairie currently operates eight schools. Unlike other school districts in the state, Eden Prairie has an intermediate school (Oak Point) for grades five and six. Eden Prairie High School is the second largest high school in the state, with approximately 3,300 students, and is near the grounds of Round Lake Park. Melissa Krull is the superintendent of Eden Prairie School District. Some students attend public schools in other school districts chosen by their families under Minnesota's open enrollment statute.

Charter schools
Eden Prairie has one publicly funded charter school, Eagle Ridge Academy. This college preparatory school currently offers a rigorous classical liberal-arts curriculum to grades 6-11, with 12th grade added in the 2007-8 school year. The first graduating class at Eagle Ridge Academy was the Class of 2008.

Private schools
Eden Prairie has one private school, The International School of Minnesota, which offers a private education for students from preschool through grade 12.

Colleges
There are three technical colleges in Eden Prairie:
 * Hennepin Technical College has an enrollment of roughly 7,000 full- and part-time students. The college offers day and night classes.
 * ITT Technical Institute specializes in courses on information technology, electronics, and drafting and design. ITT Technical Institute has an enrollment of approximately 170 students.
 * Rasmussen College opened its campus on July 3, 2006, and replaced its former Minnetonka location.

Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial
Eden Prairie was proud to raise over $400,000 from the community to build a veterans' memorial in 2008. The memorial has two components, service to country and world peace. It was constructed in Purgatory Creek Park near the intersection of Technology Drive and Prairie Center Drive. World-class sculptor Neil Brodin designed and constructed two bronze sculptures. The service-to-country sculpture represents a wounded airman carried over the shoulders of a soldier in the battlefield. The world-peace sculpture depicts a woman servicemember touching a globe, honoring women who have served. Members of the community were able to purchase a place on the memorial for the names of loved ones who served in any branch of the U.S. service in any war or conflict. Minnesota-based Cold Spring Granite provided Mesabi black granite for the memorial's walls.

Notable residents

 * Andrew Alberts, player for the Vancouver Canucks
 * Leith Anderson, president of the U.S. National Association of Evangelicals
 * Jasper Brinkley, player for the Minnesota Vikings
 * Laurie Coleman, actress and wife of former United States Senator Norm Coleman
 * Jay Foreman, National Football League player
 * Alla Ilushka, beauty queen and Miss USA 2007 contestant
 * Nick Leddy, player for the Chicago Blackhawks
 * Mark LeVoir, National Football League player
 * Lúcia Moniz, Portuguese actress and singer (attended Eden Prairie High School)
 * Adrian Peterson, player for the Minnesota Vikings
 * Reynold Philipsek, gypsy jazz guitarist
 * Allison Pottinger, world champion curler (current resident)
 * Robert Remus, aka Sgt. Slaughter, wrestler (former longtime Eden Prairie resident)
 * Ryan Wittman, basketball player
 * Sidney Rice, wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings
 * Visanthe Shiancoe, tight end for the Minnesota Vikings
 * Dan Gladden, former MLB player for the Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers, and the Japanese Yomiuri Giants. He is now currently a radio broadcaster for the Twins.
 * Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins Player, Twins all-star
 * Johan Santana Former Minnesota Twins pitcher. American League Cy Young award winner and American league all-star