Shakopee, Minnesota

Shakopee is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Scott County. Located on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the thirteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States with 3.5 million people. The population of Shakopee was 37,076 at the 2010 census.

The river bank's Shakopee Historic District contains burial mounds built by prehistoric cultures. In the 17th century, Chief Shakopee of the Mdewakanton Dakota established his village on the east end. Trading brought about the city's establishment in the 19th century and Shakopee boomed as a commerce exchange site between river and rail at Murphy's Landing. Once an isolated city competing in the Minnesota River Valley, by the 1960s its economy shifted to the expanding metropolitan area. Significant growth as a bedroom community occurred after U.S. Highway 169 was realigned in 1996 toward the new Bloomington Ferry Bridge.

The city is currently known for the metro area's largest attractions, Valleyfair! amusement park and the Canterbury Park horse racetrack. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is associated with Shakopee though is located in nearby Louisville Township. Shakopee has an orderly annexation agreement for the entirety of the township with no definite timeline.

History
Burial mounds along the Minnesota River bluff located in present Veterans Memorial Park date between 500 to 2,000 years. Following the Dakota migration from Mille Lacs Lake in the 17th century, several bands of Mdewakanton Dakota settled along the Minnesota River and continued the mound building tradition. One of these bands was led by Chief Shakopee. The Ojibwa nation began pushing into Dakota territory and reportedly Shakopee's band skirmished in 1768 and 1775. Shakopee died in 1827 at Fort Snelling. The second man to take the name Chief Shakopee was his adopted Ojibwa son Eaglehead (b. 1794-1857). The original Shakopee acquired his name when his wife, White Buffalo Woman, gave birth to sextuplet boys. Shakopee means "the six." Explorer Joseph Nicollet recorded that Eaglehead had been elected to lead the band and assume his father's name in 1838. By this time, Nicollet referred to the "Village of the Six," a permanent village south of the river, acting as a boundary to the Ojibwa, and was east of the present downtown. He noted the village and locality was commonly called the "village of the prairie" (published as tinta ottonwe). The Shakopee band lived in summer bark lodges and winter tipis, following the changes of the season with cornfields planted.

The Dakota nation ceded land in 1851 and many relocated to Chief Shakopee's village which had moved south to where the current Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation is in nearby Prior Lake. The band swelled to 400 people and leadership passed to Shakopee II's son Eatoka (b. 1811-1865) who became Shakpedan (Little Shakopee/Little Six) at the death of his father. After the Dakota War of 1862, Shakpedan was hung at Fort Snelling in 1865 for participating in the massacres. Descendants of the Mdewakanton Dakota placed 572 acre of Shakopee land into tribal land trust in 2003.

Meanwhile in 1851, Thomas A. Holmes established a trading post west of the Dakota and platted Shakopee Village in 1854 after Chief Shakopee II. The city quickly grew, incorporating in 1857 but surrendered their charter in 1861 due to conflicts in the Dakota War. As tensions lifted, the city incorporated again in 1870 but the western end was left in township status and renamed Jackson Township, Minnesota in 1861, likely after President Andrew Jackson.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.5 square miles (73.7 km²), of which, 27.0 square miles (69.9 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (3.8 km²) of it (5.10%) is water.

U.S. Highway 169 and County Highway 101 are two of the main routes in Shakopee. Highway 169 and nearby State Highway 13 connect Shakopee to the rest of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul region. County Highway 101 serves as a major east-west connector of historic downtown Shakopee.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,568 people, 7,540 households, and 5,360 families residing in the city. The population density was 761.7 people per square mile (294.1/km²). There were 7,805 housing units at an average density of 289.0 per square mile (111.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.61% White, 1.33% African American, 0.94% Native American, 2.41% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.14% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.40% of the population.

There were 7,540 households out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 38.8% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $59,137, and the median income for a family was $66,885 (these figures had risen to $72,523 and $83,235 respectively as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $41,662 versus $32,244 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,128. About 1.8% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Shakopee public schools include 5 elementary schools, one middle school, one junior high school and one senior high school. The elementary schools are:
 * Pearson Elementary
 * Red Oak Elementary
 * Sun Path Elementary
 * Sweeney Elementary
 * Eagle Creek Elementary

Students grade 6 and 7 attend Shakopee Middle School. Shakopee Junior High is home to grades 8 and 9, while Shakopee High School houses grades 10 through 12. The district will be opening a new school, Jackson Elementary, in fall 2011. Pearson Elementary will close for the 2011-2012 school year and re-open the following year as a school for the 6th grade. The current Middle School and Junior High School will then be reconfigured to house grades 7 to 9.

Shakopee is also the home of the Shakopee Area Catholic Schools and hosts a campus of Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, a private career college offering programs in business, health sciences, legal sciences, multimedia & design and information technology.

Politics
Shakopee is located in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, represented by John Kline, a Republican, scoring 2.8% progressive on a range of issues and 88% conservative based on 2006 House votes.
 * State Representative District 35A Mike Beard
 * State Senator District 35 Claire Robling

Recreation
Located in Shakopee is a relatively new soccer complex that has a growing program. There are also several regional attractions (see below).

Notable natives

 * Jamal Abu-Shamala, a Jordanian-American basketball player for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, was born in Shakopee and went to the high school.
 * Scott Ferrozzo, a mixed martial artist who held a 4-2 record.
 * Eleanor Gates, playwright was born here in 1875.
 * Christopher Straub, contestant on Project Runway (season 6).
 * Maurice Hubert Stans- United States Secretary of Commerce
 * Shakopee is home to Gayle Quinnell, a resident who made national news by calling Barack Obama an "Arab" at a John McCain rally. When later asked to clarify her views, she stated that his father was a Muslim; therefore, Obama "still had Muslim in him."
 * Anthony Bonsante, "The Bullet", is a professional boxer and competitor on reality TV show The Contender.

Attractions


Shakopee is home to several attractions that are well-recognized throughout the state and even nationally.
 * Valleyfair is a family amusement park located just outside of the Shakopee downtown on Minnesota Highway 101.
 * The Landing is an 88 acre historic village located on the Minnesota River just outside of downtown Shakopee. The Landing is a working representation of Minnesota life from the 1840s-1890's.
 * Canterbury Park is a horse racetrack and card club located at the intersection of Canterbury Road and US Highway 169.
 * Minnesota Renaissance Festival attracts visitors from all over the world and is located south of Shakopee on US Highway 169.
 * Mystic Lake Casino: although actually located on the Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation.

Popular culture

 * Shakopee was mentioned in the 2006 film Cars when the character Minny said she once went to Shakopee for "Crazy Days." The Minnesotan voice actress, Edie McClurg, ad-libbed the city's name into the script. While there is no Crazy Days, Shakopee does celebrate "Derby Days" named for the horse racing tradition of the city's history.
 * The Daily Show with Jon Stewart reported about the woman's prison in Shakopee. The story was about the controversy of the fence-less prison and the arguments between citizens wanting a fence and not wanting a fence.
 * The theme park Valleyfair was featured in the film Little Big League