Apple Valley, Minnesota

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Apple Valley, Minnesota
Location in Dakota County and the state of Minnesota.
Coordinates: 44¡Æ43¡Ç55¡ÈN 93¡Æ13¡Ç03¡ÈW / 44.73194, -93.2175
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Dakota
Government
- Mayor	Mary Hamann-Roland
Area
- City	17.7 sq mi (45.9 km©÷)
- Land	17.3 sq mi (44.9 km©÷)
- Water	0.4 sq mi (1.0 km©÷)
Elevation	955 ft (289 m)
Population (2000)
- City	45,527
- Density	2,625.5/sq mi (1,013.7/km©÷)
- Metro	2,968,805
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	55124
Area code(s)	952
FIPS code	27-01900
GNIS feature ID	0639415
Website: www.ci.apple-valley.mn.us

Apple Valley is a city located in northwestern Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities. It was incorporated in 1969, and was known before then as Lebanon Township. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 45,527, making it the 15th most populous city in Minnesota. Apple Valley is home to the Minnesota Zoo, a nationally-famous zoological garden which houses hundreds of animals from several distinct climatological zones. In 2007, Money Magazine named Apple Valley the 28th best place to live.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Education 4 Famous Residents 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

Geography

Apple Valley municipal building

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.7 square miles (45.9 km©÷). 17.3 square miles (44.9 km©÷) of its land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km©÷) of it (2.14%) is water. The city's geography is rolling, elevation from the lowest to the highest points in the city vary by a hundred feet or more. The downtown area and its adjacent residential district (which formed the original core of the city when it was incorporated) are located in a shallow valley, lending the city (in part) its name.

Interstate Highway 35E, Minnesota Highway 77 - Cedar Avenue, and County Road 42 are three of the main routes in the city.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 45,527 people, 16,344 households, and 12,405 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,625.5 people per square mile (1,013.7/km©÷). There were 16,536 housing units at an average density of 953.6/sq mi (368.2/km©÷). The racial makeup of the city was 91.81% White, 1.91% African American, 0.29% Native American, 3.39% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.00% of the population.

There were 16,344 households out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.7% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. For several years, the city's population was among the fastest growing in Minnesota, but it has virtually exhausted the amount of additional buildable land within city limits, and so its growth has slowed considerably since 1990.

The median income for a household in the city was $69,752, and the median income for a family was $79,335. Males had a median income of $50,636 versus $33,315 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,477. About 1.1% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Apple Valley 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. Apple Valley is represented in the Minnesota Legislature by State Senator Chris Gerlach (Republican, District 37), Representative Shelley Madore (DFL, (District 37A), and Dennis Ozment (Republican, District 37B).

Education

Apple Valley High School built in the 1970s.

There are six elementary, three middle and three high schools in the city, all operated by Independent School District 196. Apple Valley High School and Eastview High School have maintained a strong, intra-city rivalry since the opening of Eastview (the younger school) in 1997. In addition to the two comprehensive high schools, Apple Valley is also home to a high school-level magnet school, the School of Environmental Studies, which focuses on (as the name suggests) sciences, especially environmental sciences. In fall 2007, Independent School District 196 will open three elementary school-level magnet schools. The three schools are Cedar Park Elementary, which will become a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) magnet; Diamond Path Elementary, which will have an International Studies theme, and Glacier Hills Elementary with an Arts and Science theme.

Famous Residents

• Matt Demaray, two time NCAA Division I individual wrestling champion.
• Karl Goehring, a goaltender for the Manitoba Moose.
• Erik Jensen, an actor who played the main district attorney on CSI and appeared on Law & Order as well as the films The Dark Half and Blair Witch 2.
• Jarrod Johnson, a reality television participant who appeared on TLC in six episodes of the series Sheer Dallas.
• Derek Rackley, tight end and long snapper for the Seattle Seahawks.
• Reggie Rolle, an actor who portrayed the Green Ranger in Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy.
• Nicholas Sadler, an actor who has appeared in the films Scent of a Woman, Disclosure, Mobsters, as well as tv shows like The Cosby Show and ER
• Dan Setzler, a reality television participant who appeared on Road Rules: Northern Trail (among other reality spin-offs).
• Maria Thayer, an actress who has appeared in sitcoms Strangers with Candy and Will & Grace, as well as the films Hitch and Accepted.
• Erik Westrum, a Center for the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Eric Strobel, a member of the 1980 U.S.A. Olympic Hockey team

Trivia

• Sgt. Gregg Spandl of the Apple Valley Police Department designed the police force's patch, which depicts a Bengal tiger, symbol of the Minnesota Zoo located in Apple Valley.

• According to local developer Henry Broback, Lebanon Township was renamed Apple Valley because "...when you drive east on (County Road) 42 and turn to enter Lebanon, it reminded them of Apple Valley, California, which was a nice community."

References

1. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. "City of Apple Valley". City of Apple Valley. Retrieved on 2007-09-06.
4. "American FactFinder Population Estimates: Duluth city, St. Louis County". U.S. Census Bureau (2006-07-01). Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
5. "Minnesota Zoo". mnzoo. Retrieved on 2007-09-06.
6. "MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007" (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
7. Grossman, Joshua. "ProgressivePunch Leading with the Left". All Issues. ProgressivePunch. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
8. "ACU Ratings of Congress, 2006". American Conservative Union (2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
9. "Independent School District 196". ISD 196. Retrieved on 2007-09-06.
10. The Transformation of a Dakota Community Lebanon Township to Apple Valley An Agrarian Township Becomes a Residential Success (December 1990). Over The Years 30 (1): 25. Retrieved on 2007-01-27. 

External links

• Apple Valley official visitors website
• Apple Valley official city government website