Edina: Weather and Much More from Answers.com

Edina is a first-ring suburb situated immediately southwest of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA. Edina began as a small farming and milling community in the 1860s, consisting of mostly Scottish and Irish immigrants, and today has grown to a full service metropolitan community. Today, the only remnants of the farms that once stretched across the city can be seen in some street names, which were named after the families who operated them and sold or donated their land for residential development.

Geography

Many major highways run through or are close to Edina, making it readily accessible to all within the metropolitan area. Minnesota State Highways 62 and 100 divide the City into four sections. Minnesota Highway 169 and Minnesota Highway 100 extend north and south. Interstate Highway 494 and Minnesota Highway 62 extend east and west. Minnesota Highway 7 is within three miles (5 km) of the City. Interstate Highway 394 is within five miles.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.5 km² (16.0 mi²). 40.8 km² (15.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.87%) is water. Residential areas comprise the largest portion of the City, which is now more than 95 percent developed. Within Edina are many different neighborhoods, including Indian Hills, Viking Hills, Morningside, Country Club District, Cahill Village, South Harriet Park, Interlachen, and Hilldale to name a few.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 47,425 people, 20,996 households, and 12,870 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,162.6/km² (3,011.4/mi²). There were 21,669 housing units at an average density of 531.2/km² (1,376.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.28% White, 1.15% African American, 0.13% Native American, 2.99% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 20,996 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $66,019, and the median income for a family was $93,496. Males had a median income of $67,011 versus $41,742 for females. The per capita income for the city was $44,195. About 2.0% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Population statistics

Population history
1955	1980	1990	1994^{[#wp-endnote_est [1]]}	1996^{[#wp-endnote_est [1]]}	1998^{[#wp-endnote_est [1]]}	1999^{[#wp-endnote_est [1]]}	2000	2002^{[#wp-endnote_est [1]]}
17,000	46,073	46,075	46,841	47,029	47,113	47,274	47,425	47,570

^ Estimate

History

The Edina city hall and police department that opened in 2004

Earliest beginnings

In the early 1800s, Minnesota was still an unnamed part of the remote Northwest Territory. In 1805, Little Crow, a Dakota chief, signed a treaty with a young army lieutenant and explorer named Zebulon Pike. Under the treaty, Little Crow agreed to sell nine square miles of the tribe's land to the federal government for the construction of a military post. Pike estimated the area's size at 100,000 acres (400 km²) and calculated its value at $200,000. In addition to the fort, the military reservation included what are now large parts of the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Edina, and all of what is now Richfield.

In 1822, two teenage explorers and two soldiers set out by canoe from what was then Fort St. Anthony to explore Minnehaha Creek. They set out to follow the creek and find its source, which the Sioux called Minnetonka. After a two day journey, the explorers reached the head of the creek and canoed into the lake at its source. Following the first stir of excitement about the exploration of the Minnehaha Creek and the discovery of Lake Minnetonka, no great rush was made to settle in areas near the creek until the 1850s.

First settlers

Minnehaha Grange Hall

Edina originally began as part of what is today the city of Richfield, Minnesota. In the 1850s, 17 families, most of them fleeing from the starvation and death caused by the potato famine in Ireland, came to Edina and claimed land in the southwest section of what was then known as Richfield Village. They were soon followed by English and Scottish farmers, who claimed land near Minnehaha Creek. At the time the territory mainly consisted of farms, with the exception of the Edina Mill, which was located on the Minnehaha Creek. Today, many of the street names in Edina are named after families whose farms occupied that area (ex. Code Ave, Gleason (Gleeson) Road, Cooper Ave, etc.). The Baird and Grimes and Country Club Districts (both which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places), located in the northeast part of Edina, were among the first areas to be established. This was because both of these areas were closest to and bordering the largest city Minneapolis, which was growing and expanding at the time.

In 1888, the residents of the township held a meeting to consider the idea of founding a new village, thus separating themselves from Richfield. After the idea was favorably accepted by those within the community, a committee was established to oversee this transition. After some debate over naming, "Edina" was finally chosen, and the city was established.

Naming Edina

One of Edina's Water Towers

After the decision was made by the residents to form a new village from the western part of Richfield, a heated debate ensued about what this new village should be named. Here is how the new village, Edina, got its name as recorded in Paul Hesterman's History of Edina^[1](Hesterman quotes directly from the census and demographic records of Richfield Township, from Sarah Baird's diary and from the records of the three meetings held at the Minnehaha Grange Hall to vote on becoming a village).

A meeting was held in Grange Hall by the residents of the western end of Richfield Township to consider the propriety of establishing a village on the west end of town. After speeches from residents and others a motion was made that a vote be taken to get a sense of the public sentiment towards the creation of a new village. When it seemed that many were in favor of the formation of the city, another motion was made and passed that a committee of five be elected to carry out the work necessary to organize a village encompassing all the territory in the township of western Richfield.

After the committee had been established, there were many motions about what to name the new village. Hennepin Park was the first name suggested, but didn’t last long before another motion was made that the village be called Westfield. The meeting was adjourned before this motion could be passed, thus still leaving the new village nameless.

Two days later, Sarah Baird reported in her diary that Henry Brown, who owned the farm adjacent to the mill and was heavily in favor of Edina, came to her house insisting that the name be changed from Westfield to Edina. At the next town meeting, a letter was read from Brown about the name. Here is how the meeting went, according to minutes taken by Woods:

“

A long debate ensued with regard to the name by which the corporation shall be called. A motion was made and passed to reconsider the vote taken at the previous meeting of the name of the proposed village, Westfield. Another motion was then made by Andrew Craik to call the proposed village Edina (upon moving to the township in 1869 from Edinburgh, he bought and renamed the mill to the Edina Mill). Before the motion could be decided, James A. Bull, a member of the five person committee, made another motion to adjourn, which was seconded by the majority. However, the chairman of the meeting called this motion out of order, at which time disorder ensued with Baird, Wilson, Ryan and Bull declaring their intent to no longer serve as members of the committee if a gag law was to prevail. During this heated moment the meeting became somewhat boisterous until, after a few minutes order was restored. Seeing that no more work could be done at this time, a final motion was made and passed to reschedule the meeting to a future date.

”

So there was strong disagreement about the name. The motion, made by James Bull, a New Yorker, and seconded by Thomas Kyte, an Irishman, was designed to kill the name Edina. At the next meeting, it was finally settled. After discussing pros and cons, the name Edina was finally chosen with 47 for and 42 against.

Name myth

For many years, there has been a prevailing myth about the early settlers of Edina and how they came to the decision to name the new territory Edina. The myth is that there were two opposing communities that made up this area of western Richfield Township -- the Irish Cahill community and the Scottish Mill community. It is also said that in 1888 when Edina became a village those two communities fought about whether to give the community an Irish Name, Killarney Lakes, or a Scottish name, Edina.

The truth is that there were no Scottish people in Edina for the 1860 census and only a couple of them in 1888. There were two communities, though, one of Irish immigrants and the other native-born from the East Coast. Irish Cahill was smaller, but more tightly bound together, but the Scottish settlement around the Mill was more economically prosperous.

Education

Public schools

For a detailed article see Edina Public Schools

Edina is part of the Independent School District (ISD) 273, which serves children primarily from Edina. There are approximately 7500 K-12 students served by 1139 teachers and support staff in six elementary schools (Grades K-5), two middle schools (Grades 6-9), and one senior high school (Grades 10-12). The district administrative offices are located at the Edina Community Center.

Edina High School has been often listed in the top 1 to 100 schools in the United States in academics (most recently in Newsweek, 2007^[2]), the top 10 in sports (number 8 in a Sports Illustrated review of over 30,000 schools), the top 15 in debate, the top 40 in music, national awards in writing, and so on. A recent study showed that 100% of EHS students graduate, that 96% of EHS grads go to college and that 85% of Edina High School graduates completed college within 5 yrs after high school graduation. A recent follow-up study showed that ten years after graduation from Edina High School 46% of EHS graduates had obtained advanced postgraduate degrees or were pursuing graduate degrees at the time of the study. The elementary and junior high schools have won many national and state excellence awards. French immersion programs are offered there starting in kindergarten. The high school offers six years of French and Spanish, five years of Latin, Russian, and German, four of Japanese, and three of Chinese and American Sign Language.^[3] ^{[citation needed]}

Public Schools in Edina
Elementary Schools	Junior High Schools	High School
Concord	South View Middle School	Edina High School
Creek Valley	Valley View Middle School
Cornelia
Highlands
Countryside
Normandale French Immersion

Private schools

There are three private schools in Edina. Our Lady of Grace (OLG), which is a Catholic school that serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade, St. Peters Lutheran School, and Calvin Christian School.

Economy

Jerry's Foods

Business

Major employers in the City include:

Shopping

Edina has numerous retail shopping centers, including Southdale Center, which was the first climate-controlled, fully enclosed shopping mall in the United States.^[4] Other shopping centers include the Galleria, Yorktown and Centennial Lakes Plaza. The city shares another thriving commercial area at West 50th Street and France Avenue South with Minneapolis, known as "50th & France."

Edina only has municipal liquor stores; no other liquor stores are allowed. Edina maintains three liquor stores at 50th & France, Southdale (York Ave.), and Vernon & Interlachen Blvd.

Hotels

There is just one hotel in Edina, the Residence Inn by Marriott, which is adjacent to Edinborough Park. (One of Edina’s crown jewels, Edinborough is a multi-use development that includes both residential and commercial office space as well as an indoor park.) Another hotel, The Westin Edina Galleria Hotel & Residences,^[5] is under construction at 69th Street and York Avenue. It is to be completed by the fall of 2008 and will povide 225 hotel rooms, six suites, and 79 luxury condominiums. The lack of hotels in Edina dates back to the early 1930s when Edina was still officially a "dry" city. There are several hotels in a region several blocks north of I-494; this area was once part of Edina. After successful petitioning, the area was annexed to Bloomington, which allowed alcohol sales at the time.

Recreation

Overlooking the 12th hole on Braemar Golf Course

Parks

Edina’s parkland and open space totals more than 1,550 acres (6.3 km²). The Edina Park and Recreation Department oversees 39 parks, which include amenities such as baseball, football and soccer fields; softball diamonds; basketball and tennis courts; outdoor skating rinks; playground equipment for young children; and picnic shelters. The Department also maintains eight miles (13 km) of scenic pathways for bicycling, walking, jogging, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing

Besides overseeing the parks, the Edina Park and Recreation Department is also responsible for the operation of 10 facilities within the city:

Golf courses

Public

Private

Edina trivia

Southdale Center, Edina's main shopping structure, was the first fully enclosed, climate controlled shopping mall in the United States. It opened on October 8, 1956.^[4]

On April 26, 2004, President George W. Bush held a private fundraising dinner in the Indian Hills area at real estate developer David Frauenshuh's house, raising one million dollars for the Republican Party.^[6]

The interior of the old City Hall/Police Station building (now demolished and rebuilt on an adjacent site) was filmed as the police station in the Coen brothers' 1996 film Fargo.^[7]

One of the baseball fields at Countryside Park was used in the opening scenes of the movie Little Big League. The umpire can clearly be seen wearing a Edina Athletic Association shirt.

Edina is home to a few billionaires, most notably Richard M. Schulze and Carl Pohlad.^[8]^[9]

Interlachen Country Club will be host of the 2008 U.S. Women's Open.^[10]

American Idol contestant Paris Bennett attended Edina High School, and played the lead in the school's production of The Wiz in 2004.^[11]

Musician and singer John Denver lived in Edina from 1968-1971 and wrote several of his most famous works while living in Edina.^[12]

Mardy Fish, a professional tennis player on the ATP tour who has been ranked as high as 17th in the world, was born in Edina.

Many residents of Edina are said to be wealthy, which led to the derogatory term "cake eaters." The usage of this term fallen out of practice, a little, as the rest of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area has also grown wealthy from a consistently strong economy.^{[citation needed]} However, the term "cake eaters" is still commonly used. It was mentioned in the Disney movie The Mighty Ducks (filmed in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area).

Anthony Edwards, graduate of Edina High School and the University of Southern California, rumored to be a gladiator on NBC's remake of American Gladiators. Supposedly will be replacing Laser as the newest hunk in the gladiator arena.

Edina born and bred resident Kaylin Richardson is a World Cup alpine skier and a member of the 2006 Olympic Team. She was a member of and was named to the U.S. Ski Team in her sophomore year at Edina High School. She is a notable World Class athlete with National and World titles to her name.

Professional wrestler Ric Flair grew up in Edina.

Professional golfer Hilary Lunke, who won the 2003 U.S. Women's Open, was born in Edina.

External links

References

^ From Settlement to Suburb: The History of Edina, Minnesota by Paul Hesterman, Published by the Edina Historical Society, 1988
^ Newsweek, America's Top Public High Schools
^ Edina High School Profile 2006-2007
^ ^a ^b History of the Southdale Shopping Center, History of Southdale
^ The Westin Edina Galleria Hotel & Residences
^ Republican, President Bush's Visit to Edina
^ City hall in Fargo, Fargo Filming Locations
^ Pohlad 1, Carl Pohlad, Edina, MN
^ Pohlad 2, Carl Pohlad 2006 FEC filing listing Edina, MN as home address
^ US Women's Open, 2008 U.S. Womens Open
^ Paris Bennett former EHS student, Paris Bennett former EHS student
^ John Denver: The Baby Boomer's Poet Laureate Of Song

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