Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States.[3][page needed] First settled in 1858, it was named after Alexander and William Kinkead. The 2008 estimated population of Alexandria was 11,237.[4]
The city has a museum housing the controversial Kensington Runestone, which is thought by some to indicate that Vikings had visited the area in the 14th century. Outside the museum stands Big Ole, a 25-foot-tall statue of a Viking originally built for the World's Fair in New York in 1964.[5] The city hosts the annual Vikingland Band Festival parade marching championship.
Alexandria is a popular vacation area with its many lakes. The main "Chain of Lakes" have multiple beaches, Lake Carlos State Park, Mount Carmel, Lake Geneva Camp, and Arrowood Resort and Conference center along their shores along with other smaller resorts. Every 4th of July Lake Carlos (part of the chain) hosts the 4th of July Boat Parade at 10:30 a.m. Hundreds of people arrive in their red, white, and blue decorated boats while others watch from the shore.
Other notable events in the area are the Grape Stomp hosted by the Carlos Creek Winery every September, as well as Apple Fest in October, the Douglas County Fair which is located at Alexandria's Fairgrounds every August, and Art in the Park that is located at Alex's City Park every July.
Alexandria is located near Interstate 94 (concurrent with U.S. Route 52 in this part of the state), along Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. Lake Carlos State Park is ten miles north of Alexandria.
Economy
Major employers in Alexandria include Douglas Machine Corporation, 3M, Sun Opta, Alexandria Extrusion, Tastefully Simple, Henry Foods, Juno, and the Douglas County Hospital(One of the top 100 hospitals in the nation)[citation needed]. Alexandria is also the hometown of Continental Bridge, a producer of park bridges.
Education
Almost all children in Alexandria attend school at Minnesota ISD 206, which consists of six kindergarten-6th grade elementary schools (Lincoln, Voyager, Woodland, Carlos, Miltona, Garfield), one 7th-9th grade junior high school (Discovery Middle School), and one 10th-12th grade senior high school (Jefferson High School). There are also multiple independent K-6 Christian schools in the area. Alexandria Technical College offers post-secondary education from certificates on up to 2 year associate degrees.
Transportation
Alexandria has a public airport named Chandler Field. It is on the southwest edge of town.
Public transportation within town (and within the surrounding area) is provided by Rainbow Rider.
Alexandria has two major state highways: Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. Highway 27 connects Alexandria to Nelson, Osakis and to western Minnesota. Highway 29 connects Alexandria to Glenwood and Parkers Prairie. Interstate 94 passes through the south end of Alexandria, which allows access to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and Fargo-Moorhead.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24.2 km²), of which, 8.9 square miles (23.0 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (5.02%) is water. A large portion of the people that live in Alexandria are not calculated into the population because they are spread out of the city and living on and around the many lakes.
Statue of Big Ole the Viking, greeting visitors to Alexandria
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1990 |
7,838 |
|
—
|
| 2000 |
8,820 |
|
12.5% |
| Est. 2007 |
12,415 |
|
40.8% |
As of the census[1][page needed] of 2000, there were 8,820 people, however the most recent count suggests a population upwards of 10,000, which is displayed on Alexandria's city limits signs. The census lists 4,047 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.5 people per square mile (383.1/km²). There were 4,311 housing units at an average density of 485.1/sq mi (187.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.94% White, 0.42% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.
There were 4,047 households out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.3% were non-families. 41.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,851, and the median income for a family was $38,245. Males had a median income of $27,871 versus $20,254 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,085. About 7.8% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 15.7% of those age 65 or over.
Media
Television
Alexandria offers one local television station under ABC affiliation, KSAX. KSAX-TV provides greater Minnesota with local news, weather, and sports. The station airs ten minute segments during KSTP’s newscast. A full-powered repeater of WCCO-TV is also stationed in the Alexandria area (KCCO).
The Alexandria area is additionally served by Selective TV, a non-profit, viewer-supported organization which transmits several cable channels free-to-air over standard UHF television frequencies, viewable in any area home without subscription. Selective TV operates under low power television rules of the FCC and as such will not be subject to the digital to analog conversion deadline in 2009. Residents will still need a converter box to view KCCO and KSAX on the digital band, though KSAX will still be rebroadcast via Selective TV.
The stations available in Alexandria are:
Source: FCC Database for Alexandria, Minnesota
Radio
Several radio stations serve Alexandria and the surrounding area. There are eight radio stations in Alexandria; three are locally owned by Paradis Broadcasting: KXRA, KXRA-FM, and KXRZ. Louis H. Buron, Jr. owns two stations: KULO and KIKV. The other three stations (K208EQ, K215BL, and K219FA) are translator radio stations. There are five other stations in the surrounding area including KKOK from Morris, KRVY from Starbuck, KMGK and KRFG under construction permit from Glenwood, and KBHL from Osakis.
AM Radio Stations
FM Radio Stations
Other Forms
The city's unofficial mascot "Big Ole" is featured on the cover of the debut album of the National Beekeepers Society.
Sports
The Alexandria Blizzard are a Junior A ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's central division. For the 2005-2006 season, the team was known as the Minnesota Blizzard, one of four expansion teams that started operations that year. The Blizzard play out of the Runestone Community Center.
The Alexandria Beetles are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League that play out of Knute Nelson Memorial Park.
Viking Speedway host weekly Saturday night dirt track racing from April-September and also periodic special, weekend events throughout the year. Five WISSOTA classes run there. Street Stocks, Midwest Modifieds, Super Stocks, Modifieds, and Late Models. Viking Speedway was awarded WISSOTA's "2005 Track of the Year".
Notable natives
References
External links
