Cedar Falls, Iowa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa and is home to one of Iowa's three Public Universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 36,145 at the 2000 census. It has the smaller population of the two principal cities in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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[edit] History
Cedar Falls was founded in 1845 by William Sturgis. Originally named Sturgis Falls, its modern name name comes from its proximity to the Cedar River.
[edit] Geography
Cedar Falls is located at (42.523520, -92.446402)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 74.8 km² (28.9 mi²). 73.3 km² (28.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (2.04%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 36,145 people, 12,833 households, and 7,558 families residing in the city. The population density was 493.1/km² (1,277.2/mi²). There were 13,271 housing units at an average density of 181.1/km² (468.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.14% White, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 12,833 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 30.6% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,226, and the median income for a family was $56,158. Males had a median income of $37,235 versus $26,312 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,140. About 5.6% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Library
The Cedar Falls Public Library is housed in the Adele Whitenach Davis building located at 524 Main Street. The 47,000 square foot structure, designed by Struxture Architects, replaced the Carniege-Dayton building in early 2004. As of the 2005 fiscal year, the library's holdings included 2,176 audio recordings, 2,292 videos, 253 periodicals, 96 miscellaneous titles, and 115,757 books for a grand total of 120,574 items. Patrons made more than 220,000 visits which took advantage of circulation services, adult, teen, and youth programming. The library also provides public access to more than 30 public computers which provide Internet access, office software suites, high resolution color printing, and various games.
The mission of the Cedar Falls Public Library is to promote literacy and provide open access to resources which facilitate lifelong learning. The library is a member of the Cedar Valley Library Consortium(CVLC). Consortium members share an Integrated Library System(ILS) server which resides in the Rod Library of the University of Northern Iowa. Library management is provided by Sheryl Groskurth MLS, Joint Director of the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries.
[edit] Culture
In 1986, the City of Cedar Falls established the Cedar Falls Art and Culture Board, which oversees the operation of the City's Cultural Division and the James & Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts.
[edit] Music
In 2007, the underground music scene in the Cedar Falls area was the subject of an exhibition entitled "The Secret History of the Cedar Valley". In conjunction with this exhibition, The Secret Wiki was created as a collaborative history of the bands, record labels, and music venues involved in underground music.
[edit] Notable natives
[edit] Actors
- Annabeth Gish -- actress
- Gary Kroeger -- actor, Saturday Night Live 1982-1985
- Mark Steines -- co-host, Entertainment Tonight, alumnus of the University of Northern Iowa
- Tom Pardoe--musical dancer, actor, singer, choreographer
[edit] Athletes
- Kurt Warner -- NFL quarterback, played for the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants, currently on the Arizona Cardinals; a University of Northern Iowa alumnus
- Kody Asumus -- former All-American long-snapper at University of Iowa and teacher at Northern University High School attended Northern University High School
- Don Denkinger -- umpire that made a controversial call in the 1985 World Series
[edit] Musicians
- Karen Holvik -- classical soprano, currently on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, former professor at UNI
- House of Large Sizes -- an alternative rock band
- Bill Stewart -- jazz drummer and composer, attended UNI
[edit] Politicians
- Chuck Grassley -- Current U.S. Senator, attended UNI
- Gil Gutknecht -- Former Minnesota congressman
- Roger Jepsen -- Former U.S. Senator
[edit] Writers
- Bess Streeter Aldrich (1881-1954) -- author of several novels
- Nancy Price -- author of Sleeping With the Enemy
- Leland Sage -- Professor at UNI and famous writer
- Ruth Suckow -- Novelist
- Robert James Waller -- author of The Bridges of Madison County
[edit] Misc.
- Marc Andreessen -- Co-founder, Netscape Corporation
- Danielle Meyer -- the current Gold Star teacher 2006
[edit] Education
Besides holding one of the three Iowa public universities, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls is home to two high schools. The Northern University High School is a private school run by the university while Cedar Falls High School is part of the public school district, Cedar Falls Community Schools, which also includes two junior high schools and six elementary schools.
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] References
- Brian C. Collins. Images of America: Cedar Falls, Iowa. Arcadia Publishing, Inc. 1998. ISBN 0-7524-1358-9 ISBN 0-7385-4582-1
[edit] External links
- Official City of Cedar Falls Website
- Cedar Falls Public Library
- UNI - University of Northern Iowa
- Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce
- Sturgis Falls Celebration Website
- Cedar Falls Utilities
- The History of Cedar Falls
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
