Shakopee, Minnesota

Shakopee (pronounced /ˈʃɑːkəpi/ "SHOCK-a-pi") is a suburb 17 miles (26 km) 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-St. Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States. The Metropolitan Council estimate for the population of the City of Shakopee in 2006 was 29,335.^[1]

Ancient and modern, the city was once the village of Chief Shakopee of the Mdewakanton Dakota and native burial mounds along the river bank are estimated to be over 2,000 years old. Later the city boomed during the 19th century as a commerce exchange site between river and rail at Murphy's Landing. Today it is home to two of the metro'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.

A growing bedroom community, the city is connected to the metro area by U.S. Route 169 and County Highway 101.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 Politics
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Records indicate that a Dakota Indian village was located east of the present day city of Shakopee. The village was called Teen-tah-o-tan-wa, “village of the prairie”, and was the home of summer bark lodges, winter tipis and cornfields. The Minnesota River acted as a natural and beautiful boundary with the Ojibway to the north. The tribal leader of Teenatahotonwa was Chief Shakopee (pronounced Shah-kPa-dan or Shakpay). The City of Shakopee is named for him. The burial mounds near the Minnesota River are a reminder of the length of Indian presence and the rich heritage and tradition of the city’s original inhabitants. The mounds, estimated at over 2,000 years old, are located in Memorial Park in Shakopee.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] 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/sq mi (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. 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.

[edit] Education

Shakopee public schools include five 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 Senior High houses grades 10 through 12.

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.

[edit] 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^[5] and 88% conservative based on 2006 House votes.^[6]

State Representative District 35A Mike Beard
Sate Senator District 35 Claire Robling

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Twin Cities Region Population and Household Estimates, 2006 (PDF). Metropolitan Council (2006-04-01). Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
^ Table 2: Population Estimates for the 100 Most Populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas Based on July 1, 2006 Population Estimates: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau (2007-04-05). Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
^ ^a ^b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ Grossman, Joshua. ProgressivePunch Leading with the Left. All Issues. ProgressivePunch. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
^ ACU Ratings of Congress, 2006. American Conservative Union (2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.

[edit] External links

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Scott County, Minnesota

County seat: Shakopee

Cities	Belle Plaine \| Elko New Market \| Jordan \| New Prague \| Prior Lake \| Savage \| Shakopee

Townships	Belle Plaine \| Blakeley \| Cedar Lake \| Credit River \| Helena \| Jackson \| Louisville \| New Market \| Sand Creek \| Spring Lake \| St. Lawrence

Unincorporated community	Union Hill