Alexandria, Minnesota

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Alexandria, Minnesota
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto = Easy To Get To, Hard To Leave


imagesize =
image_caption =


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Douglas, Minnesota


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = Minnesota
subdivision_name2 = Douglas
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Dan Ness
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1858
established_title1 = Founded
established_date1 = 1859
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 24.2
area_total_sq_mi = 23.0
area_land_km2 = 8.9
area_land_sq_mi = 1.2
area_water_km2 = 50.01
area_water_sq_mi = 0.5
area_water_percent = 5.02%)
area_urban_km2 =
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_metro_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
population_as_of = 2007
population_note =
population_total = 11,187
population_township = 35,138
population_urban = 24,095
population_density_km2 = 383.2
population_density_sq_mi = 992.5
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
latd = 45 |latm = 53 |lats = 6.84 |latNS = N
longd = 95 |longm = 22 |longs = 38 |longEW = W
elevation_m = 428
elevation_ft = 1404
website = [http://www.ci.alexandria.mn.us www.ci.alexandria.mn.us]
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 56308
area_code = 320
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 27-00928GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0639272GR|3
footnotes =

Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States.GR|6 First settled in 1858, it was named after Alexander and William Kinkead. The 2007 estimated population of Alexandria was 11,187 [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US2700928&_geoContext=01000US&_street=&_county=alexandria&_cityTown=alexandria&_state=04000US27&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=]

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 theWorld's Fair in 1964.cite news |title=Highway 61, Visited |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE3DD1431F932A2575AC0A9639C8B63&sec=travel&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink |accessdate=2008-09-04 |last=Dougherty |first=Steve |date=September 11, 2005 |work=The New York Times] The city hosts the annual Vikingland Band Festival parade marching championship.

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, and the Douglas County Hospital. Alexandria is also the hometown of Continental Bridge, whose bridges can be seen in parks around the country.

Education

Almost all children in Alexandria attend school at Minnesota ISD 206, which consists of six kindergarten-6th grade elementary schools (Lincoln, Voyager, Washington, 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 AAS/AS degrees.

Transportation

Alexandria has an airport named [http://www.alexandriaaviation.com/ Chandler Field] . It is on the southwest edge of town.

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. Alexandria is located near Interstate 94, which allows access to the Twin Cities 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.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 8,820 people, 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.

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 stations.

The stations available in Alexandria are:

* KCCO-TV 7 (CBS)
* K16CO 16 (KSTC)
* K18DG 18 (NBC)
* K21GN 21 (CBC North)
* K26CL 26 (The CW)
* KCCO-DT 24 (digital) (CBS)
* K30AF 30 (PBS)
* K32EB 32 (Family Net)
* K34AF 34 (RFD-TV)
* KSAX-DT 36 (digital) (ABC)
* K38AC 38 (FOX)
* KSAX-TV 42 (ABC)
* K44GH 44 (3ABN)
* K47KZ 47 (Discovery Channel)
* K48DV 48 (My Network)
* K50DB 50 (The Weather Channel)
* K51JY 51 (Hallmark Channel)
* K52DZ 52 (History Channel)
* K55DI 55 (Great American Country)
* K58DS 58 (MSNBC)
* K62AU 62 (C-SPAN)
* K67HI 67 (Outdoor Channel)Source: [http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=MN&call=&arn=&city=alexandria&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9 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-AM, 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
*1490 - KXRA-AM - "People Radio" News

"'FM Radio Stations
*89.5- K208EQ - The Refuge Christian Hits
*90.5- KRFG Under Construction Permit
*90.9- K215BL-FM - Minnesota Public Radio Classical
*91.7- K219FA-FM - Sonlife Radio Gospel
*92.3- KXRA-FM - KX92 Classic rock
*94.3- KULO - Cool 94.3 Oldies
*95.7- KKOK - Hit Country Country
*97.3- KRVY - The River 97.3 Light Adult Contemporary
*99.3- KXRZ - Z99 Hot Adult Contemporary
*100.7- KIKV - KIK FM Country
*103.9- KBHL - Praise FM Worship music
*107.1- KMGK - Smooth Magic 107 Smooth Jazz

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.

Notable natives

*John Hammergren - CEO of the McKesson Corp.
*John Hawkes - Actor
*Tom Lehman - PGA Golfer
*Knute Nelson - United States Senator
*Major Richard A. "Pete" Peterson - World War II P-51 Mustang Ace
*Gary Serum - Minnesota Twins pitcher
*Peter Krause - Actor

References

External links

* [http://www.ci.alexandria.mn.us/ City of Alexandria Official Website]
* [http://www.alexandria.k12.mn.us/ Alexandria Independent School District]
* [http://www.alexandriamn.org/ Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.vacationalexandriamn.com/ Alexandria Tourism Official Website]