Fridley, Minnesota

Climate

Fridley shares its climate with nearby Minneapolis. It has a hot-summer humid continental climate zone (Dfa in the Köppen climate classification),^[8] typical of southern parts of the Upper Midwest, and is situated in USDA plant hardiness zone 4b.^[9][10][11] As is typical in a continental climate, the difference between average temperatures in the coldest winter month and the warmest summer month is great: 60.1 °F (33.4 °C).

19th Century

The post-European/American settlement history of Fridley begins with the construction of the Red River Ox Cart Trail in 1844, which traveled through Minnesota Territory from Saint Paul (present day Minnesota) to Pembina (present day North Dakota), now East River Road (also Anoka County Highway 1). The road was used to transport furs to the south and other various supplies to the Red River Valley settlers in the north.

Abram M. Fridley, for whom the city is named.

In 1847, John Banfill became the first settler in the area, which was known at the time as Manomin. Manomin is a variant spelling of manoomin, the Ojibwe word for wild rice, a staple of their diet. It comprised the modern-day municipalities of Columbia Heights, Fridley, Hilltop, and Spring Lake Park.

The area soon grew quickly in size. In 1851, Banfill platted the actual town of Manomin. There, a general store and sawmill were built next to Rice Creek, named after Henry Mower Rice, a settler who just two years earlier had acquired a lot of land in the area. In 1853, the first town post office was in operation, and a year later, a ferry crossing the Mississippi River was established.

In 1855, Abram M. Fridley, for whom the city is named, was elected as the first territorial representative for the area.

In 1857, the area separated from Ramsey County; Manomin County was established, and it became the smallest county in the United States, having only 18 sections. This distinction was short-lived, after it was annexed by Anoka County in 1870 and became a township with the same name.

The Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad, which joined St. Paul to St. Anthony across from Minneapolis in 1862, began extending rail to Anoka, reaching it through Fridley in 1864.^[12][13][14]

In 1879, the Minnesota State Legislature, of which Abram M. Fridley was still a member, changed the township's name to bear his last name.

20th Century

In 1949, the Fridley Township was incorporated as the Village of Fridley.^[15] The Fridley Free Press was also established. A lawsuit that challenged the incorporation of the village caused the funds to be frozen. Minnesota state law allowed cities to operate municipal liquor stores following the end of Prohibition. The Fridley Liquor store proceeds were the primary funding for the daily city operations until the lawsuit was resolved in 1950. In Minnesota there are both private liquor stores or city-owned municipal liquor stores.^[16] Fridley is the location of the headquarters of the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association (MMBA), a lobbying coalition for municipalities with city owned liquor stores. In conjunction with the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, they lobbied against Sunday liquor store sales in Minnesota until it was finally permitted in 2017.

In 1957, the village became as the City of Fridley, a "home rule charter city". The City Hall at 6431 University Avenue is dedicated with fire station, city services and council meetings. A newer fire station is built in 1964.

On May 6, 1965, Fridley was hit by two F4 tornadoes. One out of every four homes in the city was destroyed or damaged. The second twister that hit was the deadliest storm in Twin Cities history (see 1965 Twin Cities tornado outbreak), which killed a total of 13 people.^[17] Portions of the City Hall and Fire Station were damaged.^[15]

In 1967 the new Civic Center Building opens at the City Hall location with a plaza located to the south. This building was remodeled in 1989.^[15]

In 1970, Fridley began purchasing land which would become the Springbrook Nature Center.

On July 18, 1986, a widely photographed tornado spent 16 minutes in Springbrook Nature Center, destroying thousands of century old trees and extensive areas of mature forest habitat. A KARE 11 television news helicopter passing through the area shot the first aerial video of a tornado.

21st Century

Medtronic Operational^[18] Headquarters is a major employer in Fridley.

In 2001, Medtronic opened its new World Headquarters on the site of the 100 Twin Drive-in at Interstate 694 and Minnesota Highway 65.^[19] As of 2017, it is still the Operational Headquarters for the Medtronic, PLC, which re-organized as an Irish Company in 2015.

On June 19, 2003, President George W. Bush visited the Micro Controls company in Fridley. He was promoting one of the tax relief changes made during his administration.^[20][21] He flew into Minnesota for only a few hours on Air Force One before returning to Washington.

In the early 2000s, the Minnesota Sports Cafe was a notable venue for Mixed martial arts competitions. Fighters who have claimed victories in Fridley include Sean Sherk, Nick Thompson (fighter), Brock Larson, Marcus LeVesseur, Brian Ebersole, and Harry Moskowitz.

On September 21, 2005, Fridley was struck by straight-line winds exceeding 80 mph (130 km/h), toppling many old growth trees as large as 2.5 feet (0.76 m) in diameter and in turn, destroying dozens of homes and several vehicles. Cleanup efforts took as long as a week, leaving hundreds of residents stranded in their homes without power, unable to drive until streets were cleared of debris. This same storm also affected Brooklyn Center, New Brighton, Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids, Spring Lake Park and Blaine, as well as other communities in the surrounding North Metro area.

Fridley has one of the first six stations of the Northstar Commuter Rail line connecting the northwest suburbs and downtown Minneapolis; the line opened in November 2009.^[22]

On July 17, 2011, heavy rains caused a washout of the BNSF rail bridge over Rice Creek. A train derailed there, and sent hopper cars containing corn into the creek.^[23] Traffic was rerouted for several days. In 2013, a Jury awarded damages from BNSF to the engineer and conductor of the train.^[24]

The Columbia Arena, filming location for the Disney Movie D3: The Mighty Ducks, was demolished in 2016 to make way for a new City Hall^[25]

Largest employers

According to the city's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[28] the largest employers in the city are:

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 27,208 people, 11,110 households, and 7,057 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,675.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,032.9/km²). There were 11,760 housing units at an average density of 1,156.3 per square mile (446.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.2% White, 11.1% African American, 1.2% Native American, 4.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.4% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.3% of the population.

There were 11,110 households of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.5% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99.

The median age in the city was 37.1 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 27,449 people, 11,328 households, and 7,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,701.3 people per square mile (1,043.1/km²). There were 11,504 housing units at an average density of 1,132.1 per square mile (437.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.65% White, 3.42% African American, 0.82% Native American, 2.89% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.23% from other races, and 2.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.56% of the population.

There were 11,328 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city, the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $48,372, and the median income for a family was $55,381. Males had a median income of $38,100 versus $29,997 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,022. About 5.3% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.