Alexandria, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alexandria
City
Alexandria Post Office (historic) .
Logo
Nicknames:  Alex, Alec
Location of the city of Alexandria within Douglas County, Minnesota
Alexandria, Minnesota Location in Minnesota Show map of Minnesota Alexandria, Minnesota Location in the United States Show map of the United States Alexandria, Minnesota Location in North America Show map of North America
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Douglas
Colonized	1858
Founded	1859; 165 years ago (1859)
Area
• Total	17.90 sq mi (46.35 km2)
• Land	17.18 sq mi (44.50 km2)
• Water	0.71 sq mi (1.85 km2)  4.43%
Elevation	1,408 ft (429 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	11,070
• Estimate  (2019)	13,822
• Density	804.49/sq mi (310.61/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	56308
Area code(s)	320
FIPS code	27-00928
GNIS feature ID	0639272

Alexandria is a city in, and the county seat of, Douglas County, Minnesota, United States. First settled in 1858, it was named after brothers Alexander and William Kinkead from Maryland. The form of the name alludes to Alexandria, Egypt, a center of learning and civilization.

The village of Alexandria was incorporated February 20, 1877. Its city charter was adopted in 1908, and it was incorporated as a city in 1909. W. E. Hicks was pivotal to the town's early development. He purchased the townsite in 1868 and established a mill, hotel, newspaper, and store. He donated property for a courthouse, jail, and two churches: Methodist and Congregational.

The population was 11,070 as of the 2010 census. Alexandria is near I-94, along Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. It is ten miles south of Lake Carlos State Park. In 2013, Alexandria was named a "Top 10 Best Small Town" by the Livability website. The city is often abbreviated as "Alex" (pronounced "Alek").

Transportation

County Road 82 SE connects Alexandria to Nelson, Osakis and western Minnesota. Minnesota State Highway 29 connects Alexandria to Glenwood and Parkers Prairie. Interstate 94/U.S. Highway 52 passes through the south end of Alexandria, which allows access to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Fargo-Moorhead.

Public transportation in town (and within the surrounding area) is provided by Rainbow Rider.

Airport

The Alexandria Municipal Airport, also known as Chandler Field, is a city-owned public-use airport two nautical miles (3.7 km) southwest of Alexandria's central business district.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.70 square miles (43.25 km²), of which 15.96 square miles (41.34 km²) is land and 0.74 square miles (1.92 km²) is water. A large portion of the people who 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. Climate is "four seasons" continental, with cold snowy winters and warm (sometimes hot and humid) summers. Autumn and Spring are generally pleasant. Average annual precipitation (both snow and rain) is about 25 inches.

Lakes

• Lake Carlos
• Lake Le Homme Dieu
• Lake Mary
• Lake Agnes
• Lake Andrew
• Lake Brophy
• Cowry Alexandria
• Lake Darling
• Lake Geneva
• Lake Henry
• Lake Ida
• Lake Latoka
• Lake Louise
• Mill Lake
• Lake Mina
• Smith Lake
• Lake Victoria

Demographics

Statue of Big Ole the Viking, greeting visitors to Alexandria

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 11,070 people, 5,298 households, and 2,552 families living in the city. The population density was 693.6 inhabitants per square mile (267.8/km²). There were 5,821 housing units at an average density of 364.7 per square mile (140.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 0.8% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population.

There were 5,298 households, of which 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 51.8% were non-families. 41.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.74.

The median age in the city was 38.8 years. 19.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 13.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 22.1% were from 45 to 64; and 22% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

Economy

The city is known as a hot spot for tourism, due to its many lakes and resorts. Tourism events include a Grape Stomp hosted by the Carlos Creek Winery every September, an Apple Fest in October, the Douglas County Fair every August, and Art in the Park every July. The city has a museum housing the Kensington Runestone. Outside the museum stands Big Ole, a 25-foot-tall statue of a Viking built for the 1965 World's Fair in New York City. Extensive repairs to Big Ole were completed in 2016. The city hosts the annual Vikingland Band Festival parade marching championship.

Top employers

According to the Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission, the area's top employers are:

Sports

The Alexandria Blizzard is a Tier III junior ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League and play out of the Runestone Community Center. From 2006 to 2012, the organization had a Tier II team in the North American Hockey League. The NAHL franchise relocated to Brookings, South Dakota and the current NA3HL franchise took its place.

Viking Speedway hosts 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".

One night per summer, a Northwoods League baseball game is held at Knute Nelson Memorial Park. The Willmar Stingers become the Alexandria Beetles to pay homage to the time when Alexandria had its own team. The Beetles were in operation from 2001 to 2012 and were renamed the Alexandria Blue Anchors in 2013. The team folded after the 2015 season.

Education

Alexandria Technical & Community College

Most children in Alexandria attend school at Alexandria Public Schools, which consists of six kindergarten–5th grade elementary schools (Lincoln, Voyager, Woodland, Carlos, Miltona, Garfield), one 6th–8th grade junior high school (Discovery Middle School), and one new 9th–12th grade senior high school (Alexandria Area High School), which replaced Jefferson High School, which was built in the late 1950s. There are also several independent K–8 Christian schools in the area. Alexandria Technical & Community College offers post-secondary education, including certificate programs, 2-year associate degrees and transferable credits towards 4-year degrees.

Notable people

See also

In Spanish: Alexandria (Minnesota) para niños