Maple Grove, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maple Grove
City
Maple Grove Government Center
Flag
Nickname(s):  The Grove, The Groove, "MG",
Motto(s):  Serving Today, Shaping Tomorrow
Location of Maple Grove within Hennepin County, Minnesota
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Hennepin
Founded	1858
Incorporated	April 30, 1954
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
Area
• City	35.05 sq mi (90.78 km2)
• Land	32.57 sq mi (84.36 km2)
• Water	2.48 sq mi (6.41 km2)
Elevation	935 ft (285 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	70,253
• Estimate  (2022)	70,582
• Rank	US: 535th MN: 11th
• Density	2,156.79/sq mi (832.75/km2)
• Metro	3,693,729 (US: 16th)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	55311, 55369
Area code(s)	763
FIPS code	27-40166
GNIS feature ID	0647465

Maple Grove is a lively city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA. It's a suburban area, meaning it's a mix of homes and businesses, just outside a big city. In 2020, about 70,253 people lived here. This makes Maple Grove the 11th largest city in Minnesota!

Maple Grove is a busy hub for shopping, culture, and healthcare in the northwest part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. One of the biggest shopping centers in the Twin Cities, called The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, is right here. Maple Grove is also home to the Hindu Temple of Minnesota, which is the largest Hindu temple in the state.

Exploring Maple Grove's Past

Before 1851, the Winnebago people were the only ones living in the Maple Grove area. That year, Louis Gervais arrived and settled down. Just four years later, the city started to grow quickly. It soon had a church, a town hall, and many homes.

The first wooden house built in Maple Grove Township was the Pierre Bottineau House in 1854. This house has since been moved and can now be found in the Elm Creek Park Reserve. The city was once famous for its large groups of maple trees. These trees were a very important source of maple syrup!

Since the 1970s, Maple Grove has grown very fast. This growth happened after major upgrades to important highways like Interstate 94, 694, 494, and U.S. Highway 169. Today, it's one of the most populated cities in the Twin Cities area. It's also one of the fastest-growing cities in Minnesota. In 2014, Money magazine even named Maple Grove the second-best place to live!

Understanding Maple Grove's Geography

Maple Grove covers an area of about 35.03 square miles (90.73 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 32.64 square miles (84.54 square kilometers), is land. The rest, about 2.39 square miles (6.19 square kilometers), is water.

Lakes and Waterways

The city is home to 13 named lakes. These include Arbor Lake, Cedar Island Lake, Cook Lake, and Eagle Lake. You can also find Edward Lake, Fish Lake, North Arbor Lake, and Mud Lake. Other lakes are Pike Lake, Rice Lake (with its Outlet and West Bay), Teal Lake, Weaver Lake, and West Arbor Lake.

Neighboring Cities

Maple Grove shares its borders directly with six other cities. These are Dayton, Champlin, Brooklyn Park, Osseo, Plymouth, and Corcoran. It's also close to Medina, Rogers, New Hope, and Minneapolis.

Major Roads and Highways

Many important highways run through Maple Grove. Interstate 94 connects with Interstate 494 and Interstate 694 at a spot called the Fish Lake split. U.S. Route 169 goes north and south along the city's eastern edge, next to Brooklyn Park. Minnesota State Highway 610 runs east and west in the northern part of the city.

Hennepin County takes care of most of the city's big roads. These include County Road 10 (Bass Lake Road), County Road 30, and County Road 61 (Hemlock Lane). Other important roads are County Road 81, County Road 101, County Road 109 (Weaver Lake Road), County Road 121 (Fernbrook Lane), and County Road 130 (Elm Creek Boulevard).

Population and People of Maple Grove

2010 Census Snapshot

In 2010, the census showed that 61,567 people lived in Maple Grove. There were 22,867 households and 17,222 families. The city had about 1,886 people per square mile (728 per square kilometer).

Most people in Maple Grove were White (86.4%). Other groups included African American (4.2%), Asian (6.2%), and Native American (0.3%). About 2.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Many households (39.4%) had children under 18 living with them. Most households (64.0%) were married couples. The average household had 2.69 people, and the average family had 3.12 people.

The average age in Maple Grove was 37.6 years. About 26.9% of residents were under 18. About 7.4% were 65 years old or older. The city had slightly more females (51.2%) than males (48.8%).

Maple Grove's Economy and Businesses

Maple Grove is home to a big Boston Scientific facility. This place focuses on research, development, and making medical products. It employs over 3,000 people! Other major employers include the local school district (Independent School District 279), Nortech Systems, and the city government itself.

Arbor Lakes Development

The city has a large area, about 2,000 acres (8.1 square kilometers), that used to be for gravel mining. This area is slowly being turned into a downtown with homes and businesses. The first part of this plan created Main Street, which has buildings with shops designed in a classic, small-town style.

Later phases of this development include The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes and The Fountains at Arbor Lakes. The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes was Minnesota's first "lifestyle center." It was built in 2003 and looks like a mid-century American village. This center is 412,000 square feet (38,277 square meters) and has over 65 stores and restaurants.

The Fountains at Arbor Lakes is another large retail area, covering 850,000 square feet (78,968 square meters). It even includes a water park! This complex also has Minnesota's most energy-efficient building, which is the Great River Energy Headquarters. The Village at Arbor Lakes adds more hotels, restaurants, and shops to the area.

Retail Hub

Maple Grove is a major shopping destination. It has more retail space than almost any other city in Minnesota. Only Bloomington, home of the Mall of America, has more. Maple Grove might soon become the top city for retail space! One important shopping area is the Grove Square shopping mall. Developers chose this spot because it's a key city in upstate Minnesota, attracting shoppers from a wide region.

Education in Maple Grove

Most public schools in Maple Grove are part of Osseo Area School District 279. This district also serves nearby cities like Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park. Maple Grove Senior High School is the only public high school in the city. Dr. Kim Hiel is the superintendent.

Some parts of Maple Grove are also served by Wayzata Public Schools. For private education, students can attend Heritage Christian Academy, Ave Maria Academy, and Parnassus Preparatory School.

Famous People from Maple Grove

Many interesting people have connections to Maple Grove:

• Alasan Ann, a professional taekwondo player who represents The Gambia in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
• Jimmy Brown, a talented jazz musician.
• Dale Clausnitzer, a Minnesota politician and businessman.
• Isaac Collins, a Major League Baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Brock Faber, a professional hockey player for the Minnesota Wild.
• Warren Limmer, a Minnesota politician.
• Patrick D. McGowan, a Minnesota politician and law enforcement officer.
• ODB, an American professional wrestler.
• Sisqó (Mark Althavean Andrews), a famous singer.
• Jesse Ventura, who was the 38th governor of Minnesota.
• Kurt Zellers, a former Speaker of the House in Minnesota.
• Luke Haakenson, a soccer player who used to play for Nashville SC.
• Brian Thompson, the former CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot