Minnetonka, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Minnetonka
City
Minnetonka Community Center
Location of Minnetonka within Hennepin County, Minnesota
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Hennepin
Founded	1852
Incorporated	1956
Area
• City	27.95 sq mi (72.39 km2)
• Land	26.91 sq mi (69.71 km2)
• Water	1.04 sq mi (2.69 km2)
Elevation	889 ft (271 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	53,781
• Estimate  (2022)	52,544
• Rank	US: 761st MN: 18th
• Density	1,998.33/sq mi (771.55/km2)
• Metro	3,693,729 (US: 16th)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	55305, 55343, 55345, 55391
Area code(s)	952
FIPS code	27-43252
GNIS feature ID	0647949

Minnetonka (/ˌmɪnɪˈtɒŋkə/ MIN-i-TONG-kə) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Minneapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781.

Minnetonka is the home of Cargill, the country's largest privately owned company, and UnitedHealth Group, the state's largest publicly owned company. Interstate 494 runs through the city while Interstate 394 (U.S. Route 12) and U.S. Route 169 are situated along the suburb's northern and eastern boundaries respectively.

History

Since the mid-19th century, Minnetonka has evolved from heavily wooded wilderness through extensive farming and industrialization to its present primarily residential suburban character. The Minnetonka area was home to the Dakota and Ojibwe Native American tribes before Euro-Americans arrived in the 1800s. They believed Lake Minnetonka (mni meaning water, and tanka meaning big, anglicized to Minnetonka) and the land around it to be sacred. The first recorded exploration of the area by Euro-Americans was in 1822, when a group from newly constructed Fort Snelling made its way up Minnehaha Creek (then known as Brown's Creek or Falls Creek) to the lake. In 1851, the Dakota sold the area including Minnetonka to the United States with the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. The first census, the Territorial Census of 1857, lists 41 households. Twenty-nine of the heads of households are listed as farmers. The occupations of the remaining twelve are associated with the operations of Minnetonka Mill and a nearby hotel.

In 1852, a claim was staked on Minnehaha Creek near McGinty Road. The sawmill that was constructed in the thick woods of maple, oak, elm, red cedar and basswood was the first privately operated mill in Minnesota west of the Mississippi River. Oak timbers from this mill were used to build the first suspension bridge across the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in 1853. The settlement of Minnetonka Mills that grew up around the mill was the first permanent European–American settlement west of Minneapolis in Hennepin County. In 1855, a two-story sawmill was constructed with a furniture factory on the second floor. A building for varnishing furniture was built on the south side of the creek, at the present Bridge Street. Production consisted mainly of chairs and bedsteads.

The Charles H. Burwell House

The Cargill Lake Office, occupying a former mansion, formerly housed the company's top executives.

In 1860, after only 8 years of operation, the sawmill closed. In 1869, a flour and grist mill were constructed and operated until the late 1880s. In 1874, Charles H. Burwell came to manage the Minnetonka Mill Company, and he built a Victorian home on the north bank of Minnehaha Creek (Minnetonka Boulevard at McGinty Road East) for his family. The Charles H. Burwell House is now on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned by the city. There were two other mills in Minnetonka: the St. Alban's Mill, which was less than 1 mile (2 km) downstream from Minnetonka Mills on Minnehaha Creek, operated as a flour mill from 1874 to 1881. A grist mill built on Purgatory Creek was washed out in a flood shortly after construction. Minnetonka Mills, with its post office and port for Lake Minnetonka, was the principal business and trading center for a large area until the 1870s.

Between 1883 and 1956, the area within the original 36-square-mile (93 km²) township grew smaller as Wayzata, Hopkins, Deephaven, Woodland and Saint Louis Park incorporated or annexed portions of then-Minnetonka Township.

Until as late as the 1960s, many portions of Minnetonka were still rural in character, with horse pasture and farms. Those final areas have since been developed with the city now a fully developed suburban community.

The Minnetonka Town Hall, built in 1906, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.22 square miles (73.09 km²), of which 26.93 square miles (69.75 km²) is land and 1.29 square miles (3.34 km²) is water. Part of the city includes the eastern tip of Lake Minnetonka, one of the largest lakes in Minnesota. The outlet of Lake Minnetonka is Minnehaha Creek, which winds through south Minneapolis and flows over Minnehaha Falls and into the Mississippi River. Minnetonka is located 8 miles (13 km) west of Minneapolis, in Hennepin County.

Economy

The headquarters of Carlson is in Minnetonka. The headquarters of Cargill are located in Minnetonka and are in the Wayzata Post Office area. Founded in 1865, Cargill is the largest privately held corporation in the U.S. in terms of revenue. Other companies based in Minnetonka include UnitedHealth Group, Digital River, Radisson Hotel Group, and the uniform companies AmeriPride Services and G&K Services.

Top employers

According to the city's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Education

Public schools

The city of Minnetonka is covered by three independent school districts. The Hopkins School District, which encompasses the central and eastern part of Minnetonka; the Minnetonka School District, in the western part of city; and the Wayzata School District, which covers an area along the northern boundary of the city. Some students attend public schools in other school districts chosen by their families under Minnesota's open enrollment statute.

The Minnetonka School District also includes four schools outside of the city of Minnetonka: Deephaven Elementary School (Deephaven), Excelsior Elementary School (Excelsior), Minnewashta Elementary School (Shorewood), and Minnetonka Middle School West (Chanhassen).

The Hopkins School District comprises two-thirds of the city of Minnetonka, the entirety of Hopkins, and portions of the cities of Golden Valley, Edina, St. Louis Park, Wayzata, and Plymouth. In addition to schools located within Minnetonka, the Hopkins School District also includes four schools in the cities of Hopkins and Golden Valley: Eisenhower Elementary School/Xin Xing Academy (Hopkins), Alice Smith Elementary School (Hopkins), Meadowbrook Elementary School (Golden Valley), and Harley Hopkins Early Childhood/Family Center (Hopkins).

Private schools

There are three private and parochial schools within Minnetonka's city limits:

• Accell Academy, an accredited private college preparatory school serving grades K-12
• Notre Dame Academy, preschool through eighth grade
• Minnetonka Christian Academy

Public libraries

The Hennepin County Library has its headquarters in the Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka. The system also operates the Minnetonka Library.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 49,734 people, 21,901 households, and 13,619 families living in the city. The population density was 1,846.8 inhabitants per square mile (713.1/km²). There were 23,294 housing units at an average density of 865.0 per square mile (334.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.0% White, 3.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population.

There were 21,901 households, of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85.

The median age in the city was 45 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 33.3% were from 45 to 64; and 16.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.

Sports

The Minnetonka Dynamo, a bandy club, became national champions of bandy in 1994, 1998 and 2000.

The Minnetonka Millers, a Class A baseball club, became state champions in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The Millers play at Veterans Field, located on the campus of Minnetonka High School.

Notable people

• Beau Allen – Defensive Tackle, NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Douglas Ewald - Minnesota state legislator
• Jake Gardiner – professional hockey player currently with the Carolina Hurricanes
• Jack Hillen – retired professional ice hockey player
• Kris Humphries – retired professional basketball player.
• Gary Jacobson – professional golfer.
• Ryan McCartan – Disney channel actor
• Sidney Morin – professional ice hockey player currently with HV71
• Tom Petters – former CEO of Petters Group Worldwide convicted of running a 3.65 billion dollar Ponzi scheme.
• Al Quie – former Governor of Minnesota (1979–1983)
• Gretchen Quie – artist and former First Lady of Minnesota (1979–1983)
• Mike Ramsey – member of United States 1980 Olympic Gold Medal hockey team, the "Miracle Team"
• Terrell Sinkfield – American football cornerback who is currently a free agent
• Dave Snuggerud – professional ice hockey player drafted by the Buffalo Sabres
• Wesley So – Chess Grandmaster
• David Stenshoel — musician (Boiled in Lead)
• Judy Traub – Minnesota state senator and community volunteer
• Jill Trenary – professional figure skater
• Will Leer – professional runner

See also

In Spanish: Minnetonka para niños