Elk River, Minnesota Elk River, Minnesota Location of the town/city of Elk River Website City of Elk River Elk River is a town/city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States (U.S.), about 34 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

It is situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Elk Rivers.

Highways 10 and 169 and State Highway 101 are three of the chief routes in Elk River, and a station on the Northstar Commuter Rail line to downtown Minneapolis is positioned in the city.

Elk River is positioned 33.2 miles northwest of Minneapolis and 37.4 miles southeast of St.

The hardwood-forested hills in which Elk River is situated were pushed up by the last glacier that advanced athwart Minnesota.

These hills are made up of coarse materials which is the reason gravel quarrying is so prevalent in Elk River, and also the reason much of the region is not considered good farmland.

To the south of Elk River lies the prairie.

Two battles between the Dakota and Ojibwe took place where the Elk River meets the Mississippi in 1772 and 1773.

Zebulon Pike passed through the region on his 1805 exploration of the upper Mississippi River and titled the Elk River after the herds of elk he saw in the area.

David Fairbault assembled a trading post near the conjunction of the Elk and Mississippi Rivers in 1846, which he later sold to Pierre Bottineau.

The two rivers and the Red River Trail, which passed nearby, made this region a good locale for commerce.

In 1851, Ard Godfrey, a native of Orono, Maine, saw the potential of the water power of the Elk River and assembled a dam and a sawmill.

In the latter half of the 19th century, agriculture replaced lumber as the base of Elk River's economy.

Elk River's populace continued to expanded following a slow reconstructioncaused by the civil war.

The majority of citizens moving to Elk River by that time were from Northern Europe.

By 1870, Elk River swelled to a populace of 2,050 and became the governmental center of county in 1872.

The Orono Dam was finished by an ice storm in 1912, but hydropower gave a new incentive to dam the Elk River in 1915.

In 1916, the Village of Elk River received electricity for the first time.

Charles Babcock, a native son of Elk River and the first Commissioner of Highways for the state, had a visionary plan to "get Minnesota out of the mud." Highway 10 used to cross the Elk River over the dam bridge, but was rerouted to its present locale shortly after World War II.

For years, the intersection of this road and Highway 10 was the only one with a stoplight in Elk River and on primary travel weekends, traffic would back up half way to Anoka.

Work on Highway 169 to bypass Elk River began in 1961.

Work on a new route for Highway 101 between Rogers and Elk River began in 1968.

In 1974, the Village of Elk River changed to the City of Elk River.

In 1978, the City of Elk River and the township of Elk River were merged to problematic one unit known as the City of Elk River as it exists today.

Besides transportation, energy has always played a momentous part in shaping Elk River.

The first non-urban nuclear power plant in the United States went online in 1960 as Great River Energy's (GRE) site in Elk River.

This innovative origin of energy was one factor that helped Elk River receive the designation of "Energy City" by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative in October 1997.

As Energy City, Minnesota's energy industries demonstrate cutting edge renewable and energy efficient technologies in Elk River.

By the 1990s, Elk River and Sherburne County were in one of the quickest burgeoning corridors in the state and in the country.

The City of Elk River offers many amenities to its residents, offering a small town feel but close enough to the Twin Cities and St.

The City boasts two golf courses, Pinewood Golf Course, a municipal nine-hole course, and Elk River Country Club, an 18-hole course.

The Elk River Arena is positioned near the Elk River High School and offers skating to youth and grownups, as well as a Spring and Fall Arts and Craft Fair, an arena walking track, and much more.

The City of Elk River offers many opportunities to the 55+ crowd with an Activity Center and Senior Center.

The Elk River Public Library is part of the Great River Regional Library fitness and the building is a LEED Gold Certified building.

The City of Elk River has over 44 parks totaling over 800 acres in various stages of development.

Woodland Trails Park is positioned east of County Road 1 and north of the Elk River Country Club.

Another gem of Elk River is the riverfront park in downtown Elk River, providing spectacular views of the Mississippi River, an amphitheater, splash fountain, and picnic gazebo.

Elk River has always been a town energized by its small-town artists, highlighting talented residents.

The Elk River Area Arts Alliance, established in 1989, is a nonprofit organization that works with region businesses, government agencies, small-town schools, other arts organizations, and individual artists to furnish character arts experiences for region residents.

They are also able to offer experienced concerts in a state-of-the-art theater at Elk River Area High School.

In 2001, the Three Rivers Community Theater applied for a grant to assist in providing monies towards the painting of a mural of an creative and historical significance on the building adjoining to the River's Edge Park, positioned at the intersection of Main Street and Jackson Avenue.

This accomplishment to have a mural painted was inspired by various improve members, company owners, and enhance entities interested in downtown beautification and closing to recognize the arts improve of Elk River.

This universal enhanced the social, cultural, and leisure of downtown Elk River.

The desire was to draw consideration to the Mississippi River for its beauty and solace as well as its historical significance to Elk River.

The town/city of Elk River is a busy town/city when it comes to traffic, especially on weekends in the summer and fall as vacationers and hunters head north to their cabins.

Highways 10 and 169 have their northwest juncture in Elk River, with the two highways concurrent for 12 miles until Anoka to the southeast.

169 split in Elk River, and is a primary route connecting these highways with Interstate 94, seven miles to the south.

Many inhabitants of Elk River commute to the Twin Cities daily for work; it is roughly a 40-mile drive to Minneapolis.

Elk River Station is served by the Northstar Commuter Rail line connecting the northwest suburbs and downtown Minneapolis; the line opened in November 2009. The following routes are positioned inside the town/city of Elk River.

Elk River is served by three 9th to 12th high schools, Elk River High School, Ivan Sand Community School and Spectrum High School, and two middle schools, Salk Middle School and Vanden - Berge Middle School, both of which serve 6th to 8th grades. Lincoln Elementary, Parker Elementary, Meadowvale Elementary and Twin Lakes Elementary serve kindergarten to 5th grade. Elk River is also served by a private school.

Elk River is home to Spectrum High School, a charter school.

According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 43.82 square miles (113.49 km2); 42.29 square miles (109.53 km2) is territory and 1.53 square miles (3.96 km2) is water. The city's latitude and longitude are 45.313601 N and 93.5814 W.

Elk River, Minnesota (MN) Detailed Profile relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders a b Elk River Area School District 728: Schools Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elk River, Minnesota.

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