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Moorhead, Minnesota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (August 2007) |
| Moorhead, Minnesota | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Clay |
| Founded | 1871 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Mark Voxland |
| Area | |
| - City | 13.4 sq mi (34.8 km²) |
| - Land | 13.4 sq mi (34.8 km²) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 898 ft (274 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 32,177 |
| - Density | 2,394.3/sq mi (924.4/km²) |
| - Metro | 184,857 |
| - 2006 City Estimate | 38,346 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 56560-56563 |
| Area code(s) | 218 |
| FIPS code | 27-43864GR2 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0648070GR3 |
| Website: http://www.ci.moorhead.mn.us/ | |
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 32,177 at the 2000 census, while a 2006 estimate lists it at 38,346. It is the county seat of Clay County6.
Moorhead was platted in 1871 and a permanent name was assigned to the town on October 6, 1871. Moorhead is bordered on the west by the Red River of the North and city of Fargo, North Dakota. On the east, Moorhead is bordered by Dilworth, Minnesota. Together along with West Fargo, North Dakota, the communities comprise the metropolitan area of Fargo-Moorhead with an estimated 2006 population of over 154,000 residents.
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The Hjemkomst Center is located in the city. It is a museum containing a re-creation of a Viking ship of the same name. The Hjemkomst vessel was built in nearby Hawley, MN by Moorhead resident Robert Asp, and was sailed to Norway by his children after Asp's early death. The ship is now permanently housed in the center.
Located on the grounds of the Hjemkomst Center is a Stave Church. The traditional Norwegian-style church serves as a symbol of the Norwegian heritage in the Red River Valley. The church is a full-scale replica of the Hopperstad stave church in Vik, Norway.
The Clay County Museum and Archives, operated by the Clay County Historical Society, interprets the history of Clay County in a free museum in the lower level of the Hjemkomst Center. The Society has more than 30,000 artifacts in their collection, one of the largest and most important historic collections in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Other local attractions include the Historic Comstock House, built in 1882 and open for tours.
The Rourke Art Gallery and the Rourke Art Museum are native Moorhead cultural institutions hosting the annual Midwest Art Exhibition. Curator James O'Rourke displays an important art collection from local, regional and national artists. The Rourke Gallery operates from an historic 19th century mansion and the Rourke Museum is housed in the historic Moorhead Post Office building.
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks is an independent professional baseball team that plays at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo. They are part of the Northern League. The Fargo-Moorhead Jets is a NAHL Junior A hockey team that plays at the Carlson Coliseum, which is in Fargo, North Dakota, United States.
From about Memorial Day through Labor Day (depending on river conditions), the Red River Ruby, a pontoon boat gives tours on the Red River of the North adjacent to the Hjemkomst Center. Special charters can be arranged outside of the normal operating hours.
Moorhead is the second city in the United States that owns and operates a Wireless ISP, GoMoorhead.com, and offers Wireless Internet to it's residents.[2] Operated by Moorhead Public Service and using Tropos Networks’ MetroMesh system, GoMoorhead covers the entire city and some of the surrounding area with it's Wifi signal.[3]
Moorhead sits in the fertile Red River Valley. The land around the Fargo-Moorhead area is some of the flattest and richest (for agricultural uses) in the world. This is because it lies on the lake bed of glacial Lake Agassiz, which disappeared long ago (10,000 years).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.8 km²), all of it land.
As of the census² of 2000, there were 32,177 people, 11,660 households, and 7,030 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,394.3 people per square mile (924.4/km²). There were 12,180 housing units at an average density of 906.3/sq mi (349.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.08% White, 0.77% African American, 1.94% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.10% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.47% of the population.
There were 11,660 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 23.1% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,781, and the median income for a family was $49,118. Males had a median income of $33,137 versus $23,717 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,150. About 8.2% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
For more than a century, education has been a very important industry in Moorhead. The city has three major institutions of higher learning: Concordia College, (a four-year private college), Minnesota State University Moorhead (a public university), and Minnesota State Community and Techical College (a two-year to four-year technical college). The combined student enrollment of these colleges is usually more than 11,000. In 2007, Rasmussen College and Minnesota School of Business both announced their plans to build campuses in Moorhead, with classes beginning in 2008.
Moorhead is served in the schooling area by S.G. Reinertsen Elementary, Robert Asp Elementary, Ellen Hopkins Elementary, Horizon Middle School, and Moorhead Senior High School. The city includes The Red River Area Learning Center and The Probstfield Center for Education . Park Christian School is a private Christian school in Moorhead providing a K-12 education.
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Moorhead is briefly referenced in the film The Big Lebowski as the hometown of one of the main characters, Bunny Lebowski.
Moorhead is mentioned in the film The Buddy Holly Story as the next stop in the ill fated Winter Dance Party tour. Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash enroute to their Moorhead performance.
Moorhead's pioneer Prairie Home Cemetery on 8th Street is often cited as the inspiration for the name of Garrison Keillor's national radio program, A Prairie Home Companion.
- Leslie Stefanson - actress[1]
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This section contains information of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article's subject matter. Please help improve this article by clarifying or removing superfluous information. (help, talk) |
Being a cold weather city, hockey has emerged as favorite sport of Moorhead. The community has provided significant support to hockey programs such as Moorhead Youth Hockey. The community takes pride in the number of trips the boys and girls hockey teams have made to the state finals. Over the years, Moorhead Senior High has produced a number of talented athletes. Following is a (presumably incomplete) list of athletes who have gone on to distinguish themselves nationally and internationally.
- Brian Lee (MHS '05) Currently playing for the University of North Dakota, an Early Draft sign-on with the Ottawa Senators, and a current member of the U.S. National Junior Team.
- Matt Cullen (MHS '95) Currently playing for the New York Rangers, a member of the 2005-2006 Carolina Hurricanes who won the NHL Stanley Cup (championship) in 2006.
- Jason Blake (MHS '93) Currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he's distinguished himself since being traded by Los Angeles during the 2000-2001 season.
- Mark Ladwig (MHS '99) With partner Amanda Evora, 2007 United States National Figure Skating Championship pewter medalists in senior pairs.
- Mark Cullen (MHS '97) Signed into the Philadelphia Flyers system in 2006, competed in 2006-2007 with the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms.
- Ryan Kraft (MHS '94) Believed to have signed with the New York Islanders before the 2006-2007 season, played 2005-2006 with the Kassel Huskies in Germany.
- Drew Fisher (MHS '06) Currently playing for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
- The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, regional newspaper printed in Fargo
- City of Moorhead official website
- Moorhead Parks and Recreation
- Moorhead Municipal Airport
- Hjemkomst Center website
- Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival
- Minnesota State University Moorhead website
- Concordia College website
- Minnesota State Community and Technical College website
- Clay County Historical Society website
- Chamber of Commerce
- Comstock Historic House
- Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Moorhead, Minnesota is at coordinates Coordinates:
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Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area (ND-MN) |
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| Counties | Cass | Clay |
| Main Cities | Fargo† | Moorhead† | West Fargo | Dilworth |
| Surrounding Areas | Alice | Amenia | Argusville | Arthur | Ayr | Barnesville | Briarwood | Buffalo | Casselton | Comstock | Davenport | Enderlin | Erie | Felton | Frontier | Gardner | Georgetown | Grandin | Glyndon | Harwood | Hawley | Hitterdal | Horace | Hunter | Kindred | Leonard | Mapleton | North River | Oxbow | Page | Prairie Rose | Sabin | Tower City | Reile's Acres | Ulen | Wheatland |
| † - county seat | |