Alexandria
City
Alexandria Post Office (historic)
Alexandria Post Office (historic)
Official logo of Alexandria
Logo
Nicknames: 
Alex, Alec
Motto: 
"The Runestone City"[1]
Location of the city of Alexandriawithin Douglas County, Minnesota
Location of the city of Alexandria
within Douglas County, Minnesota
Coordinates: 45°52′39″N 95°22′36″W / 45.87750°N 95.37667°W / 45.87750; -95.37667
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountyDouglas
Colonized1858
Founded1859
IncorporatedFebruary 20, 1877
Government
 • MayorBobbie Osterberg
Area
[2]
 • City17.90 sq mi (46.36 km2)
 • Land17.18 sq mi (44.50 km2)
 • Water0.71 sq mi (1.85 km2)  4.43%
Elevation
[3]
1,414 ft (431 m)
Population
 (2020)[4]
 • City14,335
 • Estimate 
(2022)[5]
14,861
 • Density834.25/sq mi (322.10/km2)
 • Urban
18,957
 • Metro
39,668 (US: 319th)
Time zoneUTC–6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC–5 (CDT)
ZIP code
56308
Area code320
FIPS code27-00928
GNIS feature ID2393918[3]
Sales tax7.375%[6]
Websitealexandriamn.city

Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States.[7] 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.[8]

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 14,335 as of the 2020 census.[4] 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.[9] The city is often abbreviated as "Alex" (sometimes pronounced "Alec").[10]

Economy

Top employers

According to the Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission,[11][12] the area's top employers are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 Alomere Health 868
2 Douglas Machine, Inc. 737
3 Alexandria Public Schools 609
4 Knute Nelson 482
5 Alexandria Industries 437
6 3M 400
7 Central Specialties 325
8 Douglas County 308
9 Brenton Engineering 265
10 Aagard 264

[13]

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.

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 an 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.[14] Many of the people who live in Alexandria are not calculated into the population because they are spread out of the city and live on and around the many lakes.

Climate

Alexandria has a dry-winter warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dwb),[15] with cold, snowy winters and warm (sometimes hot and humid) summers. The autumn and spring are generally pleasant. Average annual precipitation (both snow and rain) is about 25 inches.

Climate data for Alexandria, Minnesota (Alexandria Municipal Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1940–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 58
(14)		 58
(14)		 78
(26)		 95
(35)		 97
(36)		 102
(39)		 101
(38)		 104
(40)		 98
(37)		 91
(33)		 76
(24)		 58
(14)		 104
(40)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 40.1
(4.5)		 43.5
(6.4)		 58.7
(14.8)		 76.8
(24.9)		 87.1
(30.6)		 90.6
(32.6)		 91.3
(32.9)		 89.7
(32.1)		 85.9
(29.9)		 78.3
(25.7)		 59.8
(15.4)		 42.4
(5.8)		 93.7
(34.3)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 19.0
(−7.2)		 23.7
(−4.6)		 36.6
(2.6)		 52.4
(11.3)		 66.3
(19.1)		 75.7
(24.3)		 80.2
(26.8)		 78.3
(25.7)		 69.9
(21.1)		 54.5
(12.5)		 37.6
(3.1)		 24.2
(−4.3)		 51.5
(10.8)
Daily mean °F (°C) 10.7
(−11.8)		 14.9
(−9.5)		 28.0
(−2.2)		 42.5
(5.8)		 55.9
(13.3)		 66.0
(18.9)		 70.6
(21.4)		 68.5
(20.3)		 60.0
(15.6)		 45.7
(7.6)		 30.3
(−0.9)		 16.9
(−8.4)		 42.5
(5.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 2.3
(−16.5)		 6.0
(−14.4)		 19.4
(−7.0)		 32.7
(0.4)		 45.5
(7.5)		 56.4
(13.6)		 60.9
(16.1)		 58.7
(14.8)		 50.1
(10.1)		 37.0
(2.8)		 23.0
(−5.0)		 9.6
(−12.4)		 33.5
(0.8)
Mean minimum °F (°C) −20.6
(−29.2)		 −16.4
(−26.9)		 −5.3
(−20.7)		 17.0
(−8.3)		 32.6
(0.3)		 44.3
(6.8)		 50.6
(10.3)		 48.1
(8.9)		 35.0
(1.7)		 21.6
(−5.8)		 4.4
(−15.3)		 −14.3
(−25.7)		 −23.3
(−30.7)
Record low °F (°C) −38
(−39)		 −34
(−37)		 −34
(−37)		 −2
(−19)		 18
(−8)		 33
(1)		 42
(6)		 38
(3)		 21
(−6)		 9
(−13)		 −18
(−28)		 −32
(−36)		 −38
(−39)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.38
(9.7)		 0.41
(10)		 1.00
(25)		 2.04
(52)		 3.05
(77)		 3.72
(94)		 4.00
(102)		 3.46
(88)		 2.63
(67)		 2.21
(56)		 0.83
(21)		 0.36
(9.1)		 24.09
(612)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3.6 3.7 5.2 9.0 11.5 12.3 10.8 9.5 8.8 8.6 4.8 4.5 92.3
Source: NOAA[16][17]

Lakes

  • Lake Carlos
  • Lake Le Homme Dieu
  • Lake Mary
  • Lake Agnes
  • Lake Alvin
  • Lake Andrew
  • Blackwell Lake
  • Lake Brophy
  • Lake Cowdry
  • Lake Darling
  • Lake Geneva
  • Lake George
  • Lake Henry
  • Lake Ida
  • Lake Latoka
  • Lake Louise
  • Mill Lake
  • Lake Mina
  • Smith Lake
  • Lobster Lake
  • Lake Burgen
  • Stony Lake
  • Taylor Lake
  • Lake Jessie
  • North Union Lake
  • Lake Charley
  • Union Lake
  • Laura Lake
  • Lake Winona
  • Lake Victoria[18]
  • Lake Miltona
  • Lake Irene
  • Maple Lake
  • Lake Reno
  • Grant Lake
  • Echo Lake
  • Lake Oscar
  • Rachel Lake
  • Cork Lake
  • Mud Lake
  • Vermont Lake
  • Pocket Lake

Demographics

Statue of Big Ole the Viking, greeting visitors to Alexandria
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18801,355—
18902,11856.3%
19002,68126.6%
19103,00111.9%
19203,38812.9%
19303,87614.4%
19405,05130.3%
19506,31925.1%
19606,7136.2%
19706,9733.9%
19807,6089.1%
19907,8383.0%
20008,82012.5%
201011,07025.5%
202014,33529.5%
2022 (est.)14,861[5]3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[19]
2020 Census[4]

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.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,820 people. The census listed 4,047 households and 2,011 families living in the city. The population density was 992.5 inhabitants per square mile (383.2/km2). There were 4,311 housing units at an average density of 485.1 per square mile (187.3/km2). The city's racial makeup was 97.94% White, 0.42% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.

There were 4,047 households, of which 23.7% had children under 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.3% were non-families. 41.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who 65 or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.0% under 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% over 66. The median age was 37. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 83.7 males.

The median income for a household was $26,851, and the median income for a family was $38,245. Males had a median income of $27,871 versus $20,254 for females. The per capita income was $16,085. About 7.8% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under 18 and 15.7% of those 65 or older.

Tourism

Resorts

The city is located along a chain of lakes, which makes it a popular resort destination for water and land activities. There are cabin B&Bs and chain hotels along the lakes. Water sporting activities include motorboats, wake surfing, sailing, paddleboarding. Fishing was also historically popular in the city. There are beaches, like in the Pilgrim Point Park on Lake Ida. Other park areas include Lake Brophy County Park and Kensington Rune Stone Park. [20][21]

Events

Local tourism events include:

  • Grape Stomp hosted by the Carlos Creek Winery every September
  • An Apple Fest in October
  • The Douglas County Fair every August
  • Big Ole Paddlefest every July, a kayaking race on Lake Miltona
  • Art in the Park every July.
  • Red Willow Arts Coalition Outdoor hosts concerts every Thursday in summer.[21]

Attractions

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.[22] Extensive repairs to Big Ole were completed in 2016.[23]

Media

Newspaper

Alexandria Echo Press is Alexandria's twice-weekly newspaper, owned by the Forum Communications Company.[24]

Television

From 1958 until 2012, Alexandria had at least one local television station, either KCCO or KSAX, and both are still satellites of Minneapolis, MN television stations. KCCO had a presence, first as KCMT, in 1958, as an NBC and ABC affiliate. It switched to CBS affiliation in 1982. Five years later, KSAX regained ABC's presence as a semi-satellite of KSTP-TV. In that same year, KCCO was bought out and became a semi-satellite of WCCO-TV. In 1992, KCCO became a CBS O&O when CBS acquired WCCO and its two satellites.

During KCCO and KSAX's time as semi-satellites, they broadcast local news, weather, and sports through ten-minute cut-in segments during their parent station's newscast. In 2002, KCCO removed its local presence and became a full satellite of WCCO. In June 2012, cost-cutting measures at KSAX resulted in the layoff of all but two employees and the ending of local cut-in broadcasts by any Alexandria television station.[25]

The Alexandria area is also served by Selective TV, Inc., a non-profit, viewer-supported organization which transmits several cable channels free-to-air over standard UHF television frequencies, viewable in any area home without subscription. Selective TV operates under low power television rules of the FCC and as such was not subject to the analog to digital conversion in 2009. Residents still need a converter box to view KCCO and KSAX on the digital band, though KSAX is still rebroadcast via Selective TV.

Broadcast

Channel Callsign Affiliation Branding Subchannels Owner
(Virtual) Channel Programming
4.1 K33DB-D
(WCCO Translator)		 CBS WCCO 4 4.2
4.3		 Start TV
Dabl		 Selective TV, Inc.
5.2 K16CO-D
(KSTC Translator)		 Ind. 45 TV 5.3
5.4
5.6		 Me-TV
Antenna TV
This TV		 Selective TV, Inc.
9.2 K30AF-D
(WFTC Translator)		 Ind. FOX 9 Plus 9.3
9.1		 Movies!
FOX		 Selective TV, Inc.
9.9 K32EB-D
(KMSP Translator)		 FOX FOX 9 9.4
9.5
9.6		 Buzzr
Light TV
Decades		 Selective TV, Inc.
10.1 K27KN-D
(KWCM Translator)		 PBS Pioneer Public TV 10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5		 Create
Minnesota Channel
World
PBS Kids		 Selective TV, Inc.
11.1 K26CL-D
(KARE Translator)		 NBC KARE 11 11.2
11.3
11.4		 Court TV
True Crime Network
Quest		 Selective TV, Inc.
17.1 K17NW-D NASA TV Selective TV, Inc.
18.1 K18DG-D
(KSAX Translator)		 ABC 5 Eyewitness News Selective TV, Inc.
20.1 K20AC-D Escape 20.2
20.3
20.4
20.5		 Newsmax TV
C-SPAN
MSNBC
Bounce TV		 Selective TV, Inc.
21.1 K21GN-D KOOL-TV 21.2
21.3
21.4
21.5		 Reelz-TV
Grit
LALA-TV
Laff		 Selective TV, Inc.
22.1 K36KH-D
(KAWB Translator)		 PBS Lakeland PBS 22.2
22.3
22.4
22.5
22.6		 First Nations Experience
PBS Kids
Create
PBS Encore
Minnesota Channel		 Selective TV, Inc.
23.1 K14LZ-D
(WUCW Translator)		 CW CW 23 23.2
23.3
23.4		 Comet
Charge!
TBD		 Selective TV, Inc.
41.1 K34AF-D
(KPXM Translator)		 ION ION 41.2
41.3
41.4
41.5
41.6		 Bounce TV
Grit
Court TV Mystery
QVC
HSN		 Selective TV, Inc.
42.1 KSAX
(KSTP/KSTC Satellite)		 ABC 5 Eyewitness News 42.2
42.3		 45TV
MeTV		 Hubbard Broadcasting
44.1 K44GH-D 3ABN 44.2
44.4
44.5
44.6
44.7		 3ABN Proclaim
3ABN Spanish
3ABN Radio
3ABN Radio Spanish
Radio 74		 Edge Spectrum, Inc.

Radio

AM radio stations
Frequency Call sign Name Format Owner
1490KXRANews/TalkParadis Broadcasting Inc.
FM radio stations
Frequency Call sign Name Format Owner
90.9K215BL
(KSJR Translator)		Classical MPRClassicalMinnesota Public Radio
91.7K219FA
(WJFM Translator)		SonLife RadioChristianJimmy Swaggart Ministries
92.3KXRAKX92Classic rockParadis Broadcasting Inc.
94.3KULOCool 94.3OldiesHubbard Broadcasting
97.3KRVY97.3 The RiverAdult ContemporaryIowa City Broadcasting Company, Inc.
98.5KLKXK-Lakes 98.5Adult StandardsAlexandria Community Radio Educational Organization, Inc.
99.3KXRZZ-99Hot ACParadis Broadcasting Inc.
100.3K262AT
(KXRA-AM Translator)		News/TalkParadis Broadcasting Inc.
100.7KIKVKIK FM 100.7CountryHubbard Broadcasting

Other forms

The city's unofficial mascot "Big Ole" is featured on the cover of the debut album of the National Beekeepers Society.

Culture

The city hosts the annual Vikingland Band Festival parade marching championship.

In the 2000s, Justine Harman, an employee of Glamour and the host of the Broken Harts podcast said, "It was a bit more progressive than rural South Dakota, but it wasn't exactly the most tolerant of places, either" in regard to LGBT people.[26]

A 2018 article in The Oregonian described Alexandria as "conservative-leaning".[27]

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.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Alexandria, MN".
  2. ↑ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  3. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Alexandria, Minnesota
  4. 1 2 3 "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau. January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Alexandria (MN) sales tax rate". Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  8. ↑ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 175.
  9. ↑ "Alexandria Picked As Top Ten Small Town In US". July 5, 2013.
  10. ↑ Chaffins, Amy (July 11, 2014). "You asked:Why do locals call Alexandria 'Alek?'". Echo Press. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Demographics - Living Alexandria Area - Minnesota".
  12. ↑ "Douglas County Economic Development Profile - 2021" (PDF). May 4, 2022. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 5, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Area Largest Employers".
  14. ↑ "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  15. ↑ Beck, Hylke E.; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.; McVicar, Tim R.; Vergopolan, Noemi; Berg, Alexis; Wood, Eric F. (October 2018). "Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution". Scientific Data. 5 (1): 180214. Bibcode:2018NatSD...580214B. doi:10.1038/sdata.2018.214. ISSN 2052-4463. PMC 6207062. PMID 30375988.
  16. ↑ "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Station: Alexandria Muni AP, MN". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Douglas County Minnesota Lakes - Alexandria Lakes Fishing". www.minnesotalakes.net. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  19. ↑ United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Making Memories in Alexandria". minnesotamonthly.com. Minnesota Monthly. May 19, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Lawton, Beth (May 19, 2023). "From 'Big Ole' to the Bayou: The Other Alexandrias". Alexandria Living.
  22. ↑ Dougherty, Steve (September 11, 2005). "Highway 61, Visited". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
  23. ↑ Edenloff, Celeste (July 27, 2016). "End is near for Big Ole repairs". Echo Press. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  24. ↑ Zaleski, Jack. Forum Communications Company: A Narrative History 1980-2018. Forum Communications Company.
  25. ↑ "KSAX-TV Alexandria drops local news programming". brainerddispatch.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  26. 1 2 "Broken Harts Podcast, Episode 1: Full Transcript". Glamour. December 4, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Hart children immediately pulled from public schools after mother's abuse conviction". The Oregonian. April 3, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
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