Shoreview, Minnesota

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.67 square miles (32.82 km²), of which 10.77 square miles (27.89 km²) is land and 1.90 square miles (4.92 km²) is water.[8]

A second-ring suburb north of Saint Paul, Shoreview has nine city parks and three county parks.[9] It has seven lakes, of which the largest are Turtle Lake, Snail Lake, Lake Owasso, and Island Lake, and Rice Creek flows through the northwest portion of the city.[10]

Interstate 35W, Interstate 694, and County Highway 96 are three of its main routes.

According to a 2009 estimate,[4] the median income for a household in the city was $78,990, and the median income for a family was $97,725. While 21% of households had incomes of $50,000.00 or less annually, 28% list incomes of over $100,000.00 per year. The per capita income for the city was $39,761. 2.5% of the population and 0.9% of families were below the poverty line. In 2000, males had a median income of $53,833 versus $36,565 for females. Out of the total population, 2.1% of those under the age of 18 and 3.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

During the 1970s and the 1980s, Shoreview grew rapidly. Residential dwellings tripled after 1970. During the 1990s growth slowed as the city matured and less land was available for development. The focus of the city has shifted from new development to infill and redevelopment. In the late 2010s, there have been multiple renovation projects. Future projections indicate a stable population base.

Shoreview Community Center

Two public school districts provide educational services to Shoreview residents: District 621 (Mounds View) and District 623 (Roseville).

The following institutions are located in Shoreview:

• Island Lake Elementary School
• Snail Lake Education Center (Kindergarten only- feeds to Turtle Lake and Island Lake Elementary Schools)
• St. Odilia Catholic School and Church
• Turtle Lake Elementary School
• Oak Hill Montessori
• Emmet D Williams Elementary School

St. Odilia's, a private Catholic school, located next to Island Lake school, has a total enrollment of approximately 550 students in grades K–8.

The Shoreview City Council consists of a Mayor and four council members. The Mayor serves a two-year term of office, and the council members are elected at–large to serve overlapping four year terms. Shoreview has adopted the Plan B Council/Manager form of government, one of three forms permitted by the Minnesota State Legislature. The Council has policymaking and legislative authority and appoints the City Manager, who is charged with the administration of city business in accordance with council decisions. The Manager has the authority to appoint all employees and is responsible for the development of the annual budget.

Land O'Lakes has a corporate office in Shoreview.[13]

The majority of FM and television broadcasters in the Twin Cities area have their transmitters and antennae based in Shoreview;

• The KMSP TV Tower, owned by Fox O&O duopoly KMSP/WFTC (Channels 9 / 29) stands 1,466 feet (447 m) high and is also utilized by the stations of Twin Cities Public Television (KTCA/KTCI 2 / 17), and ten FM stations.
• Telefarm Towers Shoreview are two towers nearby which reach 1,436 feet (438 m) and 1,438 feet (438 m) high, respectively. WCCO (4), KTSP/KSTC (5 / 45), KARE (11), WUCW (23) and KPXM (41) transmit from this site, along with several other FM stations.

Shoreview made national headlines in September 1971 when a television tower on the site of the current Telefarm Towers collapsed during construction, killing seven workers.[14]

Shoreview is financially sound with a strong and growing tax base of high-quality residential and commercial development. The city has received national recognition for its Comprehensive Infrastructure Replacement Plan and has a Standard and Poor's bond rating of AAA, placing Shoreview in the top 12% of Minnesota government entities.

Shoreview City Hall

The city of Shoreview contracts with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department for police services and has one of the lowest crime rates among similar cities in the metropolitan area.

Programs offered are crime prevention, youth mentoring, Neighborhood Watch, lakes & trail patrol and a community-policing project involving citizens.

Fire protection services are provided by the Lake Johanna Fire Department, which consists of 70 paid on-call firefighters.

The Lake Johanna Fire Department operates four stations. The city owns two stations in Shoreview and shares a third station, located in North Oaks.

In early 2008, the city adopted a new Comprehensive Guide Plan that serves as the framework for directing future land use and development decisions. The city also has an ongoing economic development program to retain and attract businesses that enhance the tax base and serve residents.

Shoreview's water system consists of six wells, two 1.5-million gallon elevated storage tanks, one 1-million gallon underground reservoir, and more than 100 miles of water main. The water system has a total pumping capacity of 14.4 million gallons per day, with an average daily demand of 3.2 million gallons and a peak demand of 10.6 million gallons per day. The city maintains 108 miles of city owned sewer laterals and 17 lift stations. Sewer trunk lines and treatment facilities are owned by the Metropolitan Council Wastewater Services MCWS). Xcel Energy provides electricity and natural gas service to city residents. Along with this, the city maintains 88 miles of residential and collector streets.

1837 - Dakota and Ojibwe Indians once inhabited the area that is now Shoreview. Indian mounds containing human bone fragments, arrowheads, pieces of pottery, and bits of charcoal have been found on Rice Creek near the north shore of Long Lake in nearby New Brighton and in parts of Shamrock Park. In 1837 the land lying between the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers, including what is now Shoreview, was ceded to the United States Government by the Ojibwe.

1850 - In February 1850, Socrates A. Thompson, accompanied by an Indian friend, left Saint Paul in search of a good location for farming. Thompson was the first white person to settle on land that is now within the boundaries of the city of Shoreview. Soon people from Switzerland, England, Ireland, Germany, Vermont, Virginia, Illinois and New York began farming in Shoreview. A well traveled wagon trail passed through Shoreview, with the current location of Shamrock Park being a popular resting place for travelers.

1858 - At one time, Shoreview was part of the former Mounds View Township. The name came from a range of hills running through the center of the township. Mounds View Township was organized on May 11, 1858, the same day that Minnesota became a state.

1880 - Later in the 1800s railroad lines expanded to include Shoreview. The first railroad lines in Shoreview, owned by James "The Puck" McMillan and his Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (now Soo Lines) were built in the 1880s.

1957 - On March 14, 1957 a group of citizens, feeling the inadequacy of a township government, presented a petition to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners that called for the incorporation of the Village of Shoreview. This action would separate Shoreview from Mounds View Township. After a bitter dispute, an election was held at the Shamrock Park pavilion and the incorporation of Shoreview was approved by a vote of 853 to 748.

April 23, 1957, Shoreview was officially incorporated. The first Mayor of Shoreview, Kenneth Hanold, was elected on May 23, 1957. At this time, Shoreview had a population of 5,231 and an assessed valuation of $1,884,000. (Shoreview now has 26,500 residents and $3.1 billion in total property value.) The first elected officers met in a small outbuilding on Willis Wilson's property (County Road I). A few weeks later they moved into an office on the second floor of Mayor Hanold's garage (Rice Street and Interstate 694).

When questions arose about renting property from a mayor, a search was conducted to look for another space. Between 1957 and 1973, Village Hall was housed first in a former barn (Highway 96) from which the second floor had been removed. The next Village Hall, also located on Highway 96, was a small house which had been repaired following an explosion. At this time, Shoreview's governing was being done from a restored house and a converted barn near Shamrock Park.

1963 - December 10, 1963, Interstate Highway 694 was opened through Shoreview. The three broadcast towers, located on the north side of Highway 694, were constructed in the early 1970s and have become familiar landmarks in Shoreview and are the tallest structures in Minnesota.

Citizens worked to change the form of government, and on November 5, 1963, in order to better deal with the village's growing population, the citizens of Shoreview voted to shift to a “Plan A” form of government under which the village clerk and treasurer were appointed rather than elected.

1973 - July 17, 1973 community leaders decided it was time to build a City Hall. A referendum was passed by a single vote and a structure was built. This was the site of Shoreview's government until 1990 when the City Hall and Community Center opened at Shoreview Commons.

1974 - Shoreview changed forms of government once again and became a city on January 1, 1974 through an act of the State Legislature. With a population of over 14,000 at the time, the residents voted in November 1974 to adopt the present “Plan B” Council-Manager form of government.

2007 - Shoreview celebrated its golden anniversary with a ceremony at Shamrock Park recognizing residents living in the community since its incorporation.

2011 - Shoreview Maintenance Center renovated/received the LEED Gold Certification by the Green Building Council. This was the first in the nation to be certified under the 2009 LEED rating system and only the fifth city facility in the state to be LEED certified. Mayor Martin received the C.C.Ludwig Award for outstanding service and leadership from the League of Minnesota Cities.

• Island Lake Golf Center, located on Red Fox Road just south of the intersection of Lexington Avenue and Interstate 694
• Shoreview Community Center's Tropics Indoor Water Park
• Shoreview Skatepark
• Shamrock Park, a recreation area located on Snelling and Co Rd I. Wedged into a residential area and featuring wooded trails, a baseball field, and a popular sledding hill.
• An extensive trail system links Shoreview's many greenways and parks. The largest park within the city is Vadnais-Snail Lakes Regional Park.[15]
• Public archery range

• Madelyn Reiter, businesswoman and Minnesota State Senator[16]

• City of Shoreview
• Mounds View School District