Burnsville () is a city south of downtown
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
in
Dakota County, Minnesota
Dakota County is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota, located in the east central portion of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 439,882. The population of Dakota County was estimated to be 442,038 in ...
. The city lies on a bluff overlooking the south bank of the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
upstream from its confluence with the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. Burnsville and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...
, the 16th-largest
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
in the United States, with about 3.7 million residents. At the
2020 census the population was 64,317.
Burnsville is home to a regional mall (
Burnsville Center
Burnsville Center is located in Burnsville, Minnesota. It is one of the larger enclosed malls in Minnesota with 100 stores on 3 floors and approximately . The mall opened in 1977 with three anchor stores, Sears (closed in 2017), Dayton's (became ...
), a section of
Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve, vertical ski peak
Buck Hill
Buck Hill is a ski hill in Burnsville, Minnesota, a suburb south of Minneapolis. It is one of three ski areas in the Twin Cities metropolitan area; the others are Afton Alps and Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area. Buck Hill opened in 1954 and offe ...
, and part of the
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in eastern and central Minnesota. Located just south of the city of Minneapolis, it is one of fourteen Regional Priority Urban Wildlife Refuges in the nation. Many par ...
.
Burnsville stands on land that once contained a village of Mdewakanton Dakota. Later, it became a rural Irish farming community. Burnsville became Minnesota's 14th-largest city in the 2020 census following the construction of
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...
. Now the ninth-largest suburb in the metro area and a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
of both Minneapolis and
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, it was fully built by the late 2000s. Burnsville's downtown area is called ''Heart of the City'' with urban-style retail and condominiums.
The
Burnsville Transit Station serves as the hub and headquarters of the
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, also known by the acronym MVTA, is a public transportation agency that serves seven communities in the southern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The agency provides fixed-route an ...
, providing regional bus service to five other suburbs.
The name ''Burnsville'' is attributed to an early Irish settler and land owner, William Byrne. His surname was recorded as "Burns" and was never corrected.
History
The
Mdewakanton
The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota ( Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Dakota: ''Mde W ...
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
were the earliest inhabitants, arriving by the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
, following
water fowl
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...
and
game animal
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, tho ...
s.
Around 1750, as part of the greater migration of the Mdewakanton from their ancestral area around
Mille Lacs Lake
Mille Lacs Lake (also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large but shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly 75 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul m ...
to the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, Chief Black Dog established his band at a permanent village at the isthmus between
Black Dog Lake
Black Dog Lake is a lake in Dakota County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
The lake was named for Black Dog, a Sioux Indian.
See also
*List of lakes in Minnesota
This is a list of lakes of Minnesota. Although promoted as the "Land of 10,000 ...
(which is named after him) and the Minnesota River, near the present site of the Black Dog Power Plant.
Early settlers reported the village's population as over 250 Dakota. At the south end of Burnsville, Crystal Lake, recorded as "Minne Elk", was used for fishing, leisure and burial. It was also a gathering spot where Dakota watched deer or bucks drink at the lake from the top of Buck Hill, which was named by early settlers who witnessed this activity.
Three large
burial mounds
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a ...
were discovered after
European settlement.
![Horses baling straw, Burnsville](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Horses_baling_straw%2C_Burnsville..jpg)
The Dakota nation
ceded land in 1851 and many relocated to Chief Shakopee's village—the
Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) (Dakota language, Dakota: ''Bdemayaṭo Oyate'') is a Federally recognized tribe, federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe of Mdewakanton Dakota people, located southwest of Minneapolis and Sain ...
in nearby
Prior Lake
Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis seated next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city lies south of the Minnesota River in an area ...
. The first European settlers were Irish, Scottish and Norwegian farmers who came upriver from Saint Paul. One of these was William Byrne, who had immigrated in 1840 from
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...
, Ireland to
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
, Ontario, Canada. In 1855, he settled at the present-day junction of County Road 34 and Judicial Road near the
Scott County line, just southeast of old downtown
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
. He subsequently donated land there for a church, school, and a cemetery, and served as town chairman. In 1858, the Dakota County Board authorized Byrnsville Township in the north by the Minnesota River, east by
Eagan Eagan may refer to:
People
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* James Eagan (1926-2000), American politician from Missouri
* John J. ...
and
Apple Valley, south by
Lakeville, and west by Scott County. There is some ambiguity about whether the name actually derived from Byrne, since there were people with the surname "Burns" (a Scottish variant) living in the area.
The town clerk recorded variations between "Burns" and "Byrne" but at the 1960s city incorporation, "Burnsville" prevailed. The
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
was organized during this time as well. Burnsville originally comprised the present-day downtown of Savage (then known as Hamilton) until county border revisions by the legislature. Irish and Scottish settlers left their names on many area roads and parks and their religion in
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
,
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, and Catholic churches.
In the 19th century, Burnsville was considered far from downtown Minneapolis. Rail access came in 1864 and Burnsville became a
resort town
A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...
, with
cottage
A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...
s along Crystal Lake as well as Orchard Lake and Marion Lake in nearby Lakeville.
The Bloomington Ferry provided river crossings until 1889 when the original
Bloomington Ferry Bridge
The Bloomington Ferry Bridge is a freeway bridge across the Minnesota River between Bloomington, Minnesota and Shakopee, Minnesota that carries U.S. Route 169 (US 169). The current bridge and the US 169 Shakopee Bypass were both ...
was built. By 1920, the Lyndale Avenue
Drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
opened next to Black Dog Lake, extending Minneapolis's first north-south highway to the rural communities of southern Minnesota. Later, the bridge, upgraded several times, was replaced by the
I-35W Minnesota River bridge
The I-35W Minnesota River Bridge connects the counties of Hennepin and Dakota, and the cities of Bloomington and Burnsville, over the Minnesota River. The bridge has eight lanes, four lanes in each direction. Inner lanes are MnPass HOV lanes, ...
. In 1950, just before the World War II postwar housing boom, Burnsville was still a quiet township with a population of 583. School was taught in a one-room schoolhouse containing eight grades.
After the arrival of Interstate 35W in 1960, the next two decades saw the largest boom in population when postwar pressures forced the community to develop at rapid pace. Byrnesville Township was officially incorporated in 1964 after defeating an annexation attempt by the city of
Bloomington. Mass housing development followed and former mayor Connie Morrison has said city managers had foresight in producing shopping nodes in walking distance of most homes.
The city became a regional pull when Burnsville Center opened in 1977 and produced the heavily traveled retail strip on
County Road 42. The next decades dealt with managing Burnsville's increasing population and growth which led to providing alternative transportation options, diverse housing projects, and ultimately the "Heart of the City" project. The city approached build-out in the late 1990s and changed focus from new development to redevelopment and rehabilitation of existing structures.
Descendants of the Byrne family still remain in greater Minnesota with the original spelling in their surname. A relative who dedicated William Byrne Elementary in the 1960s considered petitioning to correct the spelling but most of the family had moved away for several decades.
Geography
Fed by receding
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
s and
Lake Agassiz
Lake Agassiz was a large glacial lake in central North America. Fed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined.
First postulated in 1823 by William H. Keating, it ...
12,000 years ago, the
Glacial River Warren
Glacial River Warren, also known as River Warren, was a prehistoric river that drained Lake Agassiz in central North America between about 13,500 and 10,650 BP calibrated (11,700 and 9,400 14C uncalibrated) years ago. A part of the uppermost porti ...
carved today's Minnesota River valley. On Burnsville's northern border, the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
winds through marshland and flood plains toward its confluence with the Mississippi. Most of the river is in the
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in eastern and central Minnesota. Located just south of the city of Minneapolis, it is one of fourteen Regional Priority Urban Wildlife Refuges in the nation. Many par ...
with fish, wildlife, and parkland managed collectively by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Burnsville also contains the Black Dog and Lower Minnesota River Watershed Districts, managed by the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.
Interstate Highway
35 splits into Interstate Highways
35W and
35E within the city. Other routes in the city include Minnesota Highway
13 and
County Road 42.
Demographics
The earliest settlers were roughly 250 Mdewakanton Dakota who lived permanently at Black Dog camp.
Starting in the 1850s, Old stock Americans from the east coast and
French Canadian
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
s moved into eastern Dakota County near Saint Paul. A decade later, major European immigration began with settlers from Ireland, Scotland, and Great Britain. By the 1900s there were a few Scandinavians from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, but these ethnic groups were mostly concentrated near Lakeville. Those from Germany and Eastern Europe gradually joined the minority from the packing jobs in nearby
South St. Paul
South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, located immediately south and southeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul. It is also east of West St. Paul, Minnesota, West St. Paul. The population ...
.
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
descendants maintained the majority through the early 1950s owing to the town's origin, overall land ownership, and the practice of marrying within ethnic clans.
The early 20th century's permanent population remained very low as the Minnesota River's lack of bridges and
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
connection isolated the area from development, preventing people from moving south of the river. The lakeside houses around Crystal Lake and Orchard Lake attracted various immigrant and first-generation wealthier people to temporarily settle or own land in the town limits.
In 1960, the U.S. Census Bureau recorded the population of Byrnesville Township at 2,716 and soon after, the postwar growth was dramatic, filling the city with second- to third-generation European descendants from Minneapolis. From 1960 to 1970, the population rose to nearly 20,000 and by 2000, the population was roughly 60,000.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 60,306 people, 24,283 households, and 15,656 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 25,759 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.5%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 10.0%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 5.0%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 3.5% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.5% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 7.9% of the population.
There were 24,283 households, of which 32.1% had children under 18 living with them, 48.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.5% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03.
The median age in the city was 35.9. 11% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between 18 and 24; 28.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.
Economy
Burnsville's biggest employer is its school district, Independent School District 191, followed by
Fairview Ridges Hospital,
UTAS Sensor Systems, Northern Tool + Equipment,
Pepsi-Cola Bottling,
YRC, Mackin Educational Resources,
Cub Foods
Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperValu Inc., based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
History Beginnings
Cub Foods was founded by Minnesota-based Hool ...
,
Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...
, and AMS Holding. Manufacturing is the second-largest industry. Many employers, including Northern Tool + Equipment,
Abdallah Candies
Abdallah Candies is a fifth-generation, family-owned chocolatier and confectionery in Apple Valley, Minnesota. It was established as the Calhoun Candy Depot in Minneapolis in 1909 by Lebanese immigrant Albert Abdallah and his wife of Swedish des ...
, and UTC Aerospace Systems, are in the industrial areas in the southwest and the north, with corporate headquarters and modern warehouses in services and manufacturing. Service firms such as internet utilities, news, and real estate are mostly located throughout the north along Highway 13.
Retail shopping is along County Road 42 and Highway 13 in the west and east sections of the city with local shopping nodes positioned throughout. The largest strip, County Road 42, is lined with suburban
strip mall
A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...
s, restaurants, goods and grocery stores. The anchor of the strip, Burnsville Center, is a regional mall.
Burnsville is a 15- to 30-minute drive from many regional attractions and services, such as the
Mall of America
Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...
,
Valleyfair Amusement Park, Buck Hill Ski Area, the
Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport,
downtown Saint Paul
Downtown Saint Paul is the central business district of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the south, University Avenue to the north, US 52 to the east, and Kellogg Avenue to the west. It is bounded ...
and
downtown Minneapolis
The Central Minneapolis community is located in the central part of the city, consisting of 6 smaller official neighborhoods, and includes Downtown Minneapolis and the central business district. It also includes the many old Gristmill, flour ...
. Adjacent cities of
Apple Valley,
Bloomington,
Eagan Eagan may refer to:
People
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* James Eagan (1926-2000), American politician from Missouri
* John J. ...
,
Lakeville, and
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
provide even more shopping hubs, lakes and parks.
Heart of the City
Burnsville's "Heart of the City" project is a downtown development policy driven by
smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood sch ...
and
new urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually inf ...
. The redevelopment encompasses in central Burnsville, a few miles south of the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
.
The 1150-seat postmodern Burnsville Performing Arts Center, now
The Ames Performing Arts Center, opened in January 2009. Its approval in 2007 was controversial.
Grande Market Square at Nicollet Avenue and Burnsville Parkway is the cornerstone of the Heart of the City project, and features a
Doron Jensen
Doron Richard Jensen (born September 1, 1958) is an American restaurateur who was the principal founder of Timber Lodge Steakhouse, Homestyle Buffet, and Old Country Buffet.
Early life
Doron Richard Jensen was born in Dubuque, Iowa, to pastors ...
-signature restaurant.
Arts and culture
The
Ames Performing Arts Center is at 12600 Nicollet Avenue in the Heart of the City. The center has two theatres, a 1000-seat Proscenium Stage, and an art gallery.
The Garage located near
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
is a nonprofit music club and teen center that has attracted music acts nationally and internationally.
Annually every August or September, the community holds the Burnsville
Fire Muster. Established in 1980, the event originated in the 1970s as a showcase and short parade for a local fire equipment collector. Taking on the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
fire muster tradition, the event now includes a large parade, music concerts, and fireworks. In 2004, the Guinness Book of World Records cited the namesake event of this celebration, a fire truck parade, as the longest of its kind in the world at that time.
Parks and recreation
The city contains of parkland throughout 79 parks and is managed by the Burnsville Parks Department, which follows a Parks & Trails Master Plan. Only a third is developed and for recreation, with the remainder preserved as natural habitat. Burnsville's border with the Minnesota River is within the
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in eastern and central Minnesota. Located just south of the city of Minneapolis, it is one of fourteen Regional Priority Urban Wildlife Refuges in the nation. Many par ...
.
Crystal Lake Crystal Lake or Crystal Lakes may refer to:
Lakes
Canada
* Crystal Lake (Saskatchewan)
* Crystal Lake (Ontario), drain into the Lynn River, which drains into Lake Erie
United States
* Crystal Lake, California, a mountain lake in Nevad ...
is the city's major recreation lake, allowing boating, fishing,
jet-ski
A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...
ing, and swimming. Burnsville Skate Park is a free facility during summer hours. Burnsville Ice Center has two large professional
ice rink
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...
s.
Burnsville Athletic Club is an all-volunteer youth sports league. It has an annual participation of nearly 1,300 in the baseball leagues for grades K-12, 80–90 boys' basketball teams in grades 3–12, and over 400 in flag and tackle
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
in grades 2–8. There are also traveling teams for boys' and girls' basketball, girls' fast pitch
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
, and 8th grade boys' football, which play against similar teams from around the state at a higher competitive level. Other adult sports are provided through the city's recreation department, other recreational organizations, and minor league groups.
Burnsville has over 58 playgrounds and roughly 11 recreational lakes. The most heavily used lakes are Keller Lake, Crystal Lake, Kruse Lake, and Aligmanet Lake (split with Burnsville's neighbor
Apple Valley, MN). In mid-2021, after finding numerous large
goldfish
The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have ...
in Keller Lake, Burnsville warned residents against public goldfish release, citing ecological concerns (goldfish are a regulated
invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
in Minnesota and their release into public waters is illegal).
Government and politics
Burnsville operates as a Statutory Plan B city under the Minnesota Legislature. Government consists of an elected city council of one
executive mayor and four council members. All four council members are elected at-large to serve four-year terms. The mayor's term was changed from two to four years in 2000. The city manager is in charge of administrative duties, including employment of the city. As one of many Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan municipalities, the city is required to regularly submit a Comprehensive Plan detailing infrastructure and development progress to the
Metropolitan Council
The Metropolitan Council, commonly abbreviated Met Council or Metro Council, is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area, accounting for over 55 pe ...
.
Elizabeth Kautz has been mayor since 1995, elected after serving two years on the city council, where she replaced Ken Wolf, who was elected to the State House of Representatives in District 41B. Having been reelected eight times, she has served for over 27 years.
Kautz's framework of progressive activity and financial management has been studied academically. She cites in her biography that she has reduced Burnsville's debt, increased infrastructure improvement, maintained the scheduled property tax decrease, established a new youth center, and overseen the establishment of the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority.
One of Kautz's major redevelopment projects was the Burnsville Heart of the City, the intersecting commercial areas near Burnsville Parkway and Nicollet Avenue.
In the 2008 mayoral election, her opponent cited the 1,000-seat regional performing arts center component as misuse of public funds toward arts.
The city is in multiple districts in both the
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...
(51, 56) and
Minnesota House (51A, 56A, 56B). Burnsville is represented in the State Senate by
Jim Carlson (District 51,
DFL) and
Lindsey Port (District 56, DFL), and in the State House by
Sandra Masin (District 51A, DFL),
Jessica Hanson (District 56A, DFL), and
Kaela Berg (District 56B, DFL).
Burnsville is in
Minnesota's 2nd congressional district
Minnesota's 2nd congressional district (current) covers the south Twin Cities metro area and contains all of Scott, Dakota, Goodhue, and Wabasha counties. It also contains part of northern and eastern Rice County including the city of Nort ...
and is represented by
Angie Craig
Angela Dawn Craig (born February 14, 1972) is an American politician, retired journalist, and former businesswoman. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she has served as the U.S. representative from since 2019. The distric ...
, a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
.
Politics
Education
Burnsville Independent School District 191, which includes Burnsville as well as parts of neighboring cities Savage and Eagan, has:
Two 9–12 high schools:
*
Burnsville High School
Burnsville High School (BHS) is a four-year public high school in Burnsville, Minnesota, United States. Burnsville is a southern suburb about 15 miles south of Minneapolis. The school is part of Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191, which ...
*
Cedar Alternative High School
Three 6–8
middle schools
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
:
* Eagle Ridge Middle School (in
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
)
* John Metcalf Middle School (Closed in 2020)
* Joseph Nicollet Middle School
Ten K-5 elementary schools:
* Harriet Bishop (in Savage)
* Edward D. Neill
* Gideon Pond
* Hidden Valley (in Savage)
* Marion W. Savage (in Savage)
* Rahn (in Eagan)
* Sioux Trail
* Sky Oaks
* Vista View
* William Byrne
About 20% of Burnsville's students attend
Independent School District 196 schools; they include
Apple Valley High School Apple Valley High School is the name of two high schools in the United States:
*Apple Valley High School (California)
*Apple Valley High School (Minnesota)
Apple Valley High School (AVHS) is a public four-year high school in the U.S. city of Ap ...
and Valley Middle School in
Apple Valley; and Echo Park Elementary School in Burnsville.
About 10% of Burnsville's students attend
Independent School District 194 schools; they include
Lakeville North High School
Lakeville North High School (LNHS) is a public high school in northern Lakeville, Minnesota, United States. Formerly Lakeville High School, LNHS received its current name when a second high school, Lakeville South High School, was built. Grades ...
, Kenwood Trail Middle School, and Orchard Lake Elementary, all of which are in
Lakeville.
Good Shepherd Lutheran School is a Pre-K-8 Christian school of the
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...
in Burnsville.
Infrastructure
Burnsville is a fully developed suburban
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
. Large pockets of
ramblers
The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...
and
split-level
A split-level home (also called a bi-level home or tri-level home) is a style of house in which the floor levels are staggered. There are typically two short sets of stairs, one running upward to a bedroom level, and one going downward toward ...
houses were due to Interstate 35W's completion in the 1960s which came earlier than most of the metro highways. Burnsville through the 1990s filled in the last of its available land with upscale housing stock and
apartment
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...
complexes. In the 2000s Burnsville went under redevelopment activity, producing many four-story residential buildings. The "Heart of the City", a new downtown area, contains mixed-use residential and retail buildings. This has produced a diverse range of housing types from single-family homes to high-density condominiums. Since the city was developed in a
sprawl fashion, new and old buildings sit between each other. The original industrial area along the Minnesota River is mostly abandoned, and also contains a sealed land-fill site. The new industrial area in the west side of the city contains manufacturing and corporate headquarters. West of the new downtown area are new office buildings.
Since 2005, Burnsville has cut its
carbon emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...
by almost 30%, through changes such as
energy efficiency
Energy efficiency may refer to:
* Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process
** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed
** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
, composting to reduce
methane emissions
Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% (360 million tons) of methane r ...
from
landfills
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
, and improvements to water infrastructure.
Transportation
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, also known by the acronym MVTA, is a public transportation agency that serves seven communities in the southern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The agency provides fixed-route an ...
provides regional
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
service between many transit hubs within the city, south of the river, and to destinations such as the Mall of America,
Downtown Minneapolis
The Central Minneapolis community is located in the central part of the city, consisting of 6 smaller official neighborhoods, and includes Downtown Minneapolis and the central business district. It also includes the many old Gristmill, flour ...
, and
Southdale Mall. Most residents commute and move around by car. Burnsville contains the Interstate Highway
35 split with Interstate Highway
35W leading to downtown Minneapolis and Interstate Highway
35E to downtown St. Paul. The major on and off-ramps for I-35W are located at Burnsville Parkway, County Road 42, and State Highway 13.
County Road 42 and State Highway
13 both provide east–west access to the western suburb of Savage and the eastern suburbs of Eagan and Apple Valley. Major interior arteries include Nicollet Avenue, McAndrews Road (East 138th Street), County Road 5 (Kenwood Trail), County Road 11, Portland Avenue, Southcross Drive, and Lac Lavon Drive.
Utilities
Burnsville Public Works draws water from wells and not the Minnesota River, supplying all homes and businesses. Electricity is provided by Dakota Electric Association, Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative and Xcel Energy. Natural gas is provided by Centerpoint Minnegasco. Telephone and internet services are provided by Frontier Communications and Qwest.
Fairview Ridges Hospital located south of City Hall along Nicollet Avenue is a 24-hour facility, touting the most advanced emergency, surgery, orthopedic and childcare south of the river. The hospital is within The Ridges campus which includes various medical clinics, services, centers and institutes. Nearby is a Park Nicollet Health Services.
Law enforcement
Burnsville's law enforcement is provided by the Burnsville Police Department, which formed in July 1964 soon after the town's incorporation. The department consists of 75 sworn officers and 19 civilian personnel. The current chief of police, as of May 10, 2019, is Tanya Schwartz. The department was the first in the state of Minnesota to introduce body-worn cameras to its officers in the summer of 2010 and rolled them out to all officers by the end of 2011. The department's current police station was built in 1988 and is located at 100 Civic Center Parkway. The station underwent a major $13.3 million renovation starting in summer 2017, and the newly renovated station was re-opened in February 2018.
Notable people
*
Cole Aldrich
Cole David Aldrich (born October 31, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He previously played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwol ...
, former basketball player for the
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
was born in Burnsville, but moved to Bloomington at a young age.
*
Brock Boeser
Brock Michael Boeser (; ; born February 25, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
A top prospect with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) ...
, professional hockey player, who plays for the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
* J. T. Brown (ice hockey), J.T. Brown, professional hockey player, who went on to play for the Minnesota Wild of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
* Dropping Daylight, music band
* Breanne Düren, singer/songwriter, touring keyboardist for Owl City.
* Sara Groves, contemporary Christian music artist
* Chuck Halberg, lawyer and Minnesota state legislator
* Gao Hong, Chinese pipa player
* Ernie Hudson, actor
*
Doron Jensen
Doron Richard Jensen (born September 1, 1958) is an American restaurateur who was the principal founder of Timber Lodge Steakhouse, Homestyle Buffet, and Old Country Buffet.
Early life
Doron Richard Jensen was born in Dubuque, Iowa, to pastors ...
, Founder of Timber Lodge Steakhouse
* Kristina Koznick, former Alpine skiing World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, ski racer
* David Knutson, Minnesota state senator, lawyer, and judge
* Harold A. Knutson, Minnesota state legislator and lawyer
* M.A. Larson, screenwriter and author
* Trevor Laws, former American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams
* Connie Morrison, Minnesota state legislator, member of the Burnsville City Council, and Mayor of Burnsville
* Todd Okerlund, former New York Islander hockey player, son of “Mean” Gene Okerlund
* Kirsten Olson, ice skater and actress
* Laura Osnes, Broadway singer and actress, born in Burnsville and raised in
Eagan Eagan may refer to:
People
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* James Eagan (1926-2000), American politician from Missouri
* John J. ...
* Melissa Peterman, actress
* Tabitha Peterson, curler
* Bradley G. Pieper, Minnesota state legislator and businessman
* Duke Powell, Minnesota state legislator and paramedic
* James Ruffin (American football), James Ruffin, defensive lineman
* Randy Scheunemann, Washington lobbyist and John McCain Presidential adviser
* Sing It Loud, music band
* Lindsey Vonn (née Kildow), United States Ski Team, U.S. Ski Team Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer, 2008 Alpine Skiing World Cup, 2008 World Cup overall champion
* Nicolas Eugene Walsh, Roman Catholic bishop
* Cedric Yarbrough, actor
References
External links
City of Burnsville – Official Website
{{Authority control
Burnsville, Minnesota,
Cities in Minnesota
Cities in Dakota County, Minnesota
Populated places established in 1855
1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory