Burnsville ( ) is a city south of downtown
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
in
Dakota County, Minnesota
Dakota County is the third-most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota, located in the east central portion of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 439,882. The populat ...
. The city is situated on a bluff overlooking the south bank of the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River () 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 rises in southwestern ...
, upstream from its confluence with the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. Burnsville and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...
, the 16th-largest
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
in the United States, with about 3.7 million residents. At the
2020 census the population was 64,317.
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.
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 bo ...
. 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, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
, 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 a ...
, providing regional bus service to five other suburbs.
Burnsville is home to a regional mall (
Burnsville Center), a section of
Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve, vertical ski peak
Buck Hill, and part of the
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
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 people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...
Dakota were the earliest inhabitants, arriving by the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River () 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 rises in southwestern ...
, following
water fowl and
game animal
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation ("field sports, sporting"), or for trophy hunting, trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by differ ...
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, shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropol ...
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 (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 (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...
were discovered after
European settlement.
The Dakota nation
ceded land in 1851 and many relocated to Chief Shakopee's village—the
Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation in nearby
Prior Lake. 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 () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...
, Ireland to
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, 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. 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
* Charles Eagan (1921-2010), Canadian scientist
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* Edmund Eagan, Canadia ...
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 school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...
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 historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
,
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, 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, 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 area. Sometimes ...
, with
cottage
A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...
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 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 b ...
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. 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 (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s and
Lake Agassiz
Lake Agassiz ( ) was a large proglacial lake that existed in central North America during the late Pleistocene, fed by meltwater from the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet at the end of the last glacial period. At its peak, the lake's area wa ...
12,000 years ago, the
Glacial River Warren carved today's Minnesota River valley. On Burnsville's northern border, the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River () 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 rises in southwestern ...
winds through marshland and flood plains toward its confluence with the Mississippi. Most of the river is in the
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge 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, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, 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 nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...
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.
Irish 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 (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...
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.
2020 census
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
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 (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 10.0%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 5.0%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 3.5% from
other races, and 3.5% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
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
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...
Sensor Systems, Northern Tool + Equipment,
Pepsi-Cola Bottling,
YRC, Mackin Educational Resources,
Cub Foods,
Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. is an American telecommunications company. Known as Citizens Utilities Company until 2000, Citizens Communications Company until 2008, and Frontier Communications Corporation until 2020, as a communications pr ...
, and AMS Holding. Manufacturing is the second-largest industry. Many employers, including
Abdallah Candies 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, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping mall, shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a ...
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. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north ...
,
Valleyfair Amusement Park, Buck Hill Ski Area, the
Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport,
downtown Saint Paul and
downtown Minneapolis
Central is a defined community in Minneapolis that consists of six smaller official neighborhoods around the downtown and central business core. It also includes the many old flour mills, the Mill District, and other historical and industri ...
. Adjacent cities of
Apple Valley,
Bloomington,
Eagan Eagan may refer to:
People
* Charles Eagan (1921-2010), Canadian scientist
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* Edmund Eagan, Canadia ...
,
Lakeville, and
Savage 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 ...
and
new urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...
. The redevelopment encompasses in central Burnsville, a few miles south of the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River () 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 rises in southwestern ...
.
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-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 municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
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 consisting of 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 (state), New York to the west and by the ...
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.
Crystal Lake is the city's major recreation lake, allowing boating, fishing,
jet-ski
A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat.
P ...
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 or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
in grades 2–8. There are also traveling teams for boys' and girls' basketball, girls' fast pitch
softball
Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
, 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 the 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 w ...
in Keller Lake, Burnsville warned residents against public goldfish release, citing ecological concerns (goldfish are a regulated
invasive species
An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
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.
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 Minnesota Legislature, 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 State legislature (Unite ...
(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 and is represented by
Angie Craig, a
Democrat.
List of Mayors
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
*
Cedar Alternative High School
Three 6–8
middle schools
Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school.
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
:
* Eagle Ridge Middle School (in
Savage)
* 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 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, 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 Christian theology, theologically conservative, it was founded ...
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' Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's 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 network. T ...
and
split-level 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, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...
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 (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
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 rat ...
, 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, 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 a ...
provides regional
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
service between many transit hubs within the city, south of the river, and to destinations such as the Mall of America,
Downtown Minneapolis
Central is a defined community in Minneapolis that consists of six smaller official neighborhoods around the downtown and central business core. It also includes the many old flour mills, the Mill District, and other historical and industri ...
, 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. The Dan Patch Corridor is planned to serve Burnsville.
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, former basketball player for the
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...
was born in Burnsville, but moved to Bloomington at a young age.
*
Brock Boeser, professional hockey player, who plays for the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
*
J.T. Brown, professional hockey player, who went on to play for the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
*
Dropping Daylight, music band
*
Breanne Düren
Breanne Elizabeth Dürenberger (born October 9, 1987), known professionally as Breanne Düren, is an American musician best known for her work with electronic music project Owl City and her own solo work.
Early life
Breanne Düren was born on ...
, singer/songwriter, touring keyboardist for Owl City.
*
Durry, indie rock band from by Austin and Taryn Durry
*
Sara Groves
Sara Groves (born Sara Lee Colbaugh; September 10, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian singer, record producer, and author.
Groves received her Bachelor of Science degree in history and English in 1994 from Evangel University, a priva ...
, contemporary Christian music artist
*
Chuck Halberg, lawyer and Minnesota state legislator
*
Gao Hong, Chinese
pipa
The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rangi ...
player
*
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. Hudson has also acted in the films ''Leviathan'' (1989), '' The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'' (19 ...
, actor
*
Doron Jensen, Founder of
Timber Lodge Steakhouse
*
Cayla Kluver
Cayla Kluver is an American author known for her young adult trilogy series ''Legacy'', which she began writing while she was fourteen. Kluver originally self-published the series before it was picked up by AmazonEncore and later, Harlequin Teen ...
, author
*
Kristina Koznick, former
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
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
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
and
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
*
Connie Morrison, Minnesota state legislator, member of the Burnsville City Council, and Mayor of Burnsville
*
Todd Okerlund
Todd Eugene Okerlund (born September 6, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger.
Okerlund was drafted 168th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft and then spent four seasons playing for the Univ ...
, former New York Islander hockey player, son of “Mean”
Gene Okerlund
Eugene Arthur Okerlund (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Champi ...
*
Kirsten Olson, ice skater and actress
*
Laura Osnes, Broadway singer and actress, born in Burnsville and raised in
Eagan Eagan may refer to:
People
* Charles Eagan (1921-2010), Canadian scientist
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* Edmund Eagan, Canadia ...
*
Melissa Peterman, actress
*
Tabitha Peterson, curler
*
Bradley G. Pieper, Minnesota state legislator and businessman
*
Duke Powell, Minnesota state legislator and paramedic
*
James Ruffin, defensive lineman
*
Randy Scheunemann, Washington lobbyist and John McCain presidential campaign adviser
*
Sing It Loud, music band
*
Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer. She won four World Cup overall championships – third amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mika ...
(née Kildow),
U.S. Ski Team alpine ski racer,
2008 World Cup overall champion
*
Nicolas Eugene Walsh, Roman Catholic bishop
*
Cedric Yarbrough
Cedric Yarbrough (; born March 20, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He has starred in the series ''Reno 911!'' as Deputy S. Jones and as Kenneth on the ABC sitcom '' Speechless'', as well as voicing Gerald Fitzgerald on the Netflix comedy ...
, actor
References
External links
City of Burnsville – Official Website
{{Authority control
Cities in Minnesota
Cities in Dakota County, Minnesota
Populated places established in 1855
1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory