Columbia Heights is a city in Anoka County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The population was 21,973 at the 2020 census. Minnesota State Highways 47 ( University Avenue) and 65 (Central Avenue) are two of the main routes in the city. Columbia Heights is a first-ring northern suburb of

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 ...

, which borders it on the south. Its downtown district is centered at the intersection of 40th Avenue NE and Central Avenue, and includes the Heights Theater, county offices, the

Public Library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, and a variety of businesses. Central Avenue forms a commercial district along its length. More businesses also line University Avenue.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Columbia Heights is bordered by the city of Fridley to the north and west; New Brighton and Saint Anthony to the east; and

to the south. The city of Hilltop is entirely enclosed within the city. Columbia Heights has a hilly terrain and features one of the highest points in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Anoka Counties along Stinson Boulevard between Fairway Drive and 45th Avenue NE/County Road E. There are five lakes in the city, which include Sullivan Lake, Highland Lake, Silver Lake, Hart Lake, and LaBelle Pond. The city park system resides in mostly low lying and former swampland areas that was unsuitable for building. Huset Park is the main park in the city. Prestemon, Gauvitte and McKenna Parks were all named for members of the first city council in 1921. Ava Ostrander, first woman elected to the council in 1924, also has a park named for her. Kordiak Park is an Anoka County park in the city named after former County Commissioner Albert A. Kordiak. Other parks include Edgemoor, La Belle, Lomianki, Keyes, Sullivan, Ramsdell, and Hilltop.

History

Columbia Heights was formed as a village on March 14, 1898, when it separated from the former Fridley Township. On July 21, 1921, the Charter of the City of Columbia Heights was adopted and the city was formed. A Polish flag and white eagle are on the sign marking the border between Columbia Heights and

, visible when entering Columbia Heights on Central Avenue, in celebration of the suburb's early roots as a Polish–American community. In 1991, Columbia Heights joined

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing sister cities. Sister cities are agreements of ...

and selected Łomianki, Poland as its

Sister City A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

. In 1944, a plane of Allied flyers was shot down during the Warsaw uprising, near Łomianki. The brother of a long time Columbia Heights resident was on that mission. In 1987, the people of Łomianki erected a monument in memory of the American flyers who lost their lives. Because of this personal connection Łomianki was selected as the Sister City.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's funeral car was bought by Thomas Lowry who restored it and featured it at a number of exhibitions throughout the country. When not in use, it was stored in Columbia Heights but was destroyed by a fire on March 18, 1911. In 2016, Columbia Heights was honored with the All-American City Award according to the

National Civic League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 as the "National Municipal League”; it adopted its new name in 1986. Its mission is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communit ...

. In 2023, Columbia Heights formed a second Sister City with Galdogob, Somalia for its growing and significant Somali American population.

Education

Columbia Heights is served by public schools, private schools, and charter schools.

Independent School District 13

* Columbia Heights High School (CHHS): grades 9–12 * Columbia Academy (CA): grades 6–8 * Highland Elementary: grades K–5 * Valley View Elementary: grades K–5 * North Park Elementary: grades K–5 * Early Childhood Programs: Birth–5 years

NE Metro Intermediate District 916

* ALC West Campus: grades 7–12

Private schools

* Immaculate Conception Catholic School: grades K–8 * Little Voyageurs Montessori School: grades PreK–K

Charter schools

* Academy of Bioscience: grades 5–8 * Prodeo Academy: grades PreK - 8

Higher education

NEI College of Technology was located in Columbia Heights until it merged with Dunwoody College of Technology in 2003. The college building was demolished in November 2004.

Notable people

* John Alt, former

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

NFL and

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

football player, was raised and went to school in Columbia Heights. *

Earl Bakken Earl Elmer Bakken (January 10, 1924 – October 21, 2018) was an American engineer, inventor, businessman and philanthropist of Dutch and Norwegian American ancestry. He founded Medtronic, where he developed the first external, battery-ope ...

, inventor of the first external, battery-operated, transistorized, wearable

artificial pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an Implant (medicine), implanted medical device that generates Pulse (signal processing), electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the Heart chamber, chambers of ...

, founder of

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American-Irish medical device company. The company's legal and executive headquarters are in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, while its operational headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Medtronic rebased to I ...

. * Don Carlson, professional basketball player. * Jalue Dorje, the eighth reincarnation of the Tibetan lama Terchen Taksham Rinpoche *

James D. La Belle Private First Class James Dennis La Belle (November 22, 1925 – March 8, 1945) enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, United States Marine Corps Reserve on November 18, 1943. Fifteen months later, in his first and last battle, he heroically ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient, was raised and went to school in Columbia Heights. *

Pat Proft Pat Proft (born 1947) is an American comedy writer, actor, and director. Born in Minnesota in 1947, Proft began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis in the mid-1960s. He went on to perform as a one-man comedy act in the ...

, screenwriter and movie producer, was raised and went to school in Columbia Heights. * Henry Scholberg, librarian and bibliographer. * Edward J. Tomczyk, Minnesota state representative.

Demographics

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 19,496 people, 7,926 households, and 4,558 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,584 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 69.7%

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 ...

, 13.5%

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 ...

, 1.5% Native American, 4.8% 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 ...

, 6.2% from other races, and 4.3% 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 11.9% of the population. There were 7,926 households, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.5% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.15. The median age in the city was 36.9 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.2% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 18,520 people, 8,033 households, and 4,731 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,151 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.39%

, 3.62%

, 1.64% Native American, 3.46% Asian, 0.01%

, 1.30% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.15% of the population. There were 8,033 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 20.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,562, and the median income for a family was $50,610. Males had a median income of $35,092 versus $28,993 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $21,368. About 3.9% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

City of Columbia Heights – Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Anoka County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota Populated places established in 1898 1898 establishments in Minnesota