Prior Lake, Minnesota

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City of Prior Lake Logo

Prior Lake is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 15,917 at the 2000 census. The Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation , Mystic Lake Casino and Little Six Casino are located here.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Local Issues
4 Politics
5 External links
6 Prior Lake-Savage School logos
7 References

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.5 km² (16.0 mi²). 35.0 km² (13.5 mi²) of it is land and 6.6 km² (2.5 mi²) of it (15.77%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 15,917 people, 5,645 households, and 4,386 families residing in the city. The population density was 454.9/km² (1,178.4/mi²). There were 5,791 housing units at an average density of 165.5/km² (428.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.53% White, 0.77% African American, 2.08% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.

There were 5,645 households out of which 44.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 37.7% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $75,363, and the median income for a family was $81,011. Males had a median income of $52,061 versus $34,837 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,089. About 1.7% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Local Issues

The City of Prior Lake contains a lake after the same name that is divided into Upper Prior Lake and Lower Prior Lake. Prior Lake is the largest lake south of the Minnesota river in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and the city is generally considered to be an exurb of Minneapolis St. Paul.

The Prior Lake American, the city newspaper, is one of the best sources of information in the city. Others include This Week Prior Lake and the Star Tribune South Edition.

After the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School, author Elinor Burkett wrote a book, Another Planet (ISBN 0-06-050585-0), detailing her experience following several students around for one school year at Prior Lake High School.

As of July 1, 2004, the city's population was estimated at 21,286, and is projected to grow to 42,400 by build-out in 2030. To guide the future of the community, stakeholders from across the community spectrum have come together to create and update a long-term vision for the city's future, the 2030 Vision and Strategic Plan. [1]

[edit] Politics

Prior Lake is located in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, represented by John Kline, a right-wing Republican, scoring only 2.8% progressive on a range of issues - first elected in 2002. ^[1] Prior Lake is in the Minnesota Legislative District 35A. The district 35 Senator is Claire Robling (R). The district 35A Representative is Michael Beard (R)