Anoka, MN USDA Eligibility

Anoka (/əˈnoʊkə/ ə-NOH-kə) is a city in and the county seat of Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 17,142 at the 2010 census. Anoka is the
“Halloween Capital of the World” because it hosted one of the first Halloween parades in 1920. It continues to celebrate the holiday each year with several parades. Anoka is a northern suburb of the Twin Cities. U.S. Highways 10 / 169 and State Highway 47 are three of Anoka’s main routes, and it has a station on the Northstar Commuter Rail line to Minneapolis.

Colonists first settled the site that is now Anoka in 1844. By the mid-1850s, Anoka had a school, a store and a flour mill. In 1856, C. C. Andrews called it a “large and handsome village” and noted that pine logs were floated down the Rum River to sawmills there. The city was formally incorporated in 1878. The name Anoka was derived from two Indian words. The native Dakota used A-NO-KA-TAN-HAN, meaning “on both sides”, or “from both sides”, referring to its location on the banks of the Rum River. The native Ojibwa used ON-O-KAY, meaning “working waters”.[citation needed]

Anoka has a strong claim to having provided the first Union Army volunteers during the Civil War, as noted by a small plaque at the corner of West Main Street and Park Street. Alexander Ramsey, Minnesota’s governor in 1861, was in Washington, D.C. when Fort Sumter was fired upon. He immediately offered a regiment to the War Department, and telegraphed former governor Willis Gorman and Lieutenant Governor Ignatius L. Donnelly that morning. Gorman, attending a district court session in Anoka, received the note by messenger from St. Paul and called a court recess, asking for volunteers. Aaron Greenwald, who has an “island” named after him on Lake George, and five others stepped forward; Greenwald was the first to sign. He died on July 5, 1863, after sustaining a mortal wound as a member of the 1st Minnesota Regiment in defense against Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.[citation needed]

Anoka lies at the confluence of the Rum and Mississippi Rivers, approximately 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Minneapolis. According to the United States Census Bureau, it has an area of 7.21 square miles (18.67 km2), of which 6.70 square miles (17.35 km2) is land and 0.51 square miles (1.32 km2) is water. Adjacent communities include Dayton, Ramsey, Andover, Coon Rapids, and Champlin. The USGS tracks the city by the ID 639396 and the coordinates of
45°11′52″N, 093°23′14″W. 45°11′52″N 093°23′14″W / 45.19778°N 93.38722°W / 45.19778; -93.38722

As of the census of 2010, there were 17,142 people, 7,060 households, and 4,202 families living in the city. The population density was 2,558.5 inhabitants per square mile (987.8/km2). There were 7,493 housing units at an average density of 1,118.4 per square mile (431.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 88.0% White, 4.7% African American, 1.0% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.2% of the population.