CEDAR FALLS, IOWA

'Cedar Falls' is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 36,145 at the 2000 census. It has the smaller population of the two principal cities in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Library

Culture

Music

Notable natives

Actors

Athletes

Musicians

Politicians

Writers

Misc.

Education

Points of interest

References

External links

History

Cedar Falls was founded in 1845 by William Sturgis. It was originally named Sturgis Falls, for the first family who settled the site. The Sturgis family moved on within a few years and the city was renamed Cedar Falls because of its proximity to the Cedar River. However the city's founders are honored each year with a three day community-wide celebration named in their honor - the Sturgis Falls Celebration (www.sturgisfalls.org).
Because of the availability of water power, Cedar Falls developed as a milling and industrial center prior to the Civil War. The establishment of the Civil War Soldiers' Orphans Home in Cedar Falls changed the direction in which the city developed when, following the war, it became the first building on the campus of the Iowa State Normal School (now the University of Northern Iowa).

Geography

Cedar Falls is located at (42.523520, -92.446402).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 74.8 km² (28.9 mi²). 73.3 km² (28.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (2.04%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,145 people, 12,833 households, and 7,558 families residing in the city. The population density was 493.1/km² (1,277.2/mi²). There were 13,271 housing units at an average density of 181.1/km² (468.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.14% White, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 12,833 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 30.6% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,226, and the median income for a family was $56,158. Males had a median income of $37,235 versus $26,312 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,140. About 5.6% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Library

The Cedar Falls Public Library is housed in the Adele Whitenach Davis building located at 524 Main Street. The 47,000 square foot (4,400 m²) structure, designed by Struxture Architects, replaced the Carniege-Dayton building in early 2004. As of the 2005 fiscal year, the library's holdings included 2,176 audio recordings, 2,292 videos, 253 periodicals, 96 miscellaneous titles, and 115,757 books for a grand total of 120,574 items. Patrons made more than 220,000 visits which took advantage of circulation services, adult, teen, and youth programming. The library also provides public access to more than 30 public computers which provide Internet access, office software suites, high resolution color printing, and various games.
The mission of the Cedar Falls Public Library is to promote literacy and provide open access to resources which facilitate lifelong learning. The library is a member of the Cedar Valley Library Consortium(CVLC). Consortium members share an Integrated Library System(ILS) server which resides in the Rod Library of the University of Northern Iowa. Library management is provided by Sheryl Groskurth MLS, Joint Director of the Cedar Falls and Waterloo Public Libraries.

Culture

In 1986, the City of Cedar Falls established the Cedar Falls Art and Culture Board, which oversees the operation of the City's Cultural Division and the James & Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts.

Music

The Christian Music Festival, Onefest happens every year in the end of December.

Notable natives

Actors

★ Annabeth Gish -- actress

★ Gary Kroeger -- actor, Saturday Night Live 1982-1985

★ Mark Steines -- co-host, Entertainment Tonight, alumnus of the University of Northern Iowa

★ Joe Trotter -- actor/comedian, Andersonville

Athletes

★ Kurt Warner -- NFL quarterback, played for the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants, currently on the Arizona Cardinals; a University of Northern Iowa alumnus

★ Don Denkinger -- umpire that made a controversial call in the 1985 World Series

Musicians

★ Karen Holvik -- classical soprano, currently on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, former professor at UNI

★ House of Large Sizes -- an alternative rock band

★ Bill Stewart -- jazz drummer and composer, attended UNI

★ Bob Dorr -- founder, The Blues Band

Politicians

★ Chuck Grassley -- Current U.S. Senator, attended UNI

★ Gil Gutknecht -- Former Minnesota congressman

★ Roger Jepsen -- Former U.S. Senator

Writers

★ Bess Streeter Aldrich (1881-1954) -- author of several novels

★ R.V. Cassill -- novelist and short story writer

★ Nancy Price -- author of Sleeping With the Enemy

★ Leland Sage -- Professor at UNI and famous writer

★ Robert James Waller -- author of The Bridges of Madison County

Misc.

★ Marc Andreessen -- Co-founder, Netscape Corporation

★ Randy & Vicki Weaver -- Parents, John Deere Employee, Ruby Ridge incident

Education

Besides holding one of the three Iowa public universities, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls is home to two high schools. The Northern University High School is a private school run by the university while Cedar Falls High School is part of the public school district, Cedar Falls Community Schools, which also includes two junior high schools and six elementary schools.

Points of interest

★ University of Northern Iowa

★ University of Northern Iowa Teaching and Research Greenhouse

★ The Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro area boasts an amazing 80+ miles of paved bike trails.

References

★ Brian C. Collins. ''Images of America: Cedar Falls, Iowa.'' Arcadia Publishing, Inc. 1998. ISBN 0-7524-1358-9 ISBN 0-7385-4582-1

External links

★ Official City of Cedar Falls Website

★ Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau

★ Cedar Falls Public Library

★ UNI - University of Northern Iowa

★ Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce

★ Sturgis Falls Celebration Website

★ Cedar Falls Utilities

★ The History of Cedar Falls