7.1. EDSR 04-20-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 Innovation has been at the heart of Elk River’s successes from its very beginning. Its roads and waterways are examples. In the early 1840’s, Elk River was a welcome rest stop for travelers along the Red River Ox Cart Trail, a part of which is now US Highway 10. River boats brought people and goods to the town on the Mississippi River while travelers and settlers both navigated the Elk River. Today both these waterways remain places of relaxation and scenic adventures. By the 1850’s and 60’s railroad trains brought commerce and industry as well. The town inevitably grew and continued to welcome visitors to its rivers and parks into the next century. Charles Merritt Babcock, an Elk River resident, saw the need for road improvement throughout the state and joined the Minnesota Highway Commission, serving as its department head from 1917-1932. He proved instrumental inpaved the way towards securing legislative support and funding, and in constructing roads and highways in Minnesota. His legacy is the statewide development of the Minnesota highway system and authored the Babcock amendment (1920) to the state constitution, which funded building and maintenance of roads throughout the state, a plan still in use today. An irony is that when Highway 10 was built through Elk River, the Babcock home was destroyed to make room for the roadway. Today, the newest innovation in transportation is the addition of the state-of-the-art Northstar Commuter Rail and Elk River station stop. The Northstar Commuter Rail gives area residents convenient and easy transportation to downtown Minneapolis. Elk River also features over 1441 parks, 35 miles of paved hiking and biking trails, 40+ acres of maintained prairie, six rain gardens, four tennis courts, three sand volleyball courts, a youth athletic complex, an ice arena and so much more. Innovation has also been an earmark in Elk River’s energy resources, having earned the title, Energy City since 1997. The Elk River Reactor, which opened in 1960, was America’s first rural atomic power plant and was a pilot installation to provide small, inexpensive nuclear power to widespread areas. By 1989, The Great River Energy plant had been restructured to produce energy from municipal waste products. “Elk River is a hub of energy technology, energy manufacturing, energy demonstrations, recycling, use of green products, and the adoption of sustainable living practices,” says the Energy Commission. The City of Elk River is home to a 5kW solar installation, used to teach the value of using solar energy. The city also encourages the use of electric vehicles and has installed charging stations in town. The City of Elk River is looking for proposals that reflect some aspect of this rich history. Section 3.0 Overall Scope of Services What does the City of Elk River mean to you? The EDA is seeking an impactful, memorable Formatted: Font: Garamond, 12 pt Formatted: Body Text 3 Formatted: Font: Garamond Formatted: Font: Garamond Formatted: Font: Garamond Formatted: Font: Garamond Formatted: Font: Gill Sans MT, 14 pt, Bold Formatted: Indent: Left: 0" Formatted: Numbered + Level: 1 + Numbering Style: 1, 2, 3, … + Start at: 1 + Alignment: Left + Aligned at: 0.25" + Indent at: 0.5"