Anoka, Minnesota, United States

🇺🇸 Anoka is a city in and the county seat of Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. 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.

History Colonizers 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".

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.

Geography Anoka lies at the confluence of the Rum and Mississippi Rivers, approximately 20 miles (30 km) north-west 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.

Economy: Top employers According to Anoka's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, its top employers were: 1 Federal Cartridge; 2 Anoka-Hennepin School District 11; 3 Pentair; 4 Anoka County Government Center; 5 Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center; 6 Wells Fargo; 7 Anoka Technical College; 8 DecoPac, Inc.; 9 Mate Precision Tooling; 10 Firestone Building Products.

Museums and other points of interest • Anoka County Historical Society • Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center • Anoka County Library • Goodrich Field • Peninsula Point Two Rivers Historical Park • Anoka–Champlin Mississippi River Bridge • Windego Park Auditorium/Open Air Theater • Anoka Nature Preserve • Greenhaven Golf Course • Anoka Aquatic Center • Colonial Hall and Masonic Lodge No. 30 • Lyric Arts Theater.

Education Higher education institutions in Anoka include Anoka Technical College. One of the two main Anoka-Ramsey Community College campuses is in neighboring Coon Rapids.

Most Anoka elementary and secondary students attend schools in Anoka-Hennepin School District 11. District 11 secondary schools in Anoka are Anoka High School and Secondary Technical Education Program or S.T.E.P. High School. The Middle School is Anoka Middle School for the Arts, formerly known as Fred Moore Middle School for the Performing Arts. Anoka Middle School for the Arts has two campuses: Fred Moore Campus (formerly Fred Moore Middle School for the Performing Arts), and Washington Campus (formerly Washington Elementary School). The District 11 elementary schools in Anoka are Franklin Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, and Wilson Elementary School. District 11 is the largest school district in the state of Minnesota and includes parts of twelve other municipalities besides Anoka. Some students attend public schools in other school districts chosen by their families under Minnesota's open enrollment statute, or students come from places such as Brooklyn Park under the NWISD Magnet Program.

Anoka has several private schools for all ages, including St. Stephens Catholic School.

Transport 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, which opened in 2009.