Sun Prairie

Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. A suburb of Madison, it is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 35,967 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is the second-most populous city in the county after Madison. Sun Prairie is in the humid continental climate zone (Dfa) The average temperature in the city is 82 degrees (Fahrenheit) The city has a total area of 12.25 square miles (31.73 km²), of which, 12.23 sq miles (31.68 km²) is land and 0.02sq miles (0.05km²) of water. The landscape of the city consists mostly of gently rolling hills and plains. The elevation averages about 984 feet (300 m) above mean mean sea level.Sun Prairie has developed a number of traditional neighborhood developments (TND) Often referred to as "new urbanism", these developments have focus on the appearance of city streets. In 2007, the city of Sun Prairie, city of Madison and village of DeForest entered into a cooperative plan under which all remaining land in the town of Burke has been designated for attachment into the cities and village. On July 10, 2018, a gas explosion leveled a downtown city block, destroying a bar and a pizza restaurant, as well as damaging the historic old city hall building. This tragic event was the origin of the tagline "Sun Prairie Strong", a slogan which signifies the city's strength as it comes together as a community.

History

The Town of Sun Prairie was created on February 2, 1846. The village was incorporated in an act of the Wisconsin legislature on March 6, 1868. On March 17, 1958, the Village Board ordered a referendum election on whether Sun Prairie should incorporate as a city of the fourth class. On July 10, 2018, a gas explosion leveled a downtown city block, destroying a bar and a pizza restaurant, as well as damaging the historic old city hall building and multiple other nearby buildings. Bar owner and Fire Captain Cory Barr was injured in the explosion and died as a result soon after. This tragic event was the origin of the tagline "Sun Prairie Strong", a slogan which signifies the city's strength as it comes together as a community. Many citizens and businesses around Sun Prairie offered their support to the Barr family and the affected businesses through fundraising campaigns.

Geography

Sun Prairie has a total area of 12.25 square miles (31.73 km²) The elevation of the city averages about 984 feet (300 m) above mean sea level. Sun Prairie has developed a number of traditional neighborhood developments (TND) Often referred to as "new urbanism", these neighborhoods focus on the pedestrian and the appearance of city streets. The city's planners addressed the criticisms that they were "attempting to recreate "pretend" neighborhoods" by noting that the aim of the TND was to borrow those design ideas and features effective in older neighborhoods and adapting them to current needs. On January 5, 2007, the city of Sun Prairie, city of Madison, village of DeForest, and town of Burke entered into a cooperative plan under which all remaining land in the town. of Burke has been designated for attachment into the cities and village. The Yahara River Valley encompasses part of theCity of Sun prairie. This area contains deep glacial deposits created by the Wisconsin Glaciation. The eastern part of Dane County, known as the drumlin and marsh physiographic area, includes most of Sun Praire. The Dodge-St. Charles-McHenry soils are found in the eastern, southern, and central portions of the Sun Prairie area. This association has a varied landscape, which is mostly sloping, with some areas on benches and in depressions. Most of the soils in this association have moderate permeability and a high available water capacity. Most also have slight to moderate limitations for urban uses and farming.

Climate

Sun Prairie is in the warm summer humid continental climate zone (Dfa) Summers tend to be hot and humid. The annual average precipitation at Sun Prairie is 32.95 inches (837 mm) Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, and the wettest month of the year is August with an average rainfall of 4.33 inches (110 mm) The city of Sun Prairie encounters occasional flooding because of the presence of hydric soils, spring melting and its proximity to the Koshkonong Creek. A flood on April 11, 2008, caused by heavy overnight rains that outpaced the city's storm drain system and leaked into the sewer system, resulted in flooding in residential basements. The city suffered considerably from the June 2008 Midwest floods. Many residents of the city believe that the problems with flooding are worsening, becoming more frequent over the last 14 years. The average temperature in Sun Prairie in January is 9.3 °F (12.6 °C) and in July it is 82.1 °C (27.8 °C). The city is located on the U.S.-Mexico border and has a population of about 2,000. It is located near the junction of the Red River and the Little Red River. It has an average temperature of 82.8°F (27°C) in July and 83.1°F in January. The temperature difference between night and day in the city is moderate during summer, and fairly limited during winter.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 29,364 people, 11,636 households, and 7,641 families residing in the city. There were 12,413 housing units at an average density of 1,015.0 per square mile (391.9/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 85.4% White, 6.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 1.4%. from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3%. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.08. The median income for a household in theCity was $51,345, and the median family income was $61,197. About 3.8% of families and 4. 4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4. of those under age 18 and 5.3 of those age 65 or over. The city's population was 20,369 at the 2000 census, and 21,788 at the 2010 census. It is located in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers's National Defense Training Area. The U.N. State Department has a training center in the area. It was the site of the World War II-era Battle of the Bulge, which was fought from 1942 to 1945. It has a population of 8,856.

Law and government

Sun Prairie has a mayorcouncil form of government. The mayor is elected at large every odd-numbered year. The city council consists of eight alderpersons, who along with the mayor, make up the common council. Other city officers consist of assistant administrator, city clerk, treasurer, assessor, municipal judge, police chief and fire chief. At the federal level, the city is represented by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the U.S. Senate and Mark Pocan (D), in the House of Representatives. The council manages the city's budget and financial operations as well as determines the salaries of all officers and employees of the city. It also has a full-time city administrator, who is responsible for the administration of the City of Sun Prairie in accordance with the policies established by the Common Council. It has four aldermanic districts, with two alderPersons per district, each serving for two-year terms over alternating years. It is located in Wisconsin's Dairyland region and has a population of about 2,000. It's located in the Wisconsin Dells area and has an elevation of about 5,000 people, or 1.5 percent of the state's population, or about 1,100 people per square mile. It was the site of the first World War II-era Battle of the Bulge, which took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The current mayor is Paul Esser, who was elected in April 2015.

Public services

Sun Prairie has a combination fire department that serves both the city and town of Sun Prairie, as well as the towns of Burke and Bristol. The department, which began in 1891, consists of 45 members who maintain external jobs, 14 career staff and 8 LTE positions. The city owns its own utilities, the Water & Light Commission and the Water Pollution Control Facility. Sun Prairie's water is supplied from six wells pumped into the system or stored in the three water towers, which maintain a storage capacity of 2.85 million US gallons (10,800 m3) The city's youth swim team, the Sun Prairie Piranhas, practice at the Family Aquatic Center. The Sun Prairie Public Library is part of the South Central Library System. It is a member of the Tri-County Swimming Conference. It opened on May 30, 1992, it replaced the previous municipal pool that opened in 1958 in Angell Park. It has an 18-foot drop slide, two diving boards, eight competition lanes, and a 210-foot water slide. In 2009 St. Mary's Hospital of Madison opened a free-standing emergency room facility in Sun Prairie. In the 1990s, the service made a transition from EMT-basic personnel to that of intravenous technician levels and paramedic level. The service transports to all Madison hospitals and to Columbus Community Hospital in Columbus. In 2010, Sun Prairie EMS responded to over 3,200 calls, with a population of nearly 40,000.

Economy

QBE Insurance has American operations in Sun Prairie. Other significant employers include the Sun Prairie School District, American Family Insurance, Colony Brands, and Frontier Communications. Many residents commute to jobs in Madison. The city is home to the U.S. Open, the World Series and the Olympics. The U.N. World Cup is held in Madison, Wisconsin, this year. The Winter Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2018. The Paralympic Games will take place in Sochi, Russia, in 2020. The Olympics will host the Winter Games in 2028 and 2028. The Games will be the first Winter Games to be held on the South Lawn of the White House. The opening ceremony will be hosted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. The games will be broadcast on NBC, NBC2, MSNBC, CNN and other networks.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Sun Prairie, Dane County, Wisconsin = 63.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 48. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Sun Prairie = 3.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 1,455 individuals with a median age of 34.7 age the population grows by 37.34% in Sun Prairie, Dane County, Wisconsin population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,685.03 residents per square mile of area (1,036.67/km²). There are average 2.57 people per household in the 10,787 households with an average household income of $65,334 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.20% of the available work force and has dropped -2.14% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 30.52%. The number of physicians in Sun Prairie per 100,000 population = 368.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Sun Prairie = 32 inches and the annual snowfall = 42.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 120. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 187. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 8.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Sun Prairie, Dane County, Wisconsin which are owned by the occupant = 57.34%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 16 years with median home cost = $187,600 and home appreciation of -2.09%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $21.40 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,273 per student. There are 13.6 students for each teacher in the school, 434 students for each Librarian and 457 students for each Counselor. 11.72% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 27.76% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.65% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).