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Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - Dakota County is mix of old and new 35E - 11/15/1985Dakota. County is mix of old and new Autonomy, identity are long-established By Lucy Dalglish Staff Writer Drive down Interstate 35E in Ithe northwestern part of Dakota County 'and take a good look at the scenery. Everything — from the concrete on the freeway to the roadside convenience stores — looks brand new. But Dakota County didn't appear over- night with the opening of the interstate belt - line. Long before development took off like wildfire in the northwestern part of the county, Dakota County had established its identity. Perhaps more than any other coun- ty in the metropolitan area, Dakota County has its own political, economic and social identity. Mention the Metropolitan Council's seven - county planning efforts to a local or county politician in Dakota County and you're likely to get a lecture on how those folks up in St. Paul and Minneapolis should stay on their side of the river and mind their own busi- ness. Talk about fiscal 'disparities legislation used to stimulate business in downtown Min- neapolis and St. Paul and Dakota County pol- iticians and business owners will tell you they're sick of paying the bill for the inner city's redevelopment efforts. However, the most strident criticism in the county is reserved for the University of Minnesota. The university received about 1,300 acres of prime agricultural land in the Rosemount area at the conclusion of World War II, land that had been confiscated by the federal gov- ernment for an arms plant. Local residents never have forgiven the university for accepting the land, for not turning it back to the original owners. Dakota County residents know where the Twin Cities are, and they visit frequently. But they can get along without them. Why shop in downtown St. Paul when there is Burnsville Center, the largest indoor shopping mall in Minnesota? In some respects, there are two Dakota Counties. There is the established, old-line county exemplified by West St. Paul, South St. Paul and Hastings. And there is the new, growing, developing western portion one of the fastest growing areas in the state — exemplified by Eagan, Apple Valley and Burnsville. Eagan Eagan probably has the dubious honor as the city with the longest twice -monthly city council meetings in the metropolitan area. Because of the volume of planning and zon- ing issues the rapidly developing city must consider, most meetings start at 6:30 p.m. and council members are lucky if they finish by 1 a.m. Because of delays in opening segments of Interstate 35E, Eagan is one of the last cities in the northern part of the county to be de- veloped, despite its proximity to St. Paul and Minneapolis. As a result, city officials say they have been able to learn from the mistakes and successes cities such as Apple Valley and Burnsville had in establishing zoning regula- tions. Only about half of the city has been devel- oped, but already a strain has been placed on District 196, the Rosemount -Apple Valley School district that includes most of Eagan's land area. Eagan is one of the prettiest cities in the county, with rolling hills, hundreds of pictur- esque ponds and lakes and thousands of oak trees. The oak is Eagan's logo, designed to com- memorate one of the county's best-known landmarks — the Lone Oak tree. For dec- ades, the Lone Oak was the city's official bulletin board. Notices were posted on its trunk and it was a sentimental meeting place for sweethearts. But as the city grew, highways encroached on the tree, located at the intersection of Dakota County residents know where the Twin Cities are, and they visit frequently. But they can get along without them. Lone Oak Road and Minnesota 55. By 1980, the tree was dying. After a lengthy battle between the city and state Highway Depart- ment officials, the tree was cut down in April 1984 and a replacement planted near- by at Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran Church. Apple Valley Apple Valley is known to most Minneso- tans as the home of the Minnesota Zoological Garden. The zoo is a rare example of eager county - state cooperation. Dakota County officials decided they wanted the state zoo that was proposed in the early 1970s. As an incentive, the County Board offered about 500 acres of prime park land. County officials already owned some land in the area as part of Holland -Jensen County Park (now called Lebanon Hills Regional Park), but the county bought several re- maining parcels in the area and turned them over to the state. Dakota County residents have made good use of the zoo, one of the state's major at- tractions. Few residents even remember the days when Eaton's Ranch was Apple Valley's most famous landmark. For more than 50 years, the ranch was the closest many Min- nesotans ever got to the Old West. In 1930, Arthur Eaton Sr. moved to Minne- sota from Iowa and bought 1,000 acres of hilly forested land in Lebanon Township. Cowboys traveling through Minnesota to the South St. Paul stockyards often stopped at Eaton's Ranch and performed in rodeos. As the events started attracting specta- tors, Eaton decided to start a dude ranch. World War II stilled the dude ranch business, but the family held on to some of the land over the years and Art Eaton Jr. operated at various times a riding stable, restaurant and western store until the pine and fieldstone structures were torn down in 1982 to make room for on/off ramps where Minnesota 77 intersects Dakota County Highway 38. The rest of the old ranch now is developed with expensive homes in the Palomino Hills and Heritage Hills neighborhoods. Apple Valley also is known as the town that Orrin Thompson built. Old Lebanon Township was the site of several gravel pits, the old dude ranch and numerous farms when Thompson moved in with his plans for moderately priced houses in the early 1960s. It was Thompson who pushed for the name change from Lebanon to Apple Valley, the name of a similar development in Califor- nia. Burnsville Had it not been for strong communit) cohesiveness in the early 1960s, the northern part of Burnsville township probably would have become South Bloomington. Not that Bloomington really wanted the land area south of the Minnesota River — it wanted the tax base that would follow con. struction of Northern State's Power Co.': Black Dog power plant. But the struggle to keep the power plane site probably gave Burnsville township the push it needed to incorporate as.. a city. A few years later, development exploded witl the completion of the I -35E bridge over the river. Now, Burnsville is the retail heart of the county, with hundreds of franchise opera. tions focused around Burnsville Center neat the intersection of Interstates 35E and 35% and County Highway 42. Burnsville, with dozens of ponds, rollin€ hills and picturesque neighborhoods, is con• sidered the most "Minneapolitan" suburb it Dakota County. Most of its residents work or the western end of the metropolitan area.