Twin Falls Facts
Twin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho
Twin Falls population was 40,380 at the 2006 census.
Twin Falls is the largest city of Idaho's Magic Valley region and the seventh largest in the state. As the largest city in a 100-mile radius.
Twin Falls serves as a regional commercial center for both south-central Idaho and northeastern Nevada.
History
Humans may have been present in the Twin Falls area as long as 14,500 years ago. Excavations at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls in 1959 revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America . Later native American tribes predominant the area included the Northern Shoshone and Bannock.
The first people of European ancestry to visit the Twin Falls area are believed to be members of a group led by Wilson Price Hunt, which attempted to blaze an all-water trail westward from St. Louis, Missouri, to Astoria, Oregon, in 1811 and 1812. Hunt's expedition met with disaster when much of his expedition was destroyed and one man was killed in rapids on the Snake River known as Caldron Linn near present-day Murtaugh.
In 1812 and 1813, Robert Stuart successfully led an overland expedition eastward from Astoria to St. Louis which passed through the Twin Falls area. Stuart's route formed the basis of what became the Oregon Trail. Some 150 years later, Robert Stuart Junior High School in Twin Falls was named in his honor.
The first permanent settlement in the area was a stage stop established in 1864 at Rock Creek near the present-day townsite. By 1890 there were a handful of successful agricultural operations in the Snake River Canyon, but the lack of infrastructure and the canyon's geography made irrigating the dry surrounding area improbable at best.
To address this issue, in 1900 the Twin Falls Land and Water Company was formed largely to build an irrigation canal system for the area. Three years later I. B. Perrine, who had been a successful farmer and rancher in the Snake River Canyon, obtained private financing under the provisions of the Carey Act of 1894 to build Milner Dam on the Snake River near Caldron Linn. Completed in 1905, Milner Dam and its accompanying canals made commercial irrigation outside the Snake River Canyon practical for the first time.
Twin Falls city was founded in 1904 as a planned community, designed by celebrated Franco-American architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, with proceeds from sales of townsite lots going toward construction of irrigation canals. The city is named for a nearby waterfall on the Snake River of the same name. In 1907 Twin Falls became the seat of the newly-formed Twin Falls County.
The original townsite follows a unique design. It is laid out on northeast-to-southwest and northwest-to-southeast roads. The northwest-to-southeast roads were numbered and called avenues, while the northeast-to-southwest roads were numbered and called streets. Only two central streets, the northwest-to-southeast Main Avenue and the northeast-to-southwest Shoshone Street, were named. It is purported that the reason this was done was to allow sun to come into every room in the home at some point during the day. This system created situations where one side of a street may have an entirely different address than the other, and where the corner of "3rd and 3rd," for example, was in more than one location. In 2003 the numbered northeast-to-southwest streets were renamed to alleviate decades of confusion. Later city roads, such as Blue Lakes Boulevard, Addison Avenue and Washington Street, are laid out in standard north-south and east-west orientations.
After Milner Dam was constructed agricultural production in south-central Idaho increased substantially. Twin Falls became a major regional economic center serving the agriculture industry, a role which it has sustained to the present day. The city became a processing center for several agricultural commodities, notably beans and sugar beets. In later years other food processing operations augmented the local economy. By 1960 Twin Falls had become one of Idaho's largest cities even though its origins were still within living memory for many.
Twin Falls became the center of national attention in September 1974 thanks to an attempt by Evel Knievel to jump the Snake River Canyon in a specially-modified rocket cycle. Watched by millions on television, the attempt ultimately failed due to high winds and a premature deployment of Knievel's parachute. The foundation of the launch ramp, which lies on private land, can still be seen.
During the last quarter of the 20th Century, gradual diversification of the agriculture-based economy allowed the city to continue to grow. Major Twin Falls employers in 2006 included computer maker Dell, Inc., Glanbia., and Jayco, a recreational vehicle manufacturer.
In recent years Twin Falls has become quite multicultural. Thanks in large part to a refugee center operated by the College of Southern Idaho, since 1995 significant numbers of people from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Soviet Union have settled in Twin Falls. The city also has a sizeable Hispanic population.
Government
The City of Twin Falls has a council-manager form of government. The seven-member Twin Falls City Council is directly elected in non-partisan municipal elections to four-year terms. The mayor, who holds little executive power, is periodically selected among current city council members to chair meetings. City council meetings are usually held on Mondays.
The city's day-to-day operations are overseen by a city manager, who is appointed by the city council. The city government through various citizen boards oversees parks and recreation, planning and zoning, sanitation and garbage collection, street maintenance, wastewater collection, and maintains police and fire departments. Twin Falls Public Library, Twin Falls Municipal Golf Course and Joslin Field-Magic Valley Regional Airport are also under the city's jurisdiction.
Education
Twin Falls is home to the College of Southern Idaho, a large community college in the northwestern part of the city. Several Idaho universities, including Boise State University, Idaho State University, and the University of Idaho, also offer classes on the CSI campus.
Public schools are administered by the Twin Falls School District, including Twin Falls High School, the alternative Magic Valley High School, two junior high schools and seven elementary schools. Also, Twin Falls is home to newly established Xavier Charter School.
On March 14, 2006, Twin Falls voted to build an additional high school, which was named Canyon Ridge High School in November 2006. Voters also approved plans to make improvements to existing school buildings and convert the junior high schools to middle schools. These projects are scheduled to be completed by 2009.
Private schools include Lighthouse Christian School, Magic Valley Christian School, St. Edward's Catholic School, Twin Falls Christian Academy and a growing community of home-schoolers.
Media
Twin Falls is served by one local daily morning newspaper, the Times-News.
Over-the-air television stations include KMVT (CBS) and their two low power stations KTWT (CW), KTID (MyTV)and Mexicanal (only available through digital), KIPT (PBS), KXTF (Fox), KTFT (NBC), KSAW (ABC) and KYTL (Azteca). Cable television subscribers receive these local stations as well as stations in Boise and Salt Lake City, Utah.
CSN International, an international Christian radio station is also broadcast from Twin Falls, Idaho
Several commercial radio stations broadcast in the Twin Falls area, including (but not limited to): 94.3 KTPZ/The Music Monster (Top 40) 95.7 KEZJ/Idaho Country (Country) 96.5 KLIX/Kool Oldies (Oldies) 98.3 KSNQ/The Snake (Classic Rock) 99.9 KZDX/The Buzz (Modern AC/Top 40) 102.1 KIRQ/IRock (Alternative) 102.9 KMVX/Mix 103 (AC) 103.7 KSKI (Alternative) 104.7 KIKX (Classic Rock) 106.1 KKMV Kat Kountry (Country) 106.7 KYUN Canyon Country (Country) 970 KFTA/La Fantastica, La Radio de Las Grandes Estrellas (Regional Mexican)