Eagan was named for Patrick Eagan, who was the first chairman of the town board of supervisors. He farmed a 220-acre (0.89 km2) parcel of land near the present-day town hall. Eagan (born 1811) and his wife Margaret Twohy (born 1816) emigrated fromCounty Tipperary, Ireland toTroy, New York, where they married in 1843. They arrived inMendotacirca 1853–54, before settling in the Eagan area.[5]
Eagan was settled as an Irish farming community and "Onion Capital of the United States".[6] Its largest growth took place afterHighway 77 was relocated and expanded and a six-lane bridge (with three northbound and three southbound lanes) was constructed over theMinnesota River in 1980 and the finalInterstate 35E freeway section southbound fromMinnesota State Highway 110 inMendota Heights to the area where it joins 35W inBurnsville was completed in the mid-1980s. Eagan's northern border is mostly alongInterstate 494. Its southern border is about a mile south of Cliff Road. Its eastern border runs mostly alongMinnesota State Highway 3. The western border runs mostly along the Minnesota River's south bank.
The city was visited by the "20th hijacker" of theSeptember 11 attacks,Zacarias Moussaoui, before the attacks. Moussaoui attempted to complete flight training school, but was ultimately refused service by a local resident.[7]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.43 square miles (86.58 km2), of which 31.12 square miles (80.60 km2) is land and 2.31 square miles (5.98 km2) is water.[8]
Interstate Highway35E, Interstate Highway494, Minnesota Highways13,55,77, and149 are six of Eagan's main routes.
The Eagan Core Greenway is an ongoing project to preserve Eagan's environmentally sensitive green space, with particular emphasis on Patrick Eagan Park and the two-mile (3 km) greenway connecting the park withLebanon Hills Regional Park.[9]
As of thecensus of 2010, there were 64,206 people, 25,249 households, and 16,884 families living in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,063.2 inhabitants per square mile (796.6/km2). There were 26,414 housing units at an average density of 848.8 units per square mile (327.7 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 81.5%White, 5.6%African American, 0.3%Native American, 7.9%Asian, 1.7% fromother races, and 3.0% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 4.5% of the population.
There were 25,249 households, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% weremarried couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.1% were non-families. Of all households 25.9% were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.10.
The median age in the city was 36.8 years. Of residents 25.5% were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.1% were from 25 to 44; 30.9% were from 45 to 64; and 7.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.
Eagan is home to legal publisherWest, part ofThomson Reuters[11] (5,000 Eagan based employees), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (3,900 employees),Scantron, andCoca-Cola's Midwest bottling facility (900 employees).[12] The sparsely populated northern portions of the city, being convenient to freeways andMSP Airport, are also home to a number of warehouses and distribution centers, including Minnesota's largestUPS hub (1,400 employees).[12]
Northwest Airlines had its headquarters in Eagan.[15][16] After Northwest merged with Delta, the Northwest headquarters was disestablished. Todd Klingel, president of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, said that losing Northwest, aFortune 500 company, would be "certainly a blow." He added, "But it's been expected for so long. Let's get on with it. The key is what can we do to minimize the loss to Minnesota."[17] Mesaba Airlines employed around 1,830 people when it closed in 2011.[18][19]
TheMinnesota Vikings relocated their headquarters fromEden Prairie to Eagan, at the site of the former Northwest Airlines headquarters. The complex can be seen from Interstate 494.[20] and is also home to the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, which serves as the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility. The facility is 277,000 square feet and includes an outdoor field that seats 6,500 fans.[21] Fans can tour the facility or watch the daily activities on one of the six live action cameras around the stadium.[22]
Eagan's municipal government is a Type B Statutory City, which provides for a council size of five members, one of whom is the mayor. Eagan's mayor since 2007 has been Mike Maguire.[24]
In general, city government isnonpartisan. Candidates need not be (and usually are not) selected or endorsed by political parties, and no such endorsement appears on theballot by state law. All five council seats including the mayor are elected at-large in a general election every four years. Terms are staggered with two council members elected one election cycle and the other two and the mayor two years later.[24] The non-mayoral seats are elected in pairs, giving voters the chance to vote for up to two candidates. If necessary, races are narrowed down during a primary election.
As a part ofDakota County, Eagan's northern and western precincts join with regions northward to form the Third District on the County Commission. It has been represented by Laurie Halverson since 2021. The southern and eastern portions of the city are joined by regions south and east to form the Fourth District of the County Commission, which has been represented by William Droste since 2023. County commissioners serve four-year terms.
Since redistricting last took place, in 2022, Eagan straddles twoMinnesota State Senate districts. Seventeen of Eagan's 18 precincts are joined with three precincts in neighboringBurnsville, four precincts inMendota Heights, and the Village of Mendota to form Senate District 52, represented by SenatorJim Carlson (DFL). Eagan's southeastern most precinct is part of Senate District 56, represented by SenatorErin Maye Quade (DFL).
In theMinnesota House of Representatives, each senate district is divided into an "A" and a "B" side. The western half of District 52 makes up House District 52A, represented byLiz Reyer (DFL). The eastern half of District 52 makes up House District 52B, represented byBianca Virnig (DFL).John Huot (DFL) represents precinct 18 as part of House District 56B.
Eagan is home to Minnesota's 39thgovernor,Tim Pawlenty, who previously represented Eagan in the Minnesota House and on the city council. Former mayorPatricia Anderson served as the 17thstate auditor from 2003 to 2007.
Recently two city questions have gone to the ballot for city residents to vote on. In 2008, the citizens voted 53% to 47% to allow private development of a defunct golf course instead of having the City purchase the land for public development or open space. In 2004 and in 2007, voters were presented with plans drafted by an established Charter Commission calling for the city to scrap its current governing structure as a statutory city and adopt a new home-rule city charter. The measure failed 80% to 20% in 2004 and 91% to 9% in 2007. The Charter Commission was dissolved on June 18, 2008.
Eagan lies in Minnesota's First Judicial District.
^"DepartmentsArchived October 3, 2010, at theWayback Machine."County of Dakota. Retrieved on October 3, 2010. "Library Administration & Support Services Administrative Offices Wescott Library 1340 Wescott Rd Eagan MN 55123-1029"