# Apple Valley *City in northwestern Dakota County, Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities.* Apple Valley is a Twin Cities suburb in the northwest of [[Dakota County, Minnesota]]. The 2020 census counted 56,374 residents, which ranked it 17th among Minnesota cities by population.[^1] Lebanon Township, organized in 1859, voted to incorporate in 1968 and took the name Apple Valley.[^1] This record ties the city to three outputs of regional and state systems. HomeLine's analysis of Metropolitan Council LCA data reports that Apple Valley completed 20.8 percent of its 2010 goal of 5,046 units.[^2] The city's sewage moves through the Metropolitan Council's [[Empire Wastewater Treatment Plant]], built in 1979.[^3] [[Paideia Academy]], a charter school in the city, closed after the 2015–16 school year. Its board listed among its reasons that it could not seek voter-approved operating levies or bonds.[^4] Apple Valley addresses also appear in federal filings in the [[Feeding Our Future]] prosecutions. Two of the 47 defendants charged on Sept. 20, 2022, gave Apple Valley addresses.[^5] One of them, [[Aimee Marie Bock]], was sentenced to 500 months on May 22, 2026.[^6] A third Apple Valley resident, [[Dorothy Jean Moore]], was charged on June 6, 2025.[^7] ## Where The cached Wikipedia article cites the [[United States Census Bureau]] for the city's area of 17.57 square miles. Of that, 16.86 square miles are land and 0.71 are water.[^1] The ground rolls, with a hundred feet or more between the city's lowest and highest points. The downtown and the adjoining neighborhood, which were the city's core at incorporation, sit in a shallow valley. Farquar Lake is in the northeast of the city.[^1] County Road 42, Cedar Avenue and Interstate 35E are among the city's principal roads. The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority runs weekday commuter buses to downtown [[Minneapolis]] and Saint Paul. The Red Line, a dedicated bus line, connects the city to the Mall of America.[^1] Independent School District 196 operates all twelve schools in the city: six elementary, three middle and three high schools. Its School of Environmental Studies, a magnet school, enrolls 11th and 12th graders.[^1] The Minnesota Zoo is in Apple Valley.[^1] The city is part of Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, which is held by [[Angie Craig]], a Democrat. In the [[Minnesota Legislature]], the cached article lists three members for the city, all Democrats: Senator Greg Clausen (District 57), Representative Robert Bierman (District 57A) and Representative [[John Huot]] (District 57B).[^1] The Empire plant serves Apple Valley, [[Elko New Market]], [[Empire Township]], [[Farmington]], [[Rosemount]] and part of [[Lakeville]]. It carries 24 million gallons a day.[^3] ## When - **1859:** Lebanon Township was organized. The area stayed agricultural for close to a hundred years.[^1] - **Mid-1950s:** Housing developments began to take the place of farms.[^1] - **1968:** At the general election, township voters approved incorporation. They chose the name Apple Valley over Lebanon Valley by 1376 votes to 757.[^1] - **1979:** The Metropolitan Council's Empire Wastewater Treatment Plant was built. Its capacity has since been doubled.[^3] - **2015–16:** Paideia Academy closed at the end of the school year.[^4] ## Who The cached Wikipedia article credits the developer Orrin Thompson with the city's early growth. Thompson hired a firm to forecast where the Twin Cities would expand next. He acquired the first houses and streets from the Brobacks, who had built the area's first four homes.[^1] The firm was based in Apple Valley, California, and the article gives that as the source of the name. It also records a second account from local developer Henry Broback, who tied the name to the view entering Lebanon from County Road 42.[^1] ## How many - **Population:** 56,374 at the 2020 census, with a median age of 39.4. The 2010 census counted 49,084.[^1] - **Households:** 21,464 in 2020, of which 32.7 percent included children under 18. The 2010 count was 18,875.[^1] - **Housing units:** 22,253 in 2020, with 3.5 percent vacant. The 2010 count was 19,600.[^1] - **Affordable housing:** Apple Valley's 2010 LCA goal was 5,046 units, and HomeLine reports that 20.8 percent were completed.[^2] ## In the at-issue record **Affordable housing goals.** HomeLine's *A Vision for the Next Decade* analyzes Metropolitan Council LCA data for Dakota County cities, and the goals and completion rates in this paragraph come from that analysis.[^2] Apple Valley completed 20.8 percent of a 5,046-unit goal for 2010. Lakeville completed 29.1 percent of a 5,227-unit goal; HomeLine describes Lakeville as having "the highest need number of all suburbs in the region" and reports that the city declined to take part in interviews. Burnsville completed 92.5 percent of a 917-unit goal. Farmington added 25 new units against a 492-unit allocation in the three years before the review.[^2] The pack contains HomeLine's analysis but not the Metropolitan Council's own goal documents. **Regional sewer.** The Empire plant belongs to the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]], an appointed regional body. Growth in southern Dakota County, including Apple Valley, depends on that plant's 24-million-gallon daily capacity.[^3] The project's matrix draws this row from Metropolitan Council material. That source's URL is not in the pack.[^3] **Paideia Academy closure.** According to the matrix, which cites a single local news account, the charter school's board gave three reasons for closing in 2016:[^4] - declining enrollment; - per-pupil funding below that of surrounding districts; - its inability to seek voter-approved operating levies or bonds. The record does not establish the closure's causes beyond the board's stated reasons.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who On Sept. 20, 2022, the Department of Justice announced federal charges against 47 defendants in a release titled *U.S. Attorney announces federal charges against 47 defendants in $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme*. The indictment stated allegations as of that date.[^5] Two of the 47 gave Apple Valley addresses: Aimee Marie Bock and [[Abdihakim Ali Ahmed]]. The same release lists other defendants at addresses in [[Burnsville]], Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville and Rosemount.[^5] The Department of Justice announced on May 22, 2026, that Bock had been sentenced to 500 months. Its release quotes [[Judge Brasel]]: "This was a fraud vortex and you were at the epicenter of it."[^6] Fox 9 reported that Ahmed was sentenced to 54 months on Aug. 26, 2026. The pack contains no Department of Justice release confirming that sentence.[^8] On June 6, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced charges against Dorothy Jean Moore of Apple Valley. The project's matrix lists her as the case's 72nd defendant. Her charges are allegations, and the pack records no disposition.[^7] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Apple Valley, Minnesota* (revid 1378462501, retrieved Oct. 27, 2026; CC BY-SA 4.0) — establishes the city's location, history, area, census figures, roads and transit, schools, and elected representatives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Valley,_Minnesota [^2]: HomeLine, *A Vision for the Next Decade* (analysis of Metropolitan Council LCA data) — establishes the 2010 unit goals and completion percentages for Apple Valley (5,046; 20.8%), Lakeville (5,227; 29.1%), Burnsville (917; 92.5%) and Farmington (492; 25 units). https://homelinemn.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Vision-for-the-Next-Decade-Final-Version.pdf [^3]: Project record, *Dakota Claims Exposure Matrix* (Sept. 2, 2026), row AI-Dakota-070, citing Metropolitan Council material (metrocouncil.org; source URL not in the pack) — establishes the Empire plant's construction date (1979), doubling, 24-million-gallon daily flow and service area. [^4]: Project record, *Dakota Claims Exposure Matrix* (Sept. 2, 2026), row AI-Dakota-053, citing a HometownSource news report (source URL not in the pack) — establishes Paideia Academy's closure after 2015–16 and the reasons given by its board. [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, *U.S. Attorney announces federal charges against 47 defendants in $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme* (Sept. 20, 2022) — establishes the 47 charged defendants and their Apple Valley and other Dakota County addresses. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/us-attorney-announces-federal-charges-against-47-defendants-250-million-feeding-our-future [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Feeding Our Future ringleader sentenced to 500 months* (May 22, 2026) — establishes Aimee Marie Bock of Apple Valley's 500-month sentence and Judge Brasel's statement. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^7]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, release on charges against Dorothy Jean Moore of Apple Valley (June 6, 2025) — establishes the charges, which are allegations. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/apple-valley-woman-charged-participating-250-million-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme [^8]: Fox 9, report on the sentencing of Abdihakim Ali Ahmed (Aug. 26, 2026) — reports a 54-month sentence. https://www.fox9.com/news/feeding-our-future-fraudster-heading-prison-turning-child-nutrition-funds-personal-business