Meridian, ID

With a population of more than 64,000, Meridian is Idaho's third-largest city and is considered part of Boise's metropolitan area. First settled along 5 Mile Creek, the city opened its first school in 1885 and incorporated soon after in 1903. An important Idaho dairy center in the 1900s, Meridian is now built on the foundation of government, finance, business and technical fields.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Notable Meridian neighborhoods include:

• Downtown Meridian: Downtown is in a continuous process of rebuilding as the city tries to create a 'destination,' and it's becoming a more developed area for office buildings, business, entertainment, dining, shopping and a residential life. The development of Downtown Meridian is a high priority for the Meridian Development Corporation.
• City Center: This quiet, suburban area is home to people from a mix of age groups. Many people in this neighborhood are manufacturers and laborers.
• Sonna: This suburban area is mostly quiet and inhabited by families with children. These newer, single-family homes were built in 1995 or later.
• Cloverdale: This area consists of primarily single-family homes that are rented or owned by people in executive or managerial positions. This quiet area was built mainly in 1995 or later.
• Amity Road/Kuna-Meridian Road: This area of town was built between 1970 and 1994 and is occupied primarily by middle-income families. It houses mostly midsize, single-family homes in a quiet part of town.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Meridian was the dairy capital of Idaho for the majority of the 20th century, starting from when the first Meridian Creamery was opened in 1897. In the past two decades, Meridian has yielded many of its farms due to the influx of area residents, and the expanding population has helped the city to grow in areas of government and business. Meridian is the location of corporate headquarters for businesses such as United Heritage, Western Electronics, and Arnold Machinery. As part of the Boise metropolitan area, Meridian is also located near other major company headquarters such as Hewlett-Packard's printer division, Washington Group International, Boise Cascade and Micron Technology.

FOR VISITORS

The city offers an array of activities for all age groups:

• Meridian Speedway features stock car racing on a quarter-mile track from April through September.
• At Roaring Springs Water Park and Wahooz Family Fun Zone, the largest water park in the Northwest is adjacent to a 28,000-square-foot entertainment center with go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, an arcade and more.
• The Idaho Peace Officers Memorial honors the memory of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The memorial is located on the grounds of the Idaho State Law Enforcement Headquarters.
• Pine Street School is a restored, one-room schoolhouse and winner of the Governor's 'Take Pride in Idaho' Award for Historic Preservation. Built in 1920 and restored in 1993, this schoolhouse is a meeting place for the community and a way to show children what schools once were.

FAMILY FUN

While the typical U.S. city gets approximately 25 inches of snow per year, Meridian gets about four. However, because of the significant difference in elevation between the valley floor and the mountains, this area is prime for skiing. The mountain ranges can expect upward of 100 inches per year. This makes Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area a popular place for outdoor recreational activities such as skiing, tubing and snowboarding. The area also offers numerous opportunities for kayaking and river rafting as well as golfing, hiking, fishing and hunting in its 10 parks that cover more than 78 acres.

EVENTS

• Meridian Dairy Days Festival is held the third weekend of June in honor of the community's heritage as the dairy center of Idaho. Activities include concerts, arts, crafts, ', a cattle display and show, parade and carnival.
• Winterland Parade is an annual holiday parade that is held on the first Saturday of December. The parade consists of hundreds of floats, horse units, car clubs, walking groups and dignitaries.

GETTING AROUND

There are several ways to get to Meridian, including:

• Interstate 84, the primary east-west corridor through Southern Idaho.
• State Highway 55, the main north-south travel corridor for the state.
• Boise Municipal Airport, 10 miles away in Boise.

EDUCATION

Located in Meridian are campuses of the University of Phoenix and George Fox University. In 2009, the University of Idaho moved its Treasure Valley Health Professions campus to Meridian. This facility offers associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in various medical professions including nursing, pharmacy, clinical laboratory science, counseling and paramedic science. Within 20 miles of Meridian are several institutions of higher education, including Boise State University, Northwest Nazarene University and College of Idaho. The University of Idaho and Idaho State University also have satellite programs in the area.