Twin Falls, ID

Planted in the middle of the world's most productive farming regions, Twin Falls is located in southcentral Idaho. Originally incorporated as a planned community in 1905, today the city is home to a multicultural population, thanks to a refugee center opened by the College of Southern Idaho. As the state's fourth-largest city, Twin Falls boasts more than 73,000 residents; its population grew by 17 percent over the last decade.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Twin Falls has an unemployment rate of 6.2 percent. The leading industries in Twin Falls are educational, health and social services, retail trade and manufacturing. Some of the large employers in Twin Falls include St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center, Amalgamated Sugar Company, and Independent Meat Company.

Recently renovated, Magic Valley Mall is located on the edge of Twin Falls near Snake River on Pole Line Road. With four anchor stores, the mall contains 80 other specialty retailers, a food court and a theater.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Neighborhoods and districts of Twin Falls accommodate around 14,000 houses, out of which more than 13,000 are occupied. Of the occupied houses, more than 60 percent are owner-occupied, while renters occupy the remainder.

The most expensive neighborhood is in the northeastern part of the city, near Eastland Drive and Pole Line Road, and the least expensive homes are found in the heart of downtown at City Center.

The original townsite is laid out on northeast-to-southwest and northwest-to-southeast roads. The northwest-to-southeast roads were numbered and called avenues, and the northeast-to-southwest roads were numbered and called streets. This system made it so that one side of a street could have an entirely different address than the other, and where there were corners of streets in more than one location. In 2003 the northeast-to-southwest streets were renamed and solved the problem that had been present for decades.

GETTING AROUND

Because it is a regional retail hub for businesses in southcentral Idaho and northern Nevada, Twin Falls uses numerous roadways. U.S. Route 30 runs east and west through Twin Falls, turning into Kimberly Road when it comes upon downtown. U.S. Route 93 runs north and south through the downtown area. Commuters can use this road by connecting to Interstate 84 five miles north of the city. Idaho State Highway 74 provides direct access from the downtown to southern locations on U.S. Route 93.

Unlike other cities in Idaho, Twin Falls does not have a public transportation system.

The airport in Twin Falls is called the Joslin Field-Magic Valley Regional Airport. This public airport is four miles south of the city and is mostly used for general aviation, although SkyWest, a commercial airline, also flies from this location.

BEST BETS

• Snake River Canyon: The city lies on the southern edge of this canyon where BASE jumpers (that is, people who jump from fixed objects) can legally jump. These jumpers usually use the Perrine Bridge, where more than 5,000 jumps occur. This structure is the only human-made structure in the country at which BASE jumping is allowed year-round without a permit, making it the most jumped-from spot on the planet.
• Shoshone Falls: Twin Falls is two miles west of this waterfall, which is part of the Snake River. Often referred to as the "Niagara of the West," this waterfall is actually 36 feet higher. Shoshone is best viewed in the spring or summer when the water flows are high.
• Evel Knieval Jump Site: Located on Blue Lakes Boulevard, visitors can view the ramp where daredevil Evel Knieval attempted to cross the quarter-mile-wide Snake River in September 1974. He crashed on the jump across the river because of a parachute malfunction, but he received only a broken nose. The site of the jump itself is on private property, but visitors can trek to within 100 feet of the site at the top of the Centennial Trail.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

• Twin Falls County Historical Museum: This museum occupies the old Union School at Curry Crossing on Blue Lakes Boulevard and offers visitors a chance to view how life in the area used to be during early settlement. On hand are old-fashioned farm equipment, vintage clothing and even butter churns for guests to admire.
• Herrett Center for Arts and Science: Located on the grounds of the College of Southern Idaho, this nonprofit museum showcases more than 18,500 anthropological artifacts and natural history exhibits. It also houses a planetarium and an art gallery.

EVENTS

Held at the Valley View Lavender Farm, the annual Lavender Festival takes place the weekend following the Fourth of July. Lavender-based foods are offered for sale, as are handmade goods from local artists. The farm itself boasts more than 6,000 lavender plants of 15 different varieties.

LOCAL MEDIA

The Times-Newsis a daily newspaper that provides information for people in the Twin Falls area. It first publication was printed in 1904, and the paper currently has a circulation of more than 20,000 subscribers.

EDUCATION

With more than 6,000 students, the College of Southern Idaho is a public, two-year community college. The main office for the college is in northern Twin Falls, and outreach programs are in Gooding, Burley, Hailey and Boise. Its athletic teams compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with very successful women's volleyball and men's basketball teams, both of which have won national championships for the college. The college is also home to the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center, which helps newly arriving refugees by offering case-management surveys and on-site language training. Since its inception in 1980, the center has helped more than 2,500 refugees from a variety of continents.