Rhone, West Monroe
Rhone, West Monroe | |
|---|---|
State capital city | |
| City of Rhone | |
 .jpg) .jpg)  .jpg) Clockwise from top: Downtown, City Hall, Main Building at the University of West Monroe at Rhone, Pennybacker Bridge and the Bullock West Monroe History Museum | |
| Country |  Ibica |
| State |  West Monroe |
| County | King |
| Settled | 1254 |
| Incorporated | December 27, 1690 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | Catherine Doctor (P) |
| • City Council | Members
|
| • City manager | Charles Garret |
| Area | |
| • State capital city | 305.1 sq mi (790.1 km2) |
| • Land | 297.9 sq mi (771.5 km2) |
| • Water | 7.2 sq mi (18.6 km2) |
| • Metro | 4,285.70 sq mi (11,099.91 km2) |
| Elevation | 23 - 350 ft (−84 m) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • State capital city | 3,290,390 |
| • Estimate (2018) | 3,364,254 (2nd) |
| • Metro | 9,168,316 |
| Demonym | Rhonite |
| Time zone | CST |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT |
| Primary Airport | Rhone International Airport |
| Interstates |    |
| Ibican Routes |    |
| Commuter Rail | Rhone, Monroe, & Southwestern Railroad |
Rhone is the capital city of the state of West Monroe and the seat of King County. It is the 2nd-most populous city in Ibica, the most-populous city in West Mornoe, and the most-populous state capital city. As of the Census Bureau's July 1, 2018 estimate, Rhone had a population of 3,364,254 up from 3,290,491 at the 2015 census. The city is the cultural and economic center of the Greater Rhone metropolitan statistical area, which had an estimated population of 9,168,316.
Residents of Rhone are known as Rhonites. They include a diverse mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and a vibrant LGBT community. The city's official slogan promotes Rhone as "The Live Music Capital of the World," a reference to the city's many musicians and live music venues. The city also adopted "Silicon Hills" as a nickname in the 1990s due to a rapid influx of technology and development companies.
Economy
The Greater Rhone metropolitan statistical area had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $86 billion in 2010. Rhone is considered to be a major center for high tech. Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at the University of West Monroe at Rhone provide a steady source of employees that help to fuel Rhone's technology and defense industry sectors. The region's rapid growth has led Forbes to rank the Rhone metropolitan area number one among all big cities for jobs for 2018 in their annual survey. Rhone's largest employers include the Rhone Independent School District, the City of Rhone, the Federal Government, IT Semiconductors, WMI, Rhone Healthcare Partnership, Seton Family of Hospitals, the State of West Monroe, the West Monroe State University, and the University of West Monroe at Rhone.
Rhone is also emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; the city is home to about 85 of them, especially centering around the Rhone Medical Center district in neighboring Kingsland.
In addition to national and global corporations, Rhone features a strong network of independent, unique, locally owned firms and organizations.
In 2018, Rhone metro-area companies saw a total of $1.33 billion invested. Rhone's VC numbers were so strong in 2018 that they accounted for more than 60 percent of West Monroe's total investments.
Sports
| Club | Sport | Founded | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhone Suns | Basketball | 1968 | National Basketball League |
| Rhone Cavaliers | Baseball | 1980 | Ibica Baseball Association |
| Cavaliers Stars | Ice hockey | 1995 | Ibican Hockey League |
| Rhone United FC | Soccer | 2011 | Ibica Soccer League |
Government and law
City government
Rhone is administered by an 11-member city council (10 council members elected by geographic district plus a mayor elected at large). The council is accompanied by a hired city manager under the manager-council system of municipal governance. Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan, with a runoff in case there is no majority winner. A referendum approved by voters on November 6, 2012 changed the council composition from six council members plus a mayor elected at large to the current "10+1" district system. November 2014 marked the first election under the new system.
Law enforcement in Rhone is provided by the Rhone Police Department, except for state government buildings, which are patrolled by the West Monroe Department of Public Safety. The University of West Monroe Police operate from the University of West Monroe.
Fire protection within the city limits is provided by the Rhone Fire Department, while the surrounding county is divided into twelve geographical areas known as emergency services districts, which are covered by separate regional fire departments. Emergency medical services are provided for the whole county by King County Emergency Medical Services.
Other levels of government
Rhone is the county seat of King County and hosts the King County Courthouse downtown, as well as other county government offices.
The West Monroe Department of Transportation operates the Rhone District Office in Rhone.
The West Monroe Department of Criminal Justice (WMCJ) operates the Rhone I and Rhone II district parole offices in Rhone.
The Ibican Postal Administration operates several post offices in Rhone.
Education
Researchers at St. Clarke University ranked Rhone the 4th most literate city in Ibica for 2008. In addition, the University of West Monroe at Rhone operates the seventh-largest academic library in the nation.
Over 43 percent of Rhone residents age 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree, while 16 percent hold a graduate degree. In 2009, greater Rhone ranked eighth among metropolitan areas in Ibica for bachelor's degree attainment with nearly 39 percent of area residents over 25 holding a bachelor's degree.
Higher education
Rhone is home to the University of West Monroe at Rhone, the flagship institution of the University of West Monroe System with over 38,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students. In 2020 rankings, the university was ranked 8th among "National Universities". UWM has annual research expenditures of over $600 million and has the highest-ranked business, engineering, and law programs of any university in the state of West Monroe.
The University of West Monroe System and University of Rhone System are headquartered in downtown Rhone.
Public primary and secondary education
The Rhone area has 29 public school districts, 17 charter schools and 69 private schools. Most of the city is served by the Rhone Independent School District. This district includes notable schools such as the magnet Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School of Rhone (LASOR), which, by test scores, has consistently been within the top thirty high schools in the nation, as well as The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Four of the metro's major public school systems, representing 54% of area enrollment, are included in Expansion Management magazine's latest annual education quality ratings of nearly 2,800 school districts nationwide.
Private and alternative education
Rhone has a large network of private and alternative education institutions for children in preschool-12th grade exists.
Rhone is also home to child developmental institutions.
Transportation
In 2009, 72.7% of Rhone commuters drove alone, with other mode shares being: 10.4% carpool, 6% work from home, 5% use transit, 2.3% walk, and 1% bicycle. The city of Rhone has a lower than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 6.9 percent of Rhone households lacked a car, and decreased slightly to 6 percent in 2016. The national average is 8.7 percent in 2016. Rhone averaged 1.65 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.
Highways
The Rhone area is served by the following highways:
Airports
Rhone's airport is Rhone International Airport (RIA), located 5 miles (8 km) southwest of the city.
Intercity rail service
The Monroe, Rhone, and Southern Railway and West Ibica Rail Road provide intercity passenger service to Rhone.
Public transportation
The Rhone Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("Rhone Metro") provides public transportation to the city, primarily by bus. Some heavily utilized routes feature bus rapid transit, with 60-foot (18 m) long, train-like, high-tech buses.
Rhone Metro opened a 32-mile (51 km) light rail system known as Rhone MetroRail on March 22, 2010.
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