Cleanup efforts took as long as a week, leaving hundreds of residents stranded in their homes without power, unable to drive until streets were cleared of debris. On September 21, 2005, Fridley was struck by straight-line winds exceeding 80 mph (130 km/h), toppling many old growth trees as large as 2.5 feet (0.76 m) in diameter and in turn, destroying dozens of homes and several vehicles. Medtronic Operational Headquarters is a major employer in Fridley. A KARE 11 television news helicopter passing through the area shot the first aerial video of a tornado. On July 18, 1986, a widely photographed tornado spent 16 minutes in Springbrook Nature Center, destroying thousands of century old trees and extensive areas of mature forest habitat.

In 1970, Fridley began purchasing land which would become the Springbrook Nature Center. The second twister that hit was the deadliest storm in Twin Cities history (see 1965 Twin Cities tornado outbreak), which killed a total of 13 people. One out of every four homes in the city was destroyed or damaged. On May 6, 1965, Fridley was hit by two F4 tornadoes. In 1957, the village became a ' home rule charter city'. The Fridley Liquor store proceeds were the primary funding for the daily city operations until the lawsuit was resolved in 1950. Minnesota state law allowed cities to operate municipal liquor stores. A lawsuit that challenged the incorporation of the village caused the funds to be frozen. The Fridley Free Press was also established. In 1949, the village of Fridley was incorporated. Fridley was still a member, changed the township's name to bear his last name. In 1879, the Minnesota State Legislature, of which Abram M. This distinction was short-lived, after it was annexed by Anoka County in 1870 and became a township with the same name. In 1857, the area separated from Ramsey County Manomin County was established, and it became the smallest county in the United States, having only 18 sections. Fridley, for whom the city is named, was elected as the first territorial representative for the area. In 1853, the first town post office was in operation, and a year later, a ferry crossing the Mississippi River was established.Ībram M. There, a general store and sawmill were built next to Rice Creek, named after Henry Mower Rice, a settler who just two years earlier had acquired a lot of land in the area. In 1851, Banfill platted the actual town of Manomin. It comprised the modern-day municipalities of Columbia Heights, Fridley, Hilltop, and Spring Lake Park. Manomin is a variant spelling of manoomin, the Ojibwe word for wild rice, a staple of their diet. In 1847, John Banfill became the first settler in the area, which was known at the time as Manomin. The road was used to transport furs to the south and other various supplies to the Red River Valley settlers in the north.

The post-European/American settlement history of Fridley begins with the construction of the Red River Ox Cart Trail in 1844, which traveled through Minnesota Territory from Saint Paul (present day Minnesota) to Pembina (present day North Dakota), now East River Road (also Anoka County Highway 1). The Anoka County–Blaine Airport serves the area and is located in neighboring Blaine. There is a boat landing for small boats in the river near Interstate 694 at the Anoka County Riverfront Regional Park. The Mississippi River is non-navigable for barge traffic north of the Canadian Pacific Camden Place Rail Bridge however, small boats can travel upstream to the Coon Rapids Dam without a portage.

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