KETCHUM

Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 2,689 at the 2010 census, down from 3,003 in 2000. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities share many resources; both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its world-famous skiing. The city also draws tourists from around the world to enjoy its fishing, hiking, trail riding, tennis, shopping, art galleries, and more. The airport for Ketchum, Friedman Memorial Airport, is approximately 15 miles (24 km) south in Hailey.

The term "Sun Valley" is used more generally to speak of the region surrounding the city, including the neighboring city of Ketchum and the valley area winding south to Hailey. The region has been a seasonal home to the rich and famous since first being brought to public attention by Ernest Hemingway in the late 1930s. Ketchum is located at an elevation of 5,853 feet (1,784 m) above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.08 square miles (7.98 km2), of which, 3.05 square miles (7.90 km2) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km2) is water. However, two mountain streams, Trail Creek and Warm Springs Creek, join the Big Wood River in Ketchum.

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,003 people, 1,582 households, and 607 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 94.74% White, 0.27% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 2.33% from other races. In the city the population was spread out with 12.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 37.6% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 116.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,457, and the median income for a family was $73,750.

Sun Valley has a lively arts community offering a variety of opportunities through over thirty presenting organizations. Local, regional and nationally known artists are represented through gallery exhibitions, concerts, theater productions, dance productions, film festivals, lectures, opera and symphonic performances. Sun Valley is scheduled to host the U.S. Alpine Championships in 2016 and 2018, held after the World Cup season in March. It last hosted the event in 1951.

The Sun Valley golf course saw significant improvement in the summer of 2008, with the opening of the new "White Cloud Nine" course on the site of the old Gun Club (relocated further down along Trail Creek road), as well as the opening of the "Sun Valley Club", a full service golf course club house built in the style of the resort's mountain day lodges, replacing a much smaller and older facility.

2008 also saw the opening of the "Sun Valley Pavilion", built in partnership with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony as a permanent home for the orchestra's annual three-and-a-half week series of free concerts.

In 2009, one of the Sun Valley resorts installed the "Roundhouse Express Gondola" on Bald mountain, which runs from the mountain's River Run Base to the Roundhouse Restaurant (located midway up the mountain, at 7700 feet (2350 m)). The Exhibition triple chairlift, originally as a single chair in 1939, was removed with the addition of the new 8-passenger lift. The new gondola carries both skiers and non-skiers to the restaurant for lunch and eventually dinner year-round. The Roundhouse Restaurant was built in 1939 and was finished being remodeled to accommodate its new year round role in 2010.