Minutes before the start of the Tuesday December 1st City Council Workshop, Eden Prairie Mayor Ron Case had a question for State Representative Steve Elkins, “Are you sitting on a porch or something? It looks pretty cool.” “Yeah,” Elkins replied, “we’ve got kind of a three season porch but now that we’ve completely replaced the sliding doors with energy efficient models we can use it longer.” Hybrid model for public forum debuts The Mayor and other officials were looking at Elkins projected on a large screen in a lower level, City Center meeting room. Elkins was in his West…
Author: Jeff Strate
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Jeff Strate
An Eden Prairie resident since 1994, Jeff has served as an organizer for local open-space initiatives and get-out-the-vote parks referenda. He has also served on the Eden Prairie Human Rights and Diversity Commission, conservation area task forces, the Southwest Light Rail Community Advisory Committee and the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Land Trust. Jeff studied journalism and mass communication at the U of MN and has been a producer/writer and occasional on-camera figure in the Twin Cities, New York, Boston, and Trenton. Jeff has written for websites and magazines and has produced award-winning access programing through Southwest Community Television (SWTV).
According to a Southwest Light Rail Transit project bulletin, full closure of Highway 62 (the Crosstown) between Shady Oak Road and Highway 212 is planned for 8 pm Thursday, December 10 through 6 am Monday, December 14. The closure will enable crews to advance tunnel construction work under the highway between the City West Station in Eden Prairie and the Opus Station in Minnetonka. Lane restrictions in both directions are expected to begin early Thursday prior to the 8pm full closure. Work will be ongoing during night times.The upcoming roadwork allows crews to continue tunnel construction on the south side…
Former Congressman’s Memorial Service will be live-streamedSunday November 29 at 4pm. Wayzata Community Church has announced that the family of Congressman Jim Ramstad has invited the public to watch the former Congressman’s memorial service online via the church’s website. The service begins at 4pm Sunday November 29.Jim Ramstad served in the Minnesota Senate from 1981 to 1990 and 9 terms in Congress retiring in 2009. Ramstad was considered a moderate Republican representing voters in Minnesota Congressional District 3 which includes Eden Prairie. Many of Ramstad’s well attended town hall meetings were held in the Eden Prairie City Council Chamber. He…
Concerns about struggling, small businesses prompted the Eden Prairie City Council during its November 17th meeting to re-confirm its annual endorsement of Small Business Saturday. This year the national holiday shopping promotion, falls on Saturday November 28 during business hours. Last year, according to a City backgrounder, some 800 city mayors and officials supported Small Business Saturday. In the year of Covid, the “Christmas creep” of holiday retailing was spotted at Menard’s, Patina, Kowalski’s and other Eden Prairie stores. Halloween pumpkins still accented front yards but artificial Christmas trees, large-inflatable snowmen and seasonal greeting cards were ready to buy. Governor…
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) professionals, including a marksmen, will begin culling some of Eden Prairie’s deer population. The culling occurs at selected, remote conservation area and park sites from dusk into evening from December through March. The annual EP deer management goal, according to a November 23, 2020 City news release is to maintain the city’s white tail deer population at 20 to 25 deer per square mile of “suitable habitat,” as recommended by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “We are working to maintain the deer population in balance with the available natural habitat,” explains Eden Prairie Parks…
Many people are planning on staycations during the pandemic and cabin fever season. Snowbird neighbors are not likely to migrate to their winter nests in Arizona. Instead, they’ve hired a high school kid with a snowblower and making do. To get out into the fresh air over the next few months, many are planning to hike along Eden Prairie’s 120 or so miles of bike trails and 13 miles of nature trails. Below are several ‘trail staycations’ options in Eden Prairie over the next few months: Lake Smetana / Nine Mile Creek Loop Trail7620 Smetana LaneMap http://gis.edenprairie.org/RunningRoutes/Lake_Smetana_Route.pdf The Nine Mile Creek…
On November 6 the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project reported winter construction work on utilities, right-of-ways, bridges, tunnels and stations in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park and Minneapolis will focus on specific sites. Southwest Station AreaDriving and construction work on the new parking ramp next to the existing ramp and the joint bus-train station will continue through winter. Although the right-turn lane on the eastbound Highway 212 ramp to Prairie Center Drive remains closed, right turns are can be made at the intersection.Drivers can also expect intermittent lane closures on Prairie Center Drive between Southwest Station and Singletree…
A Purgatory Creek footbridge the morning after a November 10 snowfall.
October 31, 2020, Eden Prairie – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Congressman Dean Phillips were welcomed to the Cummins-Phipps-Grill House campus on Pioneer Trail Saturday afternoon by an enthusiastic and socially-distanced, Halloween array of local DFL candidates and their campaign teams. Smith and Phillips are running for re-election and were part of Saturday’s ‘Get Out the Vote’ caravan of cars and a graphically painted van. The caravan started on Skyline Drive in Duluth, motoring on to rallies in St. Cloud, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, and North Minneapolis. Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin emceed the event from…
On Friday, November 6, 10 am on Facebook Live a ‘virtual’ groundbreaking ceremony will launch a critical wildfowl habitat restoration project along the Minnesota River opposite southeast Eden Prairie. The public is invited to join environmentalist from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service for the 30-minute, on-site ceremony. The ceremony will include shoveling of dirt and discussion via laptops, desktops and smart phones at www.facebook.com/usace.saintpaul/. The Bass Ponds, Marsh and Wetland Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Project includes approximately 2000 acres of floodplain that cradles three lakes and a large marsh on the north…