Eden Prairie’s police department has quietly expanded its use of technology to catch car thieves by using portable automated license plate recognition (ALPR) devices in various locations across the city. The Eden Prairie Police Department (EPPD) has used non-portable license plate readers (LPRs) on four squad cars since 2017, according to EPPD Lt. Jess Irmiter. But the department purchased 13 ALPRs in late 2021 thanks to a $20,000 grant from the State of Minnesota’s Auto Theft Prevention Program. The ALPRs have been deployed in “high-traffic commercial locations” throughout the city, Irmiter said. Irmiter declined to provide EPLN with a list…
Author: Jim Bayer
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Jim Bayer
Jim is a retired teacher currently keeping busy as a reserve teacher, tutor, and Eden Prairie High School softball coach. Jim’s career began as a journalist, photojournalist, and editor before working in healthcare public relations and later earning a master’s degree in special education. Jim and his wife, Sue, a registered nurse, have lived in Eden Prairie for more than 25 years. Their two children, Jen and Matt, graduated from EPHS and live in Eden Prairie. Jim and Sue have four grandchildren.
Eden Prairie Schools (EPS) operates a fleet of 104 buses and vans that transports more than 8,000 students to school, sporting events and field trips every day. All of those buses are diesel-powered. They are among about 500,000 similar buses transporting 25 million children to and from school each day all across the country. They have been the workhorse in the school bus world for decades. School buses travel about four billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children every day, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).…
Most people get chills just thinking about speaking in front of a group of people. At Eden Prairie High School (EPHS), there is an entire team devoted to doing just that – the speech team. While speech may not enjoy the visibility of other high school sports, the time commitment, preparation, dedication and teamwork are no different. And it’s not a small team; membership is not guaranteed. More than 100 students tried out for 65 spots available on this year’s team. Cuts had to be made to permit an acceptable player-to-coach ratio. The team is coached by Jason Meyer and…
Hundreds of people braved a frigid Saturday March 12 to attend the 20th Annual Home, Landscape and Garden “Everything Spring Expo” at Grace Church in Eden Prairie. Seventy exhibitors were spread throughout the church’s main level, featuring home improvement, landscaping and gardening businesses, among others. Arya Rask, right, (with dad, Shawn), appeared thrilled to meet one of the baby goats on display at the B3 Goats of Glencoe booth. Below, 62-year Eden Prairie residents John and Joyce Conley, center, stopped by the Eden Prairie Local News booth to chat with board members David Lindahl, left, and board member and writer Jeff…
Passengers on Eden Prairie school buses and other transportation vehicles no longer are required to wear face coverings as of March 2 following new advice from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), according to a district spokesperson. “The CDC announced this change on Friday afternoon (Feb. 25),” according to Brett Johnson, senior director of communications and community relations. “People who want to wear face coverings are always welcome to do so.” On Jan. 31, 2001, the CDC issued an order that required face coverings on all modes of public transportation, including school buses. “Effective February 25, 2022, CDC…
The Eden Prairie School Board will consider approval of the final 2022-23 school calendar at its regular meeting Monday, Feb. 28. The board previewed a draft of the calendar at its Jan. 24 meeting. The approval consideration is bundled in the Superintendent’s Consent Agenda, along with approval of a preliminary 2023-24 calendar. COVID-19 update The meeting agenda also includes an update from Superintendent Josh Swanson on the district’s COVID-19 Safe Learning Plan. The district abruptly ended its mandatory face-covering requirement for all students and staff on Feb. 17 amid declining COVID-19 cases. That requirement was instituted in late December 2021 in advance…
Felony charges have been filed against five people in separate Eden Prairie incidents occurring in December 2021 and February, according to Eden Prairie Police Department (EPPD) complaints. Assault of police officer Leann Dael Exum, 27, of Brooklyn Center, has been charged with one count of felony fourth-degree assault of a peace officer and one count of DWI, a gross misdemeanor. According to Eden Prairie Police, at 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 5, 2021, Exum was observed driving east on Highway 212 approaching Valley View Road with no lights on. After being stopped, she was unable to turn the car’s lights on,…
An early morning bus fire on Feb. 11 injured four firefighters at the SouthWest Transit maintenance facility in Eden Prairie, according to city officials. At 12:38 a.m., the department received a water flow alarm at the transit facility at 14405 W. 62nd St., Fire Chief Scott Gerber told EPLN. Fire crews entered the building and found a SouthWest Transit coach bus on fire. Firefighters were able to douse the fire on the inside and outside of the bus. The fire was contained to a single bus thanks to the building’s sprinkler system, Gerber said. “The sprinkler system is an important part…
The Eden Prairie School Board approved the purchase of seven new buses at a cost of about $819,000 at its Jan. 24 meeting. The board was asked permission to purchase the five regular education buses and two special education buses before approval of the fiscal year 2023 capital budget in order to have buses delivered before the start of the next school year. The purchase is part of the district’s planned 15-year replacement cycle of seven new buses each year for its fleet of 104 buses and five vans. Purchasing the buses now ensures that students will have a consistent…
Felony charges against three defendants in unrelated cases for criminal sexual conduct, mail theft and fleeing police have been filed in Hennepin County District Court. Criminal sexual conduct A Bloomington man is charged with one count each of first and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct in a case involving a 16-year-old female who reported being sexually abused multiple times beginning at the age of 5. The girl identified Daniel Jerome Weibel, 46, as the perpetrator, according to the police complaint. Weibel reportedly was the boyfriend of the victim’s mother. Weibel has been summoned to appear in Hennepin County District Court. He was…