Author: Jim Bayer

A slight majority of residents who submitted comments on the proposed three-lane restriping of Baker Road between Valley View Road and County Road 62 are in favor of the change, according to Hennepin County Transportation Planning Division Manager Chad Ellos. The county is planning to resurface County Road 60, which is comprised of segments of Mitchell Road south of Valley View and Baker Road north of Valley View. The three-lane restriping is planned between St. Andrews Drive just north of Valley View and Pinnacle Drive, just south of County Road 62. Restriping of the existing roadway, which currently has two…

Eden Prairie 7th to 12th graders are headed back to in-person learning March 22, according to a notice posted Feb. 23 on the district’s web site. Superintendent Josh Swanson kept the promise he made at the Feb. 22 school board meeting to make an announcement within a couple of days. He did it within 24 hours. The return coincides with the beginning of the school year’s fourth academic term. Students will be in school each day Monday through Thursday. Friday will be a virtual learning day. In order to prepare classrooms and schools for the transition, there is no school…

Eden Prairie Schools Eden Prairie Schools reports updated 14-day COVID-19 cases among students and staff every Friday. Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) will report that information every other week. 2/5 – 2/19 Staff – 1 cases Students – 7 cases (Note: Eden Prairie Schools has 1,825 staff members and 8,768 students. Total staff is all district employees, including coaches, advisors, and reserve staff.) City of Eden Prairie/Hennepin County and Surrounding Cities Hennepin County and the City of Eden Prairie report 14-day COVID positive rates per 10,000 residents. EPLN will report information for Eden Prairie, Hennepin County and a few cities…

(Editor’s note: Eden Prairie Schools announced the change this article refers to not long after publication. An updated article on the announced changes can be found here. ) Eden Prairie 7th to 12th graders are headed back to in-person learning, according to Superintendent Josh Swanson. The only question right now is exactly when. Swanson said at the Feb. 22 school board meeting that he would be making a more detailed announcement to families “in the next day or two.” The district began looking at the latest transition after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced last week that secondary students in the…

Casey Ostdiek’s favorite time of the Eden Lake Elementary school day is called closing circle and it consists of three A’s – apologies, affirmations and announcements. “Students have the opportunity to have closure to any unresolved issues,” she said. “It is so powerful to hear someone apologize to their peer and then hear their peer accept the apology in return.” The closing circle is about listening and making connections with students, she said. Ostdiek and the two other Eden Prairie teachers nominated for 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year seem to share those attributes. Ostdiek is joined by Courtney Heinz…

As of Valentine’s Day, almost 900,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered to Minnesotans. Of those, 1,128 were administered to 16 and 17 year olds. Among the teenagers receiving vaccinations are two Eden Prairie High School juniors who are considered essential workers during a global pandemic. Iesh Gujral, 16, is a junior volunteer at M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. Annika Welter, 17, is a dietary worker at Castle Ridge, a senior living community in Eden Prairie. Each received the Pfizer vaccine – the only one approved for anyone under 18 years of age. More than 153 teens ages…

Eden Prairie Schools Eden Prairie Schools reports updated 14-day COVID-19 cases among students and staff every Friday. EPLN will report that information each week. 1/22 – 2/5 Staff – 0 cases Students – 6 cases (Note: Eden Prairie Schools has 1,825 staff members and 8,768 students. Total staff is all district employees, including coaches, advisors, and reserve staff.) City of Eden Prairie/Hennepin County and Surrounding Cities Hennepin County and the City of Eden Prairie report 14-day COVID positive rates per 10,000 residents. EPLN will report information for Eden Prairie, Hennepin County and a few cities contiguous to Eden Prairie each…

Eden Prairie Schools Eden Prairie Schools reports updated 14-day COVID-19 cases among students and staff every Friday. EPLN will report that information each week. 1/15 – 1/29 Staff – 4 cases Students – 1 case (Note: Eden Prairie Schools has 1,825 staff members and 8,768 students. Total staff is all district employees, including coaches, advisors, and reserve staff.) City of Eden Prairie/Hennepin County and Surrounding Cities Hennepin County and the City of Eden Prairie report 14-day COVID positive rates per 10,000 residents. EPLN will report information for Eden Prairie, Hennepin County and a few cities contiguous to Eden Prairie each…

More than 500 additional Eden Prairie educators will receive their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine soon, Brett Johnson, senior director of community relations and communications, said Jan. 29. The district has been allocated 513 vaccine doses this week, Johnson said. The district received 24 doses the previous week. The Minnesota Department of Education Jan. 29 announced a sign up process for educators across the state and will lead the communication and assignment of vaccination appointments, he said. The district has 1,825 staff members. Four district staff and one student positive COVID-19 cases were reported in the 14 days ending Jan.…

Baker Road will become a three-lane road with left hand turn lanes this summer under a Hennepin County proposal announced earlier this month. Baker Road currently has four lanes, two in each direction, with no turn lanes. The proposed three-lane design consists of one lane of traffic in each direction with a middle lane used for left-hand turns. A widened shoulder on both sides will accommodate pedestrians and cyclists and will act as an unmarked right hand turn lane at intersections, according the county plans. The redesign proposal is part of a planned resurfacing of County Road 60 – which…