Author: Jim Bayer

Beginning today, EPLN presents an 8-part series on the important issues surrounding mental health and suicidal ideation.

Dick Rawlings’ mission is to help people. He does that by keeping his little sliver of the world clean. Rawlings, 84, patrols the roadways and byways around Presbyterian Homes’ Flagstone complex, pushing a walker and picking up trash. Every day. It’s likely that hundreds, if not thousands, of Eden Prairie residents have seen Rawlings. He wears a yellow safety vest with gray stripes, matching work gloves, and an Air Force ball cap while slowly pushing his walker up Columbine Road just west of Flagstone, always carrying his trash picker and a bag. He started his daily walks about five years…

Financial fraud scammers have racked up nearly $12 million in thefts in four highly visible Eden Prairie cases in 2023. And that doesn’t take into account scammers who are working their computers and phones every day in search of money from businesses to senior citizens, according to Detective John Andrews, the Eden Prairie Police Department’s (EPPD’s) financial crimes investigator. Search warrant affidavits filed by Andrews in Hennepin County District Court provide details about the most recent Eden Prairie cases: The search warrants are typically aimed at banks and other financial institutions in an attempt to track money that has been…

We walked onto the rock breakwater that formed the south wall of the Lahaina boat harbor. The sun was setting as local surfers worked the last few waves before darkness fell, their silhouettes stark against the waters of the ‘Au’au Channel separating Maui from Lanai. To our right was the harbor, and behind it was a walkway with waves lapping against the concrete and rock sea wall. To our left, modest homes lined the shore under large trees all the way to Kamehameha Iki Park and beyond. Three teenage girls who had been lying in the late afternoon sun were…

By the time Caroline Larsen goes back to school this fall, she will have traveled more than 17,000 miles – 50 meters at a time. Larsen, Eden Prairie’s elite swimmer, specializes in sprints – typically 50 and 100 meters – and has established herself among the best as she continues her quest to eventually swim for her country in the Olympics. In the past couple of months, she has traveled to Indiana, California, and soon to Israel in pursuit of high-level competition and faster times. Her performance at the Phillips 66 National Championships in Indiana in late June qualified Larsen…

DNA evidence has resulted in third-degree burglary charges against a 25-year-old man related to several minority-owned business break-ins in Eden Prairie in the fall of 2021. Yahaya Abdishakur Mohamed of Shakopee was linked by DNA to at least two of the burglaries, and a second suspect was linked to another, according to charges filed in Hennepin County District Court on June 22. The complaint’s statement of probable cause links all of the cases to Mohamed. A complaint involving a second suspect was referred to the Hennepin County Attorney’s office in early April and is still being reviewed by them, according to…

When Monica Opalinski looks at a piece of old, tired, forlorn furniture, that’s not what she sees. Instead, she sees its potential with a little work and a lot of love. Whether it’s a ’50s-era six-drawer oak dresser stained dark brown with elaborate hardware or a slightly worn end table, Opalinski envisions a bright future for each piece. Opalinski is the owner and sole proprietor of Opal Upcycled and Recycled Home Furnishings, tucked into an 1,800-square-foot office/warehouse space just off Highway 5 in central Eden Prairie. She opened the doors on March 4 at 7887 Fuller Road #116. The location’s nondescript…

The Eden Prairie boys volleyball team ended its season recently after a strong showing at the state tournament. But the sport’s future at Eden Prairie High School and statewide is only beginning after boys volleyball was sanctioned as an official high school sport by the Minnesota State High School League in May. Boys volleyball becomes a sanctioned sport in the 2024-25 season. The team began its state tournament showing with a hard-fought five-set match against Como Park. After losing the first two sets (25-27, 21-25), the Eagles won the final three sets (25-15, 25-13, 15-9) to move on. Adam Berger had 25…

Four more Twin Cities area men – none from Eden Prairie – have been charged in Hennepin County District Court with gross misdemeanor counts of prostitution following a multi-agency sting operation on May 18 that included the Eden Prairie Police Department. The charges follow those against four other men announced in June. They were from Elk River, Mound, Chaska, and Shakopee. The sex trafficking and prostitution operation dubbed “Hot 21 Girl Next Door” was conducted on May 15 and 18 and also involved officers from Bloomington, Edina, and Plymouth. The sting was set up using multiple advertisements posted on websites…

Four men have been charged with prostitution in Hennepin County District Court after being arrested at an Eden Prairie hotel, part of a multi-agency sting operation in May that included the Eden Prairie Police Department. The sex trafficking and prostitution operation dubbed “Hot 21 Girl Next Door” was conducted May 15 and 18 and also involved officers from Bloomington, Edina, and Plymouth. The sting was set up using advertisements posted on websites between May 15 and 17 that included three clothed photos of an undercover police officer with a narrative beneath them. That narrative used “phrasing and style of language…