Author: Joanna Werch Takes

By the afternoon of Saturday, April 1, volunteers from the Eden Prairie chapter of Let’s Go Fishing were frying fish in the parking lot of Immanuel Lutheran Church – a parking lot that had been buried under eight inches of snow from the previous night’s storm earlier in the day. While the church’s snow plow service cleared the lot, the Let’s Go Fishing volunteers had plenty of their own tasks to do for their annual fundraiser, which offered a dine-in option this year for the first time since 2019, as well as take-out meals. For instance, they had to defrost…

As spring approaches, many Eden Prairie families with children are turning their thoughts to summer: summer camps, specifically. You’ll find a wide variety of camps offered in Eden Prairie, in close proximity, or with clear Eden Prairie connections. Offerings range from full- and half-day camps to overnight camps, with themes covering fine arts, nature, sports, and more. Many religious organizations also run summer programming. Some camps may have already opened 2023 registration, while others will open soon. Eden Prairie Local News cannot guarantee camp availability; some camps may be full and/or have waiting lists. Below, you will find an alphabetical…

Everyone has to eat, but food prices can be challenging. According to statistics from PROP Food Shelf, food shelf usage this year is up by 25 percent in Eden Prairie and Chanhassen. Grocery prices have risen. March 2023 is the 42nd year that food shelves like PROP are participating in Minnesota Foodshare. During the state’s largest grassroots food and fund drive (Feb. 27- April 9), all food and financial gifts to food shelves like PROP are matched by the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches. In addition to asking for monetary donations, which can be made online or by check, PROP…

On most Sunday evenings at the Eden Prairie Community Center, you’ll find black curtains covering the windows of the recreational pool and a door attendant sitting outside the entrance. These are some of the accommodations for the Women-Only Swimming Program. The current version of the program launched shortly after Labor Day in 2022, according to Nick Remmes, the City of Eden Prairie’s aquatics recreation supervisor. An earlier, more structured, women’s swimming program had been running in 2018 and 2019, “and then COVID kind of got in the way,” Remmes said.  “When we relaunched it, we took a lot of the…

Melissa Redzuan wears her “work crown” when she makes appearances as a Lifetime Queen of the Global United Pageant. It’s a phrase the Eden Prairie resident adopted from her youngest daughter, Amiia Razman’s, reaction when Redzuan first won a crown in the 2019 pageant. “I told her, ‘Mommy worked hard because Mommy helped the community,’” Redzuan said. Community service is weighted as 50% of the criteria in judging the Heart of Global United award, which was Redzuan’s original title in the Minnesota-based pageant. (An essay question contributes 30% of the score, and a personality photo the remaining 20%.) The nearly…

After 32 years at Eden Prairie Center, Great Mandarin Chinese Restaurant posted a notice on Facebook earlier this month that the restaurant will be closing after a last day of service on Dec. 31, 2022. The Dec. 19 Facebook post stated, “As many of you know, the pandemic changed a lot of things for all of us. It was a real challenge to make the food you love available to you while also protecting our health and yours. On top of that, supply chain made food costs higher, staffing shortages meant our family-owned restaurant had to work harder, and we…

Sixty pheasants, nine geese, and 1-1/4 deer. Those are some of the statistics – and the ingredients – that went into the making of the Eden Prairie Lions’ 49th annual Wild Game Dinner. Held annually on the first Monday in December, this year’s Dec. 5 event raised $1,745 for donation to local charities supporting the sheltering and adoption of animals, including the Tribal Partnership Program of Secondhand Hounds and the Eden Prairie Outdoor Center. Steve Wilson, a Lions Club member and co-chair of the event, donated many of the pheasants from his and his friends’ South Dakota hunts. The wild…

A crowd of 3,500 people attended an event headlined by national personal finance personality Dave Ramsey at Grace Church in Eden Prairie earlier this month. The Nov. 10 “Building Wealth Live” presentation was the Upper Midwest stop on a tour of the event described on the Ramsey Solutions website as teaching “how to build wealth – and keep it.” Ramsey’s keynote speech addressed that topic by citing The National Study of Millionaires. “Typical millionaires put money in their 401(k) and paid off their house,” Ramsey said. “It’s boring as crud.” Ramsey, a radio host and author, peppered his speech with…

Visual artist Meena Subramanian finds inspiration along the trails of Staring Lake Park for many of her pieces, which are showcased online at meenasartroom.weebly.com. “Each day is a different scene; the scenery is spectacular,” she said. “I just love all the trees and all the seasons, especially fall. It’s just gorgeous, you know?” Subramanian lives close enough to Staring Lake Park that “no matter what season it is, I’m walking the dog around the lake,” she said. While there, she’ll take pictures with her cell phone of scenes that she’ll later try to capture in art or collect items, like…

When Eden Prairie resident Dan Little took a swing at making wooden bats, it was a hit. He’s now made approximately 200 of the bats, which he sells through his website apexbats.com. Both of Little’s kids, 12- and 14-year-old boys, play baseball, and Dan has found whittling to be a way to keep his hands busy while sitting at their practices. He originally picked up woodworking from building with the scraps from his mom’s woodshop when he was a kid, and now enjoys not only whittling, but carving, woodturning, and more. A couple of years ago, he wanted to set…