Author: Letter to Editor

The summer of 2021 was the hottest summer on record in Minnesota. I fear that, to our children, a summer like the one just past will be considered normal, or, maybe even cool. Atmospheric CO2 has shot up at a rate that, so far as we know, has never been seen before in billions of years, and, as temperatures track closely to CO2, we can only expect a fearful future for future generations. Many policies have been proposed to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations, and all of them are important. However, most of these proposals are limited to only one sector…

Eden Prairie proudly and rightfully touts its safety and focus on the quality of life, two closely related aspects of daily living. Yet, anyone who travels via foot or bike on Riverview Road between Gantry Way and Parker Drive is forced to walk those 800 feet IN and ON the poorly lit, narrow “country road” that now serves basically as a trunk road for drivers heading to Highway 169. There was an error at some point on the part of the city by not requiring the developer of Bell Oaks and/or Bell Oaks Estate to complete that stretch of sidewalk.…

The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that we are in a “Code Red” emergency situation regarding climate change.Please call or write your three representatives in Congress to make sure they treat this like the emergency that it is and do everything they can to save the planet from further damage.I, like other parents and grandparents, are extremely concerned about the future of our grandchildren and future generations. We need to do everything in our power to leave the earth better than we found it. Thomas W. SampsonEden Prairie

The Eden Prairie City Council will vote on a mega gas station project this Tuesday, August 17. The project is planned for the corner of Hennepin Town Road and Pioneer Trail, surrounded by neighborhood homes to the north, south and west. The Planning Commission already rejected the project in a stunning 8-0 vote. Typically a developer would reassess the project after such a vote. They would understand the concerns of the community and the planning commission. Here’s what the Developer failed to recognize, and what we urge Council members to consider: Super-Size What a whopper of a project! 5,200…

It’s a sunny Thursday morning in Eden Prairie. And it’s too soon for me to write this letter. Way too soon. But I can’t wait even one more night. One more night. That’s what I asked my son to give me. Just one night. I slept on the floor near his bed to make sure he would make it through one more night. Until he didn’t. Last Friday, several days after his 17th birthday, my son died from depression. Suicide. During the days before that, Jonas was cheered on by fans at his volleyball matches. He showed off waterskiing and…

As citizens, we have the privilege to vote for the candidates who best represent our views on many complicated issues. Unfortunately, our current system of extreme partisanship makes it difficult for us to do this and is built to tear us apart. The complexity of the issues and the concerns of the majority of the citizens are ignored in this self-serving system. This broken system fails us in two ways: First, it is difficult to understand the issues because of partisan disinformation and obfuscation. Second, as politicians speak negatively to and about each other, we begin to mirror this behavior…

The protesting and negative reactions to the Noble Hill development are so curious to me. Like many couples in the Twin Cities looking to buy their forever home and carve out a future for their family, the Standal’s purchased the property in debate with thoughts of it being a wonderful place to raise their children and their animals, possible income off the land, and a financial investment for their family.  The Standal’s have been loving stewards of their land for 44 years with the hearts of true environmentalists, years of hard work, and sums of money spent on taxes and…

My name is Kate Rohlfsen and I grew up on this land that my family has owned 44 years. John and Carol Standal purchased this hobby farm in 1977 and raised two children on it. John and Carol grew evergreen trees, gardened, raised chickens, and briefly kept horses. The trees were used all over the southwest metro as landscaping trees and enjoyed by many who came during the holidays to cut down their own Christmas tree. The Standal family were good Eden Prairie neighbors, took good care of the land, and paid real estate taxes on this land for 44…

On Tuesday, May 4th, I watched the latter half of the Eden Prairie City Council meeting covering the potential impact of the proposed Pulte residential housing development to the Frederick-Miller spring. While I appreciated the divergent points of view, I realized that I needed to study the facts myself as well as revisit the spring and surrounding watershed to fully appreciate the discussion. I reached out to the city and obtained a copy of the council meeting presentation materials reflecting the hydrology survey and also visited the spring and surrounding watershed to develop my own conclusions regarding this matter. Although…

I am utterly disgusted and whole heartedly disappointed as an environmentalist and concerned citizen that has lived in EP for 16 years on the unanimous decision you made last night without taking into account all the data, comments and research presented to allow an Environmental study is beyond disgusting to me. I grew up in MPLS and decided to raise our family out here because of the close connection to history, nature and the environment. The Developments in the last 10 years has been running rampant in Eden Prairie. There is less and less prairie and more and more concrete.…