A plan to build a service station and auto-repair shop in the southeastern corner of Eden Prairie fell flat during the city’s review on Monday, June 14. The Eden Prairie Planning Commission voted 8-0 to recommend that the city council deny the request. Commissioners cited a number of concerns, mostly centered on the project’s compatibility with nearby established neighborhoods. The undeveloped, four-acre site at the intersection of Pioneer Trail/County Road 1 and Hennepin Town Road is expected to eventually hold commercial development, but this is the latest of several plans for that property to stumble. The proposed plan called for…
Author: Mark Weber
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Mark Weber
Mark joined the Eden Prairie News as a reporter in 1979, just five years after its start, and spent the next 34 years in various roles including editor and publisher, as well as general manager of the parent company, Southwest Newspapers. He also published Edible Twin Cities magazine. His encore career was serving the nonprofit Eden Prairie Community Foundation as executive director. Mark is now retired. He and his wife, Roma, have two grown sons and a daughter-in-law, as well as a grandson. They have lived in Eden Prairie since 1984. "I hope the many words I have typed over the years have helped people understand the world around them."
A plan to build 16 owner-occupied townhomes at 9360 Hennepin Town Road in southeastern Eden Prairie – where a single-family home currently exists – is among the items on the Eden Prairie City Council’s meeting agenda for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 15. The proposal is consistent with the City of Eden Prairie’s long-range plan, which calls for medium-density residential development on the property. The developer of Morimoto City Homes has voluntarily committed to making four of the units eligible for affordable-housing programs, according to city staff. For more information about the June 15, city council meeting see the agenda. Options…
This week’s hot and dry weather has the City of Eden Prairie reminding residents about lawn-watering restrictions. Because widespread lawn watering draws down water supplies, the city has long had year-round restrictions, primarily: If your street address ends with an odd number, you can only water on odd-numbered days of the month.If your street address ends with an even number, you can only water on even-numbered days of the month.No lawn watering is allowed from noon to 5 p.m., when peak temperatures make watering least effective. Fines range from $25 for a first offense to $200 for a fourth offense,…
The Eden Prairie Senior Center will re-open Monday, June 7, after being closed for nearly 15 months due to COVID-19. It’s taken a lot of time, and the lifting of COVID restrictions on gatherings, to get the city facility at 8950 Eden Prairie Road re-opened. It’s also taking a lot of communication with seniors, rescheduling of volunteers, and cleaning and disinfecting of the entire building, including cups and dishes. “It’s getting the entire house ready for company,” Sue Bohnsack, Senior Center manager, said in describing the preparations for next Monday. Because so many of the Senior Center’s activities are promoted…
The 2020 absence of Schooner Days due to COVID-19 hurt Eden Prairie residents in more ways than one. Not only was one of Eden Prairie’s longest-running community gatherings missed, but so were the financial proceeds that the Lions Club, sponsor of the event, normally earmarks for nonprofit grants and student scholarships. In a typical year, said past president Gary Watkins, the club might give away $30,000 to $35,000 in grants and scholarships, and as much as $70,000-plus. Last year, because there was no Schooner Days, it was closer to $2,000, he added. So, bright students and local nonprofits are joining…
Lou Ellingson once shared that his requested transfer to Swift-boat duty in Vietnam while in the U.S. Navy didn’t quite play out as advertised. A Navy colleague told Ellingson – who was looking for a change after being assigned to the USS MountTrail in Norfolk, Va. – that Swift boats would be pretty easy wartime duty: patrol off the coast of Vietnam, occasionally stop and search a junk or Asian sailing boat, and approach U.S. destroyers and other ships and ask for ice cream. Instead, the Navy captain and his small crew used the 50-foot-long, machine-gun-toting Swift boat – all…
Opponents of the Noble Hill plan for homes near Fredrick-Miller Spring say they’ll appeal the Eden Prairie City Council’s recent decision to not order an additional environmental study. Justin DeAngelo, whose name is attached to a GoFundMe effort to raise money for legal help, said opponents have been told it might take $15,000 to $20,000 to fund such an effort. The GoFundMe page for the project indicated May 13 that about $6,500 has been raised from 112 donors. The city council voted 5-0 on May 4 to deny opponents’ request for preparation of an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) for the…
After hearing from a developer and a geologist. After testimony from a bee expert, a poet, a farmer, a precocious child, a pastor, a therapist, an attorney, and more. After listening to folks from not only Eden Prairie but also Belle Plaine, Blaine, Burnsville, “Dakota Territory,” Excelsior, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Jordan, Marine on St. Croix, Minneapolis, New Brighton. Rogers, Savage, Shakopee, Shorewood, Victoria, Wayzata, and other cities. After hearing from more than 60 speakers and absorbing more than 1,600 pages of data and reports. And, as the clock was striking midnight Tuesday after nearly five hours of testimony and deliberation…
The Eden Prairie City Council will have several options when on Tuesday evening, May 4, it reviews a controversial plan by Pulte Homes to build houses near the Fredrick-Miller Spring in southwestern Eden Prairie. A citizen group opposed to the project has begun raising funds to potentially mount a legal challenge. A key choice for the council is to either approve or deny a request to perform additional environmental review of the 28-acre site proposed to be developed, as well as nearby areas. Moving ahead with the study would delay the project, called Noble Hill. Residents have expressed opposition to…
Eden Prairie City Council members on Tuesday, April 20, will consider approval of a new, more modern building façade at 7076-78 Shady Oak Road to accommodate SunOpta Inc.’s new headquarters in Eden Prairie. The company, which creates and manufactures plant-based food ingredients, has been based in Edina but will have larger Eden Prairie facilities for offices and a research and development center. The city routinely approves building façade changes that meet city code. The building change is one of a number of items on the city council’s agenda. The meeting begins at 7 p.m., is streamed on Facebook, EPTV Live,…