Author: EPLN Staff Reports

Two students who attended Eden Prairie High School during the 2021-22 school year are included in the final batch of 2022 winners of National Merit Scholarships. According to a July 11 announcement by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. (NMSC): Shubhangi Mohan, of Eden Prairie, won a National Merit University of Minnesota scholarship. Mohan plans to study biology.Sriyan C. Reddy, of Eden Prairie, also won a National Merit University of Minnesota Scholarship. Reddy plans to study medicine. The two were among the 1,200 additional winners of scholarships financed by colleges and universities announced on July 11. Of those, 31 attended Minnesota…

Lynn Rhodes, executive vice president of risk management at Flagship Bank Minnesota in Eden Prairie, has been named a 2022 Rising Star in Banking by BankBeat magazine. United Bankers’ Bank in Bloomington partners with BankBeat as the program’s sponsor. It’s designed to recognize up-and-coming leaders in the community banking space. “Lynn was a natural choice for this recognition given her vital communication skills as she leads the compliance effort at two financial institutions,” said Jacqueline Nasseff Hilgert, BankBeat’s editor-in-chief. “Her impact is especially notable given the impact on the institutions’ healthy management.” “(Rhodes) has been critical in building and overseeing a strong…

The Eden Prairie Police Department is currently accepting applications for its 2022 Citizens Academy. This free six-week class covers traffic enforcement, use of force, DWI enforcement, communications/911, the SWAT Unit and investigations. According to a July 11 Eden Prairie Police blog post, the academy will run for six sessions on Tuesday evenings (5:30 to 9 p.m.) from Sept. 20 to Oct. 25.  There is no cost for this event as it is funded by the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund. By filling out the application, people enter a lottery to be chosen to participate. There is no guarantee a person will be called to participate…

Eden Prairie police officers are stepping up efforts throughout July to crack down on speeders. It is part of a statewide push this month by the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety to increase speed enforcement. Preliminary reports, according to that office, show 166 people died in speed-related traffic crashes in Minnesota last year, the most since 2003. Eden Prairie officers stopped 2,043 people for speeding in 2021, according to a July 7 posting on the EPPD blog. To date in 2022, EP officers have made 1,103 speed-related stops. The EPPD blog post titled “Speed Kills” noted consequences for speeding, such as the greater potential…

Shirley Peterson Rodde, age 94, was received into the arms of Jesus on June 27, surrounded by her loving family. She will be greatly missed by many who knew and loved her.  Shirley and her husband, Fritz, were blessed with 66 loving and fulfilling years together. They lived an active life with lots of friends and family. They lived in Richfield for many years, where she worked for the school system and then NW National Life until she retired. She was blessed to have a strong faith, a close family, and good health for years of golfing, boating, waterskiing, snow-skiing,…

A nominating committee has forwarded the names of four finalists to Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Penny Flanagan to fill the open Metropolitan Council District 3 seat. The four finalists are Dr. Tyronne Carter, Sherrie Pugh, James White and Kenneth Wilcox. They were among six candidates interviewed by the nominating committee in April to complete the remainder of Christopher Ferguson’s four-year term as the District 3 member through Jan. 2, 2023. Ferguson, a longtime Eden Prairie resident, resigned his seat on Jan. 31 after deciding to move out of the district. District 3 includes Eden Prairie and 16 other…

The Hennepin County Board is recruiting volunteers for two vacancies on the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Board. Members serve three-year terms. A member may not be a public officer of the county, state or federal government and must be a district resident. Portions of Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Richfield are within the district. There is also one vacancy on the county’s Human Resources Advisory Board. Members serve four-year terms and must reside in Hennepin County. A member must not be a public official or candidate for public office; must not be a Hennepin County employee or within…

Eden Prairie Lions Club presented a check last month to KSTP-TV Channel 5 morning news personality Chris Egert in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The money was raised during the club’s annual steak fry on May 2 at Camp Eden Wood in Eden Prairie. Egert was the guest speaker at the event that drew neighboring Lions clubs. He and his wife Kate have a son with Type 1 diabetes. The Egerts, according to the EP Lions Club, work hard for local organizations such as JDRF to help find a cure. Eden Prairie Lions Club and Lions International…

Open Your Heart (OYH) to the Hungry and Homeless will match a portion of all financial gifts at PROP Food Shelf during July.  PROP’s goal is to raise $50,000 toward this matching opportunity. The match is part of an annual food shelf grant challenge to help food shelves during their time of greatest need when giving can be at its lowest. This summer, PROP reports seeing more families with children coming to the food shelf. Between kids being home from school and more families experiencing economic hardship due to inflation, soaring food and gas prices, and the impacts of expiring…

Work will begin Tuesday, July 5 on a project to prolong the life of city streets mostly in the north and southwestern corners of Eden Prairie. Known as mill and overlay/full-depth reclamation, contractor Valley Paving will remove the top layer of existing bituminous pavement to improve street drainage and remove surface defects, according to a city news release. The actual bituminous overlay is placed after the milling and repair work has been completed, generally lagging the milling by one to four working days and is weather dependent. As part of the project, crews will apply a maltene-based rejuvenating agent to the…