Author: Stuart Sudak

An Eden Prairie man severely injured in a hazing incident at a University of Missouri fraternity in October 2021 is back home but still not recovered from his injuries, an attorney for his family told a Missouri TV station. Danny Santulli, a freshman at the college at the time of the incident, sustained alcohol-induced brain injuries during a pledge party at the now-closed Mizzou chapter of Phi Gamma Delta (also known as Fiji) house. David Bianchi, the Santulli family’s attorney, said in a June 3 KMIZ story that Santulli is blind and cannot communicate or walk. The 2021 Eden Prairie High…

Organizers of the first Schooner Days in 1964 had an ambitious motive for setting up the event, complete with a parade, skydiving, carnival rides and hootenanny music, in a pasture east of Flying Cloud Airport. “Not many people know where Eden Prairie is,” Lions Club member Larry Wilson told the Minneapolis Star in a June 4, 1964, story. “We’re trying to put it on the map.” Though what part Schooner Days played in putting Eden Prairie on the map is hard to measure, one thing is unmistakable. Over the years, Schooner Days has grown into a much-beloved early-summer tradition for…

Hennepin County crews begin prep work Wednesday, June 1, for a major repaving of Flying Cloud Drive (County Road 61) between Interstate 494 and Charlson Road in Eden Prairie. According to a Tuesday county traffic alert, this initial work will take three to four days to complete. It will result in lane closures that will move throughout the construction area. No detours or access issues are expected. Work on the actual month-long repaving project begins in mid-June and will cause road closures and detours as needed. Crews will start the work with directional closures of Flying Cloud Drive between Pioneer Trail (County…

Nate Gibbs has been named principal of Eden Prairie High School, effective July 1. Gibbs currently serves as the principal of Chaska Middle School West and has previously served as an assistant principal of Minnetonka High School. An announcement was made in a Tuesday email to EPHS families. He will replace Robb Virgin, who is moving into a new position with the school district on July 1. Virgin, who has been principal since 2018, will become executive director of personalized learning. “Mr. Gibbs is an outstanding educational leader with a spirit of continuous improvement,” said Eden Prairie Schools Superintendent Josh Swanson.…

LeRoy Wien, 102, passed away peacefully at his residence in The Waters of Eden Prairie on May 20. He was preceded in death by his parents, four sisters and his beloved wife, Margaret. Survived by his three daughters, Linda (Stephen) Levering, Kristi (Theodore) Hansen, and Terry Gerlach; grandchildren, Todd (Stacey) Levering, Tina BaDour, Brian Levering, and Scott Gerlach; five great-grandchildren, and sister, June Sykes. Roy was best known for his moves on the dance floor and his great love of family, faith and golf. He lived a life of kindness and gratitude. He was a World War II veteran who…

Are you staying in town for Memorial Day weekend? Here are a few things people can see or do this weekend in Eden Prairie. Memorial Day ceremony A Memorial Day ceremony is at 11 a.m. Monday, May 30, at the Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial in Purgatory Creek Park, 13001 Technology Drive. The program includes patriotic songs played by the Eden Prairie High School band as Viking Civil Air Patrol cadets post the U.S. flag and the Eden Prairie Police Reserves Honor Guard raise the colors to full staff. Eden Prairie author Tom Newman is the keynote speaker. He recently wrote the book…

Eden Prairie Schools sent an email to district families Wednesday afternoon reacting to Tuesday’s mass shooting death of 19 children and two teachers at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school. “I write to you today with great sadness,” said Superintendent Josh Swanson. “This morning, we shared information with our staff as we process yesterday’s senseless act of violence in Texas. We want to include you in that communication. Yesterday’s tragedy affects many people across our nation, and it sits particularly heavily with us: educators, caregivers and families of young people.” In the wake of Tuesday’s tragedy, Swanson said he finds “reassurance…

Father J. Michael Byron, pastor at Pax Christi Catholic Community in Eden Prairie since 2018, died early Friday morning, May 20. He was 62. According to a message to Pax Christi parishioners sent by parish director Carol Bishop, Father Byron returned from a pilgrimage to Greece on Wednesday night not feeling well and was admitted to the hospital. He had developed an infection that didn’t respond to treatment and “was called home to God,” Bishop said. Funeral plans are pending with Father Byron’s family. “We are hurting, but we are also deeply grateful that Fr. Mike has been part of…

“Mallrats” writer-director Kevin Smith visited his old stomping grounds in Eden Prairie on Friday morning.  Smith posted two photos to his Twitter account of him standing in front of the Kohl’s exterior building wall and nearby loading dock at Eden Prairie Center mall. Both were used during a chase scene in the 1995 movie he filmed there. “I’m in Minnesota to speak at VeeCon today, so I rolled down to Eden Prairie Center to revisit the scenes of the crime: the loading dock where Silent Bob had all those wonderful toys and the wall where Jay & Silent Bob lapped Team LaFours!” Smith wrote on Twitter.…

In 1995, filmmaker Kevin Smith said Eden Prairie Center mall represented a doorway to his future. The mall was much different when the writer-director came to Eden Prairie to film the comedy “Mallrats.” This was long before AMC Theaters, Von Maur, Barnes & Noble, and Scheels opened for business there. “Due to the Mall of America opening a mere few miles away, this unsung shopping center was then at half-capacity, which made them open to the idea of our production moving in for a few winter months,” Smith said last month to EPLN in a text interview. For a “mere”…