Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) received formal approval this month of a $20,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation. The grant will support financial flexibility in the organization during a leadership transition.
EPLN recently announced the impending resignation of current CEO/Publisher Steve Schewe for health reasons.
Tim Murphy, a McKnight Foundation program officer on the Program Alignment team which supports local media and journalism, said, “We are honored to support EPLN’s hyper-local, community-driven work.”
Founded in 2020 as a nonprofit, online news organization following the closure of the community’s legacy print weekly newspaper, EPLN has published over 4,000 stories covering Eden Prairie as it approaches the celebration of the organization’s fifth anniversary. An Annual Meeting and Celebration is scheduled for the evening of Oct. 20.
Additional support includes the EP Community Foundation
General assignment reporter Rachel Hoppe and schools beat reporter Maddie Robinson began work at EPLN on July 1, the beginning of the organization’s fiscal year. Hoppe is the organization’s first full-time reporter.
“The McKnight Foundation also supports Press Forward Minnesota, which awarded EPLN a $40,000 grant at the beginning of 2025 to support paid reporters,” Schewe said. “Rachel and Maddie represent the rising generation of talent that will define EPLN’s journalism in the coming years. I encourage you to get to know them as they report on our community.”
A $10,000 Impact Grant received from the Eden Prairie Community Foundation in June 2025 also supports paid reporters. Executive director Greg Leeper said, “The Eden Prairie Community Foundation proudly supports Eden Prairie Local News with grant funding. We are a community foundation with a commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all who live and work in Eden Prairie. By providing excellent and ever-expanding ‘hyperlocal’ news coverage, EPLN aligns with that commitment.”
This June, Nancy Tyra-Lukens, chair of the EPLN board of directors, said grant funding and reader donations “have enabled us to make progress on the goals of building community and participating in civic life by keeping our readers informed about the community in which they live and doing it in imaginative ways.
“No one else is covering Eden Prairie through the lens of journalists who are totally committed to reporting news of our city,” she added.
The vision of Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) is to build an informed and engaged community. Its mission is to serve our community with trustworthy reporting, compelling stories, and news you can use – anytime, anywhere.
The Eden Prairie Community Foundation has a mission of enriching the community through philanthropy, collaboration and leadership. Its vision is to enhance the quality of life for all who live, work and play in the Eden Prairie community.
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in the Midwest; building an equitable and inclusive Minnesota; and supporting the arts and culture in Minnesota, neuroscience and global food systems.
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