Author: Frank Farrell

An annular solar eclipse is set to cross North, Central and South America on Saturday, Oct. 14. It will be visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and many countries in Central and South America. In the U.S., the annular solar eclipse will begin in Oregon at 9:13 a.m. PDT and end in Texas at 12:03 p.m. CDT. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s orbit aligns in such a way that the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow that blocks sunlight. The moon fully obscures the sun in a total eclipse; however, this…

Violent crime and property crime in Eden Prairie saw an overall decline from 2021 to 2022. However, drug offenses and assaults increased, while assaults on police officers decreased. This report relies on crime statistics that the Eden Prairie Police Department (EPPD) reported to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and an interview with Eden Prairie Chief Matt Sackett. The BCA compiles uniform crime data submitted by Minnesota law enforcement agencies, including the EPPD, as mandated by law. Only the full calendar years of 2021 and 2022 have crime statistics from the BCA specific to Eden Prairie available. The BCA…

Miromatrix, a bio-engineering company based in Eden Prairie, focuses on addressing one of the most significant challenges in the healthcare system: the shortage of available organs for life-saving transplants. Miromatrix CEO Jeff Ross states that tens of thousands of potential transplant patients in the U.S. alone do not receive organs annually, which is a matter of life and death for them. Miromatrix approach The Miromatrix solution to the problem involves using organs from a nonhuman source and implementing two patented processes. The first process, perfusion decellularization, was originally developed at the University of Minnesota. The second process, called recellularization, is…

Eden Prairie-based cybersecurity company Arctic Wolf, a rising star in the fast-growing cybersecurity business, is currently facing rumors of layoffs circulating on social media. EPLN contacted Arctic Wolf on Wednesday and received a statement from Ilina Cashiola, the company’s Vice President of Global Corporate Communications. Cashiola refuted the claims of layoffs and characterized the information as a “bit of misinformation.” She explained that the company was going through a reorganization as part of its acquisition last year of incident response company Tetra Defense based in Madison, Wisconsin. She then provided a formal statement from Arctic Wolf, which reads as follows:…

Residents of the neighborhood of Welters Way in Eden Prairie were startled awake in the early hours of Jan. 12 as a group of heavily armed police officers descended upon a home located at 11631 Welters Way. The officers were serving a search warrant as part of a federal investigation being run by the United States Postal Inspection Service. When asked why the SWAT team was necessary, Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett stated that it is more accurately described as a “warrant service team” rather than a “full SWAT team.” Sackett confirmed that a large number of officers were…

Residents on Welters Way were awakened shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday to see the Eden Prairie Police Department (EPPD) SWAT team forming up in silence in front of a home on Welters Way in the Olympic Hills neighborhood. The SWAT team was silent and stealthy but clearly prepared for action. They were fully equipped with weapons, tactical gear and shields. The team proceeded up the street to a home on the 11600 block of Welters Way. They surrounded the home, shouted that they had a search warrant and entered the home. It appeared the SWAT team was able to secure the…

Eden Prairie Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthun, District 49B, is the lead author of sweeping new abortion rights legislation in Minnesota, H.F. No. 1. Designating the bill as number 1, are legislative code words for “very important legislation.” The Bill The bill is short (less than 300 words), simple, and addresses a broad range of reproductive health care services, including abortion. The bill states that “Every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health.” “The bill addresses reproductive freedom and what that means,” Kotyza-Witthuhn said. “Everything from counseling, fertility challenges, family planning services, conception care.”…

David Hann is the current chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party. Previously, he served as a Minnesota state senator and an Eden Prairie School Board member. Hann and his wife have four grown children and have lived in Eden Prairie for almost 40 years. He is known for his soft-spoken demeanor, which differs from the bombast so often seen from politicians. In a recent interview, Hann, 70, shared his thoughts on the 2022 election. He also provided insight on several other topics, including the role of financing in elections, the polarization of the abortion issue, and his perspective on the…

Minnesota candidates were required to file their final pre-election campaign finance reports last week. This is the last look the public has at their fundraising and cash positions ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8 According to a Nov. 2 Star Tribune story, a review of these reports paints a picture of “cash is pouring into Minnesota races for statewide office and critical legislative battlegrounds, as candidates enter the final days of an election season that will decide control of state government.” The required financial reporting for state candidates is detailed and extensive. It is available on the Minnesota Campaign…

Eden Prairie-based cybersecurity company Arctic Wolf just celebrated its 10th anniversary. The company was founded in April 2012, and its approach to cybersecurity has proved to be a winning formula. I recently had the opportunity to interview Arctic Wolf’s Chief Marketing Officer Dan Larson, who told me the story of the company’s past, present and plans for the future. Cybercrime is a global criminal enterprise Larson said that cybercrime became bigger than the global drug trade during the last 20 years. In 2009 Google was hacked by China in an undertaking known as Operation Aurora. That was the wake-up call…