Author: Gillian Holte

Rainfall early in the afternoon didn’t stop Prairie Brewfest attendees from enjoying the annual event on Sept. 9 at Purgatory Creek Park. The event was presented by the Eden Prairie Community Foundation. Attendees were able to try beers, wines and spirits from more than 15 local businesses. Live entertainment was provided by Eden Prairie’s own Wondercure. Attendees also voted to determine how Brewfest Choice Grants would be distributed among local organizations. An announcement at the end of the event indicated that MoveFwd would receive a grant of $2,000; Onward Eden Prairie a grant of $1,500; and Eden Prairie Local News…

The Preserve Association pool concluded its 2023 swim season with some four-legged friends on Sept. 5. While the final day for human swimmers was Labor Day, the pool welcomed dogs for a day of fun on the following day. According to Scott Anderson, general manager of The Preserve, the association has hosted “Doggie Day” for the last couple of years. “Our pool engineer came up with the idea … and decided that it was a wonderful thing to do and harmless enough since the water’s gonna go away tomorrow anyway,” said Anderson.

The Let’s Go Fishing Eden Prairie Area Chapter held a dedication ceremony for its new pontoon boat on Aug. 14, ahead of the fourth annual “Cops and Bobbers” event at Lake Riley. Eden Prairie Mayor Ron Case, City Council members Lisa Toomey and PG Narayanan, representatives from Scheels, and Let’s Go Fishing board members were in attendance. The boat, named “Spirit of Scheels,” made its debut in June with the start of the 2023 season. The new boat was partially funded by a $50,000 donation from Scheels in November 2022. Eden Prairie is the largest and most active of the…

On July 26, The Preserve Association welcomed new temporary residents to their community: myotonic goats, also known as “fainting” goats. The goats stay for four to six weeks to eat the buckthorn near Neill Lake. The association oversees the management and maintenance of amenities for the southeastern Eden Prairie neighborhood, which consists of 1,700 homes. It first brought in goats in June 2020, during the early months of the pandemic. “When people heard about the goats, they were excited for a reason to be outside in the fresh air where they could actually see other people and keep a safe…

The Eden Prairie Community Band celebrated 50 years of music on Sunday at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre. Eden Prairie residents and former band members enjoyed music from throughout the band’s 50-year history, as well as the piece “West of Eden Prairie” composed by member Clinton Clark. “Community isn’t just in our name,” said Jonah Thune, band president. “We have members ranging from teenage to nonagenarians, and those 90-year-olds show no sign of slowing down.” Former Eden Prairie Community Band directors Emmet “Em” Stark, Marilyn Rateike and Thomas Maeck were in attendance. The current band director is Tom Muehlbauer. “I’ve always…

The Eden Prairie Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics of Minnesota was held at Lake Riley on Saturday, March 11. Six hundred and forty-six plungers braved the icy waters and raised over $200,000. The event is the Special Olympics Minnesota’s biggest fundraiser. The funds raised help Special Olympics Minnesota to provide “year-round training and services to thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities across the state.” Eden Prairie Police Detective Carter Staaf has been involved with the Eden Prairie Polar Plunge since the beginning. “Our first plunge, we jumped [around] 120 plungers and it made $48,000,” Staaf said. “Today we’re going to…

The PROP Food Shelf’s 11th annual “Empty Bowls” event was back in person on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie. With a free-will donation, guests enjoyed soups from local restaurants, a silent auction, a wine pull, live music, and in the end, were able to take home a ceramic or glass bowl created and donated by local artists and students. “It’s just been an amazing outpouring of support from the community for this event,” said PROP Executive Director Jenifer Loon. All the proceeds go toward buying food for the PROP Food Shelf and providing financial…

Eden Prairie Cub Scouts from Pack 479 and Pack 597 raced more than 100 pinewood derby cars at Eden Prairie Center on Sunday, Feb. 5. Scouts in kindergarten to fifth grade independently began designing their cars in December and took part in the first stage of the racing competition Sunday at the mall. “There’s a lot of variety, a lot of creativity,” said Nick Pudenz, Pack 479 Pinewood Derby coordinator, “You give everybody a kit and you never know what’s going to come back.” The races are divided into dens by grade and the top three from each advance to…

The Chinese Community Center and the Minnesota International Chinese School celebrated the start of Lunar New Year at the Asia Mall on Jan. 22. Visitors rang in the year of the rabbit with activities, Lion Dance, local food vendors and a Covid-19 vaccination program. Activities included ring toss, pitch-pot, spin the wheel, and chopsticks meet beans. The week-long celebration began on Jan. 16 with performances from Minnesota International Chinese School students. Performances continued throughout the week from Ming Zhou Hua Yue, Chinese American Association of Minnesota, Phoenix Chinese Dance Academy, Legacy Adult Daycare Center, Xu Qian Studio and Minnesota Chinese…

More than flowers and plants were found at Bachman’s on Jan. 14. Safe Hands Rescue’s pet adoption event added dogs to the mix. The event allowed potential adoptees a chance to meet and play with dogs currently being fostered around the Twin Cities. Safe Hands Rescue is a foster-based animal rescue organization. They focus on “rescuing and rehoming dogs from overcrowded, high intake, low adoption shelters.” Madelyn Wuestewald, currently fostering Sierra, started fostering in 2020. Wuestewald says her favorite part is, “seeing [the dogs] personalities change, seeing the dog they were and after and knowing that they get to go…