Author: Staff Reports

Hennepin County Environmental Health’s office is moving from Hopkins to Eden Prairie this month. The new address for Environmental Health will be at the Hennepin County Service Center located at 479 Prairie Center Drive. The physical front desk will open at the Eden Prairie location on Nov. 15. The last day for in-person assistance at the second-floor office in Hopkins is Nov. 8. Staff will be available via phone (612-543-5200) and email during normal office hours during the transition. The office will be closed on Nov. 10 for Veterans Day. The 24-hour emergency hotline (612-543-5217) will continue to operate.

Patricia J. (Pat) Bell, 91, died on Aug. 14, 2023. Pat was born in Oklahoma but became a proud Minnesotan after moving to Eden Prairie in 1967. During the 1970s, Pat taught English classes ranging from seventh grade English to concentration classes such as science fiction. She loved being a teacher, and always considered the new year began in September, not January. A short stay in Tennessee caused her to leave Eden Prairie Schools. Even though she was never a classroom teacher again, she continued to teach her whole life. When an Eden Prairie High School colleague introduced Pat to…

Eden Prairie residents’ willingness to financially support nonprofit, non-partisan, community-run news will be tested again in November and December, as Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) holds its 2023 year-end fundraising campaign. Donations are being invited that will help EPLN deliver on its promise to build community news in Eden Prairie – that is, provide compelling and trustworthy hyperlocal news that residents can use in their everyday lives. The nonprofit EPLN was formed in 2020, during the pandemic and shortly after Eden Prairie’s 46-year-old community print newspaper, the Eden Prairie News, was closed by its owners. Within a few months, a…

Eden Prairie-based Elucent Medical, a medical device company, has announced a partnership with SurvivingBreastCancer.org (SBC) and has become a sponsor of the educational and virtual community. SBC’s goal is to fill the gaps in breast cancer support, education and resources. The two organizations were brought together by breast surgical oncologist Jandie Posner, D.O., chief of breast surgery and interim medical director of the Crozer Health Breast Program in Upland, Pennsylvania. Posner has been using Elucent’s EnVisio Surgical Navigation System for more than two years and also works closely with SBC as a medical advisor. Elucent will provide books for SBC’s…

An 18-year-old Shakopee woman has been charged with felony third-degree burglary after allegedly breaking into a residence in the 8200 block of Hiawatha Circle in Eden Prairie last week. According to a Hennepin County criminal complaint, Eden Prairie police responded to a report of an active burglary at about 10:55 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23, the complaint stated. The homeowner alerted the police after their basement patio door was shattered, and they saw someone enter the home. Upon arrival, officers spotted a white Chevrolet Malibu stopped at the corner of Hiawatha Avenue and Hiawatha Circle. The Shakopee woman, wearing a…

Eastbound Technology Drive at Flying Cloud Drive is scheduled to be closed between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2, for signal work. Inside lane closures in both directions are expected to continue on Technology Drive near SouthWest Station through November for median work. Both instances of road work are connected to ongoing construction related to the Metro Green Line Extension (also known as Southwest Light Rail Transit). At SouthWest Station, 13500 Technology Drive, the Met Council project is constructing a new park-and-ride ramp adjacent to the existing ramp and a combined bus and light…

Eden Prairie’s Housing and Community Services division is moving out of the mall and into city hall. The division, which provides assistance to residents seeking information and access to social services and housing resources, has been located in the basement level of Eden Prairie Center, 8251 Flying Cloud Drive. Beginning on Monday, Nov. 6, the staff of the division will operate out of Eden Prairie City Center, 8080 Mitchell Road. Office hours will be Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools (FEPS) is accepting applications until 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, for its annual teacher and staff grants and community partnership grants and, in honor of the district’s 100th year, is also offering an additional $100,000 grant to support Eden Prairie Schools and students. An online “suggestion box” for the 2023 FEPS 100-year Grant Ideas asks stakeholders throughout the district to complete a brief form and describe their proposal in 100 words or less. Criteria for proposals include the following: Additionally, FEPS is soliciting applications for its 2023 Fall Teacher & Staff Grants and its…

Kirsten Marie Fragodt, 53, passed away on Oct. 21, 2023. A special celebration of life will be held Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, at 1 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church, 801 4th Ave. NE, Waseca, Minnesota 56093. Interment will be at a later date in Benson, Minnesota. Memorials are preferred. Kirsten was born in St. Paul and grew up in Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, and Long Grove, Illinois. She graduated from Eden Prairie High School in 1988. Kirsten initially attended St. Cloud State University before transferring to California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California, where she was a writer and editor…

An Eden Prairie man has been charged with a gross misdemeanor for third-degree damage to property and disorderly conduct in an incident earlier this year at Eden Prairie High School (EPHS). On March 6, Eden Prairie police responded to a disturbance at EPHS and located Donald Wynn Williams II, 35, whom they had encountered previously. Williams had come to EPHS to pick up his sick child but was not permitted to enter the school. It is common for students being discharged from school to exit the building, but guardians are not allowed into the school for security purposes, according to…