Author: Staff Reports

The Eden Prairie Optimist Club encourages area students to speak their minds about the topic “Staying Optimistic in Challenging Times” as part of the 2022 Optimist International Oratorical Contest. Students interested in participating can submit an Oratorical Contest application by Friday, April 1. The speech contest is open to students who have not yet graduated from high school and are under 19 as of Oct. 1, 2021. Speeches will be conducted and judged at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at Star Bank, 250 Prairie Center Drive, Eden Prairie. Contestants are asked to arrive at 5 p.m. The Optimist Club will judge the…

Pastor Michael Crawford of Grace Church in Eden Prairie recently joined the city’s volunteer Police & Fire Chaplain Unit. The announcement was made Thursday, March 10, on the EPPD (Eden Prairie Police Department) Blog. According to the blog, the unit was started in 1992 to provide a ministry of presence to community members and public safety responders in times of need. They serve on-call, responding to car accidents, deaths, fires and other emergencies, and provide emotional and spiritual care to those affected. Crawford, who lives in Eden Prairie with his wife Latosha and their two small children, serves as the…

The Eden Prairie Local News Team of editors, reporters, photographers and business guys are eager to meet you in person at the Everything Spring Expo. It takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 12, at Grace Church, 9301 Eden Prairie Road. We want to hear your story and tell you a little about Eden Prairie Local News. After all, Eden Prairie Local News is … The Story of Us. This free Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce expo will be lush with exhibitors. Look for the EPLN banner and walk over to our spot for a chat, an…

An Eden Prairie acupuncturist is charged with defrauding Minnesota’s Medical Assistance (Medicaid) program out of over $1.6 million through her business, Chinese Acupuncture and Herb Center (CAH), according to the Minnesota Attorney General’s office. Xiaoyan Hu, 60, is charged by criminal complaint in Hennepin County District Court with 17 felony counts of theft by false representation. If convicted of even one of the counts, Hu could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. From March 4, 2016 through June 25, 2020 CAH operated throughout the Twin Cities, including in Edina, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Burnsville. Hu, a licensed acupuncturist,…

The Eden Prairie School Board will conduct a “Listen & Learn” session from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8 at the Central Middle School Performing Arts Center. The evening will include break-out listening sessions and a brief overview of district operations and oversight. Check out the district’s Facebook event page for more information: Listen & Learn Facebook event.

School children in need of weekend food, households in need of bedroom furniture, and families facing a housing crisis are among the residents being helped by the Eden Prairie Community Foundation and its donor-advised fund holders in its latest round of local grants. All told, the Foundation and its generous, philanthropic fund holders are allocating more than $64,000 to 17 organizations that applied for 2022 grants from the Foundation. The grant checks awarded in February are part of the Foundation’s annual grant cycle. Twenty-two nonprofits serving Eden Prairie residents made dollar requests totaling more than $97,000 for 2022 projects addressing…

An Eden Prairie man is charged with racially-biased assault following a Feb. 16 incident that began in front of the Eden Prairie Costco store and ended a mile away when the man rammed another car, according to a complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court. David Christian Schmeisser, 51, is charged with fourth-degree assault, motivated by bias, after confronting another Costco customer, identified as “PQN,” as they were both exiting the store, making racist comments, and eventually ramming PQN’s car. The police complaint described the incident: “Defendant cut in front of PQN, with his vehicle and would not move,” and…

The 2022 Minnesota FoodShare Fundraising Campaign starts this week, and PROP Food Shelf is working hard to take advantage of its matching program. According to a PROP news release, this campaign is the only annual statewide effort where a portion of every dollar given and every pound of food donated is matched. For more on the FoodShare campaign, click here. PROP is committed to a robust campaign as one of more than 300 food shelves eligible to receive a pro-rated share of the matching funds, the release states. All food shelf donations will be matched through April 10. “The cost…

The Shutterfly/Lifetouch campus in Eden Prairie has been purchased by Tempus Realty Partners for $23.4 million, it was announced Feb. 23. Tempus Realty Partners, based in Little Rock, Ark., acquires and develops commercial real estate in the Midwest, South, and Southeast regions of the United States. Tempus and Shutterfly were recently granted approval by the Eden Prairie City Council to demolish the western-most portion of their building along Viking Drive, north of Interstate Hwy. 494, in a move that company representatives said would help extend Shutterfly’s presence in Eden Prairie for the long term. In addition to being headquarters for…

Let’s Go Fishing-Eden Prairie (LGF-EP) is holding its annual fish fry fundraiser from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie. The event will be drive-thru featuring fried fish, hush puppies, baked beans, coleslaw, cookies, and bottled water for $17. LFG-EP has provided fishing excursions on Lake Riley for almost 30,000 seniors, veterans, hospice patients, youth, and families since its founding in 2012. The fish fry is LGF-EP’s largest fundraiser of the year. Immanuel Lutheran Church is located at 16515 Luther Way, Eden Prairie. For more information or to donate, visit the organization’s website.