Author: Stuart Sudak

One look at the front yard of Rick and Jan Farmer’s Eden Prairie house reveals the power of a severe storm that ripped through the Twin Cities on Saturday night. A large basswood tree slumps on its side, its gnarled roots torn from the ground in an unwieldy heap. The tree didn’t hit their house but ended up crashing into the neighbor’s Airstream camper parked next door. “We could have had the whole thing paid for if we charged a dollar to all the people who drove down the street yesterday to take a look,” Jan quipped. “I think word…

Minnesota running legend Garry Bjorklund was charged Monday with fourth-degree DWI (alcohol), a misdemeanor, for his involvement in a wrong-way crash in Eden Prairie earlier this month. Bjorklund, 71, of Fort Collins, Colo., was also charged with two other counts, one for careless driving and the other for having an open bottle of liquor in his vehicle. Both charges are also misdemeanors. According to the criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, the incident occurred at about 6 p.m. Aug. 8 near the Green Acres Event Center, 14150 Pioneer Trail. Bjorklund was driving west along Pioneer Trail in his…

When the 2022 Minnesota State Fair begins Thursday, SouthWest Transit will provide service to it again.  But, due to budgetary concerns and driver availability this year, the fair service is being reduced to eight days. In past years, SouthWest provided the service for all 12 days.  During this year’s fair, which takes place from Aug. 25 through Sept. 5, the SouthWest bus service will operate every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, Aug. 25-28 and Sept. 1-4.  “Since we took such a big hit last year with only providing around 30,000 rides instead of the 115,000 we brought…

The Eden Prairie Community Center recreation pool and spa are temporarily closed through Sept. 5 for annual maintenance. Work includes draining the pool and spa, inspecting and cleaning the pool deck surface pumps, supply lines, filtration and safety equipment, and making any necessary fixes. According to the city, the Community Center management team chose dates (Aug. 22-Sept. 5) for the work that statistically has low attendance. There is no scheduled lesson programming during this time. The pool and spa will reopen on Sept. 6.

Eden Prairie Police provided an incident update Tuesday on the man who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday evening at Scheels in Eden Prairie Center mall. According to a preliminary investigation, a 19-year-old man asked a store employee to view a semi-automatic handgun in the gun department. When the employee handed the unloaded weapon to the man, he fled across the store toward the archery area while loading the handgun. The man then fired a single shot. Though it’s early in the investigation, it is believed the man brought his own ammunition into the store. Police were called to…

The slate of candidates running for Eden Prairie mayor and two City Council seats in the Nov. 8 election is set. In the mayor’s race, incumbent Ron Case will face challenger Tracey Schowalter. For the council, incumbent Mark Freiberg, Greg Lehman, incumbent Kathy Nelson, and Micah Olson will face off for two open seats. Both the mayor and the council seats have four-year terms. All six candidates (listed in alphabetical order) gave their reasons for running in the non-partisan races. Mayor Ron Case, who was first elected mayor in 2018 after serving 6-1/2 terms as a council member, said he…

Dennis Lee Moberg, 74, of Eden Prairie, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on March 10. A gathering of family and friends will celebrate his life on Saturday, Aug. 27, at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 13600 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie. People can gather at 10:30 a.m. with a service beginning at 11 a.m. Lunch and fellowship will follow.  The original obituary for Dennis appeared on March 22. 

The slate for candidates running for local races in the Nov. 8 general election appears set now that the filing period ended Tuesday. For Eden Prairie School Board, six candidates are running for four open seats, and two candidates have filed to run in a special election for another seat. All four seats have a four-year term, while the special election will fill the final two years of the seat currently held by Francesca Pagan-Umar. Filing for the four board seats are: Incumbent Steve Bartz won a special election last November to fill the seat that opened when Veronica Stoltz…

Eden Prairie resident Reid Johnson serves as an impromptu tour guide as he walks the grounds of the city’s new bike park playground he helped shepherd into reality. Located seasonally from May to October in one of the Round Lake Park hockey rinks, the bike skills course has nine features for riders of all ages and levels to explore, including ramps, beams, and rumble strips. “There’s so much activity at Round Lake with swimming, the splash pad, the park, you always see families walking or biking around,” Johnson said. “This should be another stopping point.” Johnson, an avid biker who…

A fire on Friday morning caused significant damage to a home in the 6600 block of Barberry Lane in Eden Prairie. Fire Chief Scott Gerber said the call came in at 7:23 a.m. of smoke coming from the rambler-style house. When Eden Prairie firefighters arrived, the house’s first floor was fully engulfed by fire. They put the fire out with help from the Minnetonka, Hopkins, Chanhassen, and Excelsior fire departments. No residents or firefighters were hurt in the fire. The fire chief noted that “somebody” was home at the time of the fire, alerting authorities. Gerber said Friday afternoon that…