Author: Stuart Sudak

In the Nov. 2 special election, Steve Bartz and Francesca Pagan-Umar were the top vote-getters to fill two open Eden Prairie School Board seats. According to preliminary final voting results from the Minnesota Secretary of State website, Bartz had 1,979 votes or 39.03% of the vote. Pagan-Umar had 1,841 votes, or 36.31% of the vote. Albert Born came in third with 566 votes or 11.16%, followed by Michelle Mattison with 363 votes or 7.16%, while Darryl Stanton had 311 votes or 6.13 percent. There were 10 write-in votes. Election results are unofficial until they are canvassed by the School Board,…

A woman was discovered dead in a guest room at the Residence Inn, 7780 Flying Cloud Drive, at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2. Eden Prairie police were sent to the extended-stay hotel to conduct a welfare check for a hotel guest. When officers arrived, they found the dead woman and an injured man in the guest room. The man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare with significant injuries, police reported. Police say the incident is not random, and there is no threat to the public. The Eden Prairie Police Department is conducting the death investigation of the woman with assistance…

Gerry Beckmann readily admits she “can talk forever” about PROP, the non-profit food shelf she helped found 50 years ago.  For PROP’s first 30 years, Beckmann served as its executive director, shepherding its all-volunteer efforts to help residents in need with food, money and time. The food shelf was even located in the walkout basement of her house for a time. Beckmann’s involvement with PROP ended when she retired in August 2000. (“I had to leave completely because I knew if things changed, I would say, ‘No, no, no, this is how it should be,'” she said.) But, from a…

To celebrate PROP’s five decades of service, the non-profit has been taking a virtual walk down memory lane on its digital media platforms. Videos and messages with the hashtag #PROP50 are being posted through Nov. 24 on the organization’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. (Two Instagram posts are shown below.) According to Janet Palmer, PROP has “grown immensely over the years to meet the needs of our community.” Palmer, who has been PROP’s executive director since 2015, is retiring at the end of the year. Currently, PROP has a staff of 11, including four in case management. This group, Palmer said, works directly with clients to help provide…

Grace Violet Olson, 97, of Eden Prairie, formerly of Minneapolis.  Devoted mom, grandma and friend who lived life with “Grace.” She always had a kind word for everyone she met. Survived by daughters, Nikki (Hanley) Anderson and Fay Schmidt; grandchildren, Jerry, Eric, Becca, Gus, Grace, Gabe, Roz and Lindsey; nieces, nephews and friends.  Preceded in death by husband, Kenneth; son-in-law, David Schmidt; and brother, Ray Miller. Memorial Service will be held and live-streamed at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, with visitation 1 hour prior at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 13600 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie. Interment at Ft. Snelling. In lieu…

A 33-year-old Lakeville man was charged with fleeing police stemming from an Oct. 23 incident on St. Johns Drive in Eden Prairie. According to a Hennepin County criminal complaint, police were dispatched at 7:45 p.m. to investigate a report of a suspicious man possibly threatening to shoot someone. Officers arrived and attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a vehicle, but the driver, later identified as Abdirizak Hussein Mohamed, fled. Police pursued the vehicle for about 9 miles, with speeds up to 105 mph. A PIT maneuver was used to bring Mohamed’s car to a stop, and he was arrested.…

Due to unexpected challenges, Homeward Hills Road, between Tanglewood Drive and Gristmill Road, will be closed for another day to replace a section of underground sanitary sewer. According to the city, crews expect to reopen the road on Saturday, Oct. 23. Work was originally expected to start and finish on Oct. 21. Detour signs are posted near the closure. Editor’s Note: Story was updated Oct. 22 to note work will take another day to complete.

Two days after being elected leader of the Minnesota Republican Party earlier this month, David Hann got to work. One of the former state senator’s first goals? Restoring confidence in the state party. The longtime Eden Prairie resident stepped into the role two months after former chair Jennifer Carnahan resigned. According to media reports, she did so in the fallout of the sex trafficking scandal involving Republican strategist and major donor Anton “Tony” Lazzaro. Hann, elected by state GOP party delegates during a special election on Oct, 2, will serve the remainder of Carnahan’s two-year term, which runs through 2022. Carnahan…

Eden Prairie’s Citywide Open House was back open for business on Oct. 9. According to the city, more than 2,000 people showed up to City Center to get an up-close and personal look at what it takes to operate a city of nearly 65,000 residents and 3,000 businesses. Highlights included exhibits, demonstrations, city vehicles and equipment. This year’s police K-9 demonstration featured a visit from the family of the late John Wright, the department’s first canine unit veterinarian. Wright’s family donated $24,000 to the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund to be used to fund non-budgeted items needed for the K-9…

From Aug. 20 to Sept. 6, Eden Prairie police arrested 12 people for driving while intoxicated. The arrests occurred while the city participated in a statewide enforcement wave to educate on and enforce DWI laws. Of the 12 arrests made, four of those involved controlled substances. According to an Oct. 13 police blog entry, the highest preliminary breath test (PBT) was .21 by a driver who ran a red light. Another driver had a PBT of .185 after driving his car into a median and hitting a light pole. The legal limit is .08. The Eden Prairie Police Department reported the following…