HomeMy WebLinkAboutAboutTown_2010WinterAboutTown Magazine
City of Edina
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Edina, MN 55424
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Official Magazine of the City of Edina
WINTER•2010
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Minneapolis, MN AboutTown
Edina K-9 To Retire
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AboutTown
Volume 21, Number 1 Circulation 25,000
Winter 2010
Official Publication of the www.CityofEdina.com
City of Edina, Minnesota
4801 West 50th Street
Edina, Minnesota 55424
952-826-0359
Editor: Jennifer Bennerotte
Contributing Writers: Dick Crockett, Marty Doll, Joe Sullivan,
Kaylin Martin
Photographers: Polly Norman, Brian Smith and Andrew Vick
Layout Editor: Kaylin Martin
Publisher: City of Edina
About Town is produced by the City of Edina.
To advertise in About Town, call Marty Doll at 952-826-0396 .
Copyright 2010 by City of Edina,
4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424.
About Town is published quarterly by the City of Edina. The
purpose of the magazine is to keep Edina residents informed
of news, activities and programs that are important to them.
We include articles of interest about our citizens and
community history as well.
About Town is printed on recycled paper to conform to City
conservation guidelines.
Cover photo by Patricia Cich Lee
Summer Programs Are A Click Away
Table of Contents
Calendar Of Events ..........................................................................1
Winter Calendar Highlights............................................................4
A Word From The Mayor ...............................................................5
Hopkins’ Non-Farm Jobs Attracted Early Settlers Of
Northwest Edina ...............................................................................6
It’s Not Only Neighborly ... It’s The Law ...................................12
American Dream Comes True For Edina Resident ...................14
New Homes Good Fit For Edina Neighborhoods .....................18
Dome Keeps Golf A Year-Round Sport In Edina ......................20
The Edina Community Foundation:
Charitable Giving Highlights .......................................................22
Edina’s Newest Hockey Team Unites Players
From Across The Globe .................................................................26
K-9 Set To Retire In March ............................................................30
Edina Resident Recalls Holiday Fire, Lessons Learned ............34
Planning Process Set To Begin To
Determine Future Of Public Works Site .....................................38
$400 Billion Is In Your Hands:
Be Counted During 2010 Census .................................................40
Business Notes ................................................................................42
Photo Gallery ..................................................................................46
City of Edina Facilities ...................................................................47
1 • WINTER 2010 2 • WINTER 2010
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
New Year’s Day.
Edina City Hall
closed.
2
3 4Art Academy begins for Grades 2-4, Edina Art Center.
5Art Academy begins for Grades 6-10, Edina Art Center.
7 p.m., City Council & HRA, Edina City Hall.
6Art Academy begins for Grades 4-6, Edina Art Center.
7Noon, Wonderful World of Woody, Edinborough Park.
5:30 p.m., Zoning Board of Appeals, Edina City Hall.
8 9
101-5 p.m., Winter Ice Festival, Centennial Lakes Park.
11 127 p.m., Park Board, Edina City Hall.
7 p.m., Heritage Preservation Board, Edina City Hall.
13 15Collage workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
16Winter Trees watercolor workshop, Edina Art Center.
17 18Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Edina City Hall closed.
Potters’ Games, Edina Art Center.
197 p.m., City Council & HRA, Edina City Hall.
207 p.m., Energy & Environment Commission, Edina City Hall.
215:30 p.m., Zoning Board of Appeals, Edina City Hall.
6 p.m., Transportation Commission, Edina City Hall.
22Collage workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
7-8:30 p.m., Winter Neighborhood Night Out, various City parks.
23
267 p.m., Human Rights & Relations Commission, Edina City Hall.
25
247 p.m., Eden Prairie Community Big Band,
Edinborough Park.
317 p.m., First John Philip Sousa Memorial Band, Edinborough Park.
January 2010
277 p.m., Planning Commission, Edina City Hall.
28Noon, Wendy’s Wiggle, Jiggle Jam, Edinborough Park.
29Collage workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
14Noon, Bob the Beachcomber, Edinborough Park.
5 p.m., Faculty Exhibit Opening, Edina Art Center.
30Sumi-e workshop for ages 10-adult, Edina Art Center.
About Town Calendar
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
2
Precinct Caucus Night.
3 4
Noon, Wonderful World of Woody, Edinborough Park.
5:30 p.m., Zoning Board of Appeals, Edina City Hall.
5
Valentine Workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
6Valentine Cards class for Grades 1-6, Edina Art Center.
6 p.m., Emerald Gala, Edina Country Club.
1
7 p.m., City Council & HRA, Edina City Hall.
7Artist Talk: Focus on Water, Edina Art Center.
8Abstract workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
7 p.m., Edina PCN Speaker Forum, Edina High School Performing Arts Center.
97 p.m., Park Board, Edina City Hall.
7 p.m., Heritage Preservation Board, Edina City Hall.
10 11Noon, Bob the Beachcomber, Edinborough Park.
12Collage workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
13Collage workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
Valentine Cards class for ages 5-adult, Edina Art Center.
147 p.m., St. Louis Park Community Band, Edinborough Park.
15Presidents’ Day. Edina City Hall closed.
16Art for Preschoolers begins, Edina Art Center.
7 p.m., City Council & HRA, Edina City Hall.
1711 a.m., State of the City, Edinborough Park.
7 p.m., Energy & Environment Commission, Edina City Hall.
19
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217 p.m., Northern Winds Concert Band, Edinborough Park.
22
237 p.m., Human Rights & Relations Commission, Edina City Hall.
247 p.m., Planning Commission, Edina City Hall.
25Noon, Okee Dokee Brothers, Edinborough Park.
5 p.m., Foci Glass exhibit opening reception, Edina Art Center.
26 27
287 p.m., First John Philip Sousa Memorial Band, Edinborough Park.
February 2010
185:30 p.m., Zoning Board of Appeals, Edina City Hall.
6 p.m., Transportation Commission, Edina City Hall.
About Town Calendar
A Word From The Mayor
“Collaboration” is a commonly used term these days in government. The general notion is how can we, at City Hall, work with others to make the most of our limited resources and leverage Edina’s assets in the most effective manner possible? Our city has been engaged in collaborative work with others for quite some time and one of the keys has been developing trusted relationships with both governmental and community leaders at home and across our metropolitan region. How do we do that? One way is by being active participants in organizations that serve our interests at the state, regional and community levels.
The City is an active participant in a number of organizations that have a state and regional emphasis. The League of Minnesota Cities provides an umbrella organization for virtually every city in Minnesota, large and small. The League is dedicated to achieving excellence in local government and is an organization where common concerns and opportunities can be shared with other cities. Metro Cities and the Municipal Legislative Commission focus on metropolitan and sub-regional issues that are more relevant to Edina’s day-to-day operations. All of these organizations are active at the state legislature on issues important to Edina and other local governments.
Council members, in addition to helping run our local government, also serve our City in other ways. Member Ann Swenson serves on the Community Action Partnership for South Hennepin board, member Joni Bennett is on the Community Education Board and member Scot Housh serves on the Southwest Cable Commission. Council members Mary Brindle and Housh serve on the Edina Crime Prevention Fund
Board of Directors. As your Mayor, I serve on the 494 Corridor Commission, the 169 Corridor Coalition and the Transportation Advisory Board to the Met Council, all of which are involved in the vexing issues concerning our region’s transportation infrastructure. I also serve as Co-Chair of the Regional Council of Mayors, which, among other things, focuses on strategies for job retention and growth.
At the staff level, a number of our senior members hold leadership positions within their professional associations. In our own community, City Manager Gordon Hughes encourages staff to be full participants and take leadership positions within civic groups and organizations such as the Edina Chamber of Commerce, Edina Crime Prevention Fund, Edina Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, 50th & France Business & Professional Association, Connecting With Kids and the various service clubs in Edina.
By working together with others, we believe we can keep our town a “preeminent place for living, learning, raising families and doing business” and our region a place of prosperity.
James B. HovlandMayor
5 • WINTER 20104 • WINTER 2010
Winter Calendar Highlights
Other Dates To Remember
Jan. 21 Noon, Brodini Comedy and Magic Act,
Edinborough Park.
Jan. 31 Expressive Art Workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
Feb. 18 Noon, Brodini Comedy and Magic Act, Edinborough Park.
March 18 5:30 p.m., Zoning Board of Appeals, Edina City Hall.
March 27 Therapeutic Painting Workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
3 • WINTER 2010
Winter Ice Festival
What: In celebration of the winter season, Centennial Lakes Park will host the 20th-annual Winter Ice Festival. Visitors to the park will be able to have their faces painted and ride on a horse-drawn wagon. Ice Festival participants may bring their own equipment, but ice skates and kick-sleds are available for rental at the Park Centrum, which serves as a warming house and concessions stand during the winter months. Ice-sculpting demonstrations will be given behind the centrum on the terrace overlooking the lake.
When: 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10
Where: Centennial Lakes Park, 7499 France Ave. S.
Info: Centennial Lakes Park, www.CentennialLakesPark.com or 952-833-9580
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
27 p.m., City Council & HRA, Edina City Hall.
3 4
Noon, Wonderful World of Woody, Edinborough Park.
5:30 p.m., Zoning Board of Appeals, Edina City Hall.
5Watercolor Wet n’ Wet Workshop, Edina Art Center.
6
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77 p.m., South of the River Band, Edinborough Park.
8 97 p.m., Park Board, Edina City Hall.
7 p.m., Heritage Preservation Board, Edina City Hall.
10 11Noon, Bob the Beachcomber, Edinborough Park.
12 13Very beginning watercolor workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
Expressive Arts workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
147 p.m., Hopkins West Wind Concert Band, Edinborough Park.
157 p.m., Edina PCN Speaker Forum, Concord Elementary School.
166:30 p.m., Community Health Committee, Edina City Hall.
7 p.m., City Council & HRA, Edina City Hall.
177 p.m., Energy & Environment Commission, Edina City Hall.
19 20Color Pencil I workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
217 p.m., Jazz on the Prairie, Edinborough Park.
22 237 p.m., Human Rights & Relations Commission, Edina City Hall.
24 25 26Printing Patterns workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
27Color Pencil II workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
Watercolor Skies workshop for adults, Edina Art Center.
30 29
287 p.m., First John Philip Sousa Memorial Band, Edinborough Park.
March 2010
317 p.m., Planning Commission, Edina City Hall.
18Noon, Brodini Comedy and Magic Act, Edinborough Park.
6 p.m., Transportation Commission, Edina City Hall.
About Town Calendar
Winter Neighborhood Night Out
What: Gather your family and neighbors for a night of free, old-fashioned winter fun at the warming house. Snowshoeing, quinzee-building sponsored by the Edina Community Foundation, ice skating and more will keep you active. Warm up with Caribou Coffee and cider and connect with people in your neighborhood. Donations to the Edina Community Foundation will help keep this event free.
When: 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22
Where: Normandale, Pamela and Weber parks
Info: Edina Park & Recreation Department, www.EdinaParks.com or 952-826-0433
Edina Chamber of Commerce Emerald Gala
What: The Edina Chamber of Commerce will hold its largest fund raising event of the year, Emerald Gala 2010. The “black tie admired, but not required” event will feature a silent auction, dinner and dancing, among other entertainment. A portion of the proceeds from a raffle will provide scholarships for Edina High School students.
When: 6-11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6
Where: Edina Country Club, 5100 Wooddale Ave.
Info: Edina Chamber of Commerce, 952-806-9060
By Joe Sullivan
Contributing Writer
Most historical descriptions of
early west Richfield township
settlers agree that they were
predominantly farmers. This area,
with a few exceptions, would
remain an agricultural society
for at least seven decades after
1888 when Edina seceded from
Richfield and became an independent village.
One of the exceptions was a 160-acre farm that was
sold for residential development in the 1880s. That plot
of land was owned by farmer and public officeholder
Michael F. Maloney. Located in the far northwest section
of what would become the village of Edina, Maloney’s
farm would be platted and transformed into two
residential neighborhoods known as West Minneapolis
Heights and the Mendelssohn District.
Edina Residents Looked To Hopkins For Schools,
Supplies And Jobs
In the 1880s, Hopkins was the largest and most
prosperous of the southwest Hennepin County villages.
It was a critical source of goods, services, education and
employment for northwest Edina families and other
residents of Edina, who travelled regularly from as far
away as the Cahill district to do their shopping.
Hopkins’ Non-Farm Jobs
Attracted Early Settlers
Of Northwest Edina
6 • WINTER 2010
Hopkins’ Campbell Store, one of the largest retailers in
the area, stood near the Edina-Hopkins border and was
an important source of groceries and other supplies for
Edina shoppers.
Threshing Machine Plant In Hopkins Provided Jobs
In 1887, the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co.,
later known as Minneapolis-Moline, established a
manufacturing plant in Hopkins. Providing employment
for several hundred people, the factory became the center
of blue-collar residential neighborhoods that began in
Hopkins and extended into the northwest corner of Edina.
This section of Edina was first platted as West
Minneapolis Heights in 1887 by Charles P. Silloway,
a Minneapolis real estate broker. The community was
intended by Silloway to be a residential adjunct of the
Hopkins industrial district. It was followed shortly by an
adjacent Edina development, immediately to the south,
referred to as the Mendelssohn District. However, plans
of both neighborhoods were postponed by the Depression
of 1893.
‘Vernacular Farmhouse’ Was Typical Of Edina
Perhaps the building most typical of Edina residential
architecture from about 1870 to 1900 was the “vernacular
farmhouse.” They were rectangular, clapboard-sided,
frame structures with steep roofs.
Vernacular farmhouses were narrow and high for their
width. A wide bay window usually appeared on the
first floor facing the street. The buildings had almost no
decoration with the exception of the customary turned
posts on a few front porches.
Among a collection of older houses in the West
Minneapolis Heights section of Edina were vernacular
houses at 303, 305, 307, 315 and 319 Madison Avenue
(circa 1893 to 1910) and 307 Jefferson Ave. (circa 1910).
A variation of the vernacular farmhouse built in the area
was called the “Midwest saltbox.” A 1910 adaptation
of the “colonial New England saltbox” at 308 Madison
Ave. was later torn down and replaced with a more
7 • WINTER 2010
The Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co. (Later
Minneapolis-Moline) manufacturing plant in Hopkins
employed several hundred workers, who lived in Hopkins
and in blue collar residential neighborhoods like Edina’s
West Minneapolis Heights and Mendelssohn districts.
(continued on next page)
Michael F. Maloney: Civil War Veteran,
Farmer and Public Officeholder
Born in County Galway, Ireland,
on Nov. 20, 1845, Maloney immigrated with his parents to the
United States in 1852. He was 7
years old when they arrived in the port of New York later that year.
Soon after, he and his parents left New York City for Troy, N.Y.
where they resided for two years.
In 1854, he and his parents moved to far-off Kenosha, Wis.
In August 1862, he enlisted in the 33rd Regiment of
the Wisconsin Infantry and served three years in the
Civil War under Generals Sherman and McPherson. He was discharged in August 1865 and, in 1869, left
Kenosha for Minnesota to visit his sister in what was then west Richfield Township and made Minnesota
his permanent home.
He purchased 160 acres of farmland and in 1877
was married to Albertina Erickson. The first of their seven children (a daughter) was born in December
1878. When he died of natural causes in 1933 at age
87, Maloney still lived in the same house he had built more than 50 years earlier. Maloney Avenue, a major
east/west street in northwest Edina was later named in his honor.
Michael F. Maloney Ed
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8 • WINTER 2010 9 • WINTER 2010
modern house. It had a long sloping rear roof that New
Englanders call a “cat slide roof.”
“West Minneapolis Heights provides an architectural
vista unique in Edina,” William Scott and Jeffrey Hess
observed in their History and Architecture of Edina,
Minnesota, published in 1980. “The residences on Madison
and Jefferson Avenues conjure up an image of small-town
Minnesota at the turn of the century. Buildings of similar
design and age are found elsewhere in Edina, but only in
West Minneapolis Heights do they appear in sufficient
density to form an extended streetscape. Although the
structures have additions and many have lost their
original clapboard siding, those that remain retain their
stylistic authenticity,” the authors concluded.
Other Employers Nearby And In Hopkins
The Monitor Drill Co. in St. Louis Park, located north of
Edina, also provided employment opportunities for many
neighboring communities, including northwest Edina.
On the Hopkins-Edina border was the vast acreage
of the Hennepin County Poor Farm. “Located on old
Washington Avenue, directly west of West Minneapolis
Heights, it was both an employer, and on some sad
occasions, a refuge for unfortunate folks from nearby
towns and villages,” wrote Deborah Morse-Kahn in her
history: Edina––Chapters in the City’s History.
‘Light Rail’ Stimulated Early Residential Development
It was not only jobs, schools and shopping opportunities
that bonded the northwest
part of Edina to Hopkins.
Development of what
we now refer to as “light
rail” transportation
would eventually prove
to be a major factor in the
settlement of other Edina
neighborhoods. Edina
historian Dudley Parsons
wrote in The History of
Edina, Minnesota by Paul
D. Hesterman: “The
extension of street railway
passenger service into
southwestern Minneapolis
and beyond stimulated the
platting of developments in Edina’s earliest residential
communities.”
In 1878, a group of investors led by Col. William McCrory
formed the Lyndale Railway Co. and began operating
steam locomotives pulling one or two cars on narrow-
gauge tracks through downtown Minneapolis. They also
carried passengers out to the east shore of Lake Calhoun,
according to the Edina Hisorical Society Newsletter. It was
the first organized public transit service to operate in
Minneapolis.
In 1881, the rail service, popularly known as the “Motor
Line,” was extended through southwest Minneapolis to
the tourist haven at Lake Minnetonka. Three steam trains
a day were running along the new route, which followed
the northern border of what was then West Richfield
Township, and on to the towns of Hopkins and Excelsior.
Right-of-way for the line was purchased from farmers
such as Edina’s pioneer nursery operator Jonathan Grimes
and from other early owners of farm property along what
is now West 44th Street.
By 1886, the “Motor Line” succumbed to financial
troubles. Thomas Lowry, owner of Minneapolis Street
Railway Co. and operator of the city’s first “electric
streetcars,” purchased the assets of McCrory’s “Motor
Line,” which included the route to Excelsior, in 1887.
For years, Lowry’s electric streetcars transported waves
of city residents visiting the popular Lake Harriet
destination at West 42nd Street. The Motor Line
acquisition enabled him to use McCrory’s right-of-way for
the Excelsior route and expand his streetcar system from
Linden Hills to 44th Street and France Avenue in 1905.
That extension of the line led to the platting of Edina
residential areas, the earliest of which were Morningside
and Brookside.
The revival of the Hopkins-Excelsior line and replacement
of narrow-gauge track with standard gauge rails allowed
streetcars to begin making stops at Grimes Avenue
(Morningside), Emma Abbott Park (Minnehaha Creek)
and Mendelssohn (West Minneapolis Heights) on the
route to Hopkins and Excelsior.
Scattergood Family Found Edina’s ‘Best-Kept Secret’
Maloney Avenue was still a single-lane, gravel road when
the Scattergoods moved into a house on John Street in
1952, one block east of Blake Road in northwest Edina.
Judy Scattergood and her husband, Blake, now retired
from Honeywell Co., called the neighborhood “Edina’s
best-kept secret,” in a recent interview. There were still
a few farms and a lot of vacant lots on the so-called
“presidential streets” west of their home. They fell in love
with northwest Edina right away “because it was so quiet
and the people were so friendly,” Judy said.
In 1960, when it came time to look for a bigger house
for their growing family, the search didn’t go outside of
northwest Edina. They found a newly built four-bedroom
rambler just a block away on Kressie Circle, and bought
it. It was built on land that had been the Kressie Nursery.
“Among varieties of trees the Kressie family raised were
(continued on next page)
“Midwest saltbox,” at
308 Madison in West
Minneapolis Heights. The
house was apparently
replaced by a modern home.
His
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A typical “vernacular farmhouse” at 403 Washington Ave.
in West Minneapolis Heights. This house was probably
demolished when Grandview Cemetary was developed.
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10 • WINTER 2010 11 • WINTER 2010
birch, arborvitae, cedar and spruce trees,” Blake recalled.
“At one time, the farm had a greenhouse and its own
water tower,” Judy added.
The couple also has fond memories of the Johnson’s
“chicken and egg farm” a block west of Blake Road. They
sold chickens and fresh eggs to passersby. One summer
night, they saw flames leaping from the Johnson’s chicken
coop. It was a hot fire that quickly burned to the ground
without any injuries and no further damage to other
buildings. “The family farmhouse was later demolished
by the Edina Fire Department in a practice fire,” Judy
remembered.
The Scattergoods recalled the many raspberry farms that
could be found in and around Hopkins. One on Belmore
Lane, just a block north of their house, was owned by a
Dr. Lyons.
Now, “empty nesters,” they enjoy their close-by neighbor
to the east –– Interlachen Country Club –– especially
the cross-country skiers they allow on the golf course in
the winter and the annual 4th of July fireworks in the
summer. Judy Scattergood summed up her feelings about
the neighborhood with a rhetorical question: “With lots
of kids to raise, what more could you want from your
neighborhood?”
Photos and background material for this article came from
interviews with Blake and Judy Scattergood, Steve Nelson
and Bob Kojetin; the following publications: History and
Architecture of Edina, Minnesota, by William W. Scott and
Jeffrey A. Hess; Edina Chapters in the City History, by
Deborah Morse-Kahn; The History of Edina, Minnesota,
by Paul D. Hesterman; History of Edina, Minnesota, by
Edward D. Neill; and the Hennepin County Review.
In 1905, Minneapolis Street Railway streetcar line was
extended from Linden Hills to West 44th Street and France
Avenue South where it served commuters in Morningside
and Brookside. Later, the line was extended further west.
This plat map of West Minneapolis Heights shows
Grandview Cemetary south of Maloney Avenue. So-called
“presidential streets” named for U.S. presidents: George
Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James
Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin
VanBuren, William Harrison and John Tyler.
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Grandview Cemetery On Maloney Avenue
Began Before 1900
For many years, the Lindbery family has owned
land along the south side of Maloney Avenue.
In addition to their farmhouse at 6901 Maloney
Ave., the Lindberys eventually devoted the bulk
of their land along Maloney Avenue to Grandview
Cemetery, which opened before the turn of the
century. One of two cemeteries in Edina, it is still
owned and operated by the Lindbery family. Later,
other portions of their property would become a
sand and gravel pit that was turned into an Edina
park named in honor of one-time Edina Mayor
James VanValkenberg.
It’s Not Only Neighborly …
It’s The Law
12 • WINTER 2010 13 • WINTER 2010
Pets
The City of Edina not only cares about protecting its
residents, but also for protecting the pets residing in the
community. It is important for owners to keep their pets
safe and protected.
All dogs 6 months and older residing in Edina must have
a license permanently affixed to their collars. Cats do not
have to be licensed. Rabies vaccinations are required on
all dogs and cats 6 months and older. Dogs are required
to wear vaccination tags at all times.
Remember, all 2009 City dog licenses expired Dec. 31,
2009. Licenses can be renewed at City Hall, through the
mail or online. To renew by mail, send current rabies
information and a check for the licensing fee to Edina
City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424-1394.
Dogs and cats are not
allowed to run at large
in the community.
According to City
Code, “no owner shall
allow any animal to
run at large on any
property without the
consent of the owner
or possessor of the
property.” An off-
leash area for dogs
opened in 2007 at
Van Valkenburg Park
in northwest Edina.
Dogs must wear a special collar while in the off-leash
area, identifying them as leash-free permit holders.
Cost for the permit is $25 for residents and $50 for non-
residents. Discounts are available for multiple dogs. The
permits can be purchased at City Hall or online at www.
CityofEdina.com/Store.
For more information on licensing, contact City Hall
Receptionist Lynette Biunno, 952-927-8861. For more
information on laws pertaining to pets, such as the
keeping or regulation of certain animals, or laws pertaining
to kennels, contact Edina Animal Control Officer Tim
Hunter, 952-826-0494.
Van Valkenburg Dog Park is located at 4935 Lincoln Drive.
All dogs 6 months and older
residing in Edina must have a
license permanently affixed to
their collars.
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14 • WINTER 2010 15 • WINTER 2010
By Kaylin Martin
“Welcome home.”
Those words are commonly spoken by airport officials
as people return to the United States after trips abroad.
When Edina resident Estella Eckart heard those words
spoken by a Customs Agent last fall, they had special
meaning. Estella became a citizen of the United States in
August.
Estella was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, a South
American country known for its economic crisis and
internal warfare. In the late 1990s, she came to the United
States to attend the University of Minnesota.
When Estella graduated from college in 2002 with a
degree in Economics, she wasn’t ready to go back to
Colombia. Instead, she applied for an Optional Practical
Training permit to continue working in the United States
and got a job with a local bank.
“I fell in love with Minnesota and the people in
Minnesota,” said Estella. “Everything was so different
than what I was used to.”
Not only did she fall in love with the Midwest state, but
also with her husband, Patrick, a Minnesota native she
married just after graduation. The young couple moved
to Edina and made their first home together in the
Morningside Neighborhood.
“It was important for me
to become a U.S. citizen,
because I live in this
country. I am married to
an American, I am going
to have kids here and
want to raise them here,”
said Estella. “This is a
great country and I feel
very proud and a sense
of belonging.”
Most immigrants must
live in the United States
for five years before
applying for citizenship.
To Estella’s advantage,
because she is married
to a U.S. citizen, she only
had to maintain permanent residency in the United States
for three years before applying for citizenship. First, she
had to prove to federal officials that her marriage was
legitimate.
Patrick had to attend Estella’s first citizenship interview.
Each had to answer questions about their marriage
and show photographs of them together throughout
their relationship along with other telltale signs of the
marriage’s legitimacy.
“To be in this country is a privilege, and people go
above and beyond to try to come here,” said Estella,
understanding of the inquiry. “Some of those things
people do to stay here are things that aren’t right, like
marrying out of convenience.”
Though Estella’s marriage might have been under the
microscope, she said nothing was worse than being a
Colombian citizen and going through Customs at a U.S.
airport.
“Sometimes it was humiliating. It’s like, ‘man, what
have I done?’” she said of the tough scrutiny at airport
Customs, “But I think it’s the way they have to do things,
to protect the people here.”
After her initial interview, Estella had to fill out piles
of paperwork. By the end of the citizenship process,
excluding residency application expenses, the cost to
apply totaled more than $1,400.
Being interviewed and paying fees weren’t Estella’s only
obstacles. To make sure she knew her American history
and understood the U.S. government and the English
language, her journey to become a U.S. citizen was
capped off with a test.
“I studied a lot, but after awhile, it became a funny
thing,” said Estella. “My sister was in town and would
ask me, ‘How many kids do Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
have? You know that’s American history!’”
Even her husband helped study. “It helped to learn some
basic stuff you forget about,” he said. “It was interesting
– the basic civic stuff us citizens born in the U.S. take for
granted, like the right to vote.”
Estella said before becoming a U.S. citizen she had no
interest in politics because she was unable to do anything
about it. Now she feels she has a sense of ownership. “I
do have a voice, and if I am interested enough, I can be
part of the change,” she said.
Estella began the citizenship process in late 2008. A year
later, she was at work at Edward Jones Investments when
she got a phone call from her husband telling her that
“she’s not going to believe it” and “to come home as soon
as possible.” “It” was the letter from the United States
Citizenship & Immigration Services congratulating her
on her eligibility to become a U.S. citizen. A month later,
she was at St. Paul’s Bethel University, taking an oath and
swearing her allegiance to the United States of America.
Surrounded by other immigrants who surrendered their
residency and green cards on the way into the building,
Estella said she was moved to tears during the ceremony.
“A lot of the immigrants were from Africa and Somalia
who came here as refugees,” she said. “I just thought,
‘my goodness, if I’m feeling this way, I cannot imagine
how they are feeling.’ For them it has to be completely
different. To know they are finally in a country where
liberty is a real priority. I can’t believe what was going
through their heads. It was very overwhelming.”
The ceremony was led by U.S. District Judge Patrick
Schiltz, who has sworn in more than 2,000 immigrants in
the past three years. “It’s always a very moving occasion
for me,” said Schiltz. “It’s an honor, being the grandchild
American Dream Comes True
For Edina Resident
(continued on next page)
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Estella Eckart became a U.S.
citizen in August.
16 • WINTER 2010 17 • WINTER 2010
of immigrants, to welcome new immigrants to the
country.”
Fellow immigrant and Edina resident Woodrow “Wooj”
Byun, an international and immigration lawyer who came
to the United States in the 1990s for law school, agrees
that it’s important to embrace the country’s “melting pot.”
“We need to commend those people who become U.S.
citizens, like Estella, who learn about the history. They
bring talent, skill and background. They bring diversity.
It’s a positive experience for all,” he said.
According to the Immigration Policy Center in
Washington, D.C., around 150,000 immigrants are
naturalized in Minnesota each year.
Even though the economic crisis in Colombia has lessened
over the past few years, Estella says the difference
between social classes is still great.
“In Colombia you see a lot of people selling things on the
street so they can make a buck or two,” she said. “Here,
you don’t really see those things. This country is beautiful
– it really is. It doesn’t matter how much you make, or
don’t. There is no better place in the world. When you
hear the American dream, the American dream exists.
Everybody can grab it; they just have to really want it.”
For more information on how to become a U.S. citizen,
visit www.uscis.gov or call 1-800-375-5283.
U.S. Citizenship Test
In order to become a U.S. citizen, one must complete
and pass the citizenship test by answering six of the
10 questions correctly. The 10 test questions are drawn
from a study guide of 100 potential questions.
Test your knowledge of the American government and
history by taking the sample test:
1. How many U.S. Senators are there?
2. What is the name of the national anthem?
3. What is the capitol of the United States?
4. During the Cold War, what was the main concern
of the United States?
5. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
6. When was the Declaration of Independence
adopted?
7. How old do citizens have to be to vote for
President?
8. What is the highest court in the United States?
9. The House of Representatives has how many
voting members?
10. The idea of self-government is in the first three
words of the Constitution. What are these words?
1) 100, 2) “The Star-Spangled Banner,” 3) Washington, D.C.,
4) Communism, 5) Fought for women’s rights; fought for civil rights,
6) July 4, 1776, 7) 18, 8) The Supreme Court, 9) 435,
10) “We the People”
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Phone: 952.926.2551
www.pearsonorthodontics.com
Celebrating 50 years of making Edina smile!
By Marty Doll
The last thing a dweller of any suburban neighborhood
wants is for a home on his or her block to stick out like
a sore thumb. Unkempt yards, junk-filled driveways,
peeling paint and hanging gutters can all be the source of a gut-wrenching eyesore in an otherwise picket-fenced
paradise. But even a well-manicured façade can’t cover-
up for one particularly burdensome blemish on the urban
landscape – a house that is too large for its surroundings.
“I’ve never been a proponent of ‘monster houses,’ said
Lon Oberpriller of Replacement Housing Services. “I
think it’s bad business. You can’t throw something out of character on a streetscape and expect neighbors to be
happy.”
Oberpriller is among a growing number of builders in Edina who are more than happy to be working within
the City’s newest “massing” ordinances, which help limit
the size of new and rebuilt homes in established Edina
neighborhoods.
Edina City officials have always prided themselves as
being at the forefront of city planning in Minnesota.
According to Planning Director Cary Teague, Edina was the first “village” in the State to appoint a Planning
Commission in 1929 and the first to hire a full-time
Planning Director in 1957. He says that while it is hard
to get everyone to agree all of the time, overall, these decades of strong direction have helped the City grow
in ways that have been beneficial to both residents and
businesses.
The debate over “monster houses,” or homes perceived
too large for their lot and/or neighborhood, is relatively new. However, “neighbors encroaching on neighbors” is
something the City has been trying to protect against for
some time. In addition to only allowing buildings to cover
25 to 30 percent of their lot (depending on total square footage), the City has also always required a setback of
six inches from the property line for every foot of height a
home reaches over 15 feet.
However, as more and more small, older homes were torn
down, new homes grew upwards. Concerns by neighbors
over sunlight-blocking “monster houses” caused the issue
New Homes Good Fit For
Edina Neighborhoods
18 • WINTER 2010
to come to a head less than three years ago. That is when
the City decided to revisit the ordinance.
“We gave input to the Planning Commission, staff, City
Council, Mayor, Building Department and a number
of other City officials,” said Scott Busyn of Great
Neighborhood Homes, one of the builders asked to assist
as the City reworked its ordinances on home size. “It is
our opinion that homes don’t need to be large. There is
a difference between ‘livable’ square footage versus just
square footage.”
After two years of discussion and debate, the outcome
netted a handful of changes. According to Teague,
the new ordinances were stringent enough to protect
neighbors from giant structures, but not so radical as to
discourage building.
In addition to the pre-existing ordinances, first-floor
elevations on rebuilds are not allowed to be more than
one foot above the existing first floor; new side yard
setbacks have increased the separation between houses on
lots between 61 and 75 feet wide; limitations have been
placed on bay windows; and perhaps most importantly,
homes on most lots have been limited to a roof ridgeline
of no more than 35 feet from the ground.
For builders like Oberpriller and Busyn, the new
ordinances do not serve as road blocks; rather, they are a
more detailed road map.
“Builders want to achieve a balance of maintaining
neighborhood integrity while designing and building
homes that fit the needs of today’s family,” said Busyn,
a 20-year Edina resident. “Not only do our homes
fall within the height, scale and mass allowed by the
ordinances, but they also match the style of the period
homes in their neighborhood.”
Busyn’s company has built five homes since Edina’s
new ordinances have come into effect. While all five are
spacious and luxurious inside, he says you might not
know it from the outside.
“When people walk into our home on [4615] Wooddale,
they are surprised that it is a brand new home,” said
Busyn. “People have been overly positive. Once you
are able to develop homes that fit the neighborhood,
neighbors are glad you are there and you are received
more openly on new projects.”
Like Busyn, Oberpriller is also doing what he can to
help newly built homes find the right fit within their
neighborhoods. He believes strongly in traditional design
over that of “trend houses.”
“In our world, housing is an investment, not ‘trendy,’”
said Oberpriller, also a 20-plus year resident of Edina.
“Replacement housing is like cosmetic dentistry. You
want the streetscape to blend in with the existing fabric.”
For more information on Edina’s zoning and massing
ordinances, contact the Edina Planning Department at
952-826-0369 or visit www.CityofEdina.com/Planning.
19 • WINTER 2010
Many new Edina homes, like this one on 4517 Rutledge Ave.
built by Replacement Housing Services, are meant to more
appropriately fit the style and scale of their neighborhoods.
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Dome Keeps Golf A Year-Round
Sport In Edina
21 • WINTER 2010
By Kaylin Martin
For the past four years, golfer Dan Geske has been club
champion of Braemar’s Men’s Club, which boasts a
membership of more than 300 golfers. Geske contributes
his success on the summer links to the Braemar Golf Dome.
“It’s become a tradition of mine to practice in the winter
and play in the summer,” said Geske, who lowered his handicap from a six to a one by practicing in the Dome
every winter.
Golf Professional Joe Greupner, who has been with Braemar since the late 1970s and who works as Geske’s
instructor, says Geske is a great player, but one who would
have had a hard time making those changes if he could
only practice in the summer.
“It’s hard to break bad habits,” said Gruepner. “If you
want to make a big difference, you teach the mechanics
when they aren’t going to get out on the course the next day and revert back to their old ways.”
The Braemar Golf Dome, which is the largest and longest-
hitting dome in the Twin Cities, is an excellent place to make those big changes. The weather is always good.
There’s no wind, no rain and the temperature is perfect for
hitting balls.
Two years ago, Geske even started bringing his 11-year-
old son to the Dome. It was the two-level tee-off area that
was a big hit with his son. “He loves teeing off from up
top, because even if he dubs it, it’s still in the air for a little bit,” said Geske with an obvious smile on his face.
The Dome has also proven to be a good way to keep
Greupner’s teaching staff employed year-round.
“I’ve been able to hang on to a lot of my great staff,” he
said. “They really like the opportunity, as do I.”
The patrons take advantage of the opportunity as well.
Greupner typically teaches his lessons at one of the far
ends of the dome. Over the years, he has noticed his
students tend to gravitate toward the tees nearest him,
even when he’s teaching another student.
“When I’m on my way to a lesson, I’ll walk by some of
my other students and stop to help them out for a few
minutes,” he said. “I’m also around when they have
questions. I think those few extra minutes are a good thing that really helps.”
Those few minutes not only aid in the students’ game,
but also help to cultivate new friendships. “It goes beyond just a student relationship; it becomes more
of a friendship,” said
Greupner.
“The people who work
at the Dome and teach
the lessons are great,”
added Geske. “They really care.”
Retiree Marty Friede,
who used to volunteer at the Dome, still manages
to practice at the Dome
a few times a year
once the snow hits the ground.
“It’s a fun place to go
in the winter when you have a few hours to
loosen up and get out of
the house,” he said. “It’s not golfing on a course per se,
but it’s pretty darn close.”
Friede volunteered to vacuum the mats, pick up the
golf balls and wipe up the coffee spills caused by the
patrons who gather around the tables and catch up over
refreshments before going out to hit some balls.
“It became kind of a meeting place,” said Greupner. “It’s
such a great addition to the community – especially for
the people who really care about golf.
“The players really work hard. It becomes a big part of
their life to improve and it becomes a lot of fun to become
part of that. Some people put their clubs away in the winter, but there are many golfers who want to keep
going and that’s what the Dome is here for.”
The Braemar Golf Dome is open daily from 8 a.m. until
9 p.m. through mid-April. For more information on the
Braemar Golf Dome or lessons, visit
www.BraemarGolfDome.com or call 952-826-6744.
The Braemar Golf Dome is
located at 6364 John Harris
Drive.
The Braemar Golf Dome is the largest and longest-hitting
dome in the Twin Cities with 46 tee areas on two levels.
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23 • WINTER 201022 • WINTER 2010
The Edina Community Foundation:
Charitable Giving Highlights
By Dick Crockett
Executive Director
As we begin a new calendar year,
I’d like to recognize some of the
people and events that made 2009
a good year for charitable giving
in Edina. In spite of the serious
recession, community support for
the Foundation’s more than 50
designated funds remained very
strong. Here are a few highlights:
A Bowling for Love event organized by Sarah Miller
raised over $4,600 from some 65 donors to the Van
Valkenburg Children’s Fund.
The Otto Bang Fund for Seniors, established in memory
of our long-time Board member, received $1,700 in
contributions from 28 donors.
The Ikola Cup Golf Tournament chaired by Casey
Hankinson raised $6,700 from over 70 contributors for
the Ikola Scholarship Fund and other community hockey
programs.
The Terry Anderson Memorial Golf Tournament had
net contributions of almost $3,000 from 110 donors. This
event was chaired by Cindy Anderson for the benefit of a
memorial fund she had established with the Foundation
in memory of her late husband. Fifty other donors
contributed another $5,000 to that fund.
Some 80 friends of the Jim and Zibby Nunn family led
by Tina Jordan and Rachel Petrella contributed $7,500 to
the Tim Nunn Memorial Fund, in order to improve the
baseball field at York Park in Tim’s memory after he died
while hiking at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
Some of these charitable contributions came with a special
message that reflected the donor’s strong desire to be a
part of community support for the fund. A $3 gift to the
Tim Nunn Memorial Fund, for example, came with this
note to his parents:
I’m a single mom having a tough year, but I want to show my
support for your park renovation. My heart goes out to you in
the loss of your son. God bless you and your family.
An Edina High School junior sent this note with his
contribution to the Edina Youth Juggling Association
(EYJA) Designated Fund:
Hi, my name is Joey, and I’d like to donate this $50 to the
EYJA. I believe that through juggling kids can develop social,
learning, motor and other skills much more quickly than if they
weren’t to do juggling.
Thanks to this kind of support, the Jugheads juggling
group supported by EYJA and involving 170 youth
members, ages 8 to 18, was able to send a large delegation
and win a gold medal at the International Juggling
Association festival in North Carolina last July.
2009 will also be remembered as the year in which
the Foundation received a very special gift – a $44,100
charitable remainder annuity payment from the estate of
Marguerite “Peg” McNally, a long-time Edina resident
until her death at age 93 in September 2008.
Peg’s decision to include the Foundation in her estate
plan was made in 1996, according to her financial
adviser, because of her love for the Edina community.
The Foundation held annual Edinamite Balls at that time,
and it is likely that she read about those events and the
Foundation’s charitable support of the community in
About Town.
She was a member and enthusiastic supporter of the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Over a 44-year period,
she was active in its Friends organization and served
as a volunteer in the Visitor and Members Services
Department, with a special interest in the annual Antique
Show and Sale and Art in Bloom. Peg regularly served
at the Information Desk and was known to many as the
“Museum Lady.”
Peg was married for seven years to John “Blood”
McNally, who played football for the Duluth Eskimos in
the late 1920s and was portrayed by George Clooney in
the 2008 movie “Leatherheads.” John later played in the
NFL for 14 years, including four championship seasons
with the Green Bay Packers, and was named to the NFL
Hall of Fame. He also coached the St. John’s University
football team from 1950-52.
We are truly grateful for Peg McNally’s strong
community spirit and her generous gift, along with the
contributions of the Designated Fund program chairs
and donors mentioned above. Another 450 donors had
contributed over $150,000 by press time in mid-October
to other Foundation funds, and we thank them all for
their gifts during an economically challenging year. We
take great pride in our service to the Edina community,
which is possible only with the continuing support of our
residents. Please do what you can to make 2010 another
great year for our Foundation and community.
Questions about the Foundation or any of its programs
may be addressed to Crockett at 952-833-9573 or
edinacommunityfoundation@ci.edina.mn.us. Additional
information about the Foundation and links to other articles
about the Foundation may be found at its website,
www.edinacommunityfoundation.org.
Marguerite McNally, 1915-2008
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2008-09 ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Neighbors,
The theme of our 2007-08 Annual Report was Collaboration and
Empowerment, and we noted that the Foundation had collabo-
rated with some 80 organizations and empowered over 100 indi-
viduals during that fiscal year. From July 1, 2008, through June
30, 2009, this program leadership in the community was re-
flected in a significant increase in the number of funds estab-
lished by the Foundation to serve Edina and its residents, from
48 to 58 (and then to 61 by October 2009).
In this Annual Report, we will outline these 61 funds and their
diverse purposes. During a year of great economic challenges,
we are proud of our success in maintaining a strong level of
charitable giving to these funds and the programs and activi-
ties they support. This Community of Funds is a key contributor
to the quality of life in Edina.
We invite everyone who lives or works in Edina to join us as
we continue to develop programs and resources to fulfill our
mission of strengthening our community by developing a strong program
of philanthropy.
Sincerely,
Jim Hovland Dick Crockett
President Executive Director
STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY
FY 2008-09 StaffBoard of Directors as of June 30, 2009
James B. Hovland, PresidentAttorney At LawKrause & Hovland
Carolyn Schroeder, Vice PresidentCommunity Volunteer
Bonnie McGrath, SecretaryRetired Business Owner
Bernie Beaver, TreasurerCPABoulay, Heutmaker & Zibell, Co., Ltd.
James Van ValkenburgAssistant TreasurerRetired Mayor and Attorney
Dick CrockettExecutive Director
Mary BrindleProgram Coordinator
Community Foundation
EDINAA Community of Funds
Bradley J. BeardPresidentFairview Southdale Hospital & Clinics
Ann BentdahlRetired Bank Executive
Grethe Langeland DillonPresidentCalhoun Insurance
George KlusOwner and PresidentTrinity Medical Solutions
Dennis MaetzoldRetired Mayor
Tim MurphyPresidentMurphy Automotive, Inc.
Brenda QuayePrincipalVenstar, LLC
Frederick S. RichardsProperty ConsultantRetired Mayor
Geof WorkingerRetired Business Executive
2008-09 Finances
AUDITORS: Ellingson & Ellingson, Ltd.
The complete audited statements for this and prior fiscal years, our IRS Form 990 and Minnesota Charitable Organization Annual Report are available upon request.
For more information about the Foundation’s programs and charitable giving opportunities, contact its Executive Director, Dick Crockett at 952-833-9573, 5280 Grandview Square, Edina MN 55436 or edinacommunityfoundation@ci.edina.mn.us, or review the Foundation’s website at www.edinacommunityfoundation.org.
Community Support (Gross Receipts)
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
000’s 2003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-09
220,898
377,054
270,682 258,792
415,261
263,623
Program Services Expenditures
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
000’s 2003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-09
83,392
185,344
211,917
190,355
312,571
208,985
The Foundation received broad support from over 930 annual contributors. Those who gave $100 or more are listed on the
Foundation's website at www.edinacommunityfoundation.org.
2008-09 Donors
9Founders Club gifts and pledges of $25,000 ormore
4Community Builder gifts and pledges of $10,000to $24,999
7Community Benefactor gifts and pledges of$5,000 to $9,999
35Gold Circle donors of $1,000 to $2,499
54Silver Circle donors of $500 to $999
68Bronze Circle donors of $250 to $499
196Green and White Circle donors of $100 to $249
550Donors of $10 to $99
The Minnesota Charities Review Council recommends that the ratio of program services to total expenditures be at least 70%.
The Foundation consistently exceeds that standard, and its program services ratio for 2008-09 was 79%.
24 • WINTER 2010
2008-09 Funds and Purposes
Funds established in 2008-09 shown in bold
* Funds established since June 30, 2009
ENDOWMENT FUNDSPurpose: to ensure the long-term viability of the Foundation
Permanent Endowment
Board-designated Endowment
UNRESTRICTED FUNDSPurpose: to provide funds for the operation of the Foundation.
Connecting With Kids
Edina 4th of July Parade
Edina Day of Service *
Edina Dialogue
Edina Reads
Holiday Home Tour
Senior Expo
Torchlight Concert
Founders Club Programs
Otto Bang Fund for Seniors
Southdale Community Development
Terry Anderson Memorial Fund
Van Valkenburg Children’s Fund
DESIGNATED BENEFICIARY FUNDSPurpose: to provide charitable gift support for community organizations and programs designated by the donors
Management and General Operations
PROGRAM SERVICE FUNDSPurpose: to support programs organized by the Foundation, usually in collaboration with other organizations.provide funds for the operation of the Foundation
FIELD OF INTEREST FUNDSPurpose: to provide funding for various communityneeds with the grantee organization designated by the charitable donors
Environment
Conservation League of Edina
Cool Planet
Energy & Environment Commission Fund *
Edina Garden Council
Edina Garden Council - Buckthorn
Friends of the Edina Nature Center
Music & ArtEdina Art CenterEdina Art Center - Peggy Kelly Memorial FundEdina Art Center - Patricia Van Valkenburg Scholarship FundEdina ChoraleEdina Public Art Committee
Edina Singing SeniorsFirst John Philip Sousa Memorial BandLeagueAiresMusic in the VineyardsNorthland Repertory OrchestraWild Prairie Brass Choir
Children, Families and Seniors
Boy Scout Troop 48
Edina Family Center Gym Time
Edina Park & Recreation Department
Edina Park & Recreation Department -
4th of July Fireworks
Edina Partners for Early Education
Edina Senior Center
Edina Senior Center -
Char Colwell Memorial Fund
Kids Voting Edina
Volunteers Enlisted to
Assist People ( VEAP)
Williams-Overholt
Long-Term Care Scholarship
Public Safety and Administration
Edina Communications Department
Edina Fire Department
Edina Fire Department - Wurst Memorial Fund
Edina Police Department
Edina Police Department - Crime Prevention Fund
Sports
Downey Scholarship (Swimming)Edina Morningside Rotary Bike Parade
Edina Park & Recreation Department -
Special Hockey
Edina Park & Recreation Department -
Tim Nunn Baseball Field Memorial Fund *
Edina Park & Recreation Department -
Tri-City Skate Park
Edina Youth Juggling AssociationEdina High School Girls Hockey Boosters
Ikola Cup
Ikola Scholarship (Hockey)
Edina 4th of July Parade
Kids Voting
Jean and John Hedberg, donors of the
Pinecone sculpture at Centennial Lakes Park
Nordy, the MN Wild mascot, in theEdina Bike Parade Cover photo: Edina Morningside Rotary Bike Parade
Van Valkenburg Children’s Fund provides summer fun
to kids and families in need
Edina Firefighter using the Thermal Imaging Camera
Pages2and3_2008-09 Annual Report 11/23/2009 1:39 PM Page 1
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Jackie Goodlund 952-927-1647
Maggie Goodyear 952-927-1657
Ruthann Holetz 952-927-1624
Stacy Johnson 952-927-1608
Linda Jones 952-927-1781
Mary Greig Krieter 612-719-0665
John MacKany 952-927-1163
John McDonald 952-927-1197
Kim Melin 952.927.2888
JoanE Mitchell 952-927-1147
Jude Dugan Olson 952-927-1186
Kevin Ries 952-927-1196
Margie and John Sampsell 952-927-1195
Wade Thommen 952-927-1152
Michael Tierney 952-927-1676
Susan Wahman 952-927-1114
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Babette and John Bean 952-924-8722
Lou Blemaster 952-924-8744
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Sheila Cronin 952-915-7951
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Lisa Eckert 952-915-7964
Tom Frisk 612-418-6642
Zeb Haney 952-924-8742
Janie Hays 952-924-8721
Jim Jaeckels 952-924-8741
Mark Kouatli 612-708-8400
Bob and Francy Matson 952-915-7950
Tom and Meg Meyers 952-924-8712
Sandy Ring 612-306-3875
Marcia Russell 612-965-7997
Tim Sipprell 612-327-7657
Linda Smaby 952-924-8726
Kathie Volland 952-915-7934
Colleen Wahl 952-924-8789
Chris Willette 612-388-8828
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25 • WINTER 2010
2008-09 ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Neighbors,
The theme of our 2007-08 Annual Report was Collaboration and
Empowerment, and we noted that the Foundation had collabo-
rated with some 80 organizations and empowered over 100 indi-
viduals during that fiscal year. From July 1, 2008, through June
30, 2009, this program leadership in the community was re-
flected in a significant increase in the number of funds estab-
lished by the Foundation to serve Edina and its residents, from
48 to 58 (and then to 61 by October 2009).
In this Annual Report, we will outline these 61 funds and their
diverse purposes. During a year of great economic challenges,
we are proud of our success in maintaining a strong level of
charitable giving to these funds and the programs and activi-
ties they support. This Community of Funds is a key contributor
to the quality of life in Edina.
We invite everyone who lives or works in Edina to join us as
we continue to develop programs and resources to fulfill our
mission of strengthening our community by developing a strong program
of philanthropy.
Sincerely,
Jim Hovland Dick Crockett
President Executive Director
STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY
FY 2008-09 StaffBoard of Directors as of June 30, 2009
James B. Hovland, PresidentAttorney At LawKrause & Hovland
Carolyn Schroeder, Vice PresidentCommunity Volunteer
Bonnie McGrath, SecretaryRetired Business Owner
Bernie Beaver, TreasurerCPABoulay, Heutmaker & Zibell, Co., Ltd.
James Van ValkenburgAssistant TreasurerRetired Mayor and Attorney
Dick CrockettExecutive Director
Mary BrindleProgram Coordinator
Community Foundation
EDINAA Community of Funds
Bradley J. BeardPresidentFairview Southdale Hospital & Clinics
Ann BentdahlRetired Bank Executive
Grethe Langeland DillonPresidentCalhoun Insurance
George KlusOwner and PresidentTrinity Medical Solutions
Dennis MaetzoldRetired Mayor
Tim MurphyPresidentMurphy Automotive, Inc.
Brenda QuayePrincipalVenstar, LLC
Frederick S. RichardsProperty ConsultantRetired Mayor
Geof WorkingerRetired Business Executive
2008-09 Finances
AUDITORS: Ellingson & Ellingson, Ltd.
The complete audited statements for this and prior fiscal years, our IRS Form 990 and Minnesota Charitable Organization Annual Report are available upon request.
For more information about the Foundation’s programs and charitable giving opportunities, contact its Executive Director, Dick Crockett at 952-833-9573, 5280 Grandview Square, Edina MN 55436 or edinacommunityfoundation@ci.edina.mn.us, or review the Foundation’s website at www.edinacommunityfoundation.org.
Community Support (Gross Receipts)
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
000’s 2003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-09
220,898
377,054
270,682 258,792
415,261
263,623
Program Services Expenditures
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
000’s 2003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-09
83,392
185,344
211,917
190,355
312,571
208,985
The Foundation received broad support from over 930 annual contributors. Those who gave $100 or more are listed on the
Foundation's website at www.edinacommunityfoundation.org.
2008-09 Donors
9Founders Club gifts and pledges of $25,000 ormore
4Community Builder gifts and pledges of $10,000to $24,999
7Community Benefactor gifts and pledges of$5,000 to $9,999
35Gold Circle donors of $1,000 to $2,499
54Silver Circle donors of $500 to $999
68Bronze Circle donors of $250 to $499
196Green and White Circle donors of $100 to $249550Donors of $10 to $99
The Minnesota Charities Review Council recommends that the ratio of program services to total expenditures be at least 70%.
The Foundation consistently exceeds that standard, and its program services ratio for 2008-09 was 79%.
26 • WINTER 2010 27 • WINTER 2010
Edina’s Newest Hockey Team Unites
Players From Across The Globe
By Marty Doll
When asked about the biggest difference between his
home country of Slovakia and the United States, where he
currently makes his home in Edina, 18-year-old Rastislav
Zvara answered, “the food.”
“There’s much more fast food here,” said Zvara, whose
English is so well-tuned you almost have to strain your
ears to pick up the hint of an accent.
Zvara, along with his former Slovakian hockey teammate
Matus Vavercak may have travelled the farthest to get
here, but they are only two of the more than 20 new faces
on Edina’s latest show on ice – the Edina Lakers.
The Lakers are part of the Minnesota Junior Hockey
League and are playing their first season in Edina’s
Minnesota Made Ice Center. The nearly 20-year-old
franchise recently moved from its former home in Inver
Grove Heights to take advantage of the facility, which
features rinks and operations designed specifically to train
hockey players. A member of the Tier III – Junior A hockey
division, the Lakers are a stopping ground for high school
players and recent graduates to work toward a college
hockey career.
“Edina is a hot-bed of hockey,” said lifelong Edina resident
and first-year head coach Wes Durand. “To have a junior
hockey team this close to so much talent will only help the
league grow.”Rastislav Zvara and Matus Vavercak, former hockey
teammates in Slovakia, were reunited on the Edina
Lakers junior hockey team.
With the Lakers’ new home, Durand, a former Benilde-St.
Margaret hockey standout, may have a bead on the west-
metro hockey talent, but that doesn’t stop the team from
recruiting players from well outside Minnesota’s borders.
Their current roster boasts a healthy mix of Minnesota
talent, along with players from Ohio, Colorado,
Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Alaska.
Apparent by the presence of Zvara and Vavercak, it can
also mean getting players from outside of the country.
For both of the boys from Slovakia, Edina is not their
first or only American experience. Originally from the
Slovakian capitol city of Bratislava, both young men
spent last year as foreign exchange students in small
Midwestern high schools. Zvara came to the Lakers after
graduating from Proctor, Minn., a town of less than 3,000
people in the northeastern corner of the state. Vavercak
spent his junior year in high school at Sioux Falls, SD.
“Hockey is pretty big in Slovakia,” said Zvara as he took
a break from the Lakers early-morning practice.
“It is the biggest sport, for sure,” quickly replied
Vavercak, whose accent is much more pronounced than
his teammate’s, “but there is much more opportunity
here.”
As a high school graduate, Zvara came to Edina and
the Lakers solely to play hockey, but at 17 years old,
Vavercak needed to find a way to complete his high
school education in order to join the team. With a $5,500
fee required of all players to play in the Minnesota Junior
Hockey League, and another $10,000 needed to pay
international tuition rates to attend Edina High School,
it looked like Vavercak’s career with the Lakers might
end before it began. That is when Megan and Rick Stone
entered the picture.
In early 2009, the Stones, an active hockey family, had
received an email soliciting “host” families for Edina
Lakers hockey players coming from out of state. Megan
Stone quickly passed the email along to her husband.
“I sent it to [Rick] more to say, ‘isn’t this neat that people
are doing this,’” said Megan. “He interpreted it as ‘we
should look into this,’ but when we did, we both got
excited about it.”
(continued on next page)
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Zvara, a forward for the Edina Lakers from Slovakia, looks
after the puck during an early-morning practice.
“These kids all have different stories, attitudes and
personality traits,” said Lakers goalie coach Dave Rogalski,
another “first-year” member of the Lakers and former
teammate of Durand’s at Benilde-St. Margaret. “This team
is fun to coach.”
Steve Longren, the Lakers General Manager, says he has
seen that camaraderie turn into success on the ice.
“We put out a high-level product every time we take the
ice,” said Longren. “All of the junior hockey teams on this
level are non-profit, and most of them lose money. We
just want the kids to benefit from hockey, and hope that
by building a local fan base, we can build the image of the
sport.”
The Lakers season runs from September through March,
and including playoffs, the team plays over 50 games.
For most players – Zvara and Vavercak – included, the
next step is to try to get picked up by a college hockey
program.
“We don’t know yet what we’ll be doing after this
season,” said Vavercak.
Echoed Zvara, “With hockey, it all depends on how good
you are doing.”
For more information on the Edina Lakers, visit
www.lakershockey.com or contact Longren at
612-961-4559.
28 • WINTER 2010 29 • WINTER 2010
After learning about the two boys from Slovakia and
contacting their former host families, the Stones were
sold. Once they found out about the financial burden
plaguing Vavercak, they decided to take their host family
duties to another level by holding a fundraiser to help get
him into a Lakers uniform.
“We don’t like to talk about it a lot because it’s not
about us,” said Megan, who gives much of the credit for
organizing the fundraiser to her husband. “We had lots of
friends and family that gave financially. We just put out
the call, and people helped.”
The Stones were able to raise over $5,000, along with
material items like bedding to help Vavercak be able to
attend Edina High School and play for the Lakers. In
August, he and Zvara became part of their family.
“Since they’ve arrived, I’ve just tried to be a mom,” said
Megan. “I don’t know how to do it any other way.”
“It was very nice of them to help me,” said Vavercak,
who says he is grateful for the support shown by so
many people who at the time he had not even met. “[The
Stones] are a very nice family, and take good care of us.”
That family mentality has also carried over to the hockey
team. Having played together in Slovakia, Zvara and
Vavercak were able to help each other adjust to their new
surroundings. However, with so many young players
leaving home for the first time to pursue a future in
hockey, they understand how a new city can initially be
lonely for all of their teammates, even those who might
not have come as far.
“A lot of people didn’t know anyone, or have friends
when they came here,” said Zvara. “But we all made
friends pretty quickly.”
“It is a huge family here in the locker room,” replied
Vavercak. “There is nobody here who doesn’t like each
other.”
Vavercak, a Lakers forward from Slovakia, scores a goal
during a practice drill. Vavercak is also a senior at Edina High
School.
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For a complete schedule go to: www.lakershockey.com
30 • WINTER 2010 31 • WINTER 2010
K-9 Set to Retire in March
(continued on next page)
By Marty Doll
They say that a dog is a man’s best friend. For Edina
Police Officer Kevin Rofidal and his canine companion
Kodiak, the term “friendship” is an understatement. Since
2002, the pair has been inseparable, confiscating hundreds
of pounds of drugs, locating crucial pieces of evidence
and chasing down a barrage of bad guys for the Police
Department.
In March, however, Rofidal will be patrolling the night
streets solo for the first time in more than eight years.
Kodiak – at nearly 70 years old in human years – will be
retiring from the force.
“I don’t know what the transition will be like,” said
Rofidal, Kodiak’s handler, partner and long-time friend.
“Right now, he’s with me all of the time.”
Kodiak was born in 2000, and joined the Edina Police
Department on March 14, 2002. He was imported as a
puppy from the Czech Republic, where he was bred from
a long bloodline of police dogs. After 12 weeks of initial
training, Rofidal and Kodiak hit the streets, and now eight
years later, they are making the most of their final days as
coworkers.
“Five to seven years is the typical run for a police dog,”
said Rofidal. “From the 13 original dogs in Kodiak’s class,
he is the last one still working.”
While a police dog’s tenure may be much shorter than
that of their human counterparts’, it can be as or more
distinguished. Rofidal says that Kodiak’s reputation
precedes him, as officers around the metro area and even
outstate know him when he arrives on the scene.
“There is something exciting about getting called out on
a major call and everyone is waiting for the dog to get
there,” said Rofidal. “They could care less if I’m there, but
they are waiting for the dog so they can get started. I’m
going to miss that.”
During his career, Kodiak even made a name for himself
nationally, placing 12th out of 98 dogs in the 2007 National
Detector Dog Trial. The 2007 Trial was also the second
of three times he received his national drug search
certification.
As the handler of one of the country’s premiere drug-
sniffing dogs, Rofidal can recall hundreds of incidents in
the past eight years during which, without Kodiak, the
criminal would have gotten away.
“One night we were called to a neighboring community by
a narcotics officer who had stopped a suspicious car,” said
Rofidal. “Within seconds, Kodiak alerted at the gas tank.”
Officers immediately found cocaine and arrested the
suspect. Rofidal also recalls times when Kodiak has sniffed
out drugs behind airbags, in locked glove boxes and secret
compartments invisible to the naked eye. He has found
discarded guns buried under mulch and criminals hiding
underneath porches. His biggest bust came when he found
more than 250 pounds of marijuana that had been built
into the fiberglass roof of a large van.
“These are things that humans can miss,” said Rofidal.
Like all other police dogs, Kodiak was trained on the five
core functions of patrol work: agility, obedience, tracking,
criminal apprehension and handler protection. Rofidal
says that a common misperception with police dogs is that
“criminal apprehension” is a major part of their job. While
Kodiak is trained to take down a suspect on command,
very rarely has he needed to do it.
“We don’t buy these dogs for their teeth, we buy them for
their nose, ears and eyes,” said Rofidal. “Most bad guys
we give the chance to ‘give up’ will once they know a
police dog is there.
Like any human, Rofidal says that Kodiak gets tired at
the end of a long work week. He equates Kodiak’s work
on the force to that of a professional athlete – very high
impact.
“A police dog is not like a car, where you know how many
miles you should get out of it,” said Rofidal. “Kodiak
has had a couple of minor injuries – once he sprained an
elbow – but his vet keeps him pretty healthy.”
After his retirement, Kodiak will live out his “golden
years” in Rofidal’s care, meaning the two partners will still
get to see plenty of each other – just not on duty. Rofidal
admits that he’s not sure how Kodiak will adjust to
staying home from work, and may feel the need to bring
him by the Department from time to time.
The Edina Police Department is already in the process of
hiring Kodiak’s replacement, another German Shepherd
expected to arrive sometime after the first of the year.
Officer Jason Behr will take over the duties of handler for
the new recruit.
Officer Kevin Rofidal has been K-9 Kodiak’s handler
since he joined the force. Rofidal will continue to care for
Kodiak upon his retirement.
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32 • WINTER 2010 33 • WINTER 2010
Kodiak’s good health and the excellent care he has
received from Rofidal has helped keep him in the game
longer than any of his former classmates. Up until his
March retirement date, he will continue to put his nose,
ears and eyes to good use, catching the drug-smuggling,
burglarizing and assailing riff raff that dares to cross his
path.
For more information on Edina Police Department’s K-9
unit, contact the Department at 952-826-1610 or visit
www.CityofEdina.com/Police.
Kodiak leaps over a hurdle during one of his many training
runs.
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34 • WINTER 2010 35 • WINTER 2010
Edina Resident Recalls Holiday
Fire, Lessons Learned
By Marty Doll
When Edina resident Steve Mosborg woke up on Dec. 25,
2000, he had no idea his life was about to change forever.
“I made a lot of mistakes that day,” recalled Mosborg
of the Christmas Day fire that left him in an eight-week
drug-induced coma, with second- and third-degree burns
over 63 percent of his body. “The paramedics told my
neighbors that they were probably saying goodbye to
their friend.”
That Christmas day nine years ago began like any other
for the Mosborgs. Steve and his wife, Carri, had just
said goodbye to Steve’s parents, who had come over to
watch 16-month-old Amanda open up her abundance
of Christmas gifts. When Carri went to the kitchen to
work on dinner, Steve began disposing of the mounds
of wrapping paper and boxes leftover from the toys and
trinkets they had contained only a few hours earlier. The
way he was doing it, Mosborg says, was mistake number
one.
“I was doing what I had been doing for years: throwing
the boxes and paper into our fireplace,” said Mosborg,
who soon learned the dangers of such a practice. “I put in
a box that was too large, and the fire started to burn too
hot.”
Sparks shot out of the screened-in fireplace and hit the
live garland on the Mosborgs’ mantle, setting it ablaze.
Keeping the live garland so close to an open flame, he
says, was mistake number two.
Even in the midst of the immediate chaos, Mosborg
can vividly recall how things got out of his control.
Carri immediately put their daughter Amanda into her
arms and fled the house out a side door. A lack of fire
extinguishers in their home – mistake number three – had
Mosborg frantically trying to figure out how to save his
house. He grabbed a large pot from the kitchen, but in the
minute and a half it took to fill, the fire had spread – to
the living room drapes and the top of the Mosborgs’ live
Christmas tree.
“I couldn’t put the fire out with the water, so I thought I
could knock down the tree and drag it out of the house,”
said Mosborg. “I thought the house would be saved.”
That thinking was mistake number four.
This mistake proved to be the most costly. Mosborg
dragged the burning tree through his home and toward
the front door. Once he made it through the growing
cloud of smoke – burning tree still in tow – he couldn’t
get the front door open. The burning fire had created an
enormous pressure difference between the air inside and
outside. When Mosborg was finally able to force the front
door open, the backdraft and influx of fresh air caused
the tree to literally explode into a ball of fire.
“I thought I had passed out,” said Mosborg, recalling the
moment. “Later, my wife told me I had been screaming at
the top of my lungs the entire time.”
Mosborg says he felt trapped behind the burning tree,
and was certain he was going to die. As smoke filled
the room and the home’s smoke alarms chirped in futile
warning, Mosborg heard a voice.
“I heard my wife yelling, ‘Steve, follow my voice, follow
my voice, follow my voice,” said Mosborg. Miraculously,
he was able to gather his senses, get to his hands and
knees, crawl through the burning home and make it
outside through the same side door Carri and Amanda
had gone out earlier.
Mosborg was later told he was black from head to toe.
His socks and jeans were still burning. His wife, Carri,
instinctively told him to roll in the snow to put out the
remaining flames. At the time, Mosborg said he had no
idea the extent of his injuries.
“At the time, I had no pain,” said Mosborg. “I was
worried because I was having a hard time breathing.”
Mosborg told his wife to call 9-1-1. Still conscious, he was
brought into a neighbor’s home, a trail of blood following
in his wake. Within minutes, paramedics and fire crews
arrived. Mosborg remembers getting on a stretcher under
his own power and being given an oxygen mask. As
paramedics began to cut through his charred clothing
with a scissors, Mosborg thought he heard his mom and
dad, who lived only a short distance away. Their reaction
made the reality of the situation evident.
“I thought I heard them say, ‘Oh God,’” said Mosborg.
And then, everything went black.
Mosborg’s next memory is of waking up in a hospital
bed eight weeks later. During his drug-induced state
of unconsciousness, surgeons at Hennepin County
Medical Center’s burn unit had completed nine of his
eventually needed 11 skin graft surgeries. His hands and
feet were burned badly, his face disfigured. Doctors had
to reconstruct both of his ears. Atrophy had also set in.
(continued on next page)
Even though furniture and interior walls were left charred
and black, the Edina Fire Department was able to extinguish
the Mosborg fire in a matter of minutes – reiterating the
importance of calling 9-1-1 instead of trying to take matters
into one’s own hands.
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36 • WINTER 2010 37 • WINTER 2010
Mosborg had
to relearn
how to
walk, to talk
and even
go to the
bathroom.
“My first
thoughts
were, ‘what
do I need to
do to recover
and get
back to my
family?’” said
Mosborg.
Mosborg worked through his final surgeries and was out
of the hospital in six weeks – far ahead of the original
timeline given to him of five to seven months. While the
road to a complete recovery took much longer, he says he
is glad that he was able to make it “to the other side.”
“‘A,’ this accident shouldn’t have happened,” said
Mosborg, “but ‘B,’ since it did, I’m thankful I was able to
be a functioning human being again.”
Nine years later, Mosborg has completely recovered
from his tragic ordeal and is back to his normal life as a
commercial real estate agent. Since the event, he has been
an active spokesman for Memorial Blood Center and a
sought-after public speaker for local schools during fire
safety presentations. He hopes that others can learn from
his scars, and the mistakes he made that fateful Christmas
Day.
“I’ve changed in a lot of ways,” said Mosborg. “I’ve
gained a strong appreciation for the community after their
outpouring of support. I was taught the pure selflessness
of giving back.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association,
each year more than 200 home fires are caused by the
family Christmas tree, another 1,150 from holiday
decorations and more than 15,000 are started by candles.
“When people are trying to keep their houses warm,
or when the holidays take people out of their normal
routine, mistakes get made,” said Edina Fire Chief Marty
Scheerer. “It takes a lot of thoughtful discretion to make
the holidays safe and enjoyable.”
Scheerer notes that late in the season, trees and wreaths
can begin to dry out and become especially dangerous fire
hazards, and that they should be watered daily.
Perhaps most importantly, Scheerer warns residents not to
take a fire into their own hands.
Mosborg agrees.
“Walk out the door,” said Mosborg. “It’s not worth it.”
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Pub:About Town
Publisher:City of Edina
Unit:1/8 pg
3.625” x 1.75”
Color:BW
Issue:January, 2010
Close:Oct 30, 2009
Advertiser:
KIRCHER SECURITY SYSTEMS
contact: Thor Nelson
612-884-8000 | tnelson@aspenwaste.com
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Contact: Karen Engelbretson
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Media Placement:
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Contact: Thor Nelson
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612-884-8000 | tnelson@aspenwaste.com
Edina resident Steve Mosborg was in a drug-
induced coma for eight weeks after a tragic
Christmas Day fire in 2000.
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38 • WINTER 2010 39 • WINTER 2010
Planning Process Set To Begin To
Determine Future Of Public Works Site
We Deliver!Commercial Digital PrintDirect MailVariable Print + PURL’sGraphic DisplaysGraphic DesignWeb DesignFulfillmentand more...Visit us online at:JessenPress.comor call: 952.929.0346
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Matt Boockmeier, Agent
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24 Hour Good Neighbor Service
Pet Cremation Services
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Edina, MN 55439
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In the future, what do you envision on the current Public
Works Facility site on Eden Avenue? A park? Transit hub?
Housing? Community center? Medical office building?
Hotel? Something else?
The City wants you to share your ideas in a small area
planning process set for early this spring.
The Public Works Department is expected to move into its
new facility and vacate the property at 5146 Eden Ave. in
the summer of 2010. A small area plan process will begin
in April to determine the future of the site. Members of
the Planning Commission have developed an intensive,
month-long process that is typically part of a Small Area
Plan.
The Commission envisions a process grounded in
interaction with the community, lead by representatives
of the community, with design direction provided by
volunteer planning and design professionals who live
in Edina. It is intended that the process occur during a
short period with numerous meetings with the public
and among a Community Advisory Team charged with
guiding this part of the Small Area Plan process. Members
of the Community Advisory Team might include
representatives of various City commissions, residents,
property owners and business owners in the Grandview
Heights area.
“The goals of this process are to be relatively inexpensive,
have a concentrated timeframe, make it a true community-
based process and use a team of experts that are all
from Edina,”
said Michael
Fischer,
Chairman of
the Planning
Commission.
“We are very
blessed as a
community to
have a lot of
very talented
people living
here. We want
to tap that
talent pool.”
Edina residents who are design professionals such as
architects, landscape architects, planners, real estate agents
who would like to volunteer for the Design Team should
contact Assistant City Manager Heather Worthington, 952-
826-0415 or hworthington@ci.edina.mn.us.
All others in the community who are interested in being
part of the process should attend the kick-off meeting. At
press time, a date for the kick-off meeting for the process
had not been set. For more details on the kick-off meeting
and planning process, sign up for “City Extra” emails, visit
the website www.CityofEdina.com, and read the spring
issue of About Town.
For more information, contact Worthington, 952-826-0415,
or visit www.CityofEdina.com.
A small area planning process will begin in
April to determine the future of the existing
Public Works site at 5146 Eden Ave.
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40 • WINTER 2010 41 • WINTER 2010
Be counted! The U.S. Census counts every resident in the
United States, and is required by the Constitution to take
place every 10 years.
The 2010 Census will help communities receive more
than $400 billion in federal funds each year for things
such as hospitals; job training centers; schools; senior
centers, bridges, tunnels and other Public Works projects;
and emergency services. The data collected by the Census
also helps determine the number of seats each state will
have in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In March, census forms will be delivered to every
residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. When you
receive yours, just answer the 10 short questions and mail
the form back in the postage-paid envelope provided.
If you don’t mail the form back, you may receive a visit
$400 Billion Is In Your Hands:
Be Counted During 2010 Census
The Questions On The Form
The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest forms in
history. The 10 questions are expected to take no more
than 10 minutes to complete.
How many people were living or staying at this
house, apartment or mobile home on April 1, 2010?
Were there any additional people staying here April 1,
2010, that you did not include in Question 1?
Is this house, apartment or mobile home owned by
you or someone in this household with a mortgage
or loan? Owned by you or someone in this household
free and clear (without a mortgage or loan)? Rented?
Occupied without payment of rent?
Please provide information for each person living
here.
What is Person 1’s sex?
What is Person 1’s age and what is Person 1’s date of
birth?
Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin?
What is Person 1’s race?
Does Person 1 sometimes stay or live someplace else?
from a census taker, who will ask you the questions on
the form.
The majority of the country will receive English–only
materials. Households in areas with high concentrations
of Spanish-speaking residents may receive a bilingual
(English/Spanish) form.
Any personal data you provide is protected under federal
law.
Census Day is April 1. All forms should be mailed back
by that date.
The Census counts residents at their “usual” address.
You decide which is your usual address. Remember,
by using a Minnesota address, you benefit your home
state of Minnesota. Snowbirds who consider themselves
Minnesota residents must respond to the questionnaire
delivered to their Minnesota address. Do not answer the
questionnaire that is delivered to your winter residence.
For more information on the 2010 Census, visit
www.census.gov.
43 • WINTER 201042 • WINTER 2010
Business Notes
H&M Opens At Southdale Center
Four years after opening its first store at the Mall of
America, H&M opened its doors at Southdale Center this
fall. It is the third H&M store in Minnesota.
“H&M is excited to continue its expansion in the
Minneapolis and St. Paul region,” said Daniel Kulle,
H&M’s U.S. Country Manager. “Since opening our first
store in the Mall of America, we have consistently proven
that high fashion and quality are no longer a question of
price.”
One of the world’s largest fashion brands, H&M boasts
clothing ranging in style from basic traditional pieces to
the latest trends at competitive pricing.
H&M at Southdale Center features fashion lines for
women, men and children. There are 1,800 locations
worldwide. Besides Bloomington and Edina, there is an
H&M in Woodbury, Minn.
H&M is located at 1835 Southdale Center, on the first floor
between Brookstone and Gap. For more information on
the store, visit www.hm.com or call 952-922-2375.
Construction Completed On Edina Condominium Complex
In late August,
construction
was completed
on Burgundy
Place
Condominiums,
the first phase
of the “Edina
Gateway”
redevelopment
of Pentagon
Park.
The 36-unit building offers one- and two-bedroom units,
with and without a den, for an average price of $355,000.
The units range in size from 807 square feet to 1,587
square feet.
The complex boasts 14,000 square feet of retail space
on the first level. The space will include a coffee shop,
restaurant and service retail and office space.
To keep Burgundy Place environmentally friendly, Miller
Dunwiddie Architects included several “green” features,
including a garden-like roof on the second floor and a
white roof on the fourth floor, which reflects light to
reduce energy consumption and costs.
The units are currently for sale.
Burgundy Place is located at 4910 W. 77th St. For more
information on Burgundy Place Condominiums, visit
www.BurgundyPlaceCondos.com.
Kodrich Appointed to Board of School Administrators
Edina Public Schools Director of
Special Services Penny Kodrich
was recently appointed by Gov.
Tim Pawlenty to the Board of
School Administrators.
“I am honored,” said Kodrich.
“I have had many mentors
in the Edina Public Schools,
along with opportunities to
expand my leadership roles and
responsibilities, of which I am very
grateful.”
The board is made up of 10 members appointed by the
governor and is responsible for overseeing Minnesota
school administrators, including their licensing, approval
of higher education and continuing education courses and
the enforcement of the codes of ethics.
Since joining the staff at Edina Public Schools in 1980,
Kodrich has served in various positions, including
assistant director for special education, director of the
Title I Program, coordinator of the English as a Second
Language program and school psychologist. She has been
Director of Special Services since 1997.
Kodrich, who replaces Daniel Sullivan as a representative
of special education directors, will complete a four-year
term on the board, which ends Jan. 2, 2012.
For more information on the Board of School
Administrators, visit www.msbsa.org.
Association Chooses Organic Winter Plantings
The 50th & France Business &
Professional Association selected
Shining Hills Farm to provide
organic foliage for the commercial
area’s outdoor planters this winter.
In early November, Shining
Hills Farm filled more than 100
decorative pots on West 50th
Street and France Avenue to
enhance the area’s beauty.
Rachel Hubbard, Director of
the 50th & France Business &
Professional Association, selected
The Burgundy Place Condominiums are
located at 4910 W. 77th St.
H&M is located on the first and second floors of Southdale
Center.
Penny Kodrich
A decorative pot at
50th & France.
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45 • WINTER 201044 • WINTER 2010
Shining Hills Farms because of its family-owned and
organic nature.
“We are excited for this opportunity to work with an
environment-friendly, family-owned business,” she said.
The decorative plantings will be in place until March.
For more information on the 50th & France Business &
Professional Association, visit www.50th&France.com or
call 952-922-1524.
Edina School Receives Elite AwardOur Lady of Grace, a K-8 Catholic school in Edina, was named a 2009 National Blue Ribbon School. It was just one of seven schools in the state to earn the honor.
“[Our Lady of Grace] carries on a proud tradition we have in Minnesota,” said Congressman Erik Paulsen, who serves Minnesota’s 3rd district, which includes Edina. “Our students consistently score at the top in national assessment and tests, and our educational experience from birth to adulthood rates among the best in the nation.”
Only 314 schools nationwide were named National Blue Ribbon Schools, one of the highest awards a school can receive.
This is the second time Our Lady of Grace has received the award since 2001, making the school one of less than 15 schools in Minnesota to receive the award more than once since the Blue Ribbon Program began in 1982 as a way to honor schools that are academically superior.
For more information on Our Lady of Grace School, call
952-929-5463, ext. 122. For more information on the
National Blue Ribbon School award, visit www.ed.gov/
programs/nclbbrs.
–CompiledbyKaylinMartin
West 50th & Vernon Avenue at Hwy. 100
952-920-3996
www.washburn-mcreavy.com
Family Owned & Operated Since 1857
EDINACHAPELFUNERAL& CREMATION SERVICES
Calhoun Commons
3054 Excelsior Blvd.
952-920-5665
Be Inspired.
New Location
Edina neighborhood Real Estate Specialists
MickeyArmstrong
952-946-1604
Amy Kerber952-844-6062
Rod Helm952-924-6246
Abby Harrell612-387-3995
StephaneCattelin612-924-435
PamBadger612-801-8077
EllynWolfenson612-644-3033
JoshSprague612-501-0252
CindyShapiro612-816-3054
SteveSchmitz952-484-6045
Karen Moe952-844-6085
FrankKreiser952-924-6248
Stephane Cattelin
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EDINA HARDWARE
“We speak fluent doohickey & whatchamacallit!”
4510 Valley View Road, Edina
952-925-1133
Celebrating 50 Years on the Corner
1960-2010
City of Edina Facilities
47 • WINTER 201046 • WINTER 2010
Send Us Your Photos!
Photos clearly marked with names and related businesses should be sent to the City
at: 4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424
Edina City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St. 952-927-8861Edina Aquatic Center, 4300 W. 66th St. 612-928-4582 (May-August) 952-826-0431Edina Art Center, 4701 W. 64th St. 952-903-5780 Braemar Arena, 7501 Ikola Way 952-941-1322Braemar Golf Course, 6364 John Harris Drive 952-903-5750Braemar Golf Dome, 7420 Braemar Blvd. 952-826-6744 (November-April)Centennial Lakes Park, 7499 France Ave. S. 952-833-9580Edina Liquor, 3943 50th St. 612-928-4551Edina Liquor, 5013 Vernon Ave. 952-903-5740Edina Liquor, 6755 York Ave. S. 952-903-5730 Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview Square 952-833-9570Edinborough Park, 7700 York Ave. S. 952-833-9540Fire Station No. 1, 6250 Tracy Ave. 952-826-0330Fire Station No. 2, 7335 York Ave. 952-826-0357Fred Richards Golf Course, 7640 Parklawn Ave. 612-915-6606 (April-September)Public Works Building, 5146 Eden Ave. 952-826-0376
Elected Officials
Jim Hovland, Mayor 612-874-8550Joni Bennett, Council Member 952-927-0661Mary Brindle, Council Member 952-941-7746Scot Housh, Council Member 763-302-7174Ann Swenson, Council Member 952-927-7524
Geoff Michel, Senator 651-296-6238Keith Downey, Representative – 41A 651-296-4363Paul Rosenthal, Represetntative – 41B 651-296-7803
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1) Steve May, of the Edina-Morningside Rotary Club, picks up trash during Edina Day of Service
Oct. 24.
2) The Communications & Marketing Department received its first Emmy in September for a public
service announcement on peddling and soliciting in the community. Among those staff members
in attendance at the Emmy Awards were Kaylin Martin, Jennifer Bennerotte, Scott Denfeld,
Marty Doll, Kristian Tharaldson and Steve Christiansen.
3) The Edina Cinema celebrated its 75th anniversary in late August with a red carpet event featuring
antique cars, a screening of “Robin Hood” and the premiere of “Into Temptation.”
4) Mayor Jim Hovland and his wife, LaRae Ellingson Hovland, were among the local celebrities at
the Edina Cinema anniversary celebration.
5) David Venne was sworn in as the Edina Police Department’s newest officer last fall.
6) Recreation Supervisor Donna Tilsner was presented the Helen I. Pontius National Award of
Merit. The award is one of Women In Leisure Services most prestigious awards. Mayor Jim
Hovland presented the award to her at a City Council meeting in October.
Photo Gallery
Dial9-1-1to:
• Report an incident that requires a Police Officer at the scene (assaults, burglaries, domestic disputes, accidents, etc.). • Summon a paramedic or ambulance. • Report a fire. • Report suspicious, criminal activity (alarms, shots fired, shouts for help, sounds of breaking glass, unfamiliar person carrying items from a house, etc.). • Report a sewer backup or other Public Works emergency that requires immediate attention.
When in doubt or unsure of any situation, call 9-1-1 and the dispatcher will assist you.
Call952-927-88618a.m.to4:30p.m.MondaythroughFridayforgeneralinformation.Ifyouhaveasituationafterhoursoronweekends,butdonotrequireimmediateresponsefromaparamedic,firefighter,policeofficerorPublicWorkscrew,callthePoliceDepartment’snon-emergencynumber,952-826-1610.