On Wednesday of this past week, Mayor Tyra-Lukens and I were honored to have State Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach join us in our City Council Chambers to present us with the official Governor’s Fit City recognition plaque. While she was here, I convinced her to join the Mayor for their first ever podcast. Click the photos to enlarge and listen in to see what the Minnesota Commissioner of Health and the Mayor of Eden Prairie have to say about the Governor’s Fit City Program.
Click play to listen (2 min, 22 sec).
On March 30, 2006, Eden Prairie was official recognized by the Minnesota Department of Health as one of Governor Pawlenty’s Fit Cities. Here’s the text of the announcement we made on our website:
March 23, 2006 – Eden Prairie, MN – The City of Eden Prairie was recently designated as a “Governor’s Fit City” by the Minnesota Department of Health and Governor Pawlenty. This designation recognizes Minnesota cities that are committed to creating and maintaining an environment supportive of active living. Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens will be announcing this designation Thursday, March 30 at 3:30 p.m. at the Community Center (16700 Valley View Road).
Eden Prairie is committed to providing individuals who live, work and play within the City opportunities to become more physically active. This award recognizes all of the fitness opportunities Eden Prairie offers to its residents through Eden Prairie’s recreation programs, parks, recreation facilities and school district programs.
The city offers numerous programs encouraging people to think about health and fitness. Eden Prairie has over 100 miles of paved trails, forty-three parks, thirteen youth athletic associations which serve 10,500 area youth and 568 adult athletic teams with over 9,400 participants. Eden Prairie also provides a fitness facility and fitness programs at the Community Center. In addition, the City offers fun runs and walks which utilize the great parks and trails in Eden Prairie and promote the importance of health and wellness.
The City of Eden Prairie also has fitness programs aimed at making the youth of Eden Prairie more active. In addition to great youth associations, there are also youth fitness programs. Both Oak Point and Prairie View schools hold run clubs for students. The City offers two programs, Girls on the Run and Girls on Track, which promote the importance of staying active by running and walking and help educate girls about a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. The City also provides “family fitness hours” at the Community Center to allow youth, ages 12 – 14, to work out with their parents.
In the upcoming year, the City will make major facility improvements to provide residents of Eden Prairie even more fitness options through expanded facilities and programs. Aside from renovations and additions to our parks and trails, the Community Center will soon have a gym, an indoor track and expanded cardio and weight rooms, which will include youth specific equipment and an array of new program opportunities for the whole family to stay active.
For more information on these and other great programs the City of Eden Prairie has to offer, please visit our web site at www.edenprairie.org or you may contact the Community Center at 949-8470.
