This is an aerial view of Eden Prairie’s Golden Triangle Industrial Park. Your view of the Golden Triangle in this photo is looking north. The edges of the triangle are three major highways: 169 on the east side of the triangle; 212 on the west side of the triangle; and I-494 on the [...]
Monthly Archives: December 2005
Tragedy in Iraq; Grief in the Twin Cities
December 23, 2005 – 7:26 am
A young man was killed in yesterday in Iraq. His name was Kyle Kaszynski. Kyle was a police officer for the St. Paul Police Department who was on leave from his job in St. Paul working for a private security contractor training new police officers and providing other security services in Iraq.
Yesterday, [...]
Smoking Ban Status Quo
December 22, 2005 – 9:26 am
Yes, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners recently voted 4-3 to relax elements of the indoor smoking ban they enacted last year. However, that doesn’t mean much – if any – change for us here in Eden Prairie. Ben Steverman wrote an article for the December 20, 2005 Star Tribune that sums up [...]
LBSC 708/709 E-Government Final Exam
December 21, 2005 – 8:07 am
As many people do, the first thing I do each day when I get into work is turn on my computer, log in, and run through my accumulated e-mail. When I did that on Monday morning this week I had the following e-comment from my blog waiting for me in my Inbox:
Comment: I am [...]
Loudi, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
December 20, 2005 – 10:45 am
Eden Prairie Superintendent of Schools Dr. Melissa Krull, Eden Prairie businessman Terry Bunge and I just had a very successful lunch meeting last Friday with Mr. Lili Pan, the Eden Prairie-based consultant working on behalf of the Chinese delegation from Loudi, Hunan, China that will be visiting Minnesota in February. Terry is a new member [...]
The $207,241 Error
December 19, 2005 – 1:40 pm
When I saw the report on KSTP.com that a “computer glitch” at the City’s general liability insurance carrier – the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) – meant that the City of Eden Prairie owed the insurance trust an additional $207,241 in workers compensation insurance premium, I’ll have to admit that I was a [...]
No Billboards Here, Please
December 16, 2005 – 7:37 am
This is a trivision billboard. If you’ve driven an interstate highway in this country you must have seen one before. I suppose they can provide helpful commercial information to the traveling public, but they’re often distracting to drivers and an eyesore for our beautiful natural environment. You may not have realized it, [...]
The Budget is Done
December 15, 2005 – 7:40 am
Or, instead of “done,” I could say the budget is ready. The 2006 City Budget is ready for 2006 to arrive. The City Council took final action on the 2006 budget at its December 13 meeting.
Among many things, the 2006 budget includes funding for two new initiatives for 2006. One [...]
Backup Electrical Generator
December 13, 2005 – 12:10 pm
This is a sketch of how a backup electrical generator works. A much larger version of this kind of generator supplies backup electricity to City Center. Backup electrical power is essential to our operations. In the event of a failure of our electrical power system, the City must be able to keep [...]
Mr. Wilf, Mr. Wilf, and Mr. Wilf
December 12, 2005 – 1:57 pm
I had the great fortune today of having lunch with the owner of the Minnesota Vikings professional football club, Mr. Zygi Wilf. Mr. Wilf was the guest of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce today. He spoke at the Chamber’s monthly membership luncheon. I sat with him at one of the head [...]
Jody Carlin
December 9, 2005 – 4:48 pm
This is Jody Carlin at work. Jody is a Park Maintenance Worker in our Parks & Recreation Department. Jody works outside all year long. Here she is in action during a tree trimming project. She is shown here working with our wood chipper. During the winter months Jody also works [...]
NLC: Day Two
December 8, 2005 – 3:46 pm
Day One was yesterday. My flight into Charlotte was smooth. The plane was full of Minnesota city officials on their way to this conference. Councilmember Sherry Butcher and I were on the same flight. We picked up our conference credentials, walked the exhibitor floor, and then finished the evening with dinner with [...]
Travel Day
December 7, 2005 – 7:30 am
This is the table poster from a roundtable training session I led at last week’s annual conference of the League of Minnesota Cities in Rochester. I spoke to two sessions of about twelve people each session about using weblogs as a communications tool for city government officials. I’m traveling today to Charlotte, North Carolina, [...]
Honoring City Employees
December 6, 2005 – 9:21 am
This is a photo of Eden Prairie city employees assembled in the Council Chambers last week for our 2005 Fall Employee Recognition. We gather city employees together twice each year to recognize new employees and employees based on their years of service. We recognize employees at their 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 [...]
Truth-In-Taxation
December 5, 2005 – 2:16 pm
The State of Minnesota requires local units of government to conduct public hearings each year near the end of our budget approval process called “Truth-In-Taxation” hearings. The Truth-In-Taxation hearing (we call them TNT hearings) is an opportunity for citizens to publicly provide their opinions, views, and input to their City Councils, School Boards, and [...]
