Edina

5412 France Avenue #204, Edina MN

Looking for a fabulous condo with all the updates and a location to die for?  Proudly introducing you to MLS #4483720.  This beautifully remodeled condo features an open floor plan, hardwood floors, granite kitchen counters, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washer and dryer, and your own garage!

Only 4 blocks to the heart of Edina's 50th & France.  An easy walk to the shops, restaurants and other buisinesses in this coveted location or continue just...

Architectural Style - French Norman

The French Normandy or French Norman style is named for architecture found in the Normandy province of France, starting in the Middle Ages. At the time, people in Normandy and the Loire Valley of France attached their farm silos to the main living quarters instead of to a separate barn. During the 1920s and 1930s, an Americans revivalist movement romanticized the traditional French farmhouse, constructing buildings that take their cues from ancient French rural residences. Many plans include a small round tower topped by a cone-shaped roof, resembling the grain silos of the ancient Normandy style. The architecture is characterized by steep, conical roofs or hipped roofs and round stair-towers. They generally have stone walls and an asymmetrical plan. Like Tudor style houses, 20th-century French Normandy homes may have decorative half-timbering. Unlike Tudor style homes, houses influenced by French styles do not have a dominant gable...

Architectural Style – Ranch

The uncomplicated Ranch house evolved from several 20th century styles, including ramblers and bungalows.  They were popular from 1945 through the 1980s. Sometimes referred to as a California Rambler, Ranch Style houses are usually one-story tall and rectangular, L-shaped, or U-shaped in design.  The horizontal layouts tend to be long and narrow. They have a low-pitched gable roofs, deeply-set eaves, attached garages, and large windows. There are some fine examples of Ranch style architecture in Edina MN.

 

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Greening Minnesota ~ September 2011

Fall is in the air! The leaves are turning gold and red, but there are still some great green initiatives and events happening in Minnesota. There are plenty of people ad local communities working towards a cleaner environment for all Minnesota residents. Read on to find out more.

The annual report on organic farm performance from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and University of Minnesota said 2010 was a good year for organic farms. "Profits improved but were not outstanding." Balance sheets, however, were on average very sound as they headed into 2011. The report said that after a difficult 2009, the median organic producer earned a net farm income of $62,463 in 2010. That was a sixfold increase over 2009 and was consistent with returns earned in 2007 and 2008, which were considered very profitable for the organic sector.

As a Hopkins High School junior, Dustin Kloempken had the bright idea of getting solar panels installed to make his school more eco-friendly....

Walkable Communities: Not Just a Green Thing

If you lived in a place where you had to walk on the shoulder of a road or in the grass, would you walk places? What if you lived in a neighborhood with sidewalks that lead to places like the grocery store or a restaurant?

The development choices of cities and towns can have a drastic effect on the health of its residents. Mark Fenton, a former world-class race walker and an engineer, travels the country energetically proclaiming the many benefits that health-conscious urban design can have on a community. He recently met with fficials from Bloomington, Edina and Richfield to explain why they should build more streets and developments that lure people into being active.

Fenton explains that the design of our communities influences how active we are as part of our routine daily life. The best way to encourage regular exercise is not to build trails for walkers and bicyclists just in parks, but to have paths that are part of a network and that lead to destinations where want to go. People...

Greening Minnesota ~ July 2010

Summer is in full swing in Minnesota. That means the news is filled with stories about our lakes, our parks, and our farmers markets. of course, all of those are topics we love to cover in Greening Minnesota.

Earlier this month, Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of the famous late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, visited Powderhorn Park on July 4 to promote an effort called Expedition: Blue Planet and to film a segment for it. Minneapolis was the first stop for the project’s film crew and biodiesel bus on its 14,500-mile tour across North America to investigate water issues and educate the public about water conservation. Some local organizations were there to help, too, like Blue Thumb, a clean-water program started by Rice Creek Watershed District that now has many chapters in Minnesota, and Metro Blooms, whose mission is to promote eco-friendly gardening that beautifies neighborhoods and protects the environment.

To help people recycle more when they're not at home, Ramsey County...

Minnesota Schools are Tops

Southwest High School in Minneapolis has been named by Newsweek as the top public high school in Minnesota. Four other schools also made the list.

Newsweek and data company Factual generated the rankings by taking the total number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or Cambridge tests given at a school each year and dividing that by the number of seniors graduating in May or June. The rankings for 2010 are based on the date from 2009.

“I think parents have placed their students at Southwest expecting great results,” [Southwest principal Dr. William] Smith said. “We have kids that come to school anxious to learn and prepared to take the challenges that make those things possible.”

Southwest’s students are expected to enroll to AP and IB classes and then take the associated tests. Mainly though, the school's philosophy is that teachers' and administrators' jobs are to lay a foundation for future...

Edina High School a Silver Medal School - Again!

U.S. News and World Report magazine recently named Edina High School a silver medalist school based on students' performance on state assessment tests and readiness for college. This is the second consecutive year Edina has been named a silver medalist school. High schools that receive a silver medal ranking are in the top 2% nationwide.

Edina High School was just out of reach of the gold medalist category, which includes schools with the top 100 scores in the nation. However, the school had a college readiness score of 58.2, the highest of any Minnesota school.  Minnesota did not have any schools representing the gold category.

U.S. News and World Report considered 21,786 high schools in 48 states plus the District of Columbia. To determine it's list of top-performing schools, the magazine reviewed state assessment data in reading and math. To make the cut, schools had to prove that their entire student body performed well, not just a few students. Just 1,750 schools qualified for the...

Greening Minnesota ~ January 2010

There are a lot of environmentally friendly projects getting underway in the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota. And we're even saving all the rail news for a separate, future post!

Amid rising concern over the effects that road salt has on Minnesota's lakes, streams and groundwater, public works officials around the state are trying out new methods to spread salt on pavement, moistening rock salt so it sticks better, and working to establish a less-is-more culture, while also keeping motorists safe. The impacts are salt run rampant statewide after decades of dropping a pound of salt onto every 10 feet of highway without much thought. In addition to the environmental impact, money has also become a key motivator. The new techniques use less salt, costing cities and counties less.

The new Target Field ballpark for the Minnesota Twins will have a sustainable water system that will capture, conserve and reuse rain water. Minneapolis-based Pentair Inc. is building and donating the sophisticated...

Greening Minnesota ~ December

Almost didn't make it! But here it is, the Greening Minnesota, December Edition. Here, you can read about new developments in the local community which contribute towards a greener and bluer earth.

First, good news! 35 Minnesota fish and wildlife conservations projects will be getting $3.7 million in grants next year from the Outdoor Heritage Fund - created when voters approved the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment in 2008.

Next, Bloomington has a farmers market. So does Richfield, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Minneapolis. But not Edina. As soon as next summer, Edina might just have a farmer's market if a proposal that's going to the Edina Park Board in January makes its way through city review processes in time. The proposed location would be Centennial Lakes Park.

Also in Edina, as construction starts on its new public works building, one of the earliest jobs will be to drill its geothermal heating and cooling system. 124 wells will be drilled 250 feet deep and a...