Community Information

Eden Prairie Park To Feature Ice Castles Again

Compared to the summer, there are quite a few less outdoor activities that Minnesotans of all ages can participate in; however, one thing kids love to do in the winter is build snow and ice forts. It's almost a right of passage in childhood. One of the 'coolest' features of the Minnesota winter is when adults play with ice, especially when they stack the ice blocks to form castles.

Miller Park in Eden Prairie will see the return of ice castles this winter. A Utah based company, Ice Castles LLC, will be charged with erecting the great ice structures this winter. Last year, the comapny also built an ice castle in Eden Prairie which attracted more than 80,000 visitors; the year before, at the Mall of America played host and also drew big crowds.

On September 15, the Eden Prairie City Council approved...

Nagasaki and St. Paul Celebrate 60 Years as Sister Cities



The city of Nagasaki, Japan, is a world away from St. Paul, Minnesota. But many here know the name as it was one of the two cities devastated by the United States atomic bomb attacks in World War II. Many Minnesotans might not know Nagasaki and St. Paul are sister cities, a tie that was established in 1955.

Ten years after World War II ended, the City of St. Paul hosted a special ceremony to celebrate their newly founded connection to the Japanese city. The ceremony was held on the ten year anniversary of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1955. This relationship was established by James J. Hill's son, which later became a Sister City affiliation. This affiliation is one of the oldest in the United States and was one of the first between an Asian and American city.

A delegation from Nagasaki will visit St. Paul at the end of August...

22 High Performing Schools Recognized by Minnesota Department of Education

22 local schools have been recognized as "Celebration Schools," an honor bestowed upon schools serving poor students who demonstrate good achievement. 

The "Celebration" portion of the award is in part to Minnesota's new school accountability system. This monitors schools that receive federal poverty aid and gives them designations that correlate with how they fare academically. The "Celebration" designation is one of the highest commendations meant for the top 25% of schools receiving Title I money. 

“I want to congratulate these schools for this incredible accomplishment,” said Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “Minnesotans should be proud of the work going on in our schools."

The full spread of schools is listed below -- congrats to all the "Celebration Schools" for their hard work to...

Minnesota Ranks in the Top Ten for Business in the Country

According to Forbes magazine's 2014 top ten list for 'Best and Worst States for Business', Minnesota ranks in the top ten coming in at #9. Last year, the state also cracked the top ten clocking in at #8.

The magazine ranked the states based on a total of 36 factors, like quality of life, labor supply and economic climate (not the actual climate, which is harsh at the moment). The state also has the fourth highest percentage of adults with a high school diploma at 92.4%. Another huge factor in the ranking was the $312 billion gross revenue for the state in 2013. 

The metro has a healthy arena for business as many major corporations have called the state of Minnesota home. Those corportations include: Best Buy, General Mills, 3M, Target, US Bancorp, and Medtronic. With these hugh employers...

Mall of America Getting 'Super' for 2018

With the 2018 Super Bowl calling the Twin Cities home, it comes as little surprise that the state is looking to make itself as attractive as possible to a world audience. With the Vikings getting a new stadium and the addition of more light rail, the state is quickly looking to ready itself for the worldwide event.

Though unrelated to the Super Bowl taking place in Minneapolis, the Mall of America is also expanding, by a whole lot. If you thought the MOA was huge before, can you imagine it being twice as big? The next ten years will make that a reality. Yes, that’s right, the MOA will be double its current size in just over ten years.

The MOA is planning on expanding the mall in phases, with the first phase adding another hotel, another sizable atrium, more dining options and...

Linden Hills & Fulton Neighborhoods of Minneapolis

The Linden Hills and Fulton neighborhoods are two of the best locations to live in all the Twin Cities. Aside from only being minutes away from both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, the area sits in close proximity to the international airport and the Mall of America – and because the neighborhood is on the west side of the metro, it’s only a short drive to the scenic Lake Minnetonka. And on that note, the area itself has plenty of outdoor space that feels anything but urban.

Image Credit: Joe Bielawa

Near the Linden Hills and Fulton neighborhoods sit plenty of bodies of water worth spending time around – Minnehaha Creek,...

Minneapolis and the Twin Cities Rank No. 1 for Parks

The Trust for Public Land declared Minneapolis and the Twin Cities the nation’s best big city for public parks, followed by New York, Boston and Sacramento, Calif.

Minneapolis parks

Jayne Miller, superintendent for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, said the work the board has done over the years earned the award.

“The city was built around the park system, not the other way around,” she said. “We are unique from the standpoint that the park system was built as an economic driver for the city.”

Recent Minneapolis parks projects include the East Phillips Park Cultural and Community Center and new synthetic turf fields; a new beach, boardwalk playground and picnic area at Theodore Wirth Park; and the Phillips Community Center renovation.

“This is an honor not for the...

November Events in the Twin Cities

 15th Annual Gobbler Games

This event is for parents and children (ages 4-14) set in pairs to participate in fun, low-key competitive...

Circle Pines: A Perfect Suburb

The Minnesota community of Circle Pines has been named the third-most "Perfect Suburb" in the country by CNBC.

Analysts at Location Inc. based their rankings on affordable housing, good schools and employment, low crime, and reasonable commutes. They chose the 10 metropolitan areas with the lowest unemployment rates and then factored in the other variables. At the top was Edmond, Okla., followed by Kensington, Md., in second. No other Minnesota cities made the list.

With 5,407 residents, Circle Pines is one of the smallest cities on the list, but it boasted some high marks:

Suburb of: Minneapolis – St. Paul
Metro area unemployment rate: 6.5%
Median house value: $203,954
Safer from crime than this percent of all U.S. communities: 55%

Circle Pines is a small city with a population of 5,407 — and more people working in computers and math than 95% of the U.S. It has better public schools than 90% of all U.S. communities, and its public schools are better...

St. Louis Park Residents Love Living in Their City

People who live in St. Louis Park are really happy with their city compared to the ratings people in other Minnesota locations give their towns.

A citywide survey conducted this spring "took the temperature" of St. Louis Park residents. The poll was part of a city effort to track trends and check priorities. Mayor Jeff Jacobs and City Manager Tom Harmening were pleased with the results.

And they had plenty of reason to be. Survey firm Decision Resources told St. Louis Park officials that the ratings they found are among the highest they have seen in the many Twin Cities communities they have surveyed. A resounding 97% of residents rated the quality of life in St. Louis Park MN as excellent or good. About 95% of polled residents said they feel safe. About 89% rated city services as excellent or good. Only 4% of residents said they anticipated moving in the next five years.

When asked what serious issues face Saint Louis Park,...