Prairie Lutheran Church is hosting an American Red Cross Blood Drive from 1-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7. Call the church office at 952-829-0525 to schedule an appointment.
To donate, you must be in good health, at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and have not donated blood in last 56 days. Visit www.givelife.org to review donor eligibility guidelines and view a video on what to expect when donating blood.

Dr. Ronald W. Hewitt of Quello Clinic in Eden Prairie has completed the recertification examination from the American Board of Family Medicine.
“Board certification confers a standard of excellence in knowledge and practice to physicians who not only certify via the examination process, but who also work diligently on the maintenance of these skills during the seven-year cycle between examinations,” a news release stated.

Starkey Laboratories Inc., one of the world’s leading hearing technology companies, announced that Jason Galster, Ph.D., CCC-A, received the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Editors’ Award for the most outstanding article of the year for 2007 in conjunction with a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University.

Celleration Inc., developer of the patented MIST Therapy System, a device that uses ultrasound to heal wounds, announced today the appointment of Sven A. Wehrwein, 57, to its board of directors. Wehrwein brings more than 30 years of corporate finance and operational leadership experience to the Celleration board and will serve as an outside director and chair of the audit committee, according to a news release.

Liberty Property Trust, the real estate investment trust that owns and manages nearly four million square feet of office, flex and industrial space throughout Minnesota, has leased, renewed and/or expanded more than 117,700 square feet of office and industrial space in Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Minnetonka and Oakdale.

BauerFinancial Inc. of Coral Gables, Fla., an independent bank rating and research firm, announced that Beacon Bank, headquartered in Shorewood, and with branches in Duluth, Eden Prairie and Excelsior, has achieved its highest 5-star rating. The 5-star rating is based on the overall financial picture of the bank and indicates that Beacon Bank is one of the strongest banks in the nation, the news release said.
Beacon Bank opened its doors in 1990 and has been serving the financial needs of its communities for nearly twenty years. Visit www.beaconbank.com for more information.

By Rod Anderson

Spiritually Speaking, (that is this column’s name after all) how’s your fall schooling in the faith going so far? If that’s a fair question in any and every school from preschools and kindergarten to graduate schools and lifelong learning classes, then it’s also a fair fall question one month into Sunday school and religious education courses about faith and theology.

Army Pvt. Chase C. Nault has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches and field training exercises, according to a news release.

The Music and Fine Arts Series of Eden Prairie United Methodist Church presents “Dorothy’s Journey” at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 and 12. Joining the “Prairie Church Celebration Players” (the church’s theater group) is guest actor, Chelsea Reller, a junior at Eden Prairie High School, playing the role of Dorothy. Chelsea is a well-known actor with the Eden Prairie High School drama program, and has also performed with The Guthrie Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres and Theatre Latte Da.

The Viking Squadron, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol, trains crews to use Aerial Imaging (AI) equipment during flights.
The crews send the images ground teams, firefighters, law enforcement, and government officials what challenges they might face on the ground, according to a Viking squadron press release.
“Whether it is to view damage to structures, floodwaters, forest fires, grass fires, building fires, animal populations, plane crashes, vehicle crashes and missing persons, the scenarios seem endless,” the release stated.

The League of Women Voters forum featuring legislative candidates for House Districts 42A and B is available for viewing on the city of Eden Prairie Web site, www.edenprairie.org, or by clicking here and clicking on "other programming."

A 51-year-old Eden Prairie resident, Mohamed Essa, recently pleaded guilty in federal court in connection to a case of health care fraud.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Essa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

OTHER TOPICS
Thanks to bike
accident helpers
This letter is addressed to the wonderful people who stopped to assist my husband with my care when I fell off my bike on Friday, Aug. 29, near the High School around 6:45 p.m. We are so grateful for the help and feel even more thankful than we did before that we live in this awesome city!

A free premier movie screening of “Abanunule: The Redeemed” is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at Resurrection Life Church, 16397 Glory Lane, Eden Prairie. For information, call 952-934-5433.
“Set on the streets of Kampala, Uganda, ‘Abanunule’ follows the fall and redemption of Freddy, a former street orphan, as he turns away from his positive life at a boys’ home to return to drugs and violence on the streets,” according to a news release.

Eric Blomgren, Matthew Boudreaux, Tyler Herzog, Andrew Songle, Ian Vanic and Tim Wolfgram, all high school seniors and Scouts of the Husky Patrol of Troop 695 in Eden Prairie, will receive their Eagle Awards this weekend. The Eagle Award and rank of Eagle Scout is the highest award for a Boy Scout.
The Eagle Court of Honor ceremony will be held at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 13600 Technology Drive, Saturday, Oct. 4.

Supervalu has had its corporate headquarters in Eden Prairie since 1980 and in that time has expanded to the point where it has a need for its own convention center. That convention center, a 15,000-square-foot building addition to the current headquarters at 11840 Valley View Road, will include a green roof. Representatives from Supervalu and the architect spoke about the project during a recent City Council meeting, where it was approved.

The Third Congressional District DFL is welcoming Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold as the keynote speaker at the Progressive Patriots Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 5, at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
In addition to Sen. Feingold, the event will also feature Third Congressional District U.S. House candidate Ashwin Madia, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Senate Candidate Al Franken.
Speaker of the Minnesota House, Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark are co-masters of ceremonies.

Those participating in United Way campaigns can designate the Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools (FEPS) as their charity of choice to receive their contributions.
“The FEPS mission is to support and enhance the legacy of excellence in Eden Prairie Public Schools,” according to a news release. “FEPS does this by awarding scholarships and making grants to support innovative teaching programs. Since its inception, FEPS has awarded over $127,500 in grants and scholarships.”
Questions about making a donation should be directed to FEPS executive director Mike Frischkorn at 952-975-7205.

Click here for a story of a Chanhassen family's attempt to install a windmill.

Panels utilize new technology
By Karla Wennerstrom
An Eden Prairie home on Galway Cove uses a revolutionary technology in recently installed solar panels.

The home will be part of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society annual Solar Home Tour on Saturday.

Absentee voting – Absentee voting for the General Election begins on Friday, Oct. 3. City Center is generally open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and will be open additional hours on the Saturday prior to Election Day.

The following is an e-mail from the Hopkins School District:

Welcome to Hopkins E-News for Friday, Oct. 3, 2008.

Outstanding Students and Staff Members

Hopkins High School senior honored by National Achievement Scholarship Program
Hopkins West Junior High science teacher attends Google Teacher Academy

Upcoming Activities, Deadlines, and Events

Hopkins Spirit Shop has special October hours
Hopkins West Junior High needs donated shoes for Helping Hands community service project, Oct. 21-23

Inside Hopkins Public Schools

Susan Seitz, 59, of Eden Prairie, died Friday, Sept. 26, 2008.

A memorial service is Friday, Oct. 3, at 6:30 p.m. with a visitation one hour prior at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie.

Arrangements handled by Washburn-McReavy Eden Prairie Chapel.

After voting "no" on the first version of the bailout bill, U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad voted for the latest version of the bill, which passed the House Friday and was signed by the President.

Ramstad, a Republican who is retiring from the House this year, credits a number of new provisions in the legislation for the change in his position.

The following are responses from Rabbi Harold J. Kravitz, Max Newman Family Chair in Rabbinics, of Adath Jeshurun Congregation in Minnetonka to questions posed by the Eden Prairie Human Rights and Diversity Commission regarding the Jewish faith:

Q: Tell us something about your faith tradition.

Are you interested in reading the public notices published in the October 2, 2008 print edition of the Eden Prairie News newspaper? The page or pages on which those notices were printed are attached to this item, in the form of .pdf’s that can be opened with Adobe Acrobat.

The Southwest Corridor Transportation Coalition is hosting a town hall meeting regarding highway and transit issues in Carver County. The agenda will include information on Highway 212, Highway 5 and Southwest Metro Transit service. The meeting is from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, at the Chaska Community Center, Community Room, 1661 Park Ridge Drive, Chaska.
Speakers will include local government officials, area legislators and representatives from organizations including Bob Stevens, President of Ridgeview Hospital in Waconia.
The meeting is free and open to the public.

A Tale To Tell
by Betsy Adams

Glorious fall! Truly, Minnesota’s most spectacular season. Allow yourself to indulge all of the senses as you imagine those crisp, freshly picked apples just waiting to become pies, cider and applesauce.

Editor’s note: The Eden Prairie News is reviewing a number of issues that came up during last year’s city budget discussions. This week, we review the Capital Improvement Plan levy.

The following obituaries are from the Oct. 2, 2008 print edition of the Eden Prairie News newspaper: