This Valentine's Day, don't just give your sweetheart flowers; take them where they can dine amongst them. Enjoy candle-lit tables throughout the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul amongst the three featured gardens, each with its own unique characteristics from the intimate North Garden with lush vegetation to the Sunken Garden with the color and scents of a picturesque warm summer day.

Live musicians play as Lancer Catering serves a double entrée, gourmet dinner that includes:

The preliminary 2008 state traffic death count of 424 represents a dramatic 16 percent decrease in deaths from 2007, and the lowest fatality mark since 1944 when 356 motorists were killed, according to a news release. The 2008 death tally will rise as more fatal reports are received by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) — the final number will be available in May. The 2007 road fatality total was 510.

Grace Church in Eden Prairie announces the start of a new Celebrate Recovery program for individuals struggling with addictions, compulsions or codependencies. The ongoing program will meet weekly from 7-9 p.m. Thursdays beginning Jan. 15. 

According to a staff report in this week’s City Council agenda, Elaine Sampson and family have donated $35,000 to the new Eden Prairie Art Center. The bulk of the funds will be used to make the necessary interior renovations to allow public access to the Art Center facility. The Sampson family donated the building, located at 7650 Equitable Drive, last year. The building had been the art studio for Roger Sampson, who passed away in 2006.

Hennepin County Commissioners Jan Callison from the Sixth District (which includes a portion of Eden Prairie), and Jeff Johnson from the Seventh District along with Randy Johnson, representing the Fifth District (which includes the majority of Eden Prairie) – will be sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 1:30 p.m. in the 24th Floor Board Room of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. Sixth St. in downtown Minneapolis.

The following video of the EP Eagles 2008 State Dance Team Tournament performance is by "chanelist."

The Eden Prairie (A.M.) Rotary Club wishes everyone a healthy (and can we say prosperous?) New Year.

Rotary has a great tradition in Eden Prairie, where two very successful clubs exist. If your New Year’s resolution includes “giving back to the community” or “networking with other business types,” you should give Rotary a try.

Third District Congressman Jim Ramstad looks back on career

By Leah Shaffer

A new fee and fine policy starts Jan. 2 at all Hennepin County Libraries.

“Hennepin County Library strives to make limited resources available to all. The fee and fine policy is an incentive to encourage customers to return library materials on time so they are available to others,” according to a news release. “The new fee and fine policy is a result of close examination of policies at libraries in the Twin Cities metro area and several major public library systems in North America.”

Q&A with local officials

We asked local officials to share highlights and challenges from 2008 as well as resolutions and expectations for 2009 – and their favorite free or inexpensive place to visit in Eden Prairie. The responses we received are below.

Q&A with local officials

We asked local officials to share highlights and challenges from 2008 as well as resolutions and expectations for 2009 – and their favorite free or inexpensive place to visit in Eden Prairie. The responses we received are below.

It’s been a whirl-wind year for Congressman-elect Erik Paulsen, who emerged as victor in a tightly-fought race in the Third Congressional District. He’s pretty much hit the ground running since election night, having gone through three orientation sessions with his fellow freshman legislators since then:

Are you interested in reading the public notices published in the January 1, 2009 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 following obituaries are from the Jan. 1, 2009 print edition of the Eden Prairie News newspaper:

By Karla Wennerstrom

 "I must have been the only one that didn't know Ron, Sherry and Brad would be running," Jeff Meyerhofer said in a recent interview about his Eden Prairie City Council run.

Affordable housing opportunities are opening up in Eden Prairie through the Homes Within Reach program, which, little by little over the years has secured more properties within Eden Prairie.

By Unsie Zuege

Two of Eden Prairie’s consultants will be discussing the state of the city’s lakes with the Eden Prairie Conservation Commission on Jan. 13.

At the commission’s regular meeting, Steve McComas of Blue Water Science and Walter Eshenhaur of SRF Consulting Group are scheduled to speak about recent projects.

Bonnie Jeanne Labatt, 67, of Chanhassen, died Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008.

Service is Friday, Jan. 2, at 1 p.m. with visitation one hour before at Westwood Community Church, 3121 Westwood Drive, Chanhassen.

Washburn-McReavy Eden Prairie Chapel, 952-975-0400.

Roger Walters, 73, longtime resident of Brooklyn Park, formerly of Eden Prairie, died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008.

Memorial service is Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 11 a.m. with visitation one hour before.

Washburn-McReavy Glen Haven Chapel, Crystal. 763-533-8643.