According to the city of Edina, interviews of city manager candidates that had been scheduled for (Aug. 23) have been cancelled.
Proper notice for the meeting had not been given.

The interviews have been rescheduled for Aug. 30.The City Council is set to meet to prepare at 6 p.m., with the interviews at 7 and 8:30 p.m., according to a news release. The council is to meet at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 31 to "begin deliberations."

Eden Prairie City Manager Scott Neal and New Brighton City Manager Dean Lotter are the finalists for the position.

By Leah Shaffer
Before the end of the month, Eden Prairie could find out whether its city manager is moving next door. Eden Prairie City Manager Scott Neal has been selected as a finalist to replace retiring Edina City Manager Gordon Hughes. Neal, along with New Brighton City Manager Dean Lotter were announced as the two finalists during an Edina City Council work session Tuesday afternoon. The two candidates will be interviewed Monday and the Edina City Council is expected to deliberate on the decision during a meeting on Tuesday.

City Clerk Kathleen Porta reports that Eden Prairie resident Scott Pollino filed to run for City Council today. The other candidates who have filed to run for City Council are Donna Azarian, Sherry Butcher-Wickstrom and Kathy Nelson.

Candidates for mayor thus far are Jon Duckstad and Nancy Tyra-Lukens.

As of Friday, the following Eden Prairie residents had filed for City Council:

* Donna Azarian, 48, an Eden Prairie resident since 1993, filed Wednesday. Azarian has worked for KMSP-TV and Time Warner Cable. She invented "Pan's Best Friend" cooking oil wipes. She is active in the local Republican Party.

Eden Prairie resident and former Eden Prairie City Council Member Sherry Butcher Wickstrom was the first to file to run for Eden Prairie City Council when the filing period opened Tuesday morning.

“I am running because I think I’ve got that experience and that kind of collaborative leadership that is really needed right now,” Butcher Wickstrom said. Butcher Wickstrom, 55, is executive director of professional training at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. She has lived in Eden Prairie for 28 years, serving on the City Council from 1997 to 2008.

Eden Prairie Mayor Phil Young said Tuesday that he does not plan to run for a second term as mayor.

Young served on the City Council for four years and was elected mayor in 2006.

“I am not running,” Young said.

He said that in 2006, he planned to run for one term.

“I had toyed earlier in the year with running for a second term,” he said. “I’ve given 11 years to the city. I think it’s fair to give someone else an opportunity to lead.”

He said earlier in the year he had been leaning toward running.

Eden Prairie resident and former Eden Prairie City Council Member Sherry Butcher Wickstrom was the first to file to run for Eden Prairie City Council when the filing period opened this morning.

"I am running because I think I’ve got that experience and that kind of collaborative leadership that is really needed right now," Butcher Wickstrom said.

City Council Member Kathy Nelson filed for office later that day.

Congressman Erik Paulsen, R-Third District, will host a town hall meeting from 7-8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, at the Southview Middle School auditorium, 4725 Southview Lane, Edina.

"Paulsen will provide an update on recent legislation in Congress and share information on some of his other initiatives while taking questions and comments from constituents attending the forum," according to a news release.

The public is invited to meet Minnesota DFL gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher and other political leaders at Glen Lake Golf and Eden Wood Center this Saturday, July 31. The golf, social and dinner event is hosted by Eden Prairie and Minnetonka Democrats. Reps. Maria Ruud (42A) and John Benson (43B), Sen. Terri Bonoff (43), and candidates Ray Daniels (District 42B) and Ron Case (Senate District 42) are among those slated to attend.

The Eden Prairie City Council briefly addressed the investigation of Mayor Phil Young at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Young was being investigated for requesting travel and meeting reimbursement for meetings he did not attend. According to the Plymouth Police report, it is estimated Young requested payment for 17 meetings of the Regional Council of Mayors he did not attend over the past two years.