Calling all amateur and professional photographers! In a few short weeks, Eagan Patch will be transitioning to a new website format—one that will have all kinds of benefits for our local readers and users. As part of that transition, I'm looking for one or more iconic Eagan images—photos of scenes, people or locations in the city that would be instantly recognizable for all our local readers. Post your high-quality images of the city to Patch by pressing the 'Upload' button on this page, or email them to me at david.henke@patch.com. I'll look over the submissions, and may choose one or more …

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter| Blog for us Eagan Patch is committed to covering all aspects of life in Eagan, but we also want to promote a healthy dialogue with the community. We want you to feel invested in this site, just like you feel invested in Eagan. For those of you who have already started commenting and contributing to the site, thanks! Your voices and perspectives are welcome, and make Eagan Patch more well-rounded and vibrant. For those of you who are unsure how to contribute, here is a quick guide to some of the free …

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter| Blog for us You've rooted for him from the comfort of your couch, now come cheer him on with your friends and community members at Ansari's Mediterranean Grill in Eagan. Eagan Patch and Ansari's have partnered up to host a viewing party starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 19 to watch Eagan musician Nicholas Mrozinski perform on NBC's "The Voice". Mrozinski, whose soulful voice and eccentric personality have propelled him through the standings, is expected to give another televised performance on Monday, …

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter Interstate Partners, a developer looking to build an office and data center in Eagan, isn't the only business making waves in Eagan this week. Here's a quick rundown of some of the other recent business developments happening in the community. New Car Wash Coming to Nicols Road?The Holiday gas station at 4595 Nicols Rd. may soon be home to a new, free-standing car wash. On Tuesday, the business got a preliminary nod from the Eagan Advisory Planning Commission, which recommended approval of a conditional use…

Last year, Eagan Patch launched a blog platform—sort of like an open  community opinion page—and in that time we've gotten some fantastic  contributors filling our Local Voices section. Take, for example, Eagan resident and blogger Steve McKinley, who has covered anything from morning dog walking to losing the Internet for a day—all with a tongue-in-cheek style. We also have Sarah Reitsma, a mother of two whose daughter, Lily, has made headlines on Eagan Patch before. Sarah writes about the trials of motherhood and weight loss in a very personal and profound way.  There are many others—…

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter When he's not editing Lakeville Patch, my dastardly co-worker Derrick Williams is busy hatching evil schemes to take over the world. Don't believe me? Check out his latest post: "Help Me Destroy My Co-Workers: 'Like' Lakeville Patch on Facebook." Sure, he's only asking you to like his Facebook page. It seems straightforward and innocent. But I assure you that this is only the tip of his villainous iceberg. Derrick is like Brain from the old "Pinky and the Brain" cartoon, constantly plotting and rubbing his …

City officials had a hard time holding back their tongue-in-cheek comments last week, as the Eagan City Council took action to amend its rules governing carrier pigeons. "Carrier pigeons?" I thought, as I reviewed the council's agenda for the evening. "Why would the city have an ordinance on carrier pigeons?" After talking with the city's communications director, Tom Garrison, it turns out that the city's ordinance is an old, quirky rule inserted into the City Code. But just because it hails from another era doesn't mean it doesn't serve a purpose today, Garrison was quick to point out. At …

Because I'm not a big professional football fan, the Super Bowl game is less important to me than the commercials—and the snacks! Some of my fellow Patch editors and I are working to compile a collection of your favorite party-food recipes and create a Super Bowl cookbook of sorts for our readers to use. Have a fiery homemade buffalo wings recipe? Can you make a jello mold in the shape of a football? Does your salsa disappear off the table in the blink of an eye? Then we want you to send us your recipe! Feel free to post your gameday recipes in the comments section below so all our readers …

Before Eagan Patch launched in 2010, editors and freelancers ventured to local businesses in order to collect information for our online directory. Now, the "Places" section on Patch is a spot where users can find descriptions, hours, accepted payment methods and much more for businesses, organizations, schools and even parks around town. Any user can also add events taking place at local spots, can rate the business on a scale of one to five stars and add a review. But owners of local businesses get extra bonuses when they claim a listing. Owners or managers should search for their business …

I wanted to inform everyone that I am now the new editor of the Rosemount Patch site. I hope to do all the great things I did with the Eagan site for the Rosemount site! It has been absolutely wonderful getting to know all the great people in Eagan, whether I met you at events or spoke with you on a pretty regular basis. Working on the Eagan Patch site from the ground up has been a wonderful challenge, and I have grown some great relationships with folks in Eagan. I truly have been busy in Eagan since day one. Before the Eagan site went live in November, I was busy introducing myself to …

American flags were waved and cheers were heard across the nation as Sunday night's news of Osama bin Laden's death spread. Now is as good as any to take a second and reflect back to that somber day in September 2011 and remember how many Americans joined the U.S. military to protect our freedom. Bin Laden's death clearly illustrates the danger that American military personnel routinely face, as U.S. forces reportedly stormed a Pakistani mansion and killed the terrorist leader, fending off gunfire during the mission. Please take a moment to remember Capt. Thomas Gramith -- a man from Eagan …

Editor's Note: This is my last Citizen's Academy entry. In the class, police taught us about identity theft, homicide investigations, self defense, and academy members also had ridealongs with officers, experienced a taser demo and had the opportunity to participate in a service weapons shoot. The Citizen's Academy held its last class Thursday, April 14. In the video, Sheryl Buss, Laverne McLaughlin and I fired guns with instructions from officers Todd Kirchgatter and Curt Sticha.

Editor's Note: In this weekly column, I am going to write about what I've learned each week at the academy. Some of the topics that will be covered in this column and at the Citizen's Academy is identity theft, homicide investigation, self defense, and there will also be ridealongs with officers, a Taser demo and an opportunity to participate in a service weapons shoot. The Citizen's Academy is held every Thursday at the Eagan Police Department from 6:30-9:30 p.m. This year’s Citizen’s Academy classes have come to an end. I must say, these past seven Thursdays have flown by, and I have even …

Editor's Note: In this weekly column, I am going to write about what I've learned each week at the academy. Some of the topics that will be covered in this column and at the Citizen's Academy is identity theft, homicide investigation, self defense, and there will also be ridealongs with officers, a Taser demo and an opportunity to participate in a service weapons shoot. The Citizen's Academy is held every Thursday at the Eagan Police Department from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Eagan Police Lt. Duane Pike spent half the class going over the details for interviewing and hiring officers. He handed out a 35-…

Editor's Note: In this weekly column, I am going to write about what I've learned each week at the academy. Some of the topics that will be covered in this column and at the Citizen's Academy is identity theft, homicide investigation, self defense, and there will also be ridealongs with officers, a Taser demo and an opportunity to participate in a service weapons shoot. The Citizen's Academy is held every Thursday at the Eagan Police Department from 6:30-9:30 p.m. This past week our class was split up into two parts: half of us went to experience the department's firearms simulator and at the…

Editor's Note: In this weekly column, I am going to write about what I've learned each week at the academy. Some of the topics that will be covered in this column and at the Citizen's Academy is identity theft, homicide investigation, self defense, and there will also be ridealongs with officers, a Taser demo and an opportunity to participate in a service weapons shoot. The Citizen's Academy is held every Thursday at the Eagan Police Department from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Members of the Eagan Police Department's Citizen’s Academy were given the opportunity to to be tased Thursday evening. The option …

Editor's Note: In this weekly column, I am going to write about what I've learned each week at the academy. Some of the topics that will be covered in this column and at the Citizen's Academy is identity theft, homicide investigation, self defense, and there will also be ridealongs with officers, a taser demo and an opportunity to participate in a service weapons shoot. The Citizen's Academy is held every Thursday at the Eagan Police Department from 6:30-9:30 p.m. This past week's class was very interesting. We learned about Internet safety and identity theft, which is increasingly more …

Editor's Note: In this weekly column, I am going to write about what I've learned each week at the academy. Some of the topics that will be covered in this column and at the Citizen's Academy is identity theft, homicide investigation, self defense, and there will also be ridealongs with officers, a taser demo and an opportunity to participate in a service weapons shoot. The Citizen's Academy is held every Thursday at the Eagan Police Department from 6:30-9:30 p.m. The Eagan Police Department has been offering the Citizen's Academy to good-standing people in the community for 16 years. The …

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout? Is there a kid who helped your local soccer team take the championship? Maybe you know a great kid who did great at their school spelling bee. They may be our next Eagan Patch Whiz Kid honoree. Each week, Eagan Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to Jennifer.Pfeffer@patch.…

Moms, we want to talk to you. And we want you to talk to us. Often. We know you've got wisdom to share—not just with your children, but with other moms facing the same challenges, dilemmas, joys and opportunities you've encountered. Although it seems like you can do everything (it really, really seems that way—we never stop being amazed by it), it wouldn't hurt to have some fellow moms around to share ideas and advice. Here's the deal: Starting very soon, we're going to be offering a lot of information we hope you'll find useful. Tips and stories on everything from finding the best …