Top Eagan Community Stories of 2011

This week, Eagan Patch gleaned through our archives to bring you the top news stories and issues of 2011. On Friday, we began with a retrospective on business news in the community. Today, we bring you a bevy of the most interesting features and community stories we've published this year.

Know of a headline or issue that should have made it onto our list? Feel free to post your choices for the biggest community news of the year in the comments section of this article.

5)
Patch interviewed Eastview High School graduate Devin Kelley, who was cast this year as character Vonda Wysocki in FOX TV's new police drama, "The Chicago Code."

“I thought I was gonna throw up,” Kelley said, remembering when she first received the call about the casting. Kelley spent her last two years of high school at Eastview, doing both school and community singing and theater productions, including at the Guthrie Theater. The show was eventually canceled, but not before Kelley got a little screentime.

4)

Eagan's recognition as a Yellow Ribbon city by Gov. Mark Dayton this summer is good news for all service members and their families living locally. The organization is dedicated to supporting the families of American soldiers before, during and after deployment. The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon initiative was led by Eagan residents Bud and Julie Johnson, and is currently raising money to broaden its support efforts within the community.

3)

Eagan's new Tribute and Memorial Plaza, with its statues recognizing Eagan's emergency responders and solders, is a way to say 'thank you' to the city's hometown heroes, according to Margo Danner. Danner, in partnership with Tom Mullon, helped secure funding for and develop the memorial, which stands in Eagan's Though the site only opened this summer, local groups have already held a Memorial Day service and a 9/11 remembrance at the site.

2)
After a year of planning, The Pantry Food Shelf opened early this December along Cedar Grove parkway in Eagan. Resembling a grocery store with volunteer personal shoppers to accompany clients, the food shelf is open three days a week to serve clients. The need for a new food shelf was prompted by a significant rise in the number of people accessing services from the Eagan Resource Center. Last year, the center served roughly as many as 500 families a month.

1)
While dealing with a tumultuous pregnancy and the eventual death of her daughter, JoAnn Hardegger recruited friend and Eagan resident Sona Mehring to help the family get information out to loved ones. Thus, the website CaringBridge was born. This year, Patch profiled Mehring. Her website has been used across the nation by countless individuals to keep in touch with family and friends through difficult surgeries, diseases and deaths.