Eden Prairie, Minnesota
{{Short description|City in Minnesota, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Eden Prairie
|settlement_type = City
|nickname = EP{{cite web|url=http://www.edenprairiehistory.org/26.TXT |title=Eden Prairie History |publisher=Eden Prairie History |author=Ernie Shuldhiess |access-date=July 11, 2008}} {{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&source=s_l&abauth=a42a7858%3A0s1j39fuIXAAIgEjCarSxeWNlEY&view=text&hl=en&q=EP&near=Eden+Prairie+MN&btnG=Search+Businesses#|title=Google search on "EP" businesses in "Eden Prairie, MN"|author=self|publisher=Google Maps|access-date=July 11, 2008}}
|image_skyline = EPCH.jpg
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption = Eden Prairie City Center
|image_flag =
|image_seal =
|image_map = Hennepin County Minnesota Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Eden Prairie Highlighted.svg
|mapsize = 250px
|map_caption = Location of Eden Prairie
within Hennepin County, Minnesota
|image_map1 =
|mapsize1 =
|map_caption1 =
|pushpin_map = Minnesota#USA
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Minnesota##Location in the United States
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name = {{US}}
|subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|Minnesota}}
|subdivision_name2 = Hennepin
|government_type =
|leader_title = Mayor
|leader_name = Ron Case (DFL)
|established_title = Founded
|established_title1 = Incorporated
|established_date = 1858
|established_date1 = October 22, 1962Warren Upham, Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001) p227
|founder = Robert Anderson
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_magnitude =
|area_total_km2 = 91.22
|area_land_km2 = 84.17
|area_water_km2 = 7.05
|area_total_sq_mi = 35.22
|area_land_sq_mi = 32.50
|area_water_sq_mi = 2.72
|area_urban_sq_mi =
|area_urban_km2 =
|area_metro_sq_mi =
|area_metro_km2 =
|population_as_of = 2020
|population_est = 62476
|pop_est_as_of = 2022
|population_total = 64198
|population_rank = US: 620th
MN: 16th
|population_urban = 2650890 (US: 16th)
|population_metro = 3693729 (US: 16th)
|population_density_km2 = 762.76
|population_density_sq_mi = 1975.57
|timezone = Central (CST)
|utc_offset = -6
|timezone_DST = CDT
|utc_offset_DST = -5
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 270
|elevation_ft = 886
|coordinates = {{coord|44|51|17|N|93|28|15|W|region:US-MN|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP codes
|postal_code = 55344, 55346, 55347
|area_code = Area code 952
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info = 27-18116
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = 643164{{Cite GNIS|643164|Eden Prairie}}
|blank_name_sec2 = Airport
|blank_info_sec2 = Flying Cloud Airport (Public/Reliever)
|blank1_name_sec2 = Interstates
|blank1_info_sec2 = File:I-494.svg
|blank2_name_sec2 = U.S. Routes
|blank2_info_sec2 = File:US 169.svg File:US 212.svg
|blank3_name_sec2 = State Routes
|blank3_info_sec2 = File:MN-5.svg File:MN-62.svg File:MN-101.svg
|blank4_name_sec2 = County roads
|blank4_info_sec2 = File:Hennepin County 61.svg
|blank5_name_sec2 = Public transportation
|blank5_info_sec2 = SouthWest Transit
|blank6_name_sec2 = Light rail
|blank6_info_sec2 = {{rint|minnesota|metro}} Southwest LRT (Opening 2027)
|website = {{URL|https://www.edenprairie.org/|edenprairie.org}}
|footnotes =
}}
Eden Prairie is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It had a population of 64,198 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-largest city in Minnesota.{{cite web|title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Eden_Prairie_city,_Minnesota?g=160XX00US2718116 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=October 12, 2023}} The city is adjacent to the north bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi River, about {{convert|12|mi|km}} southwest of downtown Minneapolis.
Set in the Twin Cities' outer suburbs, the community was designed as a mixed-income city model and is home to numerous commercial firms, including the headquarters of SuperValu, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Winnebago Industries, Starkey Hearing Technologies, Lifetouch Inc., SABIS, and MTS Systems Corporation.{{cite web|url=https://epchamber.org/discover-eden-prairie/economic-snapshot/|title=Economic Snapshot - City of Eden Prairie - Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce|website=Epchamber.org|date=March 16, 2017 |access-date=July 16, 2018}} It contains the Eden Prairie Center mall and is the hub of SouthWest Transit, providing public transportation to three adjacent suburbs. The television stations KMSP and WFTC are based in Eden Prairie. The nonprofit news organization [https://www.eplocalnews.org/ Eden Prairie Local News] (EPLN) also serves the community.
The area features numerous municipal and regional parks, conservation areas, multi-purpose trails, and recreational facilities.{{Cite web|title=Parks {{!}} City of Eden Prairie|url=https://www.edenprairie.org/amenities/parks-trails-recreation/parks|access-date=January 31, 2022|website=www.edenprairie.org}} There are more than {{convert|170|mi|km|-1}} of multi-use trails, {{convert|2250|acre|km2|0}} of parks, and {{convert|1300|acre|km2|0}} of open space. Popular recreational areas include Staring Lake, Lake Riley, Purgatory Creek, Miller Park, Round Lake, and the Minnesota River Bluffs Regional Trail.{{cite web|url=https://www.threeriversparks.org/location/minnesota-river-bluffs-lrt-regional-trail|title=Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail - Three Rivers Park District|website=Threeriversparks.org|access-date=July 16, 2018|archive-date=July 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707062504/https://www.threeriversparks.org/location/minnesota-river-bluffs-lrt-regional-trail|url-status=dead}}
History
File:Flailing Out Beans at Cummins Farm.jpeg
Native Americans were the first to live in the area. Originally, the land was part of the Great Dakota Nation, but when the Ojibwe arrived from the Great Lakes region, the tribes began to clash over the land. The Ojibwe were armed with knives and guns traded to them by white settlers and fur traders, and after years of bloody warfare the Ojibwe had forced the Dakota to give up all their land east of the Mississippi River, and north of the Crow Wing River, land that did not include what is now Eden Prairie.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=beiNACabKqwC|title=Eden Prairie: A Brief History|last=Wittenberg|first=Marie|date=January 1, 2010|publisher=The History Press|isbn=9781596299412|language=en}}
On May 25, 1858, a battle was fought between the Dakota and the Ojibwe in the southern part of Eden Prairie, just north of the Minnesota River, an area known as Murphy's Ferry. The Ojibwe wished to "avenge the murder" of one of their people by the Dakota the previous fall. The Ojibwe had 200 warriors and the Dakota somewhere between 60 and 70, but the Dakota proved victorious, wounding the young Ojibwe chief. The tribes continued to fight over territory well into the 1860s, even after the "Sioux Uprising" of 1862, when most Dakota people were removed from Minnesota.
Among the notable Native Americans who lived in the Eden Prairie area was Chief Shoto. Born into the band of Chief Wabash, he went on to be the chief of the Red Wing Dakota tribe for 15 years, leaving them and becoming Chief of the "Little Six" band of Dakota until the uprising in 1862, during which he became a scout for then Governor Sibley from 1862 to 1870, returning to the Little Six band in 1872. He died in 1899 at age 99 at his home in Eden Prairie.
In 1851, a treaty opened land west of the Mississippi River to settlement allowing pioneers to settle in what is now Eden Prairie. Many early farmhouses remain in the town and can be found on the National Register of Historic Places. One of these early settlers was John Cummins, an Irish-born immigrant who built what is now known as the "Cummins-Phipps-Grill House" with his wife Mattie in 1880.{{Cite web|url=http://www.edenprairiehistory.org/page4/page3/page3.html|title=Cummins House - The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Historical Society|date=2010|website=The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Historical Society|publisher=The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Historical Society|access-date=April 10, 2016}} Manuscripts indicate that Cummins was an avid and respected horticulturist, scientist, and farmer; he used his farmland to experiment with different strains of apples and grapes to try to find one that could withstand the harsh climate in Minnesota.{{Cite web|url=http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01170.xml|title=JOHN R. CUMMINS: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society|last=Cummins|first=John|website=Minnesota Historical Society|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|access-date=April 10, 2016}} The Cummins family sold this property to the Phipps family in 1908.
In 1853, John H. McKenzie and Minnesota Territory secretary Alexander Wilkins platted the town of Hennepin along the Minnesota River in what is now southeastern Eden Prairie. According to area historian Helen Holden Anderson, topographic disadvantages for the transport of agricultural goods caused Hennepin to be eclipsed by other towns in the region and the town soon vanished from maps.{{Cite web|url=https://www.swnewsmedia.com/chaska_herald/news/local/ghost-towns-of-the-southwest-metro/article_f9661c1c-a241-5ebd-b232-38228fae92b7.html|title=Ghost towns of the southwest metro}}
File:Reconstructed Eden Prairie Depot.jpg
The city was originally named "Eden" in 1853 by the writer Elizabeth F. Ellet, who chose the name because of her admiration of the "beautiful prairie" that occupies the southern part of town.{{Cite book|title=Minnesota Geographic Names|last=Upham|first=Warren|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|year=1820|location=St. Paul, MN|pages=221 |url=https://archive.org/stream/collections17minnuoft#page/220/mode/2up}} Eden Prairie's town board held its first meeting in a log schoolhouse on May 11, 1858, the same day Minnesota became a state. In the 1870s, a post office called Washburn was established in Eden Prairie Township and would be discontinued in 1903. Also that decade, a depot along the Minneapolis-St. Louis Railroad was constructed near modern Eden Prairie Road and Highway 212. A replica on restricted land was built in 2022 beside the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail.{{Cite web |last=Weber |first=Mark |date=October 17, 2022 |title=Water project recreates old EP train depot |url=https://www.eplocalnews.org/2022/10/17/water-project-recreates-old-ep-train-depot/ |access-date=April 27, 2025 |website=Eden Prairie Local News |language=en-US}}
Eden Prairie's farming community grew slowly over the years. For most of its existence, Eden Prairie was a slow-growing, pastoral village on the far southwest fringes of the Twin Cities. Between 1880 and 1960, Eden Prairie's population only grew from about 739 to 2,000. Flying Cloud Airport was the first sign of big development in 1946. The 1960s and 1970s were decades of growth for the city's parks and recreation system. In the mid-1970s, the community gained a higher profile with the addition of Interstate Highway 494 and the Eden Prairie Center mall. Eden Prairie became a village in 1962 and a statutory city in 1974. One of Eden Prairie's popular lakes, Staring Lake, is named for Jonas Platt Staring (1809–1894), who built the first house by the lake.
Geography
File:MN 240720095092 bryant lake.jpg
Eden Prairie is about {{convert|11|mi|km|0}} southwest of Minneapolis along the northern side of the Minnesota River.
Interstate 494, U.S. Highways 169 and 212, and Minnesota State Highway 5 are four of the city's main routes.
Eden Prairie's land consists of rolling hills and bluffs overlooking the Minnesota River, with zones of prairie and mixed (primarily deciduous) forests. Eden Prairie has parks, such as Staring Lake Park and Bryant Lakes Regional Park, with trails for running and biking.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of {{convert|35.19|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|32.45|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|2.74|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 25, 2012}}
Demographics
{{US Census population
| 1860 = 304
| 1870 = 576
| 1880 = 744
| 1890 = 769
| 1900 = 827
| 1910 = 974
| 1920 = 983
| 1930 = 1048
| 1940 = 1221
| 1950 = 1384
| 1960 = 3233
| 1970 = 6978
| 1980 = 16263
| 1990 = 39311
| 2000 = 54901
| 2010 = 60797
| 2020 = 64198
| estyear = 2024
| estimate = 62905
| align-fn = center
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|author=United States Census Bureau|author-link=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 23, 2014}}
2020 Census
}}
=2010 census=
As of the census of 2010, there were 60,797 people, 23,930 households, and 16,517 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1873.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 25,075 housing units at an average density of {{convert|772.7|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 81.7% White, 5.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 9.2% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 3.0% of the population.
There were 23,930 households, of which 36.3% had children under age 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.0% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.08.
The median age in the city was 37.6. 26.4% of residents were under 18; 6.5% were between 18 and 24; 27.6% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 8.6% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.
=2000 census=
As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1695.1|PD/sqmi|/km2}}. There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of {{convert|649.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 90.7% White, 2.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.
There were 20,457 households, of which 42.6% had children under age 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city, 30.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% was 65 or older. The median age was 34. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $54,328, and the median income for a family was $105,177. Males had a median income of $59,303 versus $37,196 for females. The per capita income for the city was $38,854. About 2.8% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under 18 and 6.3% of those 65 or older.
Economy
Eden Prairie is home to more than 2,800 businesses,{{Cite web |title=Economic Development {{!}} City of Eden Prairie |url=https://www.edenprairie.org/city-government/departments/community-development/economic-development |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=www.edenprairie.org |language=en}} including many that specialize in logistics/distribution, retail and wholesale trade, health care, industrial equipment, communications, and information technology.
=Top employers=
According to the city's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[http://www.edenprairie.org/home/showdocument?id=9229 "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2016 City of Eden Prairie, Minnesota"], City of Eden Prairie, 2017 its top employers were:
class="wikitable" |
#
! Employer ! # of Employees |
---|
1
|2,984 |
2
|1,700 |
3
|Eden Prairie School District #272 |1,637 |
4
|1,000 |
5
|913 |
6
|Optum360, LLC |900 |
7
|800 |
7
|800 |
8
|717 |
9
|617 |
Video game retailer FuncoLand, which operated in over 400 locations nationwide before its acquisition and merger, was headquartered in Eden Prairie.{{cite news |last=St. Anthony |first=Neal |date=November 17, 2000 |title=Babbage's appears to be phasing out ex-Funco's Eden Prairie headquarters |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60244569/star-tribune/ |work=Star Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |location=Minneapolis |page=57}}
Arts and culture
In 2008, Eden Prairie raised roughly $500,000 from the community to build a veterans memorial.{{Cite web |last=Engstrom |first=Tim |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial turns 10 |url=https://www.swnewsmedia.com/eden_prairie_news/news/local/eden-prairie-veterans-memorial-turns-10/article_84b140a7-d012-5242-8a86-29309d2504dd.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204231253/https://www.swnewsmedia.com/eden_prairie_news/news/local/eden-prairie-veterans-memorial-turns-10/article_84b140a7-d012-5242-8a86-29309d2504dd.html |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=SWNewsMedia.com |language=en}} The memorial has two components, service to country and world peace. It was constructed in Purgatory Creek Park near the intersection of Technology Drive and Prairie Center Drive. Sculptor Neil Brodin designed and constructed two bronze sculptures. The service-to-country sculpture represents a wounded airman carried over the shoulders of a soldier in the battlefield.
The world-peace sculpture depicts a woman service member touching a globe, honoring women who have served. Community members could purchase a place on the memorial for the names of loved ones who served in any branch of the U.S. service in any war or conflict. Minnesota-based Cold Spring Granite provided Mesabi black granite for the memorial's walls.
Sports
The 2017 USA Rink Bandy League Cannon Cup Playoffs took place at the Eden Prairie Rinks.{{cite web|url=http://www.usabandy.com/page/show/3407395-rink-bandy-2017-|title=Rink Bandy|website=USA Bandy}}
Government
{{PresHead|place=Eden Prairie, Minnesota|whig=no|source={{cite web |url=https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/election-results/ |title=Minnesota Election Results |website=Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State |access-date=August 13, 2024}}}}
{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|13,150|23,239|1,090|Minnesota}}
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|14,230|24,352|896|Minnesota}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|13,944|19,040|3,190|Minnesota}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|18,334|17,527|669|Minnesota}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|17,186|18,264|480|Minnesota}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|19,112|14,968|308|Minnesota}}
{{PresFoot|2000|Republican|15,903|11,691|1,348|Minnesota}}Eden Prairie is in Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, represented by Dean Phillips, a Democrat. City council officials include Mayor Ron Case and council members Mark Freiberg, Kathy Nelson, PG Narayanan and Lisa Toomey. The city manager is Rick Getschow.
The Eden Prairie Police Department has a chief, a captain, three lieutenants,{{Cite web |title=Eden Prairie Police Department Command Staff {{!}} City of Eden Prairie |url=https://www.edenprairie.org/city-government/departments/police-department/about-the-police-department/eppd-command-staff |access-date=January 30, 2023 |website=www.edenprairie.org |language=en}} about 66 sworn law-enforcement officers, and 30 civilian staff. The department was established on January 1, 1973.{{cite web |title=Police Department History |url=https://www.edenprairie.org/city-government/departments/police-department/police-department-history |publisher=Eden Prairie |accessdate=December 18, 2018}} It has three divisions: Patrol, Investigations and Support. The Patrol Division includes SWAT and police dog elements.
Education
The first school in Eden Prairie was Anderson School, a schoolhouse near a farm. At the time of its construction, it was in the center of the city. The former Eden Prairie Consolidated School, built in 1924, is now the school district Administration Building and is next to Central Middle School.
Eden Prairie operates eight K-12 schools, six elementary (PreK-5) schools (including one Spanish immersion), one middle school (6-8), and Eden Prairie High School (9-12).{{Cite web |title=Designing Pathways Update - Eden Prairie Schools |url=https://www.edenpr.org/experience/planning-for-2021 |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=www.edenpr.org |language=en-US}} Eden Prairie High School is Minnesota's fifth-largest high school, with about 2,600 students,{{Cite web |title=MSHSL ENROLLMENTS FOR 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 |url=https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/csp-enrollments-for-2021-22-and-2022-23-by-enroll.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221162616/https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/csp-enrollments-for-2021-22-and-2022-23-by-enroll.pdf |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=Minnesota State High School League}} and is near the grounds of Round Lake Park and the Eden Prairie Community Center.
Some students attend public schools in other school districts chosen by their families under Minnesota's open enrollment statute.{{cite web|url=http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Academic_Excellence/School_Choice/Public_School_Choice/Open_Enrollment/index.html |title=Open Enrollment |publisher=Minnesota Department of Education |access-date=November 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826062337/http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Academic_Excellence/School_Choice/Public_School_Choice/Open_Enrollment/index.html |archive-date=August 26, 2010}}
Eden Prairie is home to one charter school, the Performing Institute of Minnesota Arts High School. Eden Prairie has one private school, The International School of Minnesota, which offers a private, non-denominational, college preparatory education for students from preschool through grade 12. The school, founded in 1985, features non-selective admissions and year-round open enrollment, daily world language education beginning in preschool, and 19 AP courses at the upper school level. The student body consists of 85% local residents and 15% international students.{{Cite web|url=https://internationalschoolmn.com/|title=Private Schools in Minneapolis l International School of MN|last=SABIS®|website=internationalschoolmn.com|language=en|access-date=October 23, 2017}}
Hennepin Technical College, whose main campus is in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, has a campus in Eden Prairie with an enrollment of roughly 7,000 full- and part-time students. It offers day and night classes.
Infrastructure
The city is served by the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (Soo Line) Chicago to Miles City line.
Notable people
- Andrew Alberts, ice hockey player for Vancouver Canucks
- Leith Anderson, president of U.S. National Association of Evangelicals
- Adam Bartley, actor{{Cite web |last=Francisco |first=Mollee |date=June 24, 2022 |title=Adam Bartley shoots for the stars |url=https://www.eplocalnews.org/2022/06/24/adam-bartley-shoots-for-the-stars/ |access-date=November 9, 2022 |website=Eden Prairie Local News |language=en-US}}
- David Baszucki, CEO and co-founder of Roblox
- Michael Bland, former drummer for Prince and current drummer for Nick Jonas & the Administration
- Rachel Bootsma, Olympic swimmer{{Cite web |date=November 12, 2015 |title=Why Minnesota is the center of the swimming world — at least for a weekend |url=https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2015/11/why-minnesota-center-swimming-world-least-weekend/ |access-date=November 9, 2022 |website=MinnPost |language=en-US}}
- Jasper Brinkley, football player for Minnesota Vikings
- Laurie Coleman, actress and wife of former United States Senator Norm Coleman
- Todd Downing, former offensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans; born in Eden Prairie
- Chuck Foreman, former Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots football player
- Jay Foreman, National Football League player; born in Eden Prairie
- Dan Gladden, former MLB player for Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers, and Japanese Yomiuri Giants; radio broadcaster for the Twins
- Daerek Hart, professional gamer, particularly League of Legends
- Ben Husaby, 1992 & 1994 cross-country Olympic skier{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/benjamin-husaby|title=Benjamin HUSABY - Olympic Cross Country Skiing - United States of America|date=June 17, 2016|website=Olympic.org|access-date=July 16, 2018}}
- Alla Ilushka, Miss USA 2007 contestant
- Jermaine Johnson II, defensive end for the New York Jets
- Nick Leddy, defenseman for New York Islanders
- Mark LeVoir, National Football League player
- Casey Mittelstadt, National Hockey League player
- Reynold Philipsek, jazz guitarist
- Allison Pottinger, world champion curler
- Kyle Rau, Florida Panthers forward
- Robert Remus, a.k.a. Sgt. Slaughter, wrestler
- William Sawalich, racing driver
- Malik Sealy, Minnesota Timberwolves guard
- Nick Seeler, defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers
- Sheila E., singer-songwriter, actress, percussionist
- Kenny Stills, wide receiver for Miami Dolphins; born in Eden Prairie
- Charlie Vig, chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community since August 2012{{cite news|title=About Charlie Vig |url=http://www.startribune.com/local/168278336.html |work=Minneapolis Star Tribune |date=August 1, 2012|access-date=September 18, 2012}}
- Ryan Wittman, basketball player
- Ethan Wragge, basketball player with Gießen 46ers in Germany
In popular culture
The city's regional shopping mall, Eden Prairie Center, stood in for the Mall of America in the 1997 comic mockumentary Drop Dead Gorgeous.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0157503/locations|title = Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) - IMDb|website = IMDb}} Two years earlier, the mall served as the principal filming location of Kevin Smith's Mallrats.{{Cite web|url=http://www.citypages.com/arts/watch-kevin-smith-secretly-revisit-eden-prairie-center-aka-the-mallrats-mall-22-years-later/452469043|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028080659/http://www.citypages.com/arts/watch-kevin-smith-secretly-revisit-eden-prairie-center-aka-the-mallrats-mall-22-years-later/452469043|archive-date=October 28, 2017|url-status=dead|title=Watch Kevin Smith secretly revisit Eden Prairie Center — aka the 'Mallrats' mall — 22 years later |website=City Pages}}{{cbignore}}
The railroad overpass that lent its name to the 1990 Prince album Graffiti Bridge passed over Valley View Road in the city's northwestern quadrant. It was torn down in 1991 to make way for an expansion of the road{{Cite web|url=https://www.swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_villager/news/local/remembering-prince-s-graffiti-bridge/article_9576c204-fee1-5620-9f99-68bd63c1ed8b.html|title = Remembering Prince's Graffiti Bridge}} and has since been replaced with a bridge carrying the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT rail-to-trail recreational path. Prince also owned a warehouse on Flying Cloud Drive to rehearse and record music; today, the site is occupied by TGK Automotive.{{cite web | url=http://www.princevault.com/index.php?title=Flying_Cloud_Drive_Warehouse | title=Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse - Prince Vault }}
The cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 was filmed out of an industrial park in Eden Prairie for much of its original run.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ocweekly.com/mst3ks-legacy-will-live-on-6394752/|title=MST3Ks Legacy Will Live on – OC Weekly}}
The city is the hometown of main character Riley Andersen in the 2015 coming-of-age film, Inside Out, produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.
References
{{Portal|Minnesota}}
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Eden Prairie, Minnesota}}
- {{Official website|http://www.edenprairie.org/}}
- [https://epchamber.org/ Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce]
{{Hennepin County, Minnesota}}
{{Minnesota}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Cities in Hennepin County, Minnesota