Want to know what’s going on around our Rush Creek Neighborhoods? Find out here on the Community News page! Three Additional Sources of Local Community News Include: Find Local Shopping, Dining, and Lodging Info Here: Maple Grove Guide Maple Grove Magazine - check them out at: www.MapleGrovemag.com Check out: Osseo-Maple Grove Press News |
- Maple Grove Needs help solving Grafitti RisePosted on: 2011-10-10Can y ou help?- see more....
- HomeGoods comes to Maple GrovePosted on: 2011-08-06One of America's fastest growing retailers, and one loved by home decorators everywhere comes to Maple Grove....
- Rodizio Steakhouse comes to Maple GrovePosted on: 2011-08-06Another exciting restaurant will soon open its doors at the Shoppes of Arbor Lakes...
- Rush Creek Golf Lessons by Aaron JacobsonPosted on: 2011-05-09Read more about local RCN Neighbor, Aaron Jacobson and his Rush Creek Golf Club Lessons...
- Maple Grove's LifeGARDENPosted on: 2011-05-09Maple Grove’s first community garden blossoms with social and spiritual rewards...
- Maple Grove MoviemakersPosted on: 2011-02-08Check out this article on two local moviemakers!
- Maple Grove Service GuidePosted on: 2011-02-08Maple Grove Magazine announces its first edition of a local service guide - check it out today!
- Letting the Dogs Run Loose in Maple GrovePosted on: 2011-02-08Dog owners have another place to let their four-legged friends run around in the Maple Grove area.
- Caleb Truax featured in Maple Grove MagazinePosted on: 2010-04-14Caleb Truax spent most of his life as a team player. A 2002 Osseo High School graduate, he played football and baseball for the Orioles, and even played Division II college football for Virginia State University before deciding to hang up his cleats due to a knee injury.
- Educating to SucceedPosted on: 2010-04-14Dan Henry was behind on his credits. Just a few weeks into his senior year at Maple Grove Senior High, a guidance counselor told him he was falling short of the required count. If he didn’t make up those credits, he wouldn’t be able to graduate. To remedy the situation, Henry applied to the Osseo Area Learning Center (OALC), an alternative high school that is part of District 279. There, he was able to make up lost credits and graduate on time. Today, Henry is employed by the district. For the past three years, he has worked as the district’s network support specialist, keeping the computers humming in well over 20 schools. For Henry, OALC was a key to his present success.
-
Maple Groves's Music MayorPosted on: 2010-01-07Sporting a striped button up and navy cardigan with neatly combed hair, 87-year-old Dick Reimer appears dapper as ever in his cozy home office in Maple Grove. A true renaissance man, Reimer has developed entire cities, played drums with the likes of the Andrew Sisters and Peggy Lee, served in the U.S. Navy, and raised a family of five. Reimer sits today tapping his toes as he watches the Classic Big Band, with whom Reimer has played drums for a number of years. A smile spreads across his face as the band strikes up a favorite Glenn Miller tune, “In the Mood.”
Reimer grew up in Minneapolis, where he realized his first love—music—at age 6. A dynamic drummer, Reimer shined in the North High School swing band. Upon graduation, he joined the Navy, where he toured from 1942 to 1946.
When Reimer returned from the war, he went directly back to his music-man ways. Among other local gigs, he drummed along on famous broadcast journalist Cedric Adams’ popular WCCO radio show Stairway to Stardom every Saturday. It wasn’t long before Reimer realized it was difficult to make a steady income with a show here and there. “In those days, a three-hour job only paid $12,” Reimer says with a chuckle. Coupling this epiphany with future aspirations of owning a house, Reimer took up a day job at Fireside Realty, moving his music gigs to the evening hours.
Reimer retired from real estate in 1965; he eventually launched Reimer Construction, which built nearly 50 homes in Brooklyn Center and New Hope. Two years before his entrepreneurial venture, he was elected to Maple Grove’s city council. (The role of chairman of the planning commission in the early 1950s was his first position of leadership with the city.) “When I ran my first planning commission meeting, I turned to the person next to me and asked, ‘What do you do? I never ran a meeting before,’” Reimer says.
In 1965, yards were littered with little yellow signs: “Elect Reimer for Mayor.” The race declared Reimer the winner by just 13 votes. As mayor, Reimer raised Rice Lake, formerly a 63-acre swamp, in an effort that took seven years (or as he humbly states, farmers drained it, dammed it and made it a lake again). “What we did is put it back to the way God made it,” Reimer says of the lake that was drained during the Great Depression as farmers looked for water sources.
The start of the Maple Grove police department, fire department and Elm Creek Park Commission can all be credited to Mayor Reimer. “I was always proud of our city. Even with all of our development, at the end of the year we always had money left over and always came out with a surplus,” Reimer says.
Reimer resigned as mayor in 1980 after serving 15 years. Since then, a lot of changes have been seen around Maple Grove. “Since I’ve been mayor, there’s been fantastic growth, especially with Arbor Lakes,” Reimer says. “There was no way I could even imagine we could have that kind of development. But it’s growing and working!”
Maple Grove, once home to sprawling farmland, is now a mecca of development and commerce. And Reimer, the town’s original leader, spends his days actively involved in the Lion’s Club (he’s a 43-year standing charter member), and he’s even donated much of his mayor memorabilia to the Maple Grove Historical Society. But with years of accomplishments, plaques and honors, Reimer says, “I’m most proud of my family. Through it all we were there for each other, and everything seemed to turn out right.”
- Maple Grove Hospital: The Doctor is inPosted on: 2010-01-07After a decade of talk, years of construction, and weeks of ceremony, Maple Grove Hospital is open for business.
Area dignitaries showed up for an official ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the new facility. Many area elected officials were on hand for the event, including U.S. Congressman Eric Paulson, State Senators Warren Limmer (Maple Grove), Ann Rest (Plymouth) and Linda Scheid (Brooklyn Park); and the two State Representatives who serve Maple Grove, Kurt Zellers and Joyce Peppin. They joined Maple Grove Hospital CEO Andy Cochrane and North Memorial Medical Center CEO David Cress to cut the ribbon and officially open the doors.
'It's rewarding seeing the hard work of so many people finally come to fruition,' explained Andy Cochrane, Maple Grove Hospital CEO. 'And most importantly, the community is finally able to access health care close to home.'
The hospital staff filled the lobby, and posed for group pictures. Nurses, doctors and the support staff cheered as the ribbon was cut. As soon as the ceremony was done, the staff dispersed to their posts as the facility opened. Many patient procedures were on the day's agenda. The hospital's first baby was born about 10 a.m. via C-section.
'This hospital was created to meet the health care needs of those in the fast-growing area of the northwest Twin Cities and today we're open and ready to provide care to this community and will continue to grow with them,' stated Cochrane.
- Maple Grove Town GreenPosted on: 2009-11-10What is the Town Green?
The Town Green is a new urban park being developed along Main Street in down town Maple Grove. The park provides a distinctive community gathering place with its main focus on the performing arts. The landmark feature of the park is the bandshell with a dramatic wing-like roof canopy located at the water’s edge. Check out the Architectural Design Photos and the Master Plan.
Three pavilions will provide the necessary amenities for special events or for daily park use. The pavilions include a concession space, restrooms and a rentable meeting house for small gatherings or parties.
The Town Green will host numerous summer time performances of music, dance, and theater programmed by the Maple Grove Parks and Recreation Department. Seating for 300 is incorporated into a classic terraced bowl shape with ample space beyond for visitors to spread out and enjoy the park.
The Town Green plaza along Main Street will provide a relaxing setting for daily park activities. Another distinct feature of the park is the peninsula which will be a great spot to experience the lake or host a small event.
Where is the Town Green located?
The Town Green is located on Main Street between the Maple Grove Government Center (12800 Arbor Lakes Parkway) and the Community Center (12951 Weaver Lake Rd).
When will the Town Green be completed?
The park is tentatively scheduled to be completed by June 2010. For questions regarding the project or construction updates, please email Chuck Stifter, Park Planner.
When is the first performance?
Parks and Recreation staff will be developing the performance schedule for the inaugural concert season this fall. The first performances will be scheduled for the summer of 2010 starting in June. Interested in being on the mailing list for the Town Green updates and concert/events schedule? Email us your name, address and phone number.
Interested in being added to the talent contact list for performers and artists? Email your name, address, phone number, name of band/group, type of music or performance.
How is this project being funded?
City officials have been planning and saving for the Town Green for over ten years. The economic downturn has proved to be an excellent time to seek bids on public projects. As a result, the city was able to secure very good bids from quality contractors thus maximizing public dollars.
How was the bandshell design developed?
City officials directed an extensive design development process that included the study of various concepts and architectural styles. Through multiple revisions the design molded to a subtle and simple form. The architectural theme of the bandshell canopy meeting the sky is meant to have multiple associations with nature: an abstract grove of trees, the delicate and curved maple seedpod, and clouds. The 105-foot wide white concrete canopy is supported on six narrow concrete columns and gently arcs toward the sky in an acoustically-formed shape. The concrete canopies of the three adjacent pavilions repeat this curved language casting lively shadows on the building walls. The walls of the buildings relate to the geology and quarry history of the site through the technique of creatively formed earthen colored concrete highlighted with local aggregate.
Website:www.ci.maple-grove.mn.us - Local Real Estate Leader Selected to be on HGTV Show!Posted on: 2008-02-08Jarrod Peterson, a leading Twin Cities Realtor and the Rush Creek Neighborhood Real Estate Sales Leader has been chosen by HGTV Productions as a leading real estate professional to appear on the popular television show 'Sweat Equity.' This show provides assistance to home owner(s) who wants to make home improvements to their home but are unsure if the improvements will warrant a return on that investment for resale purposes. That is where Jarrod will assist with his vast knowledge of the local marketplace and what buyers want to see for updates in a home they are considering purchasing.
Jarrod and his business partner, Holli Reichow, will begin filming their episodes in February 2008 - so watch for more information!Website:www.AskJarrodHeKnows.com
