Indoor sky-diving center opening near Ridgedale

It's the real thing — not a simulation. But it's indoors and fliers don't have to worry about their chute not opening.

That's what iFly says about its sky-diving centers. The company will open Minnesota's first indoor sky-diving center on Dec. 22 near Ridgedale Center.

There's no plane, but fliers experience wind speeds of 150 miles per hour while floating on a cushion of air.

The iFly Vertical Wind Tunnel is the company's first center in the Midwest since it opened one in Chicago. Flights include an instructor demonstration, orientation, a 12-foot wide wind tunnel, brightly colored flight suits and optional virtual reality. It has 70 facilities in 12 countries.

Prices range from $70 to $300 based on the number of flights and participants. From check-in to checkout, the experience lasts about 90 minutes to two hours. Fliers can weigh up to 300 pounds and be as young as 3, but no one can escape signing a flight waiver.

With iFly, Ridgedale joins other malls adding entertainment options to keep shoppers around longer. Earlier this week, Rosedale Center announced it is adding an aquarium next year.

The 5,000-square-foot facility is located at 12515 Wayzata Blvd. in Minnetonka, near Macy's on the northwest corner of the Ridgedale parking lot. For more information, go to iflyworld.com or call 612-444-4359.

The new 23,000-square-foot store, larger than most of Aldi's new-format stores, replaces a portion of the Rainbow Foods space that closed in 2014. The brightly lit store has generously sized aisles and more space for refrigerated goods and makes the Minneapolis store just a few blocks away at 2100 E. Lake St. look even dowdier.

Aldi is in the middle of a $3.4 billion investment in expanding and refreshing its U.S. stores, but the store at 2100 E. Lake St. could not be expanded due to limitations in its mixed-use footprint.

"We have no plans to close the location on E. Lake Street in the near future," said Matt Lilla, Aldi's division vice president, in an e-mail.

Carlos Parada of Minneapolis said he's done shopping at the older Lake Street store after seeing the new one.

"It's closer to my house, it's bigger and it has a bigger selection," he said while shopping at the new store on Thursday.

By 2020, Wellington plans to start construction on an affordable senior housing project with 110 units and 15,000 square feet of retail. The project will be built on the north third of the Aldi center's parking lot, according to David Wellington, director of acquisitions and development for Wellington.

With any purchase for a limited time, Aldi is handing out a set of $5 coupons for future purchases of $30 or more at the new store.