ST. LOUIS PARK
Edina officers recognized for preventing suicide
Two Edina police officers have been commended for saving a suicidal woman on a highway bridge last fall. Detective Kenna Dick and Officer Morgan Piper received a commendation from the St. Louis Park Police Department for their successful crisis negotiation. "I admire them both for their skill and dedication," said St. Louis Park Sgt. Mike Garland, leader of the city's crisis negotiations team. Piper and Dick negotiated with the woman on the Excelsior Boulevard bridge over Hwy. 100 for more than two hours in October before successfully talking her down.
JOHN REINAN
Greenway trail construction goes on
Construction of the Northwest Greenway trail system will continue in 2016, linking a mile-long stretch built last year to the Plymouth Dog Park.
The City Council approved last week advertising bids for construction, which is expected to start in mid-March and finish in September. The trail is estimated to cost $900,000 while the pedestrian bridge is estimated at $1.6 million.
The trail system, which will snake through wooded areas in a 350-acre nature preserve, is the culmination of some 15 years of planning and acquiring land.
The greenway, which is being built in phases, will stretch from Wayzata High School and the Elm Creek playfield to Camelot Park, and connect to the Medicine Lake Regional Trail.
In 2006, voters approved a $9 million referendum to buy 2.5 miles of wetlands and trees and build the trail. Every year, the city added more land either by buying properties or acquiring land as a byproduct of new development. Construction started last summer on a mile-long, 12-foot-wide asphalt trail between Vicksburg and Juneau lanes.
