Fridley Week in Review
Here are some of the ways Fridley made news last week.
Here are some of the Fridley stories that made news last week at Fridley Patch and elsewhere.
The big snow storm Dec. 11–12 brought renewed pleas for residents to shovel out their nearest fire hydrants, as Anna Pratt reported for Fridley Patch.
Fridley police ordered illegally parked cars towed from the side of roadways—including at least one "snowbird" completely covered in snow, our police blotter noted—so plows could clear the streets.
Meanwhile, Fridley property-owner Dan Hansen posted a plea for more plowing of bike and walking paths. His Fridley Patch opinion column highlighted one path that's partially cleared by neighbors.
But the new budget approved by the Fridley City Council Monday took a last-minute hit when the state Department of Revenue ruled against a planned tax levy meant to make up for past shortfalls in state aid.
Holiday events at local schools and at churches were the subjects of a pair of Fridley Patch stories by Gage Church. Anna Pratt also wrote about the big holiday sale at the Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts for Fridley Patch. The center also got some attention from the Star Tribune a couple days later.
Fridley High School's new principal and renewed wrestling program were highlighted in Fridley Patch. Totino-Grace High School's successful football coach Jeff Ferguson and Spring Lake Park High School's win over Mounds View in boys basketball also got Fridley Patch coverage from Melissa Slachetka and Jared Koll, respectively.
The three Fridley residents killed in a Dec. 5 crash with a car being chased by the State Patrol were remembered at a Tuesday service at the Miller Funeral Home in Fridley, as seen in a KSTP-TV report. The Star Tribune carried an obituary for Amanda Thomas and her sons Andre, who was 12, and Akeron, who was aged 3 months.
Fridley Patch noted the recent opening of the Fridley Medical Center next to Unity Hospital, where neighbors can stroll a "Wellness Path" around the campus or get acupuncture and massage. A separate story examined complaints about the center from two brothers who live across the street.
Medtronic, Fridley's biggest medical-device company (well, the world's too), won federal approval for "Arctic Front," a new therapy that freezes tissue to help irregular hearts, MedCityNews reported. Medtronic's adherence to its original mission statement got a write-up in the Star Tribune, while the St. Paul Pioneer Press focused on founder Earl Bakken's annual return from Hawaii for the company's holiday party.
