Central Park in Maple Grove
The brand new Central Park in Maple Grove is a year round destination for recreation, with a splash pad, large playground, open spaces, ice skating path, a spacious park building/warming house with concessions, and much more.
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Channel 12 is on Comcast cable in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Maple Grove celebrates opening of Central Park
Even though the official opening day of the new Central Park of Maple Grove was technically light-jacket weather, kids could not resist testing out the new interactive fountains that offer an LED light show at night.
Officials, dignitaries and residents attended the ribbon cutting Thursday evening for the park cultivated out of 45-plus acres of gravel mining land.
I was here a week ago and people were out here playing with their dog. They lived across street, that's what this park was planned for, said Maple Grove Mayor Mark Steffenson. People are going to enjoy this park.
The park has been planned in Maple Grove for decades, but how the park would be enjoyed has changed over the planning process. In the mid-1980s, plans called for a golf course. By the 90s, master plans called for an active community park. In 2008, planners moved forward on an urban park concept that would give the rapidly growing area some green space. There are more than 400 apartments within walking distance of the park.
This the densest part of Maple Grove when it's all completed. Four thousand people will live in this envelope here, said Terry Just, Maple Grove's Parks and Recreation director.
A draw to visitors
The crown jewel of the urban park is the expanse of green space that people can use for picnics, tumbling or even flying kites. Planners say it's reminiscent of Central Park in New York City.
It's very multipurpose, said Just.
But the park offers much more than a meadow with interactive fountains off to the side. There's a .83-mile trail loop around the storm pond that connects to the city trail system. On the backside of the park, people can play pickleball or basketball during the day and at night when the courts are lit. Gardens with thousands of perennials and a labyrinth are planned. Families are anticipating the opening of the playground in October.
We are looking forward to the playground, says Brandon Vreeman, who lives nearby. We are at the playgrounds two to three times a week at most.
A new building can be rented out for weddings and parties, but it will act like a warming house and skate rental area in the winter for the refrigerated ice skating loop. The ice trail is projected to open in November and stay open through March.
The park is a spectacular gem that could draw in visitors from outside of Maple Grove, but perhaps one of the best assets of the $16-million park is that it is already paid in full. City savings and a special park fee paid for the park over the last few decades.
It's beautiful. It's paid for and hopefully our citizens will love it, said Mayor Steffenson.
Shannon Slatton, reporting
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Channel 12 is on Comcast cable in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Winter Events Around Minneapolis Northwest
Minneapolis Northwest is your headquarters for fun and exciting events all winter long! Take in the legendary Saint Paul Winter Carnival, and sample new and favorite brews at the Winter Beer Dabbler. Enjoy festive parades with music, dancers and floats, and experience thrilling winter sports like fat tire bike and ski races. You can even pay homage to the State of Hockey at the U.S. National Pond Hockey Championships. Also, go tubing down Elm Creek Park’s epic tubing hill, and lace up your skates at Minnesota’s only ice skating trail – the Central Park Ice Loop!
Minneapolis Northwest is comprised of the vibrant cities of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove, located just minutes northwest of downtown Minneapolis, so you can enjoy all the Twin Cities has to offer.
Maple Grove’s newest outdoor attraction opens
The skating trail at Maple Grove’s new Central Park welcomed its first skaters onto the ice Friday. The city didn’t heavily advertise the opening, but word spread through social medical and a good crowd of people came out to enjoy the loop over Thanksgiving weekend.
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Channel 12 is on Comcast cable in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Employee Field Trip to Maple Grove Central Park
Landscape Structures employees took a field trip one of our newest playground designs in Minnesota, and experienced their work first hand. Central Park in Maple Grove, Minn., is home to a completely customized playground—with play areas for children and families of all ages—and it has become the source of countless hours of fun.
Construction takes shape on Maple Grove destination park
Maple Grove is known for its shops and restaurants, but soon the city could be known for something else. By late summer, mounds of dirt near Lakeview Drive and 81st Avenue North will morph into green space, fountains and play areas. This work zone will become Central Park.
It's really a destination facility, said Chuck Stifter, Maple Grove park superintendent.
Central Park, as it will be called, will have many unique features and one of the signatures will be an ice skating trail, which will loop through the park and have lights and music to enhance the experience. There will even be a Zamboni to resurface the ice.
The skating trail will be maintained a lot like an indoor ice arena, Stifter said.
There will also be running and walking trails, including one that circles Central Park. When the weather heats up there is a place to cool off.
Another unique piece is what we call the interactive fountain, Stifter said, which is a splash plaza-style splash pad.
Central Park will be fun-centric too. There will be an eight-zone play area that should be popular with the kids.
We've got a slide zone, a swing zone, a rock climbing zone, Stifter said. A lot of things.
Central Park's footprint is more than 40 acres. Maple Grove officials believe it will be a fantastic addition to the city.
This will fill a gap I think that the public is interested in, Stifter said. A lot of opportunity here.
The Central Park construction project began in May of 2014. The price tag for the first phase for the project is between $14 and $15 million.
Eric Nelson, reporting
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Channel 12 is on Comcast cable in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Twin Cities Live at Elm Creek Park Reserve & Central Park, Maple Grove
Tubing at Elm Creek Park Reserve and ice skating at Central Park’s loop are family-friendly experiences you can enjoy all winter! Join Emily from Twin Cities Live in this video as she checks out Elm Creek Park Reserve and does a couple of laps at Central Park.
Ice Skating at the Depot Rink in Minneapolis, MN
This is how I spent my birthday this year. For those of you wondering about the Depot Rink, the ice is not terrific, it never has been, but the atmosphere of the building more than makes up for it. It is a really excellent venue, and better than that, it makes a relatively cheap and impressive date. Very humbling. Check it out at
Planning For The Future In Maple Grove
A major focus of Maple Grove's 2040 Comprehensive Plan is to reduce the city's carbon footprint by offering public transportation and walking trails.
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CCX Media is on Comcast xfinity and CenturyLink prism in the Northwest Suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Northern MN Backcountry Ice Skating
Backcountry Ice Skating in Northern Minnesota with my brother Carter Stritch. So much fun! We had great conditions the first day with powder snow on top of great ice. Overnight it was very windy and rained a bit, which changed the conditions to not as favorable crusty snow.
15501 71st Pl N, Maple Grove, MN
Beautiful 2 story home on large corner lot in the Maple Grove, Tipperary Meadows neighborhood. The exterior of the home is vinyl and stucco, with a new roof as of 2013! The asphalt driveway leads up to the 3 car attached, heated garage, and nicely landscaped front entry. As you enter the home you will see the open concept main level living room/kitchen perfect for casual entertaining. A Gourmet kitchen has marble counter tops, hardwood floors, stainless appliances and a large center island with room for extra counter seating! and formal dining room. The Main level laundry/mud room has locker style storage by California Closets!! As you continue to the Lower level, the large amusement room features a cozy fireplace and an impressive wet bar perfect for fun and entertaining! On the upper level you can enjoy a relaxing retreat everyday in this spa like private master suite! Loads of upgrades! A must see!
Close to transportation: Public transportation, highways or major roads are easily accessible. Maple Grove Transit offers commuter express to and from Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota as well as a local dial-a-ride service. Local amenities: Conveniently close to a large variety of restaurants, shopping and other businesses. The Arbor Lakes shopping areas provide a walk-able setting with shops and dining that offer fun, convenience and variety (all within a few blocks of each other). It contains over 150 businesses combined, providing more retail than Mall of America! The Maple Grove Community Center features an indoor playground, an outdoor skate park, an indoor ice skating arena, gymnasium, and Teen Center! Safety: The Maple Grove Police Department has 40 police officers that respond to emergency and non-emergency calls, conduct preliminary investigations of crimes, handle traffic accidents, enforce criminal and traffic laws including city ordinances, and provide services to business establishments and residential neighborhoods. The city of Maple Grove also offers programs such as Neighborhood Watch, Community Crime Alerts, D.A.R.E, and more! Outdoor recreation: Outdoor concerts and performing arts at the Town Green band shell, and fresh goods from local farmers at the Maple Grove Farmer's Market are just a few of the MANY summer events in held in Maple Grove. The public parks in Maple Grove are clean and family friendly. Combined, these parks total 3,441 acres which include over 36 miles of trails! Maple Grove is great for biking, boating, camping fishing, horseback riding, snow tubing, golfing, recreational sports and more! Quality schools: Osseo Area Schools (ISD 279) is an award-winning school system. The district is known for excellence in areas ranging from academics and arts to sports and finance.
Health East Sports Center - Woodbury, MN
This is a quick tour and synopsis of the Health East (formerly Bielenberg) Sports Center in Woodbury, MN brought to you by Darin Bjerknes of Bjerknes Realty Group brokered by eXp Realty.
Address: 4125 Radio Dr., Woodbury, MN 55125
Bielenberg Website:
Open Field & Ice Times:
Outdoor Ice Rink:
#Movember
Health East Sports Center is one of the largest multi-use sports centers in the state, serving the community and region with high-quality indoor and outdoor facilities, including a 90,000-square-foot indoor field house, two indoor ice arenas, an outdoor ice skating rink which features an outdoor fireplace, concessions and warming area inside, 36 outdoor athletic fields and a splash pad water feature. It is also home to three local high school hockey teams.
The normal operating hours are from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. on weekdays and weekends. Updates for the outdoor rink will be posted to the facility's Facebook page and Twitter account.
Health East also offers ice & field house time rental, skate rental, skate sharpening, concessions and meetings, and event space.
The Health East Sports Complex and East Ridge High School site totals 320 acres of public lands, which provides a unique opportunity for cooperative planning and shared use of the facilities. Field usage is by permit only.
I’ve included links to the Bielenberg Sports Center webpage, Open Field house, open Ice, and outdoor rink schedule, below this video.
If you are in the area or are a resident of Woodbury you should definitely check out this fantastic sports complex. Just another great reason to make Woodbury your home. Thanks and that it for this installment of my Woodbury video tours.
Darin Bjerknes
Bjerknes Realty Group
eXp Realty
darinbjerknes.com
612-702-5126
The Ice Skating Trail at Arrowhead Provincial Park
Take a magical skate through the Muskoka forest on this 1.3 km ice skating trail.
My Cottage Grove: Ice Arena
Becky Ahlvin and John Tingley visit the Cottage Grove Ice Arena to learn about some fun skate programs, including skating lessons.
cottage-grove.org
swctc.org
Summertime in Minnesota
Hope you enjoy this video as I'm starting to get back into the hang of vlogging!
Winter activities in the Minneapolis Northwest Metro
The Minneapolis Northwest is home to a variety of recreational activities and outdoor festivals this winter. For a complete list of things to do, visit
Ghetto ice skating in Minnesota
Around the Corner with John McGivern | Program | Wausau (#308)
[Latest Airdate: June 29, 2017]
[Original Airdate: February 27, 2014]
Wausau is our first half-and-half community -- we shot half of the episode in the winter when it was zero degrees, and the other half in the summer when it was 100! But with extreme temperatures came extreme fun.
John didn't know of the many things there are to do in Wausau that start with snow. You can tube, board, shoe, sculpt, mobile, ball and cone (think about it...). And then there's ice -- skate, fish, race, curl and cream (that one was easier). And of course in summer, when all that melts, you have rushing waters perfect for kayaking and a mountain (well, a big hill really) perfect for hiking, biking and exploring.
But we didn't stay outside for the whole episode. It's comfortable year round at Carmelo's Supper Club, the Woodside Art Museum, Bull Falls Brewery, The Grand Theatre and Back When Café.
This episode has the distinction of being the most heavily McGiverned episode yet -- it's just about bursting with McGiverns!
Episode #308
Around the Corner with John McGivern:
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ABOUT AROUND THE CORNER WITH JOHN MCGIVERN
Join Emmy Award-Winning actor John McGivern as he explores living, working and playing in Wisconsin's unique communities. John has visited more than 100 communities so far, with no end in sight!
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Maple Grove expects busiest development in nearly 20 years
At the first city council meeting of the year, council members shared which development projects they were excited about in 2018.
I think I’m most excited about the Arbor Lakes business area. We already have one building ready to be built this spring, the corporate headquarters of Illume, says Maple Grove Mayor Mark Steffenson.
A candle and fragrance company, Illume will occupy the first building in the Arbor Lakes Business Park. It will relocate from Bloomington and consolidate staff from several buildings into the one building on Elm Creek Boulevard. Steffenson believes medical and technical companies could make up the rest of the development.
Another place to keep your eye on for future development is the old waste dump or Hilger Transfer site in the northeast corner of Zachary Lane and 85th Avenue. It is currently zoned as an industrial site.
We’ve received a million dollars from the state and a half million from the council to clean up the site, says Steffenson. We already have plans for a set of buildings there.
Shannon Slatton, reporting
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CCX Media is on Comcast xfinity and CenturyLink prism in the Northwest Suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Beaver Falls Park - Parks in Minnesota
West Entrance