2011 Year in Review: August's Top Stories on Mendota Heights Patch

The  proposal for Mendota Plaza was denied Aug. 30 by the Mendota Heights City Council.

The applicants may resubmit the plan in three months.

The proposal to build 100 units of memory care and assisted living diverts from Mendota Plaza’s developer's agreement on a number of points, according to city staff, and documents to support a request for transfer of the property have not been provided by White Pine.

The old adage that Minnesota has two seasons—winter and road construction—seems particularly true this year.

Drivers in Mendota Heights, Mendota, Lilydale, West St. Paul and Eagan have been rocked hard by road construction. The road closures have caused lots of frustrations, some anger and a fender-bender or two as drivers try to make up for delays.

Every spring, Mendota Heights resident  takes an unconventional vacation: She goes storm chasing. While she says she "never gets too close," she loves capturing images of the storms she spots with her Canon camera.

Earlier this year, during a trip to Colorado, Namen snapped a shot that she titled, "Terror on the Plains." The shot reveals the full structure of a tornado traveling across a field and the contrast between the darkness of one side of the tornado and the lightness found on the other side. 

The city of Lilydale passed the final development agreement and approved the details of tax increment financing for the former Lilydale Tennis Club site last week.

A 120-unit senior living building to be developed by Southview Senior Living is scheduled to be built first on the site, then a luxury apartment building is planned to be built second by John Wall of Highland Bank.

Summer is typically for relaxation, spending time with family and enjoying a few months of warm weather.

For Mendota Heights native Alex Linnell it was a time to complete a 2,350 mile journey down the Mississippi River and raise money for the Red Cross.

On June 1 Linnell  from Lake Itasca on his stand-up paddleboard. On Aug. 9 he arrived in the Gulf of Mexico as a multiple world record holder.