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

A suspect who robbed Mendota Liquors in Mendota Plaza and may be responsible for three other robberies escaped Sept. 26 after fleeing from police—first in an SUV, then by foot.

Exercising in a neighborhood park may be enjoyable, but in Minnesota it isn’t practical year-round. Pat Costello quickly found this out after establishing a CrossFit workout group in 2011 that met weekly in .

Now CrossFit Mendota can bear the winter at its own gym, equipped to fit the needs of the local client base. The new space, located at 2535 Pilot Knob Road, can accommodate all parts of the cross-training philosophy—from Olympic power lifting to rope climbing and gymnastic rings.

The saying is that in adversity, you can either sink or swim. The  swimming and diving team has had to deal with the loss of their normal swimming pool at  and turned it into a positive.

Lilydale's first community festival drew more than 400 visitors Sept. 17 at , and was declared a success by organizers.

The preliminary attendence estimate of 435 is based off of the number of buttons distributed for the raffles, according to City Administrator Teish Stafne.

"I'm so excited; I felt like a kid," said Stafne.

The seventh annual “Tee it up for the Troops” golf tournament at  Sept. 9 was just one small part in a nationally growing movement to honor and assist members of the United States Armed Forces.

The golfers at Mendakota participated in the "National Day of Golf," a benefit for military service members and their families. The National Day of Golf has produced numerous golf outings across the country, with the proceeds going to benefit veterans of all branches of the services and all conflicts.