Some items of interest from the Shorewood council meeting:
– Flock ALPR camera audit discussion
– Mill Street water main issues
– Excelsior Fire District report
Some items of interest from the Shorewood council meeting:
– Deer Management Program approval
– Police Joint Powers Conflict
– Fire Chief Hiring Timeline
Some items of interest from the Shorewood council meeting:
– Concern raised over utility bill increases
– Water Connection Program launch
– New hire process discussion
Some items from the Shorewood council meeting:
– 4th of July fireworks
– Annual deer harvest discussion
– Comprehensive Plan survey
The Shorewood council had some tough decisions to make at the Apr. 13 council meeting:
– Whether to build an $813k Mill Street water main serving only 25 homes.
-Whether to revoke an operating license for a massage business.
We watch so you don’t have to. Fresh eyes on every meeting, sharper reporting, and fast analysis—plus the links you actually need when you want to dig deeper.
Here are the simplified highlights of the council actions.
March 9, 2026 Shorewood council meeting.
We watch so you don’t have to. Fresh eyes on every meeting, sharper reporting, and fast analysis—plus the links you actually need when you want to dig deeper.
The bulk of the discussion at this meeting was to determine whether to approve an Environmental Assessment Worksheet for the proposed Watten Ponds 2nd Addition subdivision.
An EAW is designed to evaluate potential environmental impacts and identify corrective measures before any final approvals.
SCA attends every City Council meeting so you don’t have to. Don’t be fooled by the appearance of a “routine” agenda. There are always surprises…
Here are the simplified highlights of the council actions.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is in Shorewood.
At a recent city council meeting, a resident described in breathtaking detail, their harrowing experience as ICE surrounded a neighboring house: knocking, peering into windows and photographing license plates.
SCA attends every City Council meeting so you don’t have to.
The agenda this week seemed routine. As it turns out, matters from the floor was “zoom bombed” by three different men not shy about sharing racial epithets and other vitriol that shocked everyone present.
Jan 12, 2026 Shorewood council meeting.
We watch so you don’t have to. Fresh eyes on every meeting, sharper reporting, and fast analysis—plus the links you actually need when you want to dig deeper.
SCA attends every City Council meeting so you don’t have to.
The agenda this week seemed routine. As it turns out, matters from the floor was “zoom bombed” by three different men not shy about sharing racial epithets and other vitriol that shocked everyone present.
Jan 12, 2026 Shorewood council meeting.
We watch so you don’t have to. Fresh eyes on every meeting, sharper reporting, and fast analysis—plus the links you actually need when you want to dig deeper.
Who doesn’t enjoy a hummingbird?
These little creatures defy the odds as they migrate from Mexico to Canada, while entertaining bird watchers along the way.
Track their progress courtesy of Hummingbird Central.
Shorewood residents that have signed up for Ordinance Notification/Public Notice from the city received an email on Thursday 3/20/2025.
This email contained a Notice of Public Hearing for the Shorewood Planning Commission to consider several items related to rezoning 6 individual land parcels, a conditional use permit on another and multiple potential ordinance changes.
Three problems stand out with this notice.
The Minnesota Legislature is reconsidering a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the state’s housing shortage by promoting the development of “missing middle” (M2) housing. M2 proposes to offer options that bridge the gap between single-family homes and large apartment complexes.
This is a revised version of the bill that made its way through the legislature in 2024, without passage.
To increase transparency and resident education, below is a quick summary of the Shorewood City Council meeting of March 10, 2025.
Links to the meeting video are included with each item.
To increase transparency and resident education, here is a quick summary of the Shorewood City Council meeting of February 24, 2025.
Links to the meeting video have been provided for each item.
To increase transparency and resident education, below is a quick summary of the Shorewood City Council meeting of February 11, 2025.
Links to the meeting video have been provided for each item.
Beginning in 2025, Shorewood switched its citizen reporting mechanism from SeeClickFix to Citizen Request Tracker® (CRT).
The cost savings will be $5k+ per year and removes a “citizen facing” product in favor of one much more controlled.
The land near Lake Minnetonka is home to many Indian burial sites. So, when 5000 yards of soil were removed for Tonka Bay infrastructure projects designated as burial grounds, the reaction was immediate.
Under the supervision of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC), tons of soil are now temporarily stored near Manitou Park and Tonka Bay City Hall.
A permanent relocation site proposed by MIAC and the city is meeting resident resistance.
Guest column by Alan Yelsey.
Alan Yelsey is a Shorewood resident who ran for mayor in the 2024 election.
The opinions expressed here are solely his own.
This weekend the cities of Shorewood and Tonka Bay will celebrate an abbreviated Arctic Fever.
There have been many iterations of the event over the last 20 years, its demise affected most notably by lack of snow due to climate change but also the loss of the dedicated staff and volunteers that conceived of and executed the annual community winter celebration.
SCA started as an idea in 2019. After three years of incubation, the website went live in summer of 2023
Overall, we are proud of our accomplishments and the buzz we have created around the community.
‘Tis the season. Here are some conversational topics to keep things light, to learn and to share some humor.
– Winter Solstice
– Marcescent Trees
– A Little Humor
Dec. 8, 2025 Shorewood council meeting.
We watch so you don’t have to. Fresh eyes on every meeting, sharper reporting, and fast analysis—plus the links you actually need when you want to dig deeper.
To increase transparency and resident education, below is a quick summary of the Shorewood City Council meeting of November 24, 2025
Here are 3 new articles for Thanksgiving week.
• Xcel Energy Leaves Shorewood with Redevelopment Options
• E-bike shopping? Buyer Beware
• Shoreline Fire District: Firestorm Resolved
To increase transparency and resident education, below is a quick summary of the Shorewood City Council meeting of November 10, 2025
Here are three new, quick and informative articles for readers this week.
• Are Woolly Bears Winter Predictors?
• Hennepin County Plans North Arm Access Improvements
• A Facelift for the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail
• A Full Moon
• $450,000 park proposal
• The LRT in winter
To increase transparency and resident education, below is a quick summary of the Shorewood City Council meeting of October 27, 2025
To increase transparency and resident education, below is a quick summary of the Shorewood City Council meeting of October 14, 2025
Dale and Karan Newberg attended the September 22, 2025 Shorewood City Council meeting.
Here are the observations and comments of that meeting they shared in an email with the City Council.
Prof. Mike Schuster and his team of researchers from the University of Minnesota are studying alternative buckthorn management strategies in Freeman Park’s western section.
This research focuses on methods aimed at exhausting the plant without relying on herbicides.
Update 12/1/2024 – The proposal to implement council bylaws was tabled until next year after the new council members are seated.
Since the middle of October, the Shorewood City Council has devoted all or part of 3 work sessions to discuss adding proposed “bylaws” to govern council operations and member’s behavior.
While clearly within the rights of the council to enact these “bylaws”, the details and timing of this initiative are concerning and raise quite a few questions. Here are just a few:
It’s hard to miss all the site preparation and construction activity happening in and around Shorewood.
Read further for descriptions of 10 projects that are in various stages of development
Once a rare sighting in the area, bald eagles are now a daily occurrence seen soaring above the Lake Minnetonka area, including on the southwest end of the lake and on the eastern bays.
The massive dirt piled in the Tonka Bay City Hall parking lot is not unnoticed.
In fact, it was a topic for the Sept 28 Tonka Bay Council Meeting where an impressive resident-council-consultant conversation addressed every question and concern in a full-blown “community conversation.”
The 2024 election results for Shorewood City Council have been published by the Secretary of State.
View the results here.
For those hopeful for some long-awaited enforcement on the kids on e-bikes, the wait will continue. On October 15 the Shorewood council passed its first ever ordinance regulating youth riding e-bikes.
The ordinance is quite simple:
The October 15 Shorewood council meeting will introduce an ordinance regulating e-bikes. Until now, the council has not publicly discussed the e-bike chaos in our city.
There was no public comment before the creation of this ordinance. How this version came to be, with so few specifics, is unknown.
Here are 5 suggestions for creating e-bike regulations:
As part of our continued service to residents, Shorewood Citizen Advocates is pleased to present the following profiles of the candidates for Shorewood City Council.
Shell game or voodoo economics – call it what you will, but our leaders in city council don’t want you to know that they can make a 13.9% budget increase look like a 3.2% tax increase because it’s an election year.
Wait – What? How does that happen?
Master Gardener volunteers are committed to providing the highest quality, research-based horticultural information and educational activities that enhance our community’s environment and quality of life.
This next year, why don’t you apply to be part of this great program?
Hennepin County is accepting applications for the 2025 Master Gardener program through October 1st.
Due to increasing public pressure, Shorewood has scheduled an open house for residents to ask questions and provide comments on the 2025 budget.
This is the first time the City has offered this opportunity!
Prof. Mike Schuster and his team of researchers from the University of Minnesota are studying alternative buckthorn management strategies in Freeman Park’s western section.
This research focuses on methods aimed at exhausting the plant without relying on herbicides.
Update 12/1/2024 – The proposal to implement council bylaws was tabled until next year after the new council members are seated.
Since the middle of October, the Shorewood City Council has devoted all or part of 3 work sessions to discuss adding proposed “bylaws” to govern council operations and member’s behavior.
While clearly within the rights of the council to enact these “bylaws”, the details and timing of this initiative are concerning and raise quite a few questions. Here are just a few:
It’s hard to miss all the site preparation and construction activity happening in and around Shorewood.
Read further for descriptions of 10 projects that are in various stages of development
Once a rare sighting in the area, bald eagles are now a daily occurrence seen soaring above the Lake Minnetonka area, including on the southwest end of the lake and on the eastern bays.
The massive dirt piled in the Tonka Bay City Hall parking lot is not unnoticed.
In fact, it was a topic for the Sept 28 Tonka Bay Council Meeting where an impressive resident-council-consultant conversation addressed every question and concern in a full-blown “community conversation.”
The 2024 election results for Shorewood City Council have been published by the Secretary of State.
View the results here.
For those hopeful for some long-awaited enforcement on the kids on e-bikes, the wait will continue. On October 15 the Shorewood council passed its first ever ordinance regulating youth riding e-bikes.
The ordinance is quite simple:
The October 15 Shorewood council meeting will introduce an ordinance regulating e-bikes. Until now, the council has not publicly discussed the e-bike chaos in our city.
There was no public comment before the creation of this ordinance. How this version came to be, with so few specifics, is unknown.
Here are 5 suggestions for creating e-bike regulations:
As part of our continued service to residents, Shorewood Citizen Advocates is pleased to present the following profiles of the candidates for Shorewood City Council.
Shell game or voodoo economics – call it what you will, but our leaders in city council don’t want you to know that they can make a 13.9% budget increase look like a 3.2% tax increase because it’s an election year.
Wait – What? How does that happen?
Transparency “…transparency is government’s obligation to share information with citizens.” — ballotpedia Government should be transparent at all levels Transparency promotes accountability and enables residents to understand what their Government is doing Shorewood’s non-transparency to resident document requests Planned Unit Development (PUD) documents, including Minnetonka Country Club, are not easily accessible to the public (Conversation starts at 1:40 regarding “extreme” resident data requests that are “demanding and unreasonable” The City Council struggles to find a way to safely communicate with residents during these “crazy times.” (Conversation starts at 1:40) “We were bullied into having this meeting on Zoom.” – CM Saikel On 9.12.21 the Council agreed to discuss communications with residents at their retreat. A
Consistency …means adhering to the governing documents in each case and treating each non-compliant issue in the same manner Provide consistent and equal treatment for all Lack of clarity in zoning violation enforcement process. Shorewood’s policy is to enforce code violations on a “complaint only” basis. This policy has been enacted without resident conversation Resident confronts council (starts at 7:20) on special treatment regarding the Mayor’s dock violations Inconsistency in variances granted: Smithtown fence (see p. 7) Smithtown Circle (see p. 9) accessory shed (required to move a building that did not comply) and a dock (allowed to keep a dock that did not comply.) Investment groups are buying homes and renting them. According to Shorewood’s
Managing Natural Resources: How is Shorewood Doing? Bee Safe program, pesticide use, phosphorous Shorewood’s violation of its Bee Safe Resolution City Council Discussion of the violation of the Bee Safe Resolution on January 24, 2022 and February 28, 2022 Proposal from IPM Institute of North America for pest management policies (Page 44-) The Western Shorewood Stormwater Drainage Plan / Smithtown Pond Project issues Despite the plan’s $4 million+ price tag, the City has not performed a cost benefit analyses and has not obtained second or third opinions/reviews on the system design The City has opted to rely on a city engineer who is employed by the contracting firm awarded the project It is unclear who
Western Shorewood Stormwater Drainage Plan The Western Shorewood Stormwater Drainage Plan is the most expensive series of public works projects in Shorewood history. This plan has not been properly vetted, the cost vs. benefit has not been analyzed, alternatives have not been considered and, most disturbing, the backers are intent on leaving Shorewood residents in the dark. Cost Overview At a cost of over $5.5 million, Shorewood’s Western Stormwater Drainage Plan will tax the wallets of Shorewood taxpayers and continue the City’s policy of draining Shorewood of its natural heritage of woods, wildlife, and quite green neighborhoods. Here’s how the City plans to spend $5.5 million+ of our taxpayer money An industrial project in a
The City has a responsibility to manage snow and ice
First: The Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail Crossing at Strawberry Lane
At the Dec. 11, 2023 City Council meeting a number
AGENDA and packet for Jan. 26, 2024 Retreat At the
Takeaways from the meeting: About 50 residents attended to hear
In June, 2022, a Shorewood-led report was released on Safe
During the City Council meeting of 11.27.2003, one of the
The Lake Park Villas development project, (former Truffle Hill property)
In 2016, Alex and Elena Ugorets requested a permit to
The Shorewood Council discussed a contract for removal at Freeman
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