Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The City Council agreed not so revoke Wonderland Asian Massage’s licenses—so long as the owners willingly turn in their licenses.
Wonderland Asian Massage will almost certainly be closing up shop in Hopkins—but the circumstances under which the business will leave aren’t exactly clear. Hopkins City Council members were decidedly against letting Wonderland stay in the city after Tuesday’s license revocation hearing. However, they were less comfortable with a license revocation that could keep the owners from getting a license in another community. They’re now giving them a week to cancel their own licenses—or else face formal revocation that could keep them from starting another massage establishment elsewhere. Hopkins staff asked the council to revoke the business license of Wonderland owner Julio Alaniz and the massage therapist license of his wife, Yang Yu, because…
44.92436
-93.41582
1209 Mainstreet, Hopkins, MN
Wonderland Asian Massage
/articles/hopkins-to-massage-parlor-turn-in-your-license-or-we-ll-take-it-away
/locations/9408289
This year’s tax bill brings local government aid (LGA) back to the community after a several years without it.
Changes to the formula that the state uses for local government aid money and increased funding for the program mean Hopkins will go from zero local government aid in 2013 to $289,907 in 2014, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. The omnibus tax bill—which passed the Minnesota Senate 36-30 just a few minutes before midnight Monday, the legislative session's legal deadline—pumps $80 million more into the local government aid (LGA) program. The aim is to help cities lower property taxes. Click on the PDF to the right of this article to see a full breakdown of how cities across the state will fare. The bill also bars most cities from increasing their levies by more than 3 percent this fall. The extra LGA money is just a hair less…
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The downtown retailer is becoming an estate sale business and will also sell some jewelry and gift items at a Robbinsdale space.
Hopkins’ downtown is soon going to lose another store. Sassy Pantz, which opened in October 2011, is hosting a store-closing sale May 21, according to a May 15 post on the store’s Facebook page. The store will not disappear altogether, though. It is “redefining” as an estate sale business. Its first sale will take place with the store’s new partner, The Mix & Park Lane Estates, on May 31, June 1 and June 2. More details will be posted on Sassy Pantz’s Facebook page closer to the date of the sale. The store will also sell some jewelry and gift items at its space at Finds On Broadway at 4180 West Broadway in Robbinsdale. Tuesday’s closing sale takes place from noon to 7 p.m. All remaining merchandise will be half off. Sassy Pantz will also …
44.92438
-93.410251
Sassy Pantz
810 Mainstreet, Hopkins, MN
/articles/sassy-pantz-closing-hopkins-store
2025567
/locations/9405315
The group included senior ambassadors from as far back as the 1980s.
Hopkins was full of royalty May 11. Former Raspberry Festival senior kings got together for a Kings Breakfast, and former senior queens gathered for a Queens Tea. The following senior kings were present: And the following senior queens were there: The Raspberry Festival’s senior ambassadors are at least 55 years old and must live, work or volunteer in Hopkins, Minnetonka, Golden Valley or the Hopkins school district. Those who know of a senior who’d make a good ambassador can click here to find out more about how to nominate him or her. The Raspberry Festival will announce two ambassadors at the Senior Ambassador Coronation on July 16. The 79th Annual Raspberry Festival takes place from July 13 to July 21.
44.92576
-93.41768
Hopkins Activity Center
33 14th Ave N, Hopkins, MN
/articles/raspberry-festival-senior-kings-queens-reunite-at-hopkins-activity-center
1801049
/locations/9404615
Monday, May 20, 2013
The Hopkins basketball star will help the team try to win its fifth-straight gold medal.
Hopkins High School basketball star Nia Coffey has been named to the USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team, USA Basketball announced Sunday. The USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee selected Coffey for the 12-member team following four days of trials May 16 through 19 involving 33 athletes age 19-years-old and younger. University of Miami head coach Katie Meier will head the team. The team will try to win its fifth-straight gold medal July 18 through 28 at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship in Klaipeda and Panevėžys, Lithuania. Coffey has had a standout year. She was named the player of this year’s state championship game, chosen as Breakdown Sports USA’s No. 2 player in the state and honored with All State …
44.958351
-93.410152
Hopkins Public Schools Hopkins High School
2400 Lindbergh Dr, Minnetonka, MN
/articles/nia-coffey-named-to-usa-basketball-women-s-u19-world-championship-team
1779732
/locations/9402203
Friday, May 17, 2013
Follow these rules to avoid warnings and fines.
The warmer weather means it’s time again to pay attention to the city’s watering rules. City ordinances spell out the following watering rules: Residents who need to water sod or seeded areas can obtain free permits from the Public Works Department. Warning tickets will be issued to those who don’t follow the rules, followed by fines for repeat offenders. The restrictions do not prevent residents from hand-watering flowerbeds, washing cars or other similar uses. They do not apply to people using water sources other than the city water system.
Wonderland Asian Massage and one of its masseuses are accused of hiring unlicensed masseuses.
Hopkins officials want to revoke two more massage licenses because of alleged business violations, according to the packet for Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The action arises because of allegations that Wonderland Asian Massage had more than the lone masseuse allowed under that business’ massage therapy establishment license. Staff are asking the City Council to revoke the license of Julio Alaniz, who was doing business as Wonderland Asian Massage at 7 Seventh Ave. N., because of accusations that he failed to properly supervise an employee or independent contractor. They also want to revoke the license of Yang Yu, who is accused of hiring unlicensed masseuses. Police investigated the massage parlor after noticing customer activity that …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Here's the story of Marlene Konkoly, who found creative ways to spend less and save more so she can retire at 50. This story is the first in our series about Extreme Savers.
Americans may be living longer, but our retirement plans aren’t keeping up. Which means people are living longer with smaller bank accounts. But Marlene Konkoly will retire at age 50. How did she do it? She contributes a whopping 45 percent of the gross annual income she earns as a procurement officer for an automotive finance company to her retirement—all while owning a home and remaining debt-free. Konkoly is actually well ahead of the retirement savings curve compared to many of her fellow Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, fewer than half of Americans even know how much money they would need to retire. And nearly a third of employees who had access to a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) did not participate…
Kyle Rossow and the rest of the Saint John’s 4x800-meter relay team finished four seconds ahead of the second-place team.
A St. Louis Park native and Hopkins grad helped the Saint John's 4x800-meter relay team place first at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, according to a university news release. Sophomore Kyle Rossow and the rest of the team finished in 7:45.60 at the May 11 meet in St. Paul, four seconds faster than runner-up St. Olaf. He was joined by freshman Thomas Feichtinger, senior Eric Mann and sophomore Chris Mergens.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Everything you need to know about painting your house: stripping, powerwashing, fixing damaged wood and choosing paint colors. Sponsored by Home Depot.
It’s that time of year again and you’re outside, enjoying your yard. Then you start nosing around—maybe you’re inspecting your plants, or reviewing the condition of your lawn or setting up your sprinklers—and before you know it, reality hits. You need to paint the house. A daunting task. An expensive task. A necessary task—because it's not just about how your house looks, it's about your home's value. Neglect is not an option. Take heart, however. Information and resources have never been more easily available to help you through this project. Know Your Options Your options are to either hire a contractor or paint it yourself. Hiring a contractor is an expensive option, but if it's in your budget and you do the necessary research to …
Mike B.
6:10 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Hopkins' downtown has possibilities. Many nice older buildings covered up by aluminum siding, etc. Take off the cheap exterior "improvements" and restore the buildings as a first step toward putting life into downtown. Then get rid of the massage parlors, tattoo emporiums, and cut-rate liquor stores, which give it an East Franklin Street in Minneapolis-atmosphere. If Hopkins would turn their … more ›