“In a match-up featuring two of the best boys tennis teams in the state, 2025 Class AA state champion Wayzata swept last year’s Class A state champion St. Paul Academy 7-0 Monday. The Trojans won six of the seven matches in straight sets with first doubles needing a third-set tiebreaker to win. Wayzata is the top-ranked team in Minnesota again this spring. The Trojans improved their record to 11-0 with seven of their wins finishing in sweeps.” via CCX Media.
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“After a defensive and pitching battle that included eight scoreless innings, the Wayzata softball team found a way to manufacture multiple runs to get a 4-1 win in extra innings over Hopkins. Three consecutive runs in the top of the tenth ended up being the difference for the Trojans. Mia Nelson earned the win in the circle, pitching all ten innings. Wayzata is now 6-6 on the season and Hopkins drops to 7-7.” via CCX Media.
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District says internal systems were not breached; names, emails, student ID numbers and Canvas messages may have been involved
Wayzata Public Schools notified families Monday, May 4, of a security incident involving Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, the learning management system used by district students in grades 4–12.
In a notice sent by Technology Services through ParentSquare, the district said Instructure notified Wayzata Public Schools on May 1 that an unauthorized party had gained access to certain systems within Instructure’s environment.
“This was a vendor-side incident,” the district wrote. “The internal networks and systems of Wayzata Public Schools were not breached or compromised.”
According to the district notice, information potentially involved includes student and staff names, email addresses, student ID numbers and internal messages sent between users within the Canvas platform. The notice said Instructure found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers such as Social Security numbers, or financial information were involved.
Instructure’s public status page also identified the matter as a “Confirmed Security Incident.” In an update posted May 2, Instructure Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud said the company believed the incident had been contained and had taken steps including revoking privileged credentials and access tokens, deploying patches, rotating certain keys as a precaution and increasing monitoring across its platforms.
Wayzata Public Schools said it has activated its District Incident Response Team, remained in communication with the vendor for forensic updates and initiated a review of internal security protocols.
Families were encouraged to remain alert for phishing attempts, particularly unsolicited emails or messages appearing to come from Canvas and asking for personal information or password resets. The district also advised families to monitor student school-related accounts for unusual activity.
The district said it will provide further updates if new information becomes available. Families with questions may contact the Wayzata Technology Department at 763-745-5100.
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“The Wayzata baseball team earned a 9-3 win on the road over Maple Grove in a Lake Conference matchup between two of the top teams in Class AAAA. Hunsley Cole’s three-run triple in the third inning sparked the Trojans and gave Wayzata the lead that they wouldn’t give up. Luke Boutwell also had a two-run single in the fifth inning. The Trojans ended up with four total runs in the fifth. Grady Hague got the win on the mound for the 7-3 Trojans. The Crimson drop to 5-5 on the season with the loss.” via CCX Media.
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Bjorn Cycling is coming to Wayzata with a seasonal bike repair pop-up near the lakefront and Dakota Rail Regional Trail.
The Wayzata City Council approved a seasonal lease agreement with Bjorn Cycling for a pilot program at Shaver Park. The company will offer minor bicycle repairs, express tune-ups and free basic maintenance lessons for residents and trail users.
The repair station is scheduled to operate Saturdays from May 2 through Oct. 10 near the west end of downtown, close to Wayzata Beach. Hours are 2 to 5 p.m. Saturdays from May 2 through May 23, then 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays from May 30 through Oct. 10.
The setup is expected to be simple: a small tent and bike repair station. Minor repairs will be handled on site. More extensive repairs will be done off site. Bjorn Cycling will offer discounted service for Wayzata residents and pay the city 10 percent of bike repair revenue.
For founder Erik Bloom, Wayzata was a natural fit.
“People aren’t there by accident,” Bloom said in written responses to Wayzata.com. “They’ve chosen to be outside… …you’re fitting into what they already came to do.”
Bloom sees the location as part of the normal flow of a lakefront visit. A rider can drop off a bike, grab coffee, take a walk downtown or meet friends, then come back when the work is done.
“The quick turn around helps riders that have the simpler fix to not have to drop off a bike and wait weeks for just a tune-up,” Bloom said.
Bjorn Cycling started as a teaching program for youth and adults and has grown into a bike service and teaching pop-up. According to materials provided by the company, Bloom started as a bike mechanic and avid rider while attending the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In the late 1990s, he helped start a youth program in St. Paul where disadvantaged families could earn bicycles while working in a shop.
After years in the corporate world — while still working in bike shops as his “fun” job — Bloom began teaching bike maintenance classes in 2020. By 2021, the program had expanded from Plymouth and Wayzata to more than 10 locations.
Teaching remains part of the point.
“A repair is a transaction. Teaching is an interaction,” Bloom said. “One ends when the bike rolls away; the other sticks with the rider long after.”
At the Wayzata pop-up, Bjorn Cycling plans to offer free 15-minute trailside repair classes. Bloom said many small bike issues go unaddressed because riders either do not know what is wrong or feel intimidated walking into a traditional bike shop.
“When you embed education, even in a 5-minute interaction you lower that barrier,” Bloom said. “Suddenly maintenance feels approachable.”
Bloom said many casual riders assume that if a bike still rolls, it is fine. He wants riders to think instead about the basics: air, brakes and chain.
Underinflated tires make a bike harder to pedal and less stable. Weak brakes can make children, older riders and casual cyclists less confident on the trail. A dry chain can make a bike noisy, inefficient and more expensive to maintain over time.
“Confidence in braking equals confidence on the trail,” Bloom said.
The pilot also includes a complimentary spring bicycle safety check event for Wayzata residents. Bjorn Cycling’s own materials describe the opening event on May 2nd as “Free Bike Checks by the beach.”
City staff said the Parks and Trails Board reviewed the proposal and unanimously recommended approval. The board found that the program would improve access to bike repair services for residents and trail users while minimizing conflicts with peak beach activity.
The location puts Bjorn Cycling near several of Wayzata’s most active public spaces: Shaver Park, Wayzata Beach, the lakefront and the Dakota Rail Trail.
Bloom said success after the first season would not be measured only by how many bikes were fixed.
“Success after that first season in Wayzata isn’t just about how many bikes you fixed,” Bloom said. “It’s about whether the program became part of the rhythm of the place.”
His longer-term hope is for Bjorn Cycling to become a more permanent trailhead resource for riders, residents and visitors.
For now, the idea is straightforward: keep people riding, teach them a little along the way and make it easier to enjoy Wayzata on two wheels.
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Phyllis M. Rydell, age 99, of Wayzata, passed away Oct. 4, 2025.
Rydell grew up in Minnetonka and spent the last 15 years of her life in Wayzata. She was preceded in death by her husband, Edmund W. F. Rydell; her parents, Oscar and Esther Lindblom; and her brother, Donald Lindblom.
She is survived by her children, Mark Rydell, Mary Christensen, Gregory Rydell and Lisa Rydell; grandchildren Allison Rydell, Eric Christensen and Jena Squires; and her brother, David Lindblom.
Memorial Service Scheduled for May 15
A memorial service will be held Friday, May 15, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2060 County Road 6 in Long Lake. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the service at 11 a.m. Inurnment will take place at Crystal Lake Cemetery, according to her obituary from Washburn McReavy.
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“The Wayzata boys volleyball team won its ninth match of the spring Wednesday with a three-set sweep of Hopkins. The Trojans, coming off a second-place finish at the Panther Challenge tournament at Spring Lake Park, beat the Royals 25-15, 26-24, and 25-19. It was a rematch of last June’s section final won by Hopkins in the first year of boys volleyball as a sanctioned sport by the Minnesota State High School League. With the win the Trojans improve to 9-3 overall and 5-1 in the Lake Conference while the Royals fall to 0-6. The teams play again May 21 at Wayzata.” via CCX Media.
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“The Wayzata boys lacrosse team stayed unbeaten this season with a dominant 15-3 win over Hopkins-Park Tuesday. The Trojans built a 5-0 lead after one quarter and were up 11-0 at halftime. Ryder Alstead had six goals and two assists for the Trojans, with Thor Soukup adding two goals and three assists. Wayzata improved to 6-0 for the season. They play Edina Thursday.” via CCX Media.
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WAYZATA — The Wayzata City Council is scheduled to meet in closed session Monday, May 5, as the city weighs its legal options following a Hennepin County judge’s ruling that voided Wayzata’s short-term rental ban, including whether to appeal the decision.
According to a closed meeting notice posted April 28, the special meeting will be held at 5 p.m. under the attorney-client privilege exception to Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law. The notice says the meeting will allow the council to meet with its attorneys to “review, and candidly and openly discuss” confidential and privileged matters related to two pending short-term rental lawsuits.
The May 5 meeting marks the second closed meeting the council has held on the issue since a Hennepin County judge voided the city’s short-term rental ban earlier this spring.
The litigation involves two cases brought by property owners against the City of Wayzata. The first names Adlon C. Adams, 225 Manitoba Ave LLC, Olivia A. Adams, Wayzata Cottage LLC, and Robert C. Fisher, as trustee of the Robert C. Fisher Trust dated July 8, 2016, as plaintiffs and petitioners. The second names Jeffrey Lee Holmers, 306 Barry Ave N LLC, Scott Tripps, 1020 Lake Street E LLC, Anna Ovsyannikova, and Yevgeniy Ogranovich as plaintiffs and petitioners.
The latest closed session follows a March 30 ruling by Hennepin County Judge Joseph R. Klein, who held that Wayzata’s Ordinance 852 functioned as a zoning ordinance and was void because the city did not follow the procedures required for zoning changes. The ordinance had been adopted in 2025 to prohibit rentals of fewer than 30 consecutive days in licensed rental dwellings.
The council previously met in closed session on April 7 after approving an emergency interim ordinance imposing a 12-month moratorium on new short-term rentals. That measure passed 4-1, with Mayor Andrew Mullin casting the lone dissenting vote.
The May 5 meeting is closed to the public because it concerns attorney-client communications related to pending litigation. No public action is expected during the closed portion of the meeting.
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Proposal would have divided two existing residential lots into four single-family lots
The Wayzata City Council voted 3-2 on April 21 to deny a proposed subdivision at 190 Gleason Lake Road and 121 Gleahaven Road, rejecting a plan that would have divided two existing residential lots into four single-family lots in the Gleahaven neighborhood.
The application was submitted by Lake West Development LLC on behalf of property owner Dave Heil. The two parcels sit near the southeast corner of Gleason Lake Road, also known as County Road 15, and Gleahaven Road.
Community Development Director Alex Sharpe told the council the property is guided low-density residential, allowing one to three units per acre, and is zoned R-3, Single and Two Family Residential District.
“The proposal would still meet that maximum density,” Sharpe said.
Sharpe also said the proposed lots met the R-3 zoning requirements for minimum lot size, lot width, lot depth, lot coverage and impervious surface coverage. Because the property is within the Shoreland Overlay District, he said the proposal also included stormwater treatment facilities to address impervious surface requirements.
But the denial did not turn simply on whether the proposal met zoning standards. Instead, council members weighed the city’s broader subdivision ordinance, which allows consideration of possible adverse effects, including neighborhood character, lot size, scale, pattern, grading and property values.
City Attorney David G. Schelzel clarified that the property’s zoning was not in dispute.
“I don’t think there’s any question that that is the zoning now,” Schelzel said. “We may not know exactly when it happened or why there was a change, but it’s been reaffirmed and recodified. That is legally what the zoning district is.”
The Planning Commission previously reviewed the proposal and recommended denial. Sharpe said the commission’s recommendation came after significant discussion of the city’s subdivision criteria.
The Planning Commission’s concerns included whether the four-lot subdivision would fit the existing scale, pattern and character of the neighborhood. Sharpe noted that the proposed lots would be smaller than most of the lots in the surrounding 11-parcel Gleahaven Road neighborhood.
“The majority of the lots within the 11 lot subdivision neighborhood would be larger than the subject parcels proposed,” Sharpe said.
The applicant had held a neighborhood meeting Feb. 2, which was not required but was recommended by staff. The City Council tabled the matter in March at the applicant’s request, allowing time for additional neighborhood outreach. A second neighborhood meeting was held April 9.
Sharpe said public comments received by the city centered on increased density, tree removal, reduced property values and negative effects on neighborhood character.
Public comments submitted to the city largely opposed the subdivision. A petition from Gleahaven Road residents asked the council to deny the application and requested a moratorium on future proposals until the city could further review why the street is zoned R-3 rather than R-2. The petition cited concerns about tree removal, grading, drainage, density, neighborhood character, lot size, traffic and possible property-value impacts.
The petition argued that the proposed lots, averaging 15,363 square feet, were substantially smaller than the historic pattern of the neighborhood. Residents wrote that, before the 2013 subdivision across the street, the average lot size in the neighborhood was 26,136 square feet. Even after that subdivision, they said the average lot size was 23,664 square feet.
Ryan Schultz, of 108 Gleahaven Road, wrote that his family chose the neighborhood for its “quiet streets, low density, and mature tree canopy.” Schultz argued that meeting minimum zoning standards “is not the same as being appropriate for this location,” and raised concerns about school-bus safety near Gleahaven Road and Gleason Lake Road.
Michelle Schultz, also of 108 Gleahaven Road, wrote that the proposal would “fundamentally and permanently alter” the neighborhood’s low-density, heavily treed character. She argued that the increase in density, loss of mature trees, traffic impacts and changes to views would negatively affect nearby property values.
Kumar and Kathy Das Gupta, of 110 Gleahaven Road, wrote that the street is a “quiet cul de sac” with a natural, serene atmosphere, privacy and varied architecture. They said four homes near the corner could add an estimated eight to 10 vehicles entering and exiting multiple times per day near an intersection they described as already difficult for pedestrians, children and dog walkers.
Pete Trinh and Morgan Kaufman, of 167 Gleahaven Road, wrote that their young family opposed the proposal because they believed it would take away from the established cul-de-sac and increase traffic near Gleason Lake Road. They wrote that it is already “scary” to walk as a family, walk a dog or cross the street.
Dan Poss. Neighbor Dan Poss, who said he lives at 133 Gleahaven Road adjacent to the proposed development, urged the council to look beyond technical compliance and consider the established feel of the cul-de-sac.
“Our neighborhood is unique,” Poss said.
Poss said Gleahaven Road has long had a low-density feel, with about 10 homes on roughly six acres before a previous subdivision in 2013.
“To say it’s not going to change the character of the neighborhood, that’s a pretty subjective statement to make,” Poss said. “And I would say, of course, it’s going to change the character of the neighborhood. Some for the positive, of course. New homes. They look real shiny and nice. But from a density standpoint, it’s going to be tremendously character changing.”
Poss said he was not opposed to all redevelopment, but suggested three homes as a possible compromise. “My compromise would be three homes,” Poss said.
Council Members Alex Plechash, Molly MacDonald and Ken Sorensen supported the denial, pointing to the Planning Commission’s findings and the proposal’s fit within the existing neighborhood.
MacDonald said she saw a disconnect between the R-3 zoning designation and the actual character of the Gleahaven neighborhood.
“This doesn’t feel like an R-3 neighborhood,” MacDonald said, adding that she would support taking a closer look at the zoning history of the area.
MacDonald said adding four lots to the area would have a lasting impact.
“To add another four lots to that feels like it would change the character of this neighborhood forever,” MacDonald said.
Sorensen said he is typically supportive of property rights and credited Lake West for trying to develop a workable plan. But he said he could not get past the shape and layout of the proposed lots.
“The issue I can’t shake a bit though is the shape of these lots,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen said the existing cul-de-sac includes wider and pie-shaped lots that create more space between homes, contributing to what he called a “very pleasant area.” He said the proposed four-lot subdivision would place homes much closer together than the existing pattern.
“While it does comply with many of the criteria of the subdivision ordinance, it doesn’t make it always appropriate,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen said he agreed with the Planning Commission’s conclusion that the proposal would create adverse effects, particularly because of how the new lots would affect the scale, pattern and character of the neighborhood.
“If it were something less than four lots, it would be much more — I think many issues we talked about would probably go away,” Sorensen said.
Curt Fretham. Developer Curt Fretham told the council Lake West believed it had brought forward a fully compliant proposal. He said the applicant was willing to discuss lowering grades on the site, even though doing so would require hauling material away and add cost.
“We brought what we thought was a fully compliant plan,” Fretham said.
Fretham said the developer tried to avoid asking for variances or exceptions. “I’m not touching this project unless it is absolutely completely conforming,” Fretham said.
Council Member Dan Koch said he understood the neighborhood character concerns, but had difficulty supporting denial when the proposal appeared to meet the city’s zoning and guidance.
“I agree about character of neighborhoods and trying to maintain the character of neighborhoods,” Koch said. “There’s probably, I guess everybody has probably some different opinions of what that means.”
Koch said market forces can also change neighborhoods over time as homes turn over, are torn down and rebuilt under existing zoning rules. “When you look at it on the facts and no variances conforms with every piece of zoning and guidance, I have a tough time denying it because of the facts,” Koch said.
Mayor Andrew Mullin also framed the issue as a difficult balance between property rights and the city’s subdivision standards.
“I’m generally a pro-property rights person,” Mullin said. “And I struggle when you are balancing subjective criteria.”
Schelzel said the subdivision ordinance differs from the zoning ordinance and requires officials to consider possible adverse effects when reviewing a preliminary plat. “The key thing that the ordinance calls out is that you’re supposed to consider possible adverse effects,” Schelzel said. “And so by its nature, it’s sort of a judgment call.”
Ultimately, a majority (3-2) of the council sided with the Planning Commission’s recommendation and adopted Resolution 14-2026 denying the preliminary plat. The decision blocks the proposed four-lot subdivision, leaving the two existing parcels in place for the time being.
In a Feb. 23 letter to the city, Lake West’s attorney argued that the city’s broader subdivision criteria must be applied consistently with the objective standards in its zoning code.
The most obvious legal tension, if the denial is challenged in court, would likely be whether Wayzata’s more subjective subdivision criteria — including neighborhood “character” and “scale” — can support denial of a project that the applicant says met the city’s measurable zoning, density and grading requirements.
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