Eagan News
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the Eagan City Council approved the City’s preliminary 2027 general fund budget. As the City of Eagan plans for 2027, City Council and staff are working to balance two important priorities: maintaining the services residents rely on and being mindful of the impact property taxes have on households and businesses.
Earlier plans showed a 6.8% property tax levy increase. During this spring and summer, staff took a closer look at revenues and expenses across the organization, following direction from City Council to bring the increase below 5% without compromising core City services.
That work resulted in a proposed 4.7% increase in general fund spending and a 4.9% property tax levy increase. The reduction from the earlier projection comes from a combination of additional funding, lower-than-anticipated costs, and targeted adjustments to programs and expenses.
Maintaining service while managing rising costs
While the City was able to reduce the original planned levy increase, the cost of providing services continues to rise. Personnel costs — including wages and continued increases in health insurance — are a significant part of the City’s budget.
Inflation and higher costs for the goods, services, and materials the City uses every day are also putting pressure on expenses.
The proposed 4.9% levy increase reflects an effort to manage those increasing costs, while continuing to fund services such as public safety, streets and infrastructure, parks and recreation, and community development.
City Council and staff recognize that any tax increase affects residents and businesses. As with every budget, the City carefully considers spending, available revenues, and the impact on taxpayers while working to maintain the services the community relies on. This year’s budget reflects that continued effort to balance affordability with the resources needed to provide those services.
What happens next?
City Council reviewed the proposed budget and levy at its August workshop and adopted the preliminary 2027 budget and property tax levy in September.
The budget is not yet final. The public hearing and adoption are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Learn more at cityofeagan.com/budget.
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Fire safety is essential every day of the year, but October is a perfect time to refresh your knowledge and skills. During this month, the Eagan Fire Department is dedicated to educating the community about fire prevention and safety measures.
You’re invited to visit one of our local fire stations to meet the team, see their work firsthand, and learn valuable fire safety tips. Mark your calendars for our Annual Fire Safety Open House on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 5–7 p.m. at Station #2, located at 1001 Station Trail. This is a great opportunity for families, friends, and neighbors to learn how to stay safe and prepared in case of a fire emergency.
Join us for interactive demonstrations, fire truck tours, and fun activities for all ages. We look forward to seeing you there!
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The community is invited to experience two days of independent film on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 at Eagan Emagine Theater.
Eagan Film Festival returns for its ninth year, celebrating local and independent filmmakers and bringing a diverse lineup of films to the community. Hosted by Eagan Television and sponsored by Emagine, the 2026 festival will take place at Emagine Theater in Eagan on Sept. 25 and 26.
The lineup is designed to offer something for every type of film fan. Friday’s programming begins with student shorts and Minnesota short films before moving into feature presentations. Saturday expands the lineup with documentaries, drama, comedy, animation, and horror, allowing audiences to experience a wide range of stories and genres. In addition to the variety of genres, Eagan Film Fest celebrates a diversity of perspectives through featured categories including Queer Stories, BIPOC Voices, and Women in Focus.
To learn more about the festival’s history, community impact and what makes the event unique, ETV Community Producer Josh Sibley offers a behind-the-scenes look at the festival and its continued growth.
The festival has evolved significantly over the years. What began as a one-day event — part of a kids' summer camp — has grown into its own full weekend dedicated to film. That growth began with a decision to expand the event, and Sibley reflects on what inspired the change, plus how the festival has developed since then.
The motivation to expand the event to two days came after Sibley visited Ely’s four-day film festival. He says, “I had a ton of fun, and I was kind of like, how do I bring that back to our festival? So, now we’re trying to create more of an event with it.”
That experience helped shape ETV’s vision for creating a festival that feels like more than a series of film screenings. Josh says the team wanted to create an event-like atmosphere that would benefit both the community and the filmmakers attending.
“For the filmmakers, it’ll be great because they can check out different blocks they want to see or just connect with other filmmakers,” Sibley says.
Those connections are an important part of what makes the Eagan Film Festival different. At its heart are local independent films and the filmmakers who bring them to life. ETV has created an outlet for cinephiles and filmmakers alike, helping foster greater community involvement while creating opportunities for local voices to be seen and heard — including through the spotlight categories Queer Stories, BIPOC Voices, and Women in Focus.
“You get to see some really unique stories and people who are just doing it on their own, which is awesome. I think having that artistic voice be seen is a great thing,” Sibley says.
While supporting filmmakers is a central part of the festival, ETV also wants the event to feel accessible and meaningful to the people who live in Eagan.
“We’re not just making this for the filmmakers; we’re making it for the Eagan community as well. We’re hoping to bring this film fest to everyone’s backyard,” Sibley says.
That community focus extends to filmmakers of all ages. A passion for film can begin at any age, and ETV has always placed a high priority on the festival’s student film section. The program allows young filmmakers to share their work, gain experience, and become part of the local film community.
“I think it’s important because it gives students an opportunity to have their work seen. I personally love the student films; you just see the talent there,” Sibley says.
Growing a festival to this size also comes with its share of challenges. Each year brings new lessons and opportunities to improve, helping ETV refine the experience for filmmakers and audiences alike. Sibley discusses some of the challenges the festival has faced and how those experiences have helped shape the event.
“There’s a lot of logistics you don’t realize until you're planning it, like we’ve added merchandise and ticket sales online, just small things like that. But the hardest thing is just making sure you don’t miss something crucial,” Sibley says.
As the festival continues to grow, ETV is also paying close attention to what success looks like from the perspective of the community. Because the Eagan Film Festival is built around connection, listening to audiences and filmmakers is an important part of strengthening the event and ensuring it continues to serve the community.
“I think having people connect with films they’ve never seen before or feeling like they are part of something special. You can’t see these films anywhere else right now, and you may not be able to see them again. So, I think it’s really cool when you get to have a different experience like that,” Sibley says.
Looking ahead, the ETV team is already exploring new ways to improve and evolve the Eagan Film Festival. From expanding opportunities for filmmakers to finding new ways to engage audiences, the festival continues to grow while staying true to its community-focused roots. Sibley shares what he hopes to see from the festival in the future and offers a message to those who have never attended.
“We’d love to have more filmmaker connection opportunities like workshops or mixers, just ways to have them connect more,” Sibley says.
For those who have yet to experience the festival, Sibley encourages them to take a chance on something new.
“If people have not come out, they’re missing some great movies. It’s a chance to see something different. There are all sorts of different films people can come to see, and for some of these features we’re going to have the filmmakers and the cast and crew there. And I mean they’re really good!”
With nine years of growth behind it, the Eagan Film Festival continues to provide a place for filmmakers, students, and movie lovers to come together and celebrate the art of storytelling. Whether audiences are discovering a new local filmmaker, supporting student creators or simply looking for their next favorite film, this year’s festival offers a weekend of entertainment and connection for the entire community.
Come check out Eagan Film Festival on Sept. 25 and 26. For more information visit cityofeagan.com/film-fest.
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Eagan’s new Community Academy gets underway this fall, offering participants an opportunity to build connections, deepen their understanding of community, and make a difference.
But you might be surprised to learn that its roots lie in Ukraine — sort of. How’s that possible?
Prior to serving as executive director of the Eagan Community Foundation, Jamie Hopkins served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine and spent the next 10 years working in international development, focused on former Soviet Republics like Ukraine and Molodva.
“Under the Soviet system, nearly everything was run by the state,” she says. When that system collapsed, communities suddenly had to build the institutions that many Americans take for granted: nonprofit organizations, private businesses, local governments, and more.
“We conducted civil society development for these countries by bringing leaders to Minnesota — connecting them with people in the state legislature, city and county governments, and a wide variety of nonprofits,” she adds. Jamie also hosted conferences in Ukraine and helped participants create organizations there.
Years later, that experience inspired a new thought. Now serving Eagan Community Foundation, Jamie had an idea: “I started to think that the programs we developed back then for visitors from newly democratic republics could also be helpful in here. Unlike many older and larger U.S. cities, suburbs like Eagan haven’t had generations to build dense networks of civic organizations and neighborhood traditions. A community academy could be one way to help strengthen and speed up those connections.”
Turns out, as the old adage says, great minds think alike. Once Jamie started digging, she learned that other community foundations and cities offer similar programs, with great success. That bodes well for Eagan.
“Our hope is that this academy will educate Eagan residents on what it takes to run a community. You don’t have to be the mayor,” she jokes. Nonprofits always need board members, for example, and the City always needs advisory commission members.
Though she has dreamed about starting a community academy for several years, Jamie says the timing felt right this year, especially as so many entities and individuals were jumping in to help one another during Metro Surge.
"A strong community needs strong relationships," she says. "As the community academy works to cultivate civic engagement, we hope it cultivates neighborliness along the way."
Running from mid-September through mid-November, this 10-session experience will bring together roughly 15 participants to focus on community trends, local challenges, and opportunities to strengthen neighborliness across Eagan. Participants will hear from local leaders; explore topics like housing, economic shifts, and community identity; and collaborate on stipend-supported final projects designed to bring people together in meaningful ways.
Everyone is encouraged to apply, Jamie says — people of all ages and backgrounds, those still in high school and those just beginning their retirements, those new to Eagan and those even new to Minnesota. “Before I applied to be a board member at Eagan Community Foundation, I didn’t realize that so few people put their names in the hat. If you’re interested, it’s highly likely that you’re exactly who we need.”
This fall the Community Academy aims to spark connection, inspire local leadership, and help participants play an active role in shaping a more connected and welcoming Eagan. Interested? Click here to apply by Tuesday, Sept. 1. Finalists will be notified Thursday, Sept. 3.
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These days our email inboxes are piled high with requests for financial help — for humanitarian aid, environmental causes, public policy proposals, political candidates, and more. These growing needs can feel overwhelming. Thankfully, if you feel moved to give — and Minnesotans rank No. 2 in the U.S. for their generosity — consider connecting with the Eagan Community Foundation.
While this 35-year-old organization was primarily founded to provide scholarships, it has gradually broadened its mission. In 2017 the foundation began expanding community grants while also adding donor services, flexible funds, and programs that build community connections. In total, the foundation has reinvested more than $3 million into the Eagan community since 1991.
Today, this City philanthropic hub is led by Jamie Hopkins, who joined the board in 2013 and was named executive director a decade ago. To learn more, Eagan Business News reached out to Hopkins for insights on the foundation and community giving in Eagan.
EBN: Can you tell us more about how a mostly scholarship organization became a more traditional community foundation?
A decade ago, our board culture shifted — we’d been around for 25 years, had made some time-saving technology improvements with our scholarship program, and we felt that we had the bandwidth to do more. And board members had just worked hard to set aside some surplus Foundation funds in our first permanent investment account. We realized that we could be a fuller-service community foundation for Eagan, but it meant making some changes.
We decided that everything we did needed to help connect the Eagan community. In 2016, we introduced our Community Connections Happy Hour. We invited sponsors, businesses, scholarship donors, nonprofit partners, and others to attend. We used these events not just to build new relationships for the Foundation, but to build connections across the community. We love connecting the new bank manager to the new leader of the shelter, and more.
Then in 2020, we introduced the Community Connections Coffee Break — at first online during COVID, and later in person. These two Community Connections happenings are Eagan-centric networking events with a lot of intentionality.
In February, the annual Community Connections Coffee Break took a new approach. Tell us about that.
It came about sort of the same way we decided 10 years ago that everything we do should be about connecting the community. This time we resolved to embed philanthropy into more of our work. We want to weave philanthropy into the everyday fabric of our community. While most of our community events feature a business speaker, this year we decided to focus on the topic of community giving. So we crafted a Coffee Break that functioned like a giving circle, where neighbors pool their generosity and work together to support organizations and initiatives that strengthen Eagan.
Normally this event is free, but this time we asked attendees to pay a registration fee. In total, we raised $1,500 to use as our giving pool – 100% went back into the community through six nonprofits. Each participant was given three tokens that they could use to vote on what portion of those funds would be given to our selected nonprofits. Before distributing their tokens, participants took a quiz to learn what kind of givers they were — answering questions like, do you typically give during a crisis? And what excites you most about philanthropy? They then had an immediate and real opportunity to align their giving with their values.
How did attendees respond?
We were asking people to be introspective, take action, and think about their community in new ways. It was more cerebral than our usual events, but engagement was high. People talked about the community in ways they never have before and they seemed to really love it. Our guests left the event with new insights into Eagan and their relationship with the community. Plus, we raised an additional $500 for the Eagan Community Response Fund, which currently provides rent and supports other emerging needs.
The foundation has been offering grants for a long time. Can you talk about their importance?
Since our beginnings in 1990, even with a scholarship focus, most years the Foundation made one or two small grants. The grants program became more formalized in 2010 and has been growing steadily since 2017.
Initially, we held a modest private grants awards ceremony and only invited recipients. Later we began inviting sponsors, area businesses, civic leaders, and residents to create a larger public gathering — a celebration of Eagan nonprofits and grant partners but also a kind of “Eagan Community Issues 101” for the community.
After every event, a couple business people would always call to ask for connections to some award recipients so that they could support them as well. My favorite annual call came from a banker who not only wanted to connect with award winners but also asked, “Was there a group you wished that you could have given a grant to before the funds ran out?” That’s the kind of connection we like to support. It’s no surprise that our grant giving has grown since then.
What role do you see the Foundation playing in Eagan down the road, say in 2050?
One of the most important roles we see for the Foundation is helping Eagan think long-term about community generosity and investment. Right now, we raise funds and immediately spend them. Community foundations, however, are designed to be permanent institutions — organizations that steward resources and respond to community needs not just today, but for generations.
Over the past several years, we’ve expanded the types of charitable funds and endowment options available for donors who want to invest in Eagan long term. This work is especially important right now because of the expected large transfer of wealth in the coming decades. In Dakota County alone, estimates suggest that more than $4 billion will change hands in the next 10 years.
A generation ago, when a business owner retired, the family business in Eagan might’ve passed directly to the next generation who still lived here. Today that next generation is often living elsewhere — when businesses are sold, the wealth often follows them.
Community foundations can help make it easy for families and business owners to leave some portion of that wealth behind — invested in a hometown endowment that can create lasting resources to support the community that helped those businesses grow in the first place.
How can individuals, organizations, or businesses work with the foundation?
Eagan is a generous community, and we’re always here to start the conversation about what you care about. Community foundations are unique because they’re often the only nonprofit in a community focused on the well-being of the whole place. Rather than advancing a single cause, community foundations connect people, resources, and ideas to strengthen every aspect of community life — arts, education, environment, basic needs, and civic life.
You can give to the Eagan Community Foundation directly and we’ll focus your generosity where it’s needed most. Or we can help you connect with local needs, align your giving with your values, and ensure your giving has a significant impact. We can even help you set up your own fund.
In addition to providing scholarships and community grants, we offer donor services and flexible funds that can help individuals, families, and organizations give thoughtfully and effectively. And we facilitate giving circles, connecting residents, businesses, and community groups to meaningful volunteer opportunities.
Eagan Community Foundation has a broad knowledge of this community and its needs, and we’re here to help make your generosity intentional and impactful. If you want to learn more, please visit us at eaganfoundation.org.
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The City of Eagan is developing its 2050 Comprehensive Plan, which will guide how the community grows and evolves over the next 25 years.
Video best viewed fullscreen on mobile.
What is a Comprehensive Plan?
The City of Eagan is developing its 2050 Comprehensive Plan, which will guide how the community grows and evolves over the next 25 years. It will shape land use, housing, transportation, environmental stewardship, and public investment. As required by state statutes, the Metropolitan Council sets growth expectations for cities in the metro area. Eagan is expected to grow by 4,600 housing units. Where will they go? How will they fit into the existing environment? What can we do now to foster a successful outcome?
Why does this matter?
Eagan is fully built out, and growth will come from redevelopment. Redevelopment helps a community remain relevant, desirable, and vibrant because it is through redevelopment that the City can meet the ever- changing and evolving needs of the community. It is important to note that redevelopment is not necessarily new to Eagan. Some properties, such as Central Park Commons, Vikings Lakes, and the Eagan Outlet Mall, are examples of recent redevelopment that have contributed to the tax base and added new amenities, housing, and retail to the community.
Community input is an important part of the Comprehensive Plan process, and it will help ensure redevelopment reflects local values, uses public resources responsibly, and balances growth with infrastructure and environmental needs.
Project Timeline
Spring-Summer 2026:
Gather input on special areas.
Fall 2026:
Use community feedback to determine locations of housing growth.
Winter 2026 - 2027:
Determine infrastructure needs to support growth.
Spring-Summer 2027:
Gather feedback on draft Comp Plan and modify the plan if needed.
Fall 2027:
Publish the 2050 Comprehensive Plan.
Spring 2028:
Respond to public comments and modify the plan as needed.
What are Special Areas?
Special Areas are the parts of Eagan that are well- suited to redevelopment. The Special Areas are accessible by transit and trail, are developed with a mix of retail, commercial, and housing uses, and are more susceptible to redevelopment pressures than single-family neighborhoods. These are the areas where it’s likely, through redevelopment, that additional housing units could be accommodated in the future. Community feedback regarding these areas will help shape future land use, development patterns, and public investments, ensuring that long-term planning decisions reflect both regional responsibilities and local priorities.
Imagine Forecasts for the City of Eagan
| Metric | 2020 (actual) | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 68,855 | 72,000 | 75,200 | 79,200 |
| Households | 27,609 | 30,000 | 32,000 | 33,900 |
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The City of Eagan is proud to announce its new fire chief, Holly Mulholland, who brings an exceptional track record and a clear vision for the future.
“Chief Mulholland’s experience, leadership, and commitment to public safety make her an outstanding choice for this role,” says Mayor Mike Maguire. “The City Council is confident in her ability to lead the department forward and continue providing exceptional service to our residents.”
Chief Mulholland brings more than 17 years of fire service experience to the role. Most recently, she served as deputy chief with the Eagan Fire Department, and she previously held key leadership positions with the Rochester Fire Department.
"I’m really looking forward to taking the time to get to know our personnel even more and hearing the ideas they have for the organization,” Chief Mulholland says. “Now I think it’s really about honing in on those best practices and taking the department to the next level."
Known for her technical expertise, strategic mindset, and dedication to professional development, she plans to lead with purpose. She’s also deeply committed to community service and maintaining the public trust that’s central to fire service.
One of her key priorities is advancing the department’s use of data. "We're ready to take that to the next level and review how we can continue to use data in our strategic decision making," she says.
Chief Mulholland's Path to Fire Service
Chief Mulholland began her career in fire service with a strong desire to serve. "As I graduated college and was starting a family, I kept feeling this pull into serving the community," she says. A colleague at the time asked her if she'd ever thought about the fire service. "After I looked into it, I was really excited about it — I was all in and I never looked back," she says.
Outside of work, Chief Mulholland enjoys spending time with her family, which includes Rory, a certified live-find, search-and-rescue canine. In fact, training dogs is one of her hobbies — just another example of her dedication to service, both on and off duty.
Chief Mulholland says she’s proud to be named the next fire chief. “This department is made up of so many exceptional professionals, who deliver service with kindness and compassion. And we’re committed to continuing that excellent service and also continuing to build relationships within the community.”
Chief Mulholland officially stepped into her role in late April.
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