Community Profile

Pledge Summary

The City of the Village of Minnetonka Beach is a special lake community located in the western suburbs of Minneapolis. Surrounded by Minnesota's 9th largest lake, Lake Minnetonka, covering 14,528 acres, the City has a quaint village feel and is rich in history. With a strong commitment to the protection of City parks and public lands, the City Council and Park Commission fully supports initiatives that provide an ecosystem for beneficial insects and wildlife. The City is renewing the Mayor's Monarch Pledge for 2025 to further engage our community and residents in building more pollinator-friendly habits throughout the Village. Monarch Pledge educational messaging will continue to be generated to residents via the City's newsletter, email blasts, educational signage, and mailing inserts. The Park Commission is engaged in promoting sustainable, pollinator-friendly gardens, organic lawncare, and selective mowing. Milkweed and nectar planting will continue to be encouraged both in public spaces and with residents own landscapes. The City's monarch and pollinator-friendly garden is in its third year of establishment at Lafayette Park complete with a beautiful pollinator garden educational sign for trail walkers to see at the garden's edge. As a community engagement effort, packets of Asclepias tuberosa seeds were distributed to residents for their own gardens with detailed planting instructions. Additional native milkweed and pollinator plantings have been added and maintained at the Swim Beach Park Garden. A new educational, podium style sign about protecting shoreline habitat was created for the Swim Beach Park shoreline where the extensive native plants are. Minnetonka Beach City Hall has seen the addition of monarch and pollinator-friendly plants as well. Plans are also underway to add native plants at the City's northern shoreline of Lake Minnetonka as part of a shoreline restoration project. As a former Park Commission Chair, Mayor Pagano fully endorses continued efforts to raise awareness of the continued decreased population of the western monarch butterfly. Education and project initiatives in Minnetonka Beach will continue to provide vital habitat to assist in saving the monarch butterfly.