The business of biking
Ask residents what they love most about living and working in Minnetonka, and similar themes emerge – the natural environment, parks, trails.
One of the best ways to enjoy these amenities is by two wheels. “Minnetonka is a very active, outdoor-centric community,” said Pam Sayler, owner of Trailhead Cycling. “Combined with the city’s strong focus on preserving natural resources [and] dedicating land to parks and open spaces, Minnetonka is considered a hub for biking.”
Looking for more “discoverability,” Trailhead recently moved from Plymouth to the Country Village Shopping Center off Hwy 7 and Hopkins Crossroads. With its flagship location in Champlin since 2003, Trailhead offers sales and service of bicycles and e-bikes.
Sayler credits the state’s extensive infrastructure of paved and single track (dirt) trails for helping grow interest in biking. Matthew Healey, manager of Freewheel Bike’s Minnetonka location, agrees.
“The Minnetonka area is great for our business with bike-friendly roads, dedicated bike paths and a slew of off-road mountain biking trails all nearby.”
Freewheel, which was founded in 1974, opened its Minnetonka location in 2019. It sells bikes and provides service and advice to new riders, casual cyclists and hard core enthusiasts.
Healey says the rise in e-bike popularity has brought even more people to the sport. “[It’s] helped more riders expand where they can go and what they can do in the world of biking.” Minnetonka’s prime location, along several regional bike trails and soon the METRO Green Line Extension, makes it a hub of biking activity for all types of cyclists, from high school mountain bike teams to commuters to families wanting to enjoy the outdoors.
“Placing our bike shop right in the center of all this activity just makes good business sense,” Sayler said.
Did you know?
Minnetonka has more than 110 miles of local trails linking neighborhoods, schools, parks, job centers and regional trails. Cyclists use Minnetonka’s trails for recreation and commuting. Minnetonka and Hopkins high schools also have mountain bike teams.
Investing in safety
Minnetonka explores ways to improve fire facilities
Minnetonka is a leading regional economic hub – home to thousands of businesses, tens of thousands of jobs and destinations that draw visitors from across the Twin Cities and beyond.
Protecting businesses, employees and visitors is a top priority of the city’s long-term fire facility planning.
Facilities built for a different time Investing in future facilities
- Fire Station 2 (1815 Hopkins Crossroad) and Fire Station 3 (5700 Rowland Road) were built in 1974 and 1986 respectively, and no longer fully support modern firefighting and emergency response standards.
- The layout and design of both fire stations reflect an earlier era of fire service operations. They were not built to support today’s 24-hour staffing model or modern health and safety practices, and they lack the building systems needed to fully protect firefighters from on-the-job hazards.
- As a result, both stations are missing key features required for today’s fire service. Living and recovery areas are limited for on-duty crews, air filtration systems are outdated or insufficient to remove contaminants and garage space is constrained for modern equipment and proper gear decontamination.
- Stations 2 and 3 support Minnetonka’s key job centers, serving more than 650 businesses, major retail and office centers that have one million visitors each month.
- During the 2026 legislative session, Minnetonka received bonding support toward rebuilding Fire Station 2 near Ridgedale. The city has also explored a half-cent local sales tax as a way to fund improvements without raising local property taxes.
- As the city looks ahead, it will continue to seek ways to ensure our fire facilities fit modern firefighting needs to support our business environment.
Minnetonka council considers short-term rental ordinance
Earlier this month, the Minnetonka City Council weighed the need for an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals in the community.
A short-term rental is a property that an owner rents – either all or part of a home – to guests for less than 30 days.
All rental properties in Minnetonka are required to be registered with the city, regardless of the rental period’s duration. The proposed ordinance would require short-term rentals to continue to register with the city and be homesteaded. This means only property owners who occupy their homes as their primary residence may rent that property (wholly or partially) as a short-term rental.
The council was anticipated to vote on the ordinance at its June 8 meeting, after this edition of Thrive Minnetonka was printed.
Learn more about the council’s decision at minnetonkamatters.com/short-term-rentals.
Signs: Dos and Don'ts
The city regulates temporary commercial signs to ensure safety and maintain the community’s appearance, while also supporting businesses’ identification and communication needs.
Temporary commercial signs include staked signs, banners, pennants, flutter flags, sandwich boards and air- or gas-filled figures used to advertise products, businesses or services.
These signs are limited to one per property and:
- Must be at least five feet from the edge of any public street.
- Must not obstruct driver visibility.
- Cannot be placed in the right-of-way of county or state roads.
- Cannot exceed 6 feet in height or 3 square feet in area.
- May only be displayed from 6 a.m. on Thursday to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
If you have questions, please contact the Minnetonka planning division at 952-939-8290.
Building resilience together
Small businesses across Hennepin County, particularly immigrant-owned shops, faced a difficult winter as heightened federal immigration enforcement led to steep revenue drops, reduced foot traffic and widespread community fear.
Yet, this period also revealed the extraordinary resilience of the local business community.
Community infrastructure that matters
The crisis highlighted the critical role strong business districts and associations play in our communities. These organizations were able to quickly assess impacts, share timely information and direct businesses to available relief resources.
A rapid response approach
Cities and counties learned early that they needed to pivot quickly.
Elevate Hennepin rapidly adapted its programming, broadened resource sharing, launched onsite workshops, created practical video guides on high-priority topics and coordinated trusted messenger outreach through its advisor network.
Recovery funds
It became clear almost immediately that businesses needed direct financial support — and fast. For example, the City of Minnetonka expanded its existing forgivable loan program to provide emergency funding support to impacted businesses.
Hennepin County approved up to $2 million to establish a Small Business Recovery Fund. These $3,000–$10,000 grants help cover up to two months of commercial rent or mortgage payments — a targeted strategy to prevent commercial vacancies and stabilize the small businesses that anchor cultural corridors.
How businesses pivoted
This winter showed us how adaptable and resourceful small businesses truly are and, when conditions shift rapidly, entrepreneurs need comprehensive, hands-on support to make strategic changes in real time.
While challenges remain, the period underscored the power of collective resilience and the importance of ensuring every business — especially immigrant-owned businesses — has the structure, information and support needed to adapt, recover and thrive long-term.
Check out Elevate Hennepin’s short video guides that offer practical steps business owners can take to stay resilient and prepare for long-term success.
New video series to celebrate Minnetonka business leaders
Minnetonka is home to global leaders in business – some well-known names, others flying under the radar.
Our new video series shares these businesses’ stories. Whether it’s Minnetonka’s location, excellent workforce or customer base – these big-time corporations are sharing why Minnetonka is a good place for them to do business.
“Minnetonka has a wide array of thriving businesses, and we want to highlight their achievements,” said city Economic Development Coordinator Kjerstin Yager. “We also have a strong workforce and encourage more companies to come see what the city has to offer.”
Watch for our next video in July, featuring Fireaway and its cutting-edge Stat-X fire suppression system. Follow us on social media or check out the series on the city’s YouTube channel.
Interested in being featured? Email bizsupport@minnetonkamn.gov.
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