LAKE MINNETONKA
COMMUNITY GUIDE 2025
Police, fire crews keep community safe
South Lake Minnetonka
The South Lake Minnetonka and Deephaven police departments and Excelsior Fire District are the public safety bodies that care for the lake communities.
The South Lake Minnetonka Department has served Excelsior, Greenwood, Shorewood and Tonka Bay since 1973 through the joint powers agreement, one of the oldest agreements of its kind in the state. The station is located at 24150 Smithtown Road in Shorewood.
Police Chief Brian Tholen joined the department at the start of 2022 and took over for Chief Mike Meehan, who retired after leading the department since 2015. Now, Tholen will join Meehan in retirement, and the department is currently searching for a new chief. For updates, the department points to all of its social media pages as the proper go-to, including monthly reports of police activities and for incident-related information.
The Deephaven Police Department serves Deephaven and Woodland and is led by Chief Cory Johnson. The department is located at 20225 Cottagewood Road in Deephaven.
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The Excelsior Fire District maintains its reputation as one of the oldest fire departments in the state, serving its communities for more than 125 years. The department serves Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenwood, Shorewood and Tonka Bay. The district has more than 40 trained members and a call volume of over 1,000 responses annually. Excelsior Fire welcomed its first new firetruck since 2018 at a push-in ceremony at the end of February. The request was a long time coming, with its truck committee having put in the order for a new engine in January 2022. Its sister truck is slated to arrive sometime in 2028 when another push-in ceremony will be held.
The department has two fire stations, with its main station at 24100 Smithtown Road in Shorewood. The second station is at 20227 Cottagewood Road in Deephaven. Fire Chief Curt Mackey has been in charge of the district since 2019.
Each year, the district generally hosts a fire prevention open house and safety fair in October. Check excelsiorfire. org for event updates.
Minnetonka
See PUBLIC SAFETY | PAGE 35