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Who Is Fred Richards?
Few mayors can claim as long or as deep an association with the community they led as Edina resident Fred Richards. His family moved to town 77 years ago – when he was just 4 years old.
As a Hornet, Richards excelled in both academics and extracurriculars. Sports highlights included All-State football lineman honors and captaining legendary coach Willard Ikola’s very first hockey team. After graduating from Edina-Morningside High School, Richards pursued a law degree and began practicing for a prestigious Minneapolis firm.
Richards married high school sweetheart Nancy Walkup in 1963, and the pair soon welcomed children Fritz, Katie and Tory.
As a Hornet, Richards excelled in both academics and extracurriculars. Sports highlights included All-State football lineman honors and captaining legendary coach Willard Ikola’s very first hockey team. After graduating from Edina-Morningside High School, Richards pursued a law degree and began practicing for a prestigious Minneapolis firm.
Richards married high school sweetheart Nancy Walkup in 1963, and the pair soon welcomed children Fritz, Katie and Tory.
He felt a pull to give back to the community that had done so well by him – and now, his children. Richards first coached youth athletics and later volunteered time and services on both the Edina Park Board and Environmental Quality Commission.
At the urging of neighbors, Richards ran for a seat on the Edina City Council in 1974. Among other pledges, his campaign promised an “increased emphasis on parks and recreation.” Richards unseated the incumbent by a whopping 1,789-vote margin and would remain on the Council until 1988. In that year, residents elected Richards as Mayor – a post he held until 1997.
At the urging of neighbors, Richards ran for a seat on the Edina City Council in 1974. Among other pledges, his campaign promised an “increased emphasis on parks and recreation.” Richards unseated the incumbent by a whopping 1,789-vote margin and would remain on the Council until 1988. In that year, residents elected Richards as Mayor – a post he held until 1997.
Among other tentpole achievements from his time in that office, Mayor Richards shepherded the development of gravel pits along France Avenue into the novel, “mixed-use” development we know today as Centennial Lakes. While the most visible, Centennial Lakes is only one of many ways during his decades in office that Richards made good on his campaign promise to expand Edina’s parks and recreation amenities.
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