The Nokomis East Neighborhood

The boundaries of Nokomis East are defined as that part of the City of Minneapolis bound by Minnehaha Parkway on the north; Hiawatha Avenue (State Highway 55) on the east; the southern boundary of the City of Minneapolis on the south; and Cedar Avenue (State Highway 77) on the west.

Did you know that our western boundary, Cedar Avenue, was originally proposed as a freeway extending into downtown Minneapolis?

The Nokomis East Neighborhood Association

NENA is a 24 year-old nonprofit volunteer organization whose goals are to promote neighborhood improvement and revitalization, and to encourage citizen participation in civic affairs. It is the designated group to receive Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) funds for the four south Minneapolis neighborhoods of Keewaydin, Minnehaha, Morris Park and Wenonah.

NENA volunteers and staff have developed over 20 programs in the areas of Housing, Environment, Neighborhood Development & Planning and People Services & Safety. The programs are part of NENA’s Neighborhood Action Plan (NRP Full Plan), funded by NRP. NENA's Neighborhood Action Plan strategies were designed by neighborhood volunteers with much input from residents, and ratified by a community-wide vote in 1998.

At any given time, a number of programs are in various stages of planning and implementation. Volunteers often work with partner agencies to implement projects. For example, Housing Task Force members work on guidelines for our home improvement loans while Center for Energy and Environment administers the program; the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board oversees the implementation of the Lake Nokomis Naturescape project, but neighborhood gardeners work to keep it looking good. These are just a few of our partnerships where volunteers provide the inspiration and energy that make things happen in Nokomis East.

As a neighborhood organization, NENA also tracks and responds to community issues and concerns. Besides the website, which is updated nearly daily, NENA also produces a quarterly newsletter that is mailed to all Nokomis East addresses. We regularly write a column in the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger which highlights events and issues important to the neighborhood.