Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Records

The Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) was established in the late 1980s to serve four neighborhoods in southeast Minneapolis: Keewaydin, Minnehaha, Morris Park, and Wenonah. The area is bounded by Minnehaha Parkway on the north, Minnehaha Avenue on the east, Cedar Avenue to the west, and the southern boundary of Minneapolis. NENA membership is open neighborhood residents, workers, business owners, and property owners.

NENA is a nonprofit organization led by a board of directors and executive director. It was preceded by earlier neighborhood organizations including the Airport Area Merchants and the Nokomis Village Association. In the 1990s, NENA became the organization administering funding received through Minneapolis’ Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP), a citywide program designed to invest in Minneapolis neighborhoods. The organization’s initial goals, articulated in their NRP 1997 First Step Plan, were to improve neighborhood housing, economic development, and safety. Other areas of focus were services to seniors, youth, and families residing in the area.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, NENA facilitated community input on numerous changes in the neighborhood including the rerouting of Highway 55 (Hiawatha Avenue), the construction of Light Rail Transit’s Blue Line, and the expansion of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. The organization also championed environmental causes with a focus on water quality protection for Lake Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha. In the late 1990s, NENA established the Nokomis Naturescape, a garden of native plants on the northeast shore Lake Nokomis.

Programming related to the Nokomis Naturescape expanded, and in 2009 NENA held the first Minneapolis Monarch Festival. This annual, bilingual festival grew rapidly in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Other regular NENA events included Annual Meetings, Nokomis Day, and National Night Out.