Welcome Home! The Neighborhood section is where you will find topical
information on living and working in the Nokomis East
neighborhood--and even a little about our good neighbors
in the surrounding areas.
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Midtown Farmers' Market Opens On Saturday, May 2
 Help open the 7th season of the Midtown Farmers' Market On Saturday, May 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at 2225 E. Lake St..
Join the marketeers bright and early (8:00 to 9:00) for a "ribbon cutting" ceremony with Mayor R.T. Rybak, Council Member Gary Schiff, Senator Patricia Torres Ray, and County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. Bagpiper Andrew Hoag will provide our opening music. The day will also include live music, plenty of ready-to-eat food, a petting zoo, and storytime with East Lake Library at 10:30 a.m.
What to look for at the Midtown Farmers' Market in early Spring: locally produced food on offer will include farm-raised meats, eggs, honey, baked goods, jams, and pickles; a large selection of bedding plants, hanging baskets, and potted flowers; arts and crafts, and ready-to-eat food including made-to-order crepes, fair trade coffee, and much more. As always, all food and goods at Midtown are made in Minnesota in Wisconsin, so Midtown's offerings are subject to the local growing season. By the end of May, expect plenty of local asparagus, radishes, tender greens, and herbs, with much more to follow. www.midtownfarmersmarket.org
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Metro Blooms to Hold Raingarden Education Workshops in 2009 
Metro Blooms will be offering 20 raingarden workshops (Part A) from March 18th through June 4th throughout the metro area and 17 raingarden workshops (Part B) March 18th through June 20th.
The Part A workshops will teach attendees how to design and install raingardens, effectively use native plants, trees and shrubs and employ eco-friendly lawn care practices including redirecting downspouts and minimizing or eliminating fertilizers. Attendees will receive a packet of support material. The cost to attend the workshop is $10 per household (limit two members). Metro Blooms Landscape Design Assistants and Master Gardeners will answer individual questions about garden layout and plant selection.
Closest workshop:
Thursday, April 9 (6:30 - 8:30 p.m.)
Lake Nokomis Community Center (2401 E. Minnehaha Pkwy)
(See their website for other workshop dates.)
Small-group (Part B) workshops will help those who have attended the A workshop get individual help with their raingarden design.
The cost for the seminar is $10 per household (limit two members).
Three special Native Plant Sales, open to all participants, will be held at various times and locations around the metro area to help participants complete their gardens. Check the dates and locations of these sales at www.metroblooms.org.
Registration for the workshops will begin on February 1st. To register by mail, send a check payable to Metro Blooms to:
Noelle Hechtman,
3629 Quebec Avenue South,
St. Louis Park, MN 55426.
Please include your name, address and zip code, phone number with area code, e-mail address (if available) and the workshop location/date that you wish to attend. You can also register online at www.metroblooms.org or call 612-554-9261.
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Groundbreaking marks the start of a major restoration of
Minnehaha Falls and Glen area.
Updated
November 25, 2008
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Crumbling
WPA-era retaining walls need rebuilding. (MCWD photo)
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The
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) and the Minneapolis
Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday,
November 21 to mark the start of a major restoration project of the Minnehaha
Falls
and Glen area in Minnehaha Park.
Historic
WPA-era Platteville limestone streambank walls
and other eroded park sections above and below
Minnehaha Falls have literally been falling down over the
years. Recently, the 2005
flooding in the glen below the falls
put these historic structures in danger of
collapse, and has threatened the overall stability
of the stream bank and usability of Minnehaha
Park.
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From the left: MN 39B Rep. Rick Hansen, MN 62A Rep. Jim
Davnie, Col. Jon L. Christensen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, US Sen. Amy
Klobuchar, MN Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, MCWD Pres. Jim Calkins, MPRB Commissioner
Carol Kummer, MCWD Vice Pres. Pam Blixt. (Minnehaha Creek Watershed
District photo)
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A major
restoration of the area, including the
creek bed and banks near the Minnesota Veterans
Home and the historic Godfrey Mill (1854) site,
is scheduled for winter 2008 through summer
of 2009. The $5.8 million project is led by the
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) working
in partnership with the
State of Minnesota, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation
Board (MPRB), the Minnesota Veterans Home, and
the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
The
project will require closing parts of the park
to visitors. During construction, visitors will
likely find the bluffs and overlook areas above
the Falls open, but the entire Glen below the
falls closed, at least during the winter.
The groundbreaking featured short speeches by many
of the elected federal, state and local officials
who helped provide support for the restoration
project. Speaking were, US Senator Amy Kloubachar,
MN Senator Patricia Torres Ray, MN Representative
Jim Davnie, Mpls Council Member Sandra Colvin
Roy, and MPRB Commissioner Carol Kummer along
with representatives from the Army Corp of Engineers
and the Watershed District. They all spoke to
a large audience inside
the park's pavilion before moving outdoors to
throw the first ceremonial shovels of dirt.
View
the project web site, including historic
information about the site
For more information about the project, contact  Mike
Wyatt, MCWD Planner, at 952-471-0590 x 204
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Crosstown
Project Update
Updated
Friday, April 27, 2009
 Minnehaha
Parkway & 35W Bridge Area
Bridge construction at Minnehaha Parkway continues; including, work on the
noise wall posts. The pedestrian and bike path north of the Parkway
remains closed. Pedestrians and bicyclists are encouraged to use the path south of Minnehaha Parkway
which remains open.
46th
Street Bridge
The 46th Street bridge over 35W and all 46th St. ramps will remain closed until sometime Summer 2009. Motorists can cross
I-35W at 35th/36th
Streets, 38th Street, 42nd Street, 50th St., Minnehaha Parkway, Diamond Lake Road and
60th Street.
Diamond Lake Road
Diamond Lake Rd exit ramp from southbound I-35W is closed and will reopen approximately mid-May.
62/35W
Webcam.
For
more information on the I-35W/Hwy 62 Crosstown
Reconstruction
project, visit www.mndot.gov or
call the Crosstown Project hotline at 1-866-743-6590
or
send an e-mail to crosstown@rranow.com.
Mn/DOT
reminds motorists to slow down in work zones and never enter
a roadway that has been blocked with barriers or cones. For statewide traffic, construction
and travel information visit www.511mn.org or call
511 or log onto www.mndot.gov.
Compiled
from several MnDOT updates.
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City
launches new Graffiti Solutions webpage
Creative
responses to graffiti include murals, landscaping and more.
(2/11/08)
 The
City of Minneapolis is starting a new webpage to
allow neighbors to share creative tips for preventing
graffiti. "Every day I see more and more creativity
from neighbors who are using art and landscaping
to
prevent graffiti," 9th Ward Council Member Gary
Schiff said. I hope this website becomes a tool for
neighbors to submit their own photos and share ideas across
the city.
The webpage www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/graffiti/solutions.asp shows examples such as landscaping, murals and types
of fencing that deter graffiti. Residents are encouraged
to send in photos of their own efforts, and share helpful tips. Graffiti often collects on large flat
blank surfaces, such as buildings, garages and flat fences. Landscaping,
like ivy or other clinging plants helps to reduce the likelihood of graffiti on a surface. Some fences are
less likely to be spray painted such as fences with board gaps, alternating boards or lattices.
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Minneapolis Pedestrian Website
The Minneapolis Pedestrian Website is now online at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/pedestrian.
The City of Minneapolis will soon be joining the ranks of cities like Denver, Kansas City, Portland, Oakland, and San Diego, when it completes its first Pedestrian Master Plan in 2008. Among other things, the plan will examine current city policies, suggest standard design guidelines for sidewalks and crosswalks, and recommend future capital improvement projects.
The site currently contains:
- General information about walking – Why walk? How Far Can I Walk?
- Pedestrian Advisory Committee – membership, principles/mission, meeting notes and meeting presentations
- Related Links – links to other information on walking, including things like sidewalk repair, coordinated street furniture, Bike/Walk Twin Cities, Walking Minneapolis
- A place to sign up for pedestrian email updates
If you find this information useful, please check back in the future, as more information is expected to be added, including a section on pedestrian safety and traffic laws.
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Radon detection kits available
Hennepin County is offering radon detection kits to enable you to test
for the presence of this invisible, odorless and dangerous gas in your
home.
Radon,
a naturally occurring gaseous form of ionizing radiation, has been
ranked by the Surgeon General as the second leading cause of
lung cancer in the United States. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency lists Hennepin County as a high-potential radon region,
where one in
every three homes is likely to have elevated radon
levels.
Kits
are $9, or two for $17. Please call the Radon Info
Line at 952-351-5225.
(5/01/06)
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 Minnehaha
Creek monitoring. The  USGS now
provides real-time monitoring of the creek's
level and
flow, as measured under
the Highway 55 bridge. Website (12/06/05)
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Rides for Seniors
 Are
you a senior citizen in need of a ride to medical
or dental appointment? If you live east of 35W
and south of 42nd St., the Nokomis
Health Seniors program
has volunteer drivers who are ready and eager
to help seniors get to and from the necessary appointments
they may have.
To
schedule a ride, or for more information about Nokomis
Healthy Seniors, call the help line at (612)729-5499.
Office hours are 8am to 4pm. Voice mail is
available after hours. (6/07/05)
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 Do
you have forgotten kid toys collecting dust in the attic?
Have exercise equipment in the basement that could be
someone else’s treasure? Thinking about fixing
up the garage to watch those Vikings? Try the Twin
Cities Free Market! Residents can log into
a website where they can post their old stuff online
and browse the free items other residents have posted.
There are 300-400 new items listed every week. Some
recent items include a gas grill, landscape rocks, a
pet carrier and a cast-iron sink.
Participating
in the Twin Cities Free Market keeps reusable goods
out of the trash, and helps people avoid buying new,
which is great for the environment and the pocketbook.
In Hennepin County alone, it's estimated that 32 million
pounds of usable clothing and household goods are thrown
away each year - that's enough to fill shopping carts
lined up from Minneapolis to Milwaukee.
In
2003, The Free Market had more than 8,000 listings and
facilitated more than 4,000 exchanges, amounting to
more than 500 tons of materials. The Twin Cities Free
Market is funded in part by Hennepin
County.
Want to give it a try? Just visit: www.twincitiesfreemarket.org/
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Constantina Rios Zavartes and Elias Dominguez Rios showing two of their
signature dishes in the dining room. |
Dominguez
Restaurant
(Updated May 6,
2008)
Entering
their third year, the Dominguez family offers a nice
selection
of traditional Mexican appetizers, entrees, tortas
and
combination plates at their informal restaurant.
The menu features many family recipes and even has
a section titled,
"Especialidades de Mi Pueblo" (Specialties
of My Town) with combinations of regional favorites.
Most
dinners are served with the
traditional
sides of silky refried beans and rice, garnished
with fresh guacamole and
an excellent pico de gallo. Freshly made and
warm tortilla chips
and salsa fresca are served with the meals
(heat lovers should ask for Constantina's signature
avocado-tomatilla salsa verde). A children's menu
includes the standard american fare and some nicely
priced, mild Mexican features.
NENA's
staff favorites are the chicken enchiladas in a tasty,
mild verde sauce (they are not listed on the menu
but
worth asking for ), the traditional mexican-style
beef tacos, the chipotle-sauced fish tacos, and the
chicken Morelos Nachos appetizers.
City
Pages awarded Dominguez for Best Tacos in the Twin
Cities:
"Tacos
aren't a complicated thing, if done in traditional Mexican
style--two corn tortillas, cilantro, onion,
a meat of choice, and a slice of lime are the only
ingredients required--but like a finely mixed
drink, there's something greater than the sum of the
parts in the way Dominguez puts theirs together." Read
the entire review.
A
limited selection of beer and wine
is also available along with natural drinks,
Jarrittos soda, and several hot and cold teas.
The
family completely remodeled the building with
new plaster, tile floors and brightly painted murals
depicting Mexico
City and surround in its pre-civilized state. A downstairs room is available for private parties.
Hours:
Sunday-Thursday, 10am - 9pm
Friday & Saturday, 10am - Midnight
Dominguez
3313 E. 50th Street ( map)
Minneapolis, MN 55417
612-724-8493
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Crime
Update
