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Phone: 612-724-5652,  Fax: 612-724-2770

Nokomis Village

Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Lake Nokomis in April
About NENA, its projects & programs, task forces, volunteers, mission, and staff. Living, shopping, and working in the four Nokomis East Neighborhoods. Issues and opinions, letters, humor, message boards, and related pieces. Useful links and contacts.
 In the Neighborhood
  Updated 5/01/09

New itemCrime Update (Updated 11/21/08)

New itemThe latest 11th and 12th Ward City Council Updates/Newsletters

Looking for somewhere to go or something to do in Nokomis East? Check our expanded Parks & Recreation Section

Longfellow gardens

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Adopt=a=wilflower customer

Excess native plants and wildflowers were sold at NENA's Adopt-a-Wildflower event in June '03. (06/08/03)

Gayle Weigle, who, in her spare time uses her culture to teach skills and instill pride in homeless Indian youth, won the 2002 McKnight Award for Human Services. Story. (11/25/02)

Lake Nokomis weir (dam). Story and photos (updated 10/14/02)


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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

Click for Midtown Farmers Market websiteHelp 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

Crumbling walls in glen

Crumbling WPA-era retaining walls need rebuilding. (MCWD photo)

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.

Groundbreaking ceremony, November 21, 2008
 

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)

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 email Mike Wyatt, MCWD Planner, at 952-471-0590 x 204

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Crosstown Project Update
Updated Friday, April 27, 2009

Construction coneMinnehaha 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)

Stop Graffiti Now!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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United States Geological Survey

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

Nokomis Healthy SeniorsAre 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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Twin Cities Free MarketDo 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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Dominguez Restaurant
 

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 (Open new windowmap)
Minneapolis, MN 55417
612-724-8493

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