LHENA at the Center of Wedge Civic Life

A volunteer-led nonprofit

The Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association, or LHENA, was established in 1971 and operates as a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving the Wedge. Its stated mission is to provide a structure for neighborhood leadership and participation, to facilitate the equitable sharing of resources, and to advance a vision for the neighborhood.

The association represents the interests and values of residents, property owners and business owners alike. Its work spans community development, public safety, events and the kind of small, steady civic maintenance that keeps a dense neighborhood functioning.

LHENA keeps an office in the heart of the neighborhood and relies heavily on volunteers who, as the group puts it, simply want to make the Wedge a better place to live.

What the letters stand for

The name is an acronym for Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association, and longtime residents pronounce it 'Lee-Nah.' The group describes its vision as promoting a sense of belonging in the neighborhood.

Over the years its committees have taken up everything from public-safety forums to small-business outreach, reflecting a broad reading of what neighborhood leadership entails.

LHENA exists to give the Wedge a structure for leadership, the equitable sharing of resources, and a vision of its own.

More than five decades of structure

LHENA — the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association, pronounced 'Lee-Nah' — is the volunteer-led nonprofit recognized by the City of Minneapolis as the Wedge's official neighborhood organization, one of dozens across the city. Its mission is to provide a structure for neighborhood leadership and participation, to facilitate the equitable sharing of resources, and to advance a vision for the neighborhood. The association represents residents, property owners and business owners alike, and its work spans community development, public safety, events and the steady civic maintenance that keeps a dense neighborhood functioning.

The association is run by an elected, all-volunteer board; its recent roster has included Elise Moore as president, Pete Boisclair as vice president, Anna Berglund as treasurer and Valerie Blomberg as secretary, alongside several at-large directors. The board meets monthly and honored neighbors at its 2026 annual meeting in early May.