November 1, 2006 - The Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) has been selected as one of 40 innovative local programs from 32 cities that will be showcased at the 2006 "City Showcase," part of the upcoming National League of Cities' (NLC) annual Congress of Cities conference in Reno, NV, December 5-9. The Showcase celebrates innovative local programs from around the country, offering city leaders a chance to share ideas and valuable experiences with the more than 4,000 delegates expected to attend the conference.

The League of Cities selected NRP as an example of neighborhood based planning and inter-jurisdictional cooperation. With resources from the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County and other local jurisdictions, NRP empowers city residents to set priorities for public investment in their communities - making Minneapolis neighborhoods, and the City as a whole, better places to live, work, learn and play.

"At the Showcase, NRP will be able to display the results of its 15 years of accomplishment. These results have occurred because of the dedicated efforts of neighborhood residents and businesses, local government staff and elected officials who really believe that the people in our neighborhoods are the key to long term stabilization and improvement," said Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson. "It is no accident that NRP was chosen as one of the 25 U.S. initiatives to receive a National Excellence Award at the United Nations' Habitat II City Summit for being one of the most innovative and successful community-building efforts in the world," she added.

Conference attendees will be able to browse the displays, interact with representatives from the featured Showcases, and learn how the programs were planned and implemented. The Showcase allows city leaders to share successful ideas that address the most pressing issues for municipalities so they can implement similar programs in their own communities.

The National League of Cities is the oldest and largest national organization for American cities. NLC serves as a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns, and villages of all sizes, that collectively serve 218 million people. For more news and information about NLC and local government, visit www.nlc.org.

####