Linda in Northfield, Mensagenda Editor
About Mensagenda
Minnesota Mensa published Vol. I, No. 1 of our newsletter, then called the Minnesota Mensa, in June of 1965. Approaching six decades later and winning awards along the way, we continue to provide a monthly publication, now called Mensagenda.
As expected in a newsletter, we inform our local membership with organizational updates and provide details about our events. The real benefit is that, just like our events, Mensagenda is for our members, by our members.
The love of learning in Mensa is not just about supporting our scholarship but in enriching your own mind and sharing your knowledge, skills, and interests. Read articles and regular columns ranging from scientific explanations to humor in everyday life. Check out our members’ photography, drawing, painting, knitting and quilting, and crafting skills.
What would you like to share? Do you have expertise in a particular field of study or hobby? Want to express your opinion? Have you traveled recently? Do you write poetry? Can you create word games, numerical puzzles, or trivia questions? What could you say about…well, you get the picture.
Mensagenda is another way that Minnesota Mensa provides “a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.” What could you contribute if you joined Mensa?
There’s More to Read
Mensa membership provides access to the publications from other chapters, American Mensa, and Mensa International. Click here to learn more.
Featured Cover Art
Big Ole. Photo by Kevin in Chaska.
The LocSec’s Podium
by Kevin in Chaska
The Mensa Foundation is a separate part of Mensa to “extend the organization’s impact.” While American Mensa Ltd. is a not-for-profit organization, the Mensa Foundation is a charitable nonprofit (classified as a 501(c)(3) entity for tax-deductible donations). The Foundation operates the annual scholarship program, publishes the Mensa Research Journal, provides grants and scholarships, and recognizes researchers who advance the understanding of human intelligence. Learn more on their website at https://www.mensafoundation.org/.
The Foundation also runs the Mensa for Kids website and the Excellence in Reading and Excellence in Science programs for K-12 students. I was aware of most of those programs, but at the 2025 Annual Gathering, I discovered another aspect of how the Foundation helps kids. Angela, our Minnesota Mensa and Region 4 Gifted Youth Coordinator, was speaking with Molly, the national Youth Programs Manager, and heard about the mini-grants that the Foundation provides to local groups to support gifted youth activities. Angela shared that with me over one of the Annual Gathering lunch breaks.
Angela had been organizing outings for the families of gifted youth in Mensa to Broadway musicals up in Minneapolis. The Foundation’s mini-grants match up to $200 provided by local groups. She planned a series of events and completed the application. Our local group has the funds to contribute, and the Foundation approved her application. Now the tickets for our youth members are covered for one of the shows (the rest of the families pay their own way), and we are helping with the costs of going out for food and camaraderie before the show.
Angela did a great job in organizing and applying for the funding. I appreciate her efforts and am excited that our youth and their families will have a memorable experience that helps keep them engaged with Mensa.
Minnesota Mensa has other opportunities for members to help our gifted youth. If you enjoy working with smart kids, we have openings for one or more co-coordinators of our local program. We need great people to help organize and run events up in the Twin Cities (and elsewhere, too, but the Cities is where most of our youth members are located). Members must be approved by the Gifted Youth Committee and pass a background check. If this is something you see yourself helping with, please reach out to me.
I am always looking for what members want to hear about, so please let me know what topics interest you or would like to see covered in more depth. Reach me by email to locsec@mnmensa.org with any comments or questions.