After the Vietnam War, many Hmong people found themselves as refugees. The resettlement of some to the United States began in 1975, with multiple waves continuing until 2006. Today Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to the largest urban Hmong population in the world. The Hmong people in Minnesota have developed a strong and vibrant community in their chapter of the immigrant story in America.
March 11, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman presents a series titled “This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota.” In this part, Nyman reports on an increasing number of Hmong Americans returning to visit their homeland of Laos…or Thailand, where refugee camps became home for thousands after the war ended in 1975 and Laos became a communist country.
March 12, 1999 - Midday presents a MPR documentary special by MPR’s Lynette Nyman about the Hmong people in Minnesota, called “This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota.” Program explores the ways members of St. Paul's Hmong community wrestle with issues of culture and identity, with maintaining ties to the past, and seeking to thrive in modern urban America.
March 15, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman profiles the play "Hmong! The C-I-A's Secret Army" being staged at the Great American History Theatre in St Paul. The play is based on a screen play written by Lee Vang, a Hmong American in Minnesota. The production tells the story of the ‘secret war’ in Laos through a real-life love story.
May 31, 1999 - A PRI presentation of "The Mississippi River: A River of Song" by Smithsonian Productions. This program in series is titled “Land of Lakes and Immigrant Songs.”
June 2, 1999 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews a local Hmong artist about his desire to protect and foster Hmong cultural arts as an avenue for next generation in the Hmong community, both abroad and in the United States.
June 29, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman visits Camp Ajawah to profile a new Girl Scout troop in Minnesota. It's not like most other Girl Scout troops in the state because Troop 2675 is for Southeast Asian girls. Born in the United States and growing up in the Twin Cities, these new girl scouts, who are mostly Hmong, are experiencing and learning in ways often unavailable in traditional Hmong homes.
September 9, 1999 - MPR’s Michael Choo reports on a new Hmong-language radio program that premiered on WMIN Radio Rey in St. Paul. The variety show features Hmong music and news from both Laos and the Twin Cities region. Backers of the show say the estimated 75-thousand Hmong living in the metro area represent an under-served market with significant economic potential.
November 2, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports on the 5th National Hmong Conference being held in downtown Minneapolis, where social service advocates look to prevent violence by keeping Hmong kids out of gangs. They say parents are the key and want to them more involved in their kids lives. But for some Hmong teens, independence from families is the attraction of a gang --especially for girls.
April 26, 2000 - MPR’s Bob Potter talks with Lee Pao Xiong, member of the Metropolitan Council, about what has changed in the past 25 years for the Hmong community. Xiong is the first Hmong appointed by the governor to a state policy-making body.
June 29, 2000 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman details the experience of Hmong veterans and widows of veterans as they start their path to citizenship. The veterans are using a new law which exempts them from the English language requirement for naturalization. Still, it's not a free pass to become an American; rather one with other obstacles.