When Minnesota was a new state, thousands of settlers arrived, many of them from Europe. But in recent decades, the state has attracted large numbers of Hmong and Somali refugees. There are also thousands of people from India, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Mexico and the People’s Republic of China living in Minnesota.
The state has become more racially diverse in the last 10 years, and demographers said that's especially true among children. About 83 percent of Minnesotans were white, non-Hispanic for the 2010 census, compared to 88 percent in 2000.
October 1, 1997 - In his new novel "Floating Kingdom", Minneapolis writer George Rabasa tells the story of a family living on a tiny island in the middle of the Rio Grande, smack in the middle of the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The patriarch Seguila makes his living guiding illegal immigrants across the border; his son-in-law makes his living robbing those same people. One day Seguilo and his grandson come across the battered form of a teenager from north of the border, who has run afoul of bandits. "Floating Kingdom" is about a family on the edge, on the edge of two nations, and the edge of survival.
October 6, 1997 - Midday’s Gary Eichten talks with guest Emmett Carson, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation, about the foundation's Sunday newspaper supplement intended to encourage inter-racial understanding. Listeners call in with questions.
October 21, 1997 - Midday discusses new federal guidelines affecting immigrants with guests Jennifer Prestholdt, director of Refugee and Immigrant Program at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights; and Loan Huynh, legal and advocacy director at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.
December 12, 1997 - A Hennepin County judge denied a request from a Hmong woman who wanted to peform a traditional ceremony in the courtroom. Ilean Her, executive director of the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, talks about traditional acts in Hmong culture. Her says these ceremonies can take different forms, but often include drinking a ceremonial beverage.
February 9, 1998 - MPR’s Dan Olson reports on Next Innovations, a Minneapolis organization that trains young non-profit employees business and leadership skills….and possibly the next generation of non-profit managers.
March 12, 1998 - Huge images of young immigrants will dominate the atrium of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis for two days. They are part of a video installation by artist Laurie Phillips who says she wants to give visibility to the powerless and allow them to tell some of their own stories.
March 18, 1998 - Uncovering family secrets is the theme of the latest play at the Great American History Theater in St. Paul. "Conversations about Hannah" is the story of Janie, a young woman who's trying to get her grandmother to tell her stories about family members she never knew. First-time playwright Ann Schulman drew on her own family's history as Jewish immigrants living on St. Paul's West Side in the 1930's: Ann Schulman's play "Conversations about Hannah" is now playing at the Great American History Theatre in St. Paul. Performances run Wednesday through Sunday until April 5th. Sun 28-MAY 12:02:36 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
March 27, 1998 - Miles Lunak moved to St. Peter from New Prague in 1930 to start his own shoe repair business. People said he would not make it. There were already three cobblers in town. But when Miles closes his shop at the end of March, there won't be any. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman has this story. The slow speed limit on Minnesota Ave through downtown St. Peter doesn't keep people from missing the town's last shoe repair shop. There is no sign on Miles Lunak's store. He removed it because he has got plenty of business from around town.
April 2, 1998 - A House-Senate conference committee has once again deadlocked over abortion issues. A coalition of non-profit agencies says the impasse jeopardizes state funding for a wide range of health and social services. Minnesota Public Radios Eric Jansen reports from the state capitol: Abortion issues took center stage in more than five hours of debate last night over a health and human services bill. House and Senate conferees are, in theory at least, trying to work out differences between House and Senate versions of the bill that appropriates nearly $60 million dollars for a wide range of health and social service programs.
April 8, 1998 - Abortion issues are likely to come up in both houses of the state legislature today. A legislative conference committee has passed a Health and Human Services spending bill with money for lots of health and social services programs. But the bill does not include two controversial abortion provisions a majority of house members have demanded . Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports from the state capitol.