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.
March 26, 2003 - The Senate Crime Prevention Committee defeated a bill today that would allow the Commissioner of Public Safety to stamp the driver's licenses of temporary immigrants with their visa expiration dates. Supporters say the bill would give public safety officials the ability to identify whether a temporary immigrant has overstayed his or her visa. The provision is a top priority of both Governor Pawlenty and House Republicans. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports..
March 28, 2003 - Federal and local law enforcement officials met yesterday Helms reports.
April 1, 2003 -
April 8, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally profiles Somali singer Hibo Mohamed Nuur. The Somali superstar is unrecognized by most people in her new home in Rochester. For decades, Nuur's legendary voice drew thousands to concerts from Mogadishu to Toronto. Fans still call her the “James Brown” of Somali music. Nuur is hopeful she'll sing again in Somalia.
April 14, 2003 - The Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released three Somalis who were being held in indefinite detention in the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Rush City. A federal district judge in Minnesota ordered the release. He cited a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that found the indefinite detention of aliens is unconstitutional. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. -
April 16, 2003 - State agriculture officials say Minnesota could benefit from a new wave of European immigrants, but isn't. Many European dairy farmers are selling their farms and moving to the United States. Current law however keeps those farmers from buying land in Minnesota. Agriculture officials want to change that. They say European farmers have the desire to buy failing Minnesota dairy farms. But some say the state shouldn't lay out the welcome mat for foreigners, while Minnesota dairy farmers are struggling. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post has this report.
May 8, 2003 - A group in southern Minnesota concerned about immigration is attracting both support and controversy. The group says now is the time for the United States to dramatically reduce immigration. Critics say the group uses the atmosphere of a post-9/11 America to preach fear and hatred. They say organizations supporting this group have ties to a branch of science that aims to prove the superiority of whites. Minnesota Public Radio's Rob Schmitz reports.
May 9, 2003 - The infection rate of new HIV AIDS cases in Minnesota has stabilized. But there's a troubling exception to that trend. The infection rate is growing among the state's African born immigrants. Between 2001 and 2002 new cases jumped 41-percent. In an effort to combat the rise in new cases, the Minnesota Department of Health has launched a special outreach program aimed at African immigrants. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports.
May 26, 2003 - Minnesotans around the state commemorated Memorial Day today (Monday). At the state capitol, Korean immigrants were among hundreds who celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean war. Earlier this morning at the Fort Snelling National Cemetary in Minneapolis, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman and an audience of veterans honored those who died fighting in the nation's wars.
June 4, 2003 - Gary Shteyngart (SHTINE-gart) is a New Yorker. But he is also a Russian. He immigrated as a young boy, and has lived his life between the two cultures ever since. He examines the humor and the tragedy of his life, and tens of thousands of other people just like him in his best-selling novel "The Russian Debutante's Handbook". It follows the story of Vladimir Girshkin (vlah-DEE-MEER GEAR-shkin) a young Russian man who works for an immigrant resettlement organization in New York. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr, it's fiction, but he drew it from some very real experiences. Gary Shteyngart will read from his novel "The Russian Debutante's Handbook" at the Barnes and Noble store in Edina tonight at 7:30