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.
December 10, 2004 -
December 13, 2004 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on a Minnesota Community Project study regarding Minnesotan’s attitudes on immigrants. The majority of the people involved in the study expressed favorable attitudes toward immigration. However, the authors say they're particularly dismayed over data showing a streak of hostility toward immigrants - especially by people living in the outer ring suburbs. The study's authors say those attitudes go against Minnesota's tradition of tolerance and acceptance of newcomers.
December 14, 2004 - MPR’s Lorna Benson reports on a panel discussion at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute designed to debunk misperceptions about immigrants. The panel of Twin Cities community leaders say they're discouraged by the attitudes of Minnesotans who are fed up with immigrants. A new study has found that many Minnesotans believe immigrants are a drain on public services and that they shun assimilation. The opinions were strongest among people living in the outer-ring suburbs.
December 16, 2004 - MPR’s presents a report from a Wellstone Elementary School classrom, where there is kind of a music hatchery where singers of the future are being trained.
December 27, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio’s Tom Robertson reports on how Anderson Fabrics in Blackduck, Minnesota is looking for immigrants to solve a labor shortage problem. After a failed attempt with Hmong employees due to a culture clash, company hopes to find a solution in the Twin Cities Latino community. Nearly 40 Latino workers moved from the Twin Cities to Blackduck in the fall of 2004. Blackduck school and community leaders are now bracing for what's expected to be a wave of Latino families.
December 28, 2004 - You can't always account for musical taste, but it's accounting for a different sort of taste that perplexes commentator Ahmed Tharwat. At his breakfast table, he has beheld the power of cheese.
January 12, 2005 - An Islamic school in the Twin Cities suburbs will expand it's facilities, much to the shagrin of some of it's neighbors. "Al-Amal" school is a private K-through-12 school in Fridley. In addition to a traditional academic subject areas, the school provides classes in Koran, Islam and Arab language to it's roughly 350 students who hail from throughout the Metro area. When the school announced it wanted to expand it's facilities to include computer and science labs for it's high-school age students, neighbors balked. But on a 3-2 vote last week, the Fridley City Council approved the expansion plan. The Islamic Center of Minnesota operates the school. It's vice president, Anwar Abdul Karim, says the expansion will help provide some basic services to current students.
January 13, 2005 - The Supreme Court ruled on a case involving a Minnesota Somali (and whether he can be deported to Somalia).
February 17, 2005 - A new photo exhibit at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo examines the lives of recent immigrants. The collection of black and white photos captures some of the refugees from many lands who live in Fargo. As Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson discovered, every image is the beginning of a story.
February 18, 2005 - A new photo exhibit at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo examines the lives of recent immigrants. The collection of black and white photos captures some of the refugees from many lands who live in Fargo. As Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson discovered, every image is the beginning of a story.