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.
June 14, 2005 - Somali Keyse Jama is a man without a country. The U.S. wants to deport him but Somalia refuses to accept him. American governmental officials say his case is not about terrorism; they want to deport him for committing a crime in Waseca. Jama remains in the Washington County jail as he and thousands of other deportable Somalis wait for a resolution to his case.
July 6, 2005 - A group of more than 6-thousand Hmong people in Thailand is reportedly without food or shelter today after the Thai government forced them from temporary homes. The group had apparently built shelters on the land of sympathetic landowners in Thailand's remote Phetchabun (PET-cha-bahn) province. The government says they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Laos and is trying to force them to return to that country. The displaced Hmong are appealing to the United Nations for Help. Joung-Ah Ghadini (Jong-ah Gah-DEE-nee, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says her organization is trying to gain access to the group of 6,000 Hmong.
July 11, 2005 - A spokesman for the president of the Somali interim government has told Minnesota Public Radio the government will NOT accept Keyse Jama or thousands of other Somalis on the U.S. deportation list. Immigration wants to deport Jama for committing a third degree assault in Waseca more than four years ago. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled immigration could deport Jama to Somalia even if no official there would accept him.
July 11, 2005 - MPR's Bianca Vazquez Toness reports on scouting and its appeal to Muslim girls. The scouts are adapting, changing their ways to attract and keep girls who haven't traditionally joined a troop, including the children of immigrants.
July 17, 2005 - Minnesota Somali Keyse (KAY'-zee) Jama (JAH'-muh) walked out of the Washington County jail Saturday a free man. Jama, who's been locked up since 1998, spent most of his time in custody not because of his crime but because he's awaiting deportation. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
July 29, 2005 -
August 30, 2005 - Orkestar Bez Ime (ore keh star bezz EE may), or OBI as they like to be called, are a Minnesota dance band working to preserve the folk music fast disappearing from Europe. Four women and a man make up Orkestar Bez Ime, which in Bulgarian means “orchestra without a name.” The group play dance tunes from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, amongst other nations.
September 5, 2005 - A St. Paul public housing official has a new national post that puts him in the hot seat on proposed public housing reforms. Jon Gutzmann, the director of St. Paul's Public Housing Agency is the new president of an association of his colleagues, public housing agency directors from around the country. Gutzmann grew up in Benson in western Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in political science. His national post means, among other things, he speaks for advocates critical of Bush Administration proposals they say will weaken public housing in this country. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.
September 5, 2005 - The two-week old strike by union mechanics at Northwest Airlines has put the role of unions in the national spotlight. A recent nationwide study commissioned by employers looked at why employees choose to unionize in the first place -- and the results are somewhat surprising. Gantz Wiley, a Minneapolis research firm, surveyed workers in industries across the board. Researcher Kyle Lunby says that intangible issues like *fair treatment on the job* are important in the decision to join a union.
September 14, 2005 - Tomorrow night, thousands of Mexican immigrants will gather on Lake Street in Minneapolis to celebrate Mexican independence day. That may be a surprise to anyone who thought Cinco de Mayo or May 5th was the most important day in Mexico. Minnesota Public Radio's Bianca Vazquez Toness reports, Mexicans traditionally make their independence celebration a two-day party. Here in Minnesota plans call for one big night.