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.
May 1, 2006 - Several thousand immigrants, mostly Latino, gathered in Powderhorn Park today for the "A Day Without Immigrants" protests. MPR's Annie Baxter reports.
May 2, 2006 - About 1500 people huddled under umbrellas in Minneapolis's Powderhorn park for a pro immigration rally yesterday. The event was part of a nationwide effort called "A Day Without Immigrants." Around the country, immigrants stayed home from work and refused to spend money to underscore their contributions to the economy. Many people attending the Minneapolis event were hopeful their message would make a difference.Minnesota Public Radio's Annie Baxter has more.
May 9, 2006 - The DFL-controlled Minnesota Senate has side-stepped a showdown on abortion by stripping several measures out of its budget bill. Lawmakers passed a $127 million supplemental spending measure last night on a vote of 64 to 3. The original bill involved much more state spending. But with several abortion-related amendments looming, DFL leaders pulled out nearly $80 million dollars worth of health and human services provisions. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.
May 12, 2006 - Morning Edition's Julie Siple visited East Lake Street in Minneapolis, where some of the state's most recent Latino immigrants live and work. She scratched the surface of the Latino culture and found the remnant of another wave of immigration underneath.
May 15, 2006 - Crossing the border illegally into the United States is a difficult emotional journey. But it is also increasingly difficult on a practical level. The images of crossing the desert or the Rio Grande in the dead of night are giving way to sophisticated networks of smuggling and document fraud. For many illegal immigrants from Mexico, crossing is a carefully orchestrated event -- and so is the process of remaining here. One woman, now living in Minnesota, talked about her journey with MPR's Sanden Totten.
May 16, 2006 - US Surgeon General Carmona comes from a troubled background. He spoke to the graduates of the University of Minnesota public health school, saying that prevention is the only real solution to the nation's and world's health problems.
May 17, 2006 - The movement of immigrants to Minnesota has transformed communities and changed long established social orders. Take the city of Worthington. Drawn mainly by meatpacking jobs, immigrants have been moving to the southwest Minnesota city for more than twenty years. Most came as strangers, and many remain strangers, even after years of living there. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil spoke with two women who've experienced the divisions in town.
May 19, 2006 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on the opening of new Minneapolis Central Library. Visitors to the five story, 365,000 square foot building will likely first notice its eye-grabbing architecture - complete with a 90-ton structure that looks like an airplane wing resting on top. Inside patrons will have access to more than three million books and other reference materials as well as an art gallery, nearly 300 public computers and special sections for young library people and immigrants.
May 25, 2006 - A new report from Minnesota's legislative auditor says the overall economic impact of immigrants in Minnesota is positive, but the study also says the cost of illegal immigrants to state taxpayers is largely unknown. That finding runs counter to a report issued last year by Governor Pawlenty that pegged the annual cost to the state at $188 million. The Office of the Legislative Auditor examined several existing studies on the economic impact of immigrants, and released its analysis today at the state Capitol. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.
May 29, 2006 - MPR's Brandt Williams reports on Girls in Action, a new mentoring program at North High School in Minneapolis. Administrators say they've seen improvements in the grades and attendance in the young women. They also say fights and other behavior problems among girls at the school in general have decreased.