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 30, 2007 - The Red Cross has called the violence in Mogadishu the worst in 15 years. Clashes have occured throughout the week and today a military helicopter was shot down. Tom Crann reports.
April 11, 2007 - The City of Minneapolis is restructuring its revolving loan fund program to accommodate Muslim business owners. The program offers low-interest loans to small business owners whose ventures would help revitalize targeted areas of the city.
April 13, 2007 - After serveral immigration raids in and around Wilmar, immigrants in the town are worried. Dozens of immigrants have been deported in the last few months, and immigrants in Wilmar are fearing for their own well-being.
April 16, 2007 - The Metropolitan Airports Commission today beefed up penalties for cab drivers who decline to serve a customer. The Commission was responding to passenger complaints about Muslim cab drivers refusing to serve passengers carrying alcohol. The MAC says there have been nearly 5,000 cases since 2002 in which a cab driver refused to transport a customer who had or was suspected of having alcohol. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
April 18, 2007 - Minneapolis attorney Mike Ciresi today joined the 2008 race for the US Senate seat held by Republican Norm Coleman. Ciresi is running on proposals to improve conditions for middle class Americans. He laid out an agenda similar to what Democrat Al Franken has been campaigning on. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.
April 19, 2007 - The arrest of 49 people in Willmar last week is the latest move in a nationwide crack down on illegal immigrants. Officials say nearly half of those in custody had previous criminal convictions or had been ordered in the past to leave the country. The rest were arrested because they were in the country illegally. Immigrants have been on edge since 200 illegal workers were arrested last December at the Swift and Company meat packing plant in Worthington. But some say the arrests in Willmar represent a more aggressive approach to dealing with illegal immigration. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Post reports.
April 23, 2007 - Violence in Somalia escalated dramatically over the weekend with hundreds more civilians killed and injured. Intense fighting between allied Ethiopian and Somalian troops and insurgent militias has forced an estimated half-a-million people to flee the capital, Mogadishu. Last month, more than 1,000 people were killed in the worst fighting the country has seen since 1991. The war is affecting Minnesota's Somali community deeply as many fear for the safety of family and friends back home. Minnesota Public Radio's Jess Mador has the story.
April 25, 2007 - Minnesota has long prided itself on its high-achieving students. The state has the highest A-C-T scores in the nation and it historically has had one of the highest graduation rates too. But when you talk to employers about Minnesota's talent pool, you hear a lot of concern. They say there aren't enough workers with math and science backgrounds to fill many of the state's newly-created knowledge jobs. These careers, in engineering, technology and science, are expected to be an increasingly significant part of the state's economy in the future. The jobs-trend troubles employers, who are in turn driving the debate over whether high schools are obsolete. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson has the next installment in our series.
April 25, 2007 - The Governors spoke to us today from our Capitol bureau. Robert Siegel talks with Melinda Gates about what shethinks American high schools need to do to compete in a global high-tech economy.
May 1, 2007 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews author and teacher Wang Ping, who says her Chinese history is the result of some curious twists of fate.