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 18, 1993 - State Senator Dean Johnson speaks with Cathy Wurzer about concerns and considerations connected to gay rights bill vote.
March 18, 1993 - Wisconsin was the first state in the country to include sexual orientation as a protected class under the state’s equal employment, open housing and public accommodation laws.
March 19, 1993 - State Senator Linda Runbeck speaks on the floor, opposes gay rights bill.
April 1, 1993 - The Senate approved the legislation by a vote of 37 to 30; there was no debate. The bill prohibits discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment, housing and other areas.
April 24, 1993 - MPR’s Mark Zdechlik reports on concerns over the catching and eating of contaminated fish in Minnesota waters. Many in the Southeast Asian communities continue a tradition of fishing for food, but are unaware of the dangers of contamination in the waters of Minnesota lakes and rivers.
May 3, 1993 - A Midday broadcast of Rigoberta Menchu, 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner, speaking at the Carlson Lecture Series at held Northrop Auditorium. Menchu's address was on the topic "Peace and Human Rights: The International Year of Indigenous People."
June 25, 1993 - MPR’s Kate Smith reports on Hmong farming in Minnesota, where a more traditional approach returns to a land where modern agriculture now dominates.
June 26, 1993 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles Chong Koua Yang, owner of Hmong Auto Services in St. Paul. Yang provides an option to those in Hmong community where language is still an obstacle in daily American life.
September 25, 1993 - MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Mario Diaz, a Cuban shoe cobbler in downtown St. Paul. The entrepreneur shares his thoughts on Minnesota culture, politics, and business.
December 10, 1993 - On this episode of Worldview, MPR’s Jim Wishner talks with Diane Espaldon, executive director of Theater Mu; and Rick Shiomi, director of Theater Mu production “Mask Dance.” The play weaves traditional Korean mask dancing with a contemporary Asian American story based on the experiences of the Korean adoptees who were some of Mu’s first artists.