September 23, 2008 - A group of Somali workers is demanding a public apology from the Macy's corporation after they say were threatened with dismissal for speaking their native language. Federal and state laws prohibit employers from establishing English-only rules in the workplace. BUT the workers at Macy's Southdale store say that's exactly what happened.
June 22, 2009 - MPR’s Toni Randolph profiles individuals from the last wave of Hmong refugees to the Twin Cities. Five years after their arrival in 2004, about 5,000 new Hmong residents have made their homes here. Life for them is very different from what it was in the refugee camp in Thailand. For some, the change has been very good, and for others it's been very challenging.
August 26, 2009 - The official brochure for self-guided tours at the Minnesota State Capitol is now available in the Somali language. Mahamoud Wardere volunteered to translate the pamphlet for the Minnesota Historical Society when he learned a Somali version didn't exist. Wardere was a constituent liaison for former Senator Norm Coleman. Wardere says it's essential that the Somali community in Minnesota understands what goes on at the Capitol.
November 16, 2009 - On the 30th anniversary in the United States' post-Vietnam War experience, MPR’s Dan Olson takes a look back. 1979 was the year that the U.S., led by Vice President Walter Mondale, convinced world leaders to come to the rescue of more than a million so-called "boat people."
January 6, 2010 - Members of the Hmong community in the Twin Cities are trying to keep pressure on the U. S. government to help recently repatriated Hmong in Laos. They're also trying to find out what's going to happen to their relatives.
January 6, 2010 - More than 300 members of the Hmong community in the Twin Cities turned out for a town hall-style meeting in St. Paul last night. They wanted to find out what's happened to their relatives who were deported from Thailand to Laos late last month. And they also want to keep pressure on the U.S. government to help their relatives. Mee Vang is with the Hmong Diaspora Leadership Council, which organized last night's meeting.
January 6, 2010 - Members of the Hmong community in the Twin Cities are trying to keep pressure on the U.S. government to help their relatives in Laos. More than 4-thousand Hmong were deported to Laos from Thailand late last month. Mee Vang is with the Hmong Diaspora Leadership Council, which sponsored a town hall style meeting last night in St. Paul. She says she wants the U.S. to monitor the treatment of the deported.
January 11, 2010 - MPR’s Tim Nelson reports on how the Karen have adopted Minnesota as their new home, 10 years after the first of the Karen escaped the oppressive regime that rules Myanmar, and began to immigrate to the Twin Cities.
January 25, 2010 - As part of MPR News series “Civil War Kids: Young Somalis in Minnesota,” MPR’s Laura Yuen reports on how after escaping war, some Somali young men in Minnesota fall prey to gangs, guns and religious radicalization.
January 26, 2010 - As part of MPR News series “Civil War Kids: Young Somalis in Minnesota,” MPR’s Laura Yuen reports on how many young Somali-Americans are struggling with mental illness tied to war experiences, and the efforts to provide assistance to them.