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.
January 27, 2010 - As part of MPR News series “Civil War Kids: Young Somalis in Minnesota,” MPR’s Laura Yuen reports on how countless young Somalis in Minnesota are succeeding, despite grim statistics in their community.
January 27, 2010 - About 50 media outlets in Minnesota will receive some of the $140-million dollars the U.S. Census Bureau is spending on advertising for the decennial count. The Bureau posted the outlets they've contracted with on its website yesterday. The "ad buys" include about a dozen Minnesota radio stations, and about three dozen newspapers across the state. Steve Wetzler is president of TCB Marketing, which handles advertising for many ethnic media outlets in the Twin Cities. He says papers that service the state's largest ethnic groups -- African and African American, Hispanic, Native American and Asian -- will get ads. But he says census officials also left some gaping holes.
February 1, 2010 - Minneapolis Congressman Keith Ellison says he's concerned that the multi-million-dollar advertising campaign the U.S. Census Bureau launched last month left out several local radio stations that serve the Spanish-, Somali- and Hmong-speaking populations. He says those stations can help get the census message out. But Steve Jost of the Census Bureau says those communities will get the census message through national advertising that will air on those stations. Jost also says Census officials are not done buying ads.
June 2, 2010 - MPR’s Sasha Aslanian reports on Sherburne County Sheriff's deputy use of a stun gun on a detained immigrant and the federal Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency’s relaxation of policy against the use of stun guns on detainees.
August 11, 2010 - As part of MPR News series “Austin at a Crossroads: 25 years after the Hormel strike,” MPR’s Elizabeth Baier profiles Austin, 25 years after the Hormel labor strike that tore apart the town. Baier examines how small-town nostalgia plays out when big, global issues and human drama come to town.
November 30, 2010 - MPR’s Dan Olson reports that 30 years after their initial arrival, poverty for Hmong is still an issue, but rates are down sharply, and life for many is improving. Olson talks with members of Hmong community about reasons behind the change.
December 7, 2010 - As part of MPR's Youth Radio Series, Youth Radio reporter Brenda tells what it's like to live in the United States illegally.
December 17, 2010 - Demographic estimates released this week by the Census Bureau show Minnesota is more diverse than ever before. One of the biggest indicators of that is language. In cities and towns across the state, more and more people are speaking a language other than English at home. Some people do so out of necessity because they haven't learned English yet. Others want to hold on to their native tongues and become fully bilingual.
January 7, 2011 - Immigrant farmers are fixtures at farmers' markets in the Twin Cities. But they don't sell as much to restaurants, grocery store chains, or direct to consumers through CSAs. In Minnesota, these are barriers that Hmong, Latino and African farmers face as they try to make a living off the land.