October 1, 2011 - More than 25-hundred people are expected to attend the 10th annual Hmong Fair today at the Aldrich Arena in Maplewood. Organizers have 2-thousand meals prepared for the event. It began a decade ago as a large family gathering to distribute information about how to connect with resources in Minnesota. The fair has expanded and added more features as the Hmong community grew larger and more settled. This year there's also a large job fair. Fair executive director Kazoua Kong-Thao says the community has been hit hard by the recession.
October 14, 2011 - A new Minneapolis police department unit that aims to educate ethnic communities about terrorism is a potential victim of city budget cuts. The new Community Engagement Team is two months old. Its officers say they've begun working in several communities. But in his proposed budget for next year, Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak has recommended using the Community Engagement team members to replace patrol officers who are retiring and are not being replaced. The Engagement Unit's officer for the Hmong community, Kou Vang, says he can't build trust with people unless his job is long-term.
November 5, 2011 - Hundreds of Somalis filled the Brian Coyle Center in Minneapolis today to audition for a movie starring Tom Hanks. Casting consultants say Hanks will play Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage in 2009 by Somali pirates. The movie is supposed to be shot next year in New Orleans. The casting auditions included a specific call for boys 7 to 10 years old. Eight year old Sadis Daurd waited for his turn for hours. He passed the time reading books and eating snacks.
November 14, 2011 - MPR’s Elizabeth Baier reports on the struggles Latino immigrants have with various health conditions and healthcare access. Like most people who immigrate to the U.S., Latino immigrants are usually healthier when they first arrive in the U.S. than U.S. born residents. But within a generation, many Latino immigrants lose that health advantage. And they are almost twice as likely to develop diabetes and other chronic diseases, compared to people who are born here.
February 19, 2013 - There's no shortage of coffee houses around the University of Minnesota. But Chris Pesklo's new shop is the only one in that neighborhood, and in North America, to highlight the Sami culture. Pesklo's goal is to share the coffee and customs of the indigenous people of Scandinavia.
July 18, 2013 - More than half a million refugees from the conflict in Syria are now living in Jordan, many in refugee camps and settlements along the border. We?ll speak with two Minnesotan aid workers who have been working with the Syrian refugees and learn about day to day life in these refugee camps - what don?t we know about the challenges and rewards of foreign aid work?
July 15, 2014 - On this Appetites segment, Tom Crann interviews Minnesota author Beth Dooley about the various food offerings of Hmong growers at farmers markets in the Twin Cities.
July 31, 2014 - On this episode of Minnesota Sounds and Voices, MPR’s Dan Olson talks with Chue Vang about his family’s experience fleeing Laos and coming to the U.S. as refugees. Today, he aims to honor the opportunities found in his adopted home and a late brother with a new scholarship for Hmong students.
January 9, 2015 - On this The Daily Circuit program, MPR’s Tom Weber talks with Lee Pao Xiong and Chia Youyee Vang about the history of the Hmong migration to the U.S…a history that some are unaware of 40 years after the first arrivals.
March 2, 2015 - On the 40th anniversary of the arrival of Hmong refugees to Minnesota, MPR’s Sasha Aslanian profiles three members in the local Hmong community.