sports
Sunisa Lee’s friends and family watched her become the first Hmong American ever to compete and win a gold medal. For many, it was the best morning of their lives.
obituaries
Hmong American First Lieutenant remembered as caring, driven young man
Brian Yang went from east St. Paul to Brown University to the Army. His family remembers him as a curious, passionate and loving person.
climate
Where there’s smoke, there’s asthma: Weather events tied to climate change pose health threats to Minnesota communities of color
Parts of Northern Minnesota recorded their worst air quality on record, as metro skies filled with smoke. Now that the haze is gone, the temperature is rising.
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COVID-19 VACCINE PROJECT
Want to know what to expect when you get the COVID-19 vaccine? Sahan Journal’s COVID-19 vaccine video series answers your questions, in Spanish, Somali, Hmong, and English.
Vaccine safety, side effects, medical myths, and facts: In the second installment of our video series, we’re making COVID-19 vaccine information more accessible for people in Minnesota’s immigrant communities.
politics
‘It’s an extremely progressive city—if you’re white’: Minneapolis elections hinge on how to fix inequality in housing, policing.
The killing of George Floyd and COVID-19 upended politics in Minneapolis. This summer is the start of what might be the most eventful election in recent memory. We talked to candidates and community members about where the city is heading—and the choices voters will have.
LATEST NEWS
Delta blues: New CDC guidelines suggest vaccinated people mask indoors in some Minnesota counties.
Kham Su Lor was working too hard in his computer repair business, eating badly, and getting sick. Then he discovered his neighboring shop owner’s special tea.
Beyond stereotypes: Daybreak Press aims to broaden depiction of Muslims in Minneapolis school books
Restoring imagination to immigrant communities: Chanida Phaengdara Potter and the Southeast Asian Diaspora Project
Phaengdara Potter arrived as a refugee when she was 3 years old. She says living in a diverse Minneapolis neighborhood with a “village mentality” was key to her upbringing.
Abuse survivors speak out about domestic violence allegations against John Thompson while Black activists struggle with double standards. Progressive legislators? No comment.
A traffic stop has led to waves of allegations against the DFL representative from St. Paul. Activists see a double standard in the media coverage and the calls for Thompson’s resignation. Approached by Sahan Journal, all 21 legislators in the POCI caucus—progressive legislators of color—offered no comment.
DACA is under fire—again—after a federal court ruling. Here’s what Dreamers in Minnesota need to know about their immigration status.
On July 16, a judge in Texas undercut the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. But it doesn’t threaten all DACA recipients—yet. We spoke to an immigration expert at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota about who the ruling affects and what to do next.
MORE STORIES
Redistricting is a plodding, legalistic process. It’s also vitally important to Minnesota’s communities of color.
Even without intentional gerrymandering, how districts are redrawn every 10 years can marginalize some groups. Once again, the courts are likely to make the final decision.
After a long wait, Somalis with Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. gain an 18-month extension.
The federal government finds that Somalia remains too dangerous, and says that others lacking protected status may apply to remain in the United States, as well.
Halwa is the ultimate Eid treat for many Somalis in Minnesota. This month, Abdinasir Aden will cook 10,000 pounds of the dessert and sell it by the bucket.
Minneapolis is the capital of halwa, and businesses here ship the dessert across the United States. Cooked from sugar, ghee or oil, cornstarch, cardamom, and nutmeg, halwa reminds many eaters of childhood—and home.
The diverse teachers Minnesota needs may already be working in schools—as classroom aides. New state funding promises to help them level up.
An alternative to conventional teacher training, “Grow Your Own” programs remove financial barriers for educators of color
A St. Paul postal worker begged for stronger COVID-19 protections. She ended up spending six weeks in the hospital.
The limited response to postal workers’ repeated appeals for help provides a window into the failures of two federal agencies: the Postal Service, which is one of the country’s largest employers, and OSHA, which is supposed to protect workers.
Minnesota Legislature passes small steps in last-minute environmental bills, while climate needs multiply.
What passed: new bus rapid transit lines, reforestation, solar job training, and a ban on “forever chemicals.” What stalled: efforts to reclassify trash-to-energy facilities and a proposal to boost regulatory protections for low-income areas.
In north Minneapolis, come for the haircut, stay for the shot.
Over the next five weeks, Teto Wilson’s north Minneapolis barbershop, Wilson’s Image Barbers and Stylists, will double as a vaccination clinic for customers and community members.
Minnesota doesn’t know how many people with disabilities have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine. Advocates are using a federal grant to try to reach them.
The Disability Law Center is using a hotline, email address and personal appearances to find people who need access to the vaccine. Immigrant communities are a priority.
Sunisa Lee’s Olympic journey stirs Hmong observers in Minnesota
‘Suni represents so much more than the athletics and the competition’: The St. Paul–based gymnast becomes the first Hmong American to compete in the Olympics.
Many Minnesotans have stopped seeking a COVID vaccine. Now, with expanded mobile outreach, the vaccine is seeking them.
Metro Transit has equipped a mini-fleet of six buses to bring the COVID vaccine to shopping centers, events, farms, and more. Vaccination rates have started to jump among some Minnesota communities.
In his doctor’s office, easygoing and attentive. In Minnesota state government, passionate about health equity and social justice.
When pediatrician Nathan Chomilo is not caring for children, he leads the state’s COVID-19 vaccine equity strategy and works as medical director for Medicaid.
On July 4, police killed Ricardo Torres in Olivia, Minnesota. Three days later, provocateurs in a truck rally disrupted his memorial vigil.
Family and friends from Minnesota and Texas gathered to remember Ricardo Torres at the site of his death. Mourners remembered Torres as a fun-loving jokester who loved whistling and fishing. Later, a truck convoy rolled up, responding to a flier on social media that predicted a “riot.”
Red Wolf Chai debuts at farmers markets with chai and chapatis from East Africa.
‘I could make better chai’: Brothers Azhar and Mayzer Muhammad, and a friend, Mowafag Mohamed, turn to Oromo family recipes for their simple menu.
MORE STORIES
Now entering the mainstream market: Hilal Ibrahim’s sustainably-made luxury hijabs for Nordstrom
Demand for Hilal’s collection of hospital-grade hijabs exploded last year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Partnering with the retail giant is her next big step.
Family of Ricardo Torres describes ‘harassing’ incidents with police before fatal Fourth of July shooting
The 32-year-old father was part of a Mexican American community that moved from Texas to Olivia, Minnesota, for farm work. A cousin remembered Torres as “always happy, always joking and playing around.”
As a child, Abdulaziz Mohamed looked to Barack Obama for proof he could be president. On July 1, he became the first Somali American student-body president at the University of Minnesota.
Abdulaziz sometimes felt lost growing up between between two worlds: the Muslim community in Minneapolis and the mostly white schools in Stillwater. He found his voice in student government, he says, helping “people who have also struggled early in life.”
An Iraqi climate scientist couldn’t use his biogeochemistry Ph.D. in his homeland. So he’s helping diverse students get environmental science degrees at a St. Cloud community college.
Professor Khaldoun Ahmad saw the impact of climate change in his native Iraq. Now he’s trying to empower working-class students to prevent the worst impacts in Minnesota.
Minneapolis police providing traffic control were missing from this year’s Somali Independence Day celebration. No one missed them.
Police almost always have a presence at a large Minneapolis street festival. This time, organizers came up with their own plan, and turned to the nonprofit Nonviolent Peaceforce. It worked out fine.
Judge finds Minnesota Department of Education in contempt for go-slow approach to meal program.
St. Anthony-based Feeding our Future and the state help nonprofits access federal money. A judge says the state is taking far too long to decide on applications for new meal sites.
Inside one Minnesota school district’s battle over an equity training program.
In numerous places, groups of parents are combating efforts to fix longstanding disparities.
Minnesota mosques return to side-by-side prayer with end of COVID-19 social-distancing restrictions
Some congregants struggled with isolation during the pandemic, according to imams at Masjid Al-Rawdah in Minneapolis; others dropped out. Women have yet to return to some Islamic centers, though they’ve also embraced online offerings.
Twin Cities Desi Pride parade is a sign that ‘progress is palpable’.
Activists aim to ease mental stress of being queer and Desi. One says Pride events make it easier for children to grow up and be themselves.
Frost. Then blistering heat. Drought. And now the bugs. Minnesota immigrant farmers are struggling with the effects of climate change in their fields.
June is typically the wettest month of the year in Minnesota. This year, most of the state is suffering from a drought. Adapting to a changing climate is key to surviving.
