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EDUCATION
‘We shouldn’t have to separate being Black from our profession’: A Minneapolis teacher weighs the cost of battling the white education hierarchy—and her own union.
Nafeesah Muhammad is the type of teacher who is a mentor and a role model for her students at Patrick Henry High School. But the three-week-long Minneapolis teachers strike drove her to the brink of quitting her job and walking away from the students she loves.
MAKING IT IN MINNESOTA
Som Boualaphanh came from a refugee camp in Thailand to build a new life in Minnesota. Now, as the cofounder and partner in a full-service engineering firm, he’s helping to build medical centers and industrial facilities.
Som Boulaphanh and his St. Paul company Victus Engineering are working on a major expansion to a north Minneapolis health center. But he says his interest in engineering–and its power to serve people–started with a youthful passion for muscle cars.
health
‘Slow-minded’ becomes ‘unique mind’: Somalis in Minnesota create new terms to define autism and build acceptance.
The Somali language hasn’t included a word for “autism.” Parents say that omission plays into community stigma and misunderstanding. A recent social media post from the Somali musician Aar Maanta highlighted efforts from Somalis in Minnesota to create positive language to identify autism.
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Changing Minnesota
How many kinds of pho can you find in Minneapolis? Ask Ka Vang. She’ll promote the city’s diversity in her new role at Meet Minneapolis.
Ka Vang is the first-ever vice president of equity, diversity and inclusion at Meet Minneapolis. She’ll help the association attract visitors and conventions to the city while also highlighting businesses run by people of color. Internally, she’ll help Meet Minneapolis with its diversity goals and cultural fluency.
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LATEST STORIES
Richard Stodieck was lost as a young man. He found hope and a future at an apprenticeship with Full Cycle bike shop in Minneapolis.
Matt Tennant was working at a youth shelter when he discovered that kids were drawn to his bicycle. He began saving used bikes from dumpsters to repair and give to the kids he worked with. In 2008, he founded Full Cycle, which offers mentorship and training for youth who don’t have stable housing.
Talking to trees, the cool April air, and frogs: Michelle Defoe and her three daughters share the ancient Ojibwe tradition of tapping maple trees for syrup.
Michelle Defoe, a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, says you have to respect the trees for the medicine they provide: speak to them, offer them food, and leave them alone to recover once warmer weather wakes up the frogs. Last month, Defoe and her three daughters tapped a sugarbush–a grouping of sugar maple trees–near Duluth.
A steamy summer looms, especially for Minnesotans who live in urban heat islands with scant shade and spotty air conditioning. Need help in staying cool? Here are some tips.
Thursday’s extreme heat may have previewed another historically steamy summer. Minnesotans of color and those with lower incomes are disproportionately and dangerously affected by scorching weather. But there are resources to help people stay safe, healthy, and cool.
making it in Minnesota
A cooling housing market drove Florence Karp out of the mortgage business. Launching a Nigerian hot sauce, Afric, put Karp into business for herself.
Making It in Minnesota: Before becoming a food entrepreneur, Florence Karp worked as a teacher, a seamstress, a mortgage broker, and a life coach. Now she markets and sells her own line of traditional Nigerian sauces to Minnesota grocers and stores. Building the business has presented challenges, Karp says. “But if you are in love with something you’re doing, you don’t care.”
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Kevin Xiong moved to the Twin Cities with $500 in his pocket after reading about a group for LGBTQ Hmong people. Today, he’s leading change as executive director of a charter school.
Kevin Xiong was 25 when he relocated from North Carolina to Minnesota in order to join Shades of Yellow, a support group for gay Hmong men. He became the group’s first executive director, and now leads New Millennium Academy in Brooklyn Center.
There’s ‘no word for queer’ in the Hmong language. Musician and spoken word artist SUNAH crafts new, positive phrases in Hmong to identify members of the LGBTQ community.
SUNAH wants to replace negative vocabulary from other Asian languages that some Hmong speakers use to refer to LGBTQ people. They used their time as an artist at The Cedar performance venue to craft new, positive alternatives in the Hmong language that translate to rainbow, butterfly, and handsome women, among others.
Drawing on her own experiences, Xay Yang provides programming and mental health services for queer and trans survivors of abuse.
Xay Yang knew she was a member of the LGBTQ community at age 17, but didn’t feel supported at home. She found her “authentic self” at the University of Minnesota, and is now the Queer Justice Director at Transforming Generations.
Minnesota businesses run by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were hit hard by the pandemic and a rise in hate crimes. An expo will try to help them build back.
Minnesota’s first AAPI small business expo will be held on May 14 at Metropolitan State University. Foot traffic to many businesses plummeted during the pandemic and business owners said they faced new security issues because of a rise in hate crimes.
State Senator Omar Fateh says he’s ‘troubled’ by the conviction of his brother-in-law and campaign volunteer, Muse Mohamed. Muse lied to a federal grand jury about handling absentee ballots in Omar’s 2020 primary campaign.
State Senator Omar Fateh released a statement late Tuesday evening confirming for the first time publicly that Muse Mohamud Mohamed is his brother-in-law. Muse was convicted earlier in the day of two counts of perjury. “I am troubled by this conviction,” said Omar, who did not directly address allegations of voter fraud that arose in his 2020 primary campaign.
Minneapolis man accused of lying to federal investigators about absentee ballots was a campaign volunteer for state Senator Omar Fateh, witness says in first day of federal trial.
Muse Mohamed planned to drop off absentee ballots for three voters. But those voters testified in federal court they never gave him their ballots, never signed the paperwork, and never even met him.
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Activists say Native and lower-income communities are disproportionately harmed by coal and gas power plants. They’re calling on Minnesota Power to adopt more renewable energy and to close some plants.
Minnesota Power is planning to build a $700 million natural gas power plant in Superior, Wis. A collective of clean energy organizations is urging Minnesota Power to adopt wind and solar power instead. A study found that closing some of Minnesota Power’s existing plants would save three lives a year and $200 million in health care costs.
Imam Abdirahman Aden Kariye was buckled into his airplane seat Sunday ready to fly home. Then TSA agents ordered him off, causing him to miss Eid at his Bloomington mosque.
Imam Abdirahman Aden Kariye arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport more than three hours early Sunday and passed extra security measures. But he was still booted off the last direct flight to Minneapolis. He missed leading the Eid prayer Monday at Dar Al Farooq mosque, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey contends Minneapolis Police Department should obey one—not two—consent decrees to reform the force. State and federal authorities are investigating the police for civil rights abuses.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights issued a damning report last week on systemic racism in the Minneapolis police department, and wants to compel reform through a consent decree. Federal authorities are conducting their own investigation into Minneapolis police and could ask for a separate consent decree.
MORE STORIES
High schooler Trinity Hanif: Minnesota lawmakers must pass legislation providing free menstrual products in schools.
Trinity Hanif, a student at St. Michael-Albertville High School, says students who menstruate can become distracted when they don’t have access to free menstrual products in schools. That hurts their education, she argues, adding that lawmakers must pass pending legislation that would provide the products for free in Minnesota schools.
Minnesota Muslim leader feels pride, joy at the White House’s first Eid al-Fitr celebration in years. President Biden welcomed Muslim leaders from across the country.
Minnesota Representative Mohamud Noor (DFL-Minneapolis) said it’s time for Muslims to thrive under a new president that respects the community. He was among several Muslim leaders from across the country who attended Eid al-Fitr at the White House on May 2.
Black Tech Talent launched two years ago to support Black professionals in Minnesota. The ambitious startup is now looking to expand nationwide.
Michael A. Jackson founded Black Tech Talent two years ago to build camaraderie among Black tech workers and to diversify Minnesota’s workforce. The organization’s online community hosts more than 7,000 subscribers and counts more than 100 corporate partners, including Best Buy, BluDot, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sunrise Banks, and American Express. Jackson says the last two years have shown the rest of the country that Minnesota has a strong Black community that knows how to mobilize and that’s ready to grow.
Legos, fellowship, and pistachio baklava: At an iftar in Hopkins, Afghan refugees came together to celebrate their first Ramadan in Minnesota.
Since last fall, more than 1,200 Afghans have resettled in Minnesota. The humanitarian organization Alight hosted an iftar at The Blake School, which included catered food and messages of welcome.
A new study could lead to faster, cheaper tests for Alzheimer’s disease. Local health care professionals say it could improve care for people of color.
A Mayo Clinic study from Florida shows that Alzheimer’s disease can be diagnosed by examining molecules in blood. Current testing for the incurable disease is costly and painful, which can be barriers for people of color.
Sarah Lancaster becomes first educator of Asian/Pacific Islander heritage to win Minnesota Teacher of the Year
One of 15 children of a Filipino immigrant mother and a much older American father, Sarah Lancaster understands better than most trauma, isolation, and the way schools can serve as a haven. She teaches at Onamia Public Schools, which she attended, to provide that haven for a new generation.
Flora Yang is ready to lead. When she becomes student-body president at the University of Minnesota on July 1, she’ll focus on making sure students’ voices are heard in administration offices.
Flora Yang’s experiences as a young immigrant and a family health crisis have shaped her plans and passion for service. “There’s lots to be done,” she said of her upcoming role at the University of Minnesota.
Here’s what a blessed Ramadan looks like in north Minneapolis.
Women-led nonprofit Sisters Need A Place celebrated Ramadan on April 22 by raising money for families in need of housing support. An iftar—a shared meal breaking the daily fast—helped community members connect over food, dance, and faith.
Minnesota Human Rights investigation finds pattern of racist law enforcement by Minneapolis Police Department.
In a newly released report, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights slammed the city of Minneapolis and its police department for what it described as a “pattern or practice of race discrimination.” The two-year investigation revealed that the police wielded more severe force against Black people, surveilled Black citizens through social media, and frequently used racial slurs.
Upcoming federal trial will focus on alleged voting fraud in Minneapolis state Senate primary, court filings say.
Federal authorities charged Muse Mohamud Mohamed in November 2021 with two counts of lying about how he’d handled absentee ballots. The government’s latest brief, filed April 19, reveals the investigation involves the August 11, 2020, primary election in Minnesota Senate District 62, where challenger Omar Fateh beat incumbent Jeff Hayden.
