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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Immigrant retailers reopened shops in neighborhood malls. Customers haven’t returned
Store owners describe ruin as COVID-19 recession spreads: “I’m using credit cards to buy food. I’m using credit cards to pay for rent. I owe a lot of money right now.”
NEWS
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, sues Minnesota journalist and his independent newspaper
Claim in U.S. District Court in Minnesota alleges ZeHabesha news organization made defamatory claims about COVID-19, corruption, shoddy aircraft.
CULTURE & COMMUNITY
COVID-19 cancels J4, the Hmong International Freedom Festival, for 40,000 attendees
A blow to families, vendors, community pride: “It’s not just a Hmong event anymore.”
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LATEST NEWS
Stray golf ball shatters windshield of Minneapolis educator; elite country club receives a lesson about etiquette and social media
Sousada Grande asked the Minikahda Club to put her in touch with the golfer who damaged her car. The club asked her to wait. And wait. And wait.
‘We lost everything’: COVID-19 and Lake Street fires shut clinics in south Minneapolis immigrant neighborhoods
Lost COVID-19 revenue and the Lake Street fires are turning immigrant neighborhoods in south Minneapolis into health care deserts. The outcome for patients? “Their chronic conditions are getting, frankly, worse.”
Push to defund University of Minnesota police started with chemical irritant at Somali Night
Students want more money spent on mental health, trauma support and cultural groups; less on police.
Minnesota Muslims grieve their canceled Hajj plans as COVID-19 shuts down travel to Saudi Arabia.
A once-in-a-lifetime journey to Mecca turns into a once-in-a-lifetime loss for Minnesota’s Hajj hospitality industry and aspiring Hajjis. The last Hajj interruption? The cholera epidemic of the mid-1800s.
Amazon workers warned about COVID-19 risks at Minnesota warehouses. Workers kept getting infected
“I thought I was going to die,” one Amazon employee who got infected with COVID-19 told Sahan Journal. “I was not eating at all. I was forcing myself to eat, but I couldn’t feel it. The smell and the taste were gone.”
New visa restrictions less likely to save U.S. jobs than further Trump’s anti-immigration agenda, experts say
Move may already be having a chilling effect on businesses and foreign workers in Minnesota
The journey to become a citizen heads someplace new: the sidewalk
After waiting years to become United States citizens, some immigrants and refugees had to wait even longer because of COVID-19 cancelations. This week, the naturalizations resumed.
St. Paul school board votes police out of schools after pressure from students of color
Vote means ‘better safety and less trauma for Black and brown kids,’ says an organizer of student campaign.
Students of color press St. Paul district to cut ties with Police Department
“We have seen how these police come into the school environment and mess everything up … We need them out right now.”
‘He was loved by everyone’: Somali community remembers Nur Omar Mohamed, who died of COVID-19
Best known in the U.S. as Ilhan Omar’s father, Nur was a prominent Somali military officer who encouraged his children to succeed
As Holy Land grocery attempts to mend relationship with community, former employees speak out
After racist social media posts from former catering manager emerged, former employees reveal racism runs deep at Holy Land.
‘I have suffered too long’: Somali woman breaks the culture of silence on sexual assault to motivate others
Muna Ahmed said she was sexually assaulted at 19. Now 23, she’s speaking out for the first time. “I’m fed up with shame culture and shaming victims,” she told Sahan Journal.
Immigrants and advocates in Minnesota celebrate Supreme Court DACA ruling
Dreamer Gloria Castillo said the news gives her relief, but she wants a pathway to citizenship
Minneapolis woman sues police for alleged unlawful search and groping her at scene of a traffic stop last year
Habso Khalif, a Somali, charges that police targeted her based on her race and religion
‘Defund the police’ debate unfolds with no representation for Ward 6 residents on Minneapolis City Council
Young activists say community approach was more effective than police or politicians in protecting Cedar Riverside from arson and looting.
MORE STORIES
These East African students were told they couldn’t go to high school. They just graduated.
“Don’t give up on your dreams if you’re trying to have a big dream,” says one graduate.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s father, Nur Omar Mohamed, dies of COVID-19 complications
In a press release, Ilhan Omar shared news of Nur’s death “with tremendous sadness and pain.”
Minnesota hires new assistant commissioner for immigrant and refugee affairs
Anisa Hajimumin will focus on helping new Americans find work or start businesses.
Twin Cities mosques set strict measures as they reopen doors for worshippers
For the first time, instead of praying standing shoulder-to-shoulder, worshippers will perform prayers six feet apart.
Artist Kareem Rahma projects names and images of black people killed by police onto the side of the Gold Medal building
“My vision was to create something that would allow us to remember all of this after the protesting, and the curfew and the National Guard left,” Rahma said.
‘Always a leader’: friends, family remember Marny Xiong as a trailblazer who put others first
“I think she could have been our first Hmong female governor,” one colleague says.
In the aftermath of George Floyd killing, an uneasy discussion about racism in Minnesota’s Muslim community
Some “think of themselves as superior because of their skin color and class.”
Left in ashes by unrest, Twin Cities entrepreneurs begin to navigate insurance claims to rebuild their businesses
Recouping insurance money in weeks ahead is likely to be anything but simple for many
For Timberwolves’ Gersson Rosas, immigrant experience fueled rise to a top NBA job
Leaving Colombia, Rosas’ father stressed that his oldest son needed to lead by example.
Bush Foundation announces four immigrants from Minnesota as new 2020 fellows
This year’s fellows are working to make public health, music education and clinical research more equitable