How can Minnesota help people of color who live in big apartment buildings save money—and benefit the environment at the same time? Citing a new study, housing and energy advocates are pushing the Legislature to pass higher energy efficiency standards to reduce heating bills and greenhouse gas emissions.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
Making It in Minnesota: Arnold Kubei went bankrupt trying to launch a Twin Cities gas station. Less than 10 years later, the immigrant entrepreneur from Cameroon expects to collect more than $5 million providing social services and housing.
Arnold Kubei says he “lost everything,” after investing all his savings and maxing out his credit cards in a business that went bust. Today, he provides housing services and assisted living facilities through a pair of companies headquartered in Woodbury: Metro Care Human Services and Home Sweet Home of Minnesota. The lesson from his story, Kubei told Sahan Journal, “is to not give up, to not be discouraged. I failed. I went bankrupt. But I stayed consistent to my vision.”
Posted inEDUCATION
Half of all Minnesota community college students struggle to pay for housing. And now, a pandemic rental-assistance program is ending. Students of color and college administrators say they need solutions.
Minnesota community colleges and their students are looking for housing support as federal COVID rental aid expires. When homelessness looms, students say, classes and studying suffer. “We have a serious concern; we are very worried,” says one college administrator.
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Posted inPOLICING & JUSTICE
Amir Locke killing leads Black elected officials to condemn failed Minneapolis police reform
State Representative Esther Agbaje learned about the killing of 22-year-old Amir Locke after Minneapolis police raided her downtown apartment building. City Council member Robin Wonsley Worlobah had been pushing for public safety changes in committee meetings. The killing of Amir Locke during a no-knock raid demonstrated to both the city’s inability to change policing and preserve life.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
While Feeding Our Future brought in millions of dollars in federal food aid money last year, its director also launched a GoFundMe campaign that brought in tens of thousands more.
The organization’s director, Aimee Bock, says it was studying whether to expand into other states, and that it needed a reserve fund to tap in case of emergencies.
Posted inCOMMUNITY VOICES
Minnesota Black Law Students Association: Amir Locke’s killing must lead to real change in police practices and discipline.
In an open letter, the students write, “The Black Law Students Association demands action. We refuse to support a system that disproportionately targets black bodies and executes them without reservation. Fire the men and women who decided a 7 a.m. no-knock warrant was appropriate. Release the details of the warrant in full. We built this country; we deserve better than living in fear.”
Posted inPOLICING & JUSTICE
Amir Locke lay under a blanket and held a handgun before Minneapolis police shot and killed him, as seen in a newly released bodycam video.
The bodycam footage shows a Minneapolis police SWAT team entering the apartment without knocking and shouting “police search warrant” before the shooting. The search warrant stemmed from a St. Paul homicide investigation, though Locke was not named in the warrant. Mayor Jacob Frey and interim Minneapolis police chief Amelia Huffman answered questions about the latest police killing in a press conference that followed the release of the bodycam video.
Posted inEDUCATION
Burnsville charter school director takes leave of absence following fraud allegations in Feeding Our Future investigation.
FBI search warrants accuse Abdiaziz Farah, the founder of Gateway STEM Academy, of using child nutrition funds to purchase a Porsche and a $575,000 house. Gateway STEM Academy has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Posted inCHANGING MINNESOTA
This week, Minnesotan KaYing Yang joins President Joe Biden’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans. One searing experience she’ll bring to the job: Watching her Hmong parents work against daunting obstacles to build a new life in America.
A seasoned immigrants’ advocate, KaYing Yang sees her new role in the Biden administration as her best opportunity yet to highlight the contributions and needs of her Southeast Asian community. Yang, who arrived in the U.S. at age 7 as a Hmong refugee, has plenty of personal and professional experience to draw from. And she said she won’t be afraid to challenge those in power to do better.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
Why hasn’t anyone been charged in the Feeding Our Future investigation? And what’s a search warrant, anyway? We asked a defense attorney to explain what’s happened so far in the alleged food fraud case—and what happens next.
St. Paul defense attorney A.L. Brown explains what a federal search warrant actually does and how it may lead to a grand jury and criminal charges. “It’s best not to try to read into the search warrants,” Brown tells Sahan Journal. “It says what it says. That’s the government’s view.”
Posted inNews
Feeding Our Future director blames Minnesota Department of Education for food aid probe.
Aimee Bock blames a feud with the Minnesota Department of Education for a federal probe into alleged misuse of food aid. Her lawyer says documents seized by the FBI will prove her point, and predicts she won’t be charged.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh returns campaign contributions from donors tied to alleged Feeding Our Future fraud investigation.
South Minneapolis Democrat returns 11 donations, seven from people directly named in federal search warrants. Four also donated to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Omar condemns any misuse of food aid money.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Minnesota’s political caucuses are tonight: Here’s how to participate.
Due to a recent court ruling, immigrants who are not yet U.S. citizens can now participate in the process.
Posted inCOMMUNITY VOICES
Hamse Warfa: Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development has made big strides toward expanding opportunities to Minnesotans of all backgrounds. Here’s how the agency did it.
This month, Hamse Warfa announced he’s leaving Minnesota state government for a role in the Biden administration. He believes Minnesotans and people of color have benefitted from innovations in the way the state Department of Employment and Economic Development reaches out to job-seekers.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
Making It in Minnesota: Filipino customers will drive for hours to find food from home. Herman and Faith Rott opened a new grocery store in Mounds View to give it to them.
Where in Minnesota can you find Filipino favorites like malunggay, puto cheese, pan de sal, and prepared meats like chorizo de Cebu? Until recently, the answer was almost nowhere. That’s why Herman and Faith Rott opened Filipino Village Grocery Store–in the middle of a pandemic. The couple talked to Sahan Journal about how they’re making their business a success.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
Men tied to alleged Feeding Our Future fraud donated to reelection campaign of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, records show.
A federal search warrant unsealed last week claims Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota nonprofit, stole money intended to feed disadvantaged children and adults. Owners and partners of Safari Restaurant allegedly took millions. Six of those men made large donations to the reelection campaign of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey–including an individual whom the mayor appointed to a committee for public safety.
Posted inCLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Even on a morning as fiercely frigid as this one, there they were, flying down snowy Twin Cities streets with condensation puffing from their wrapped-up faces–winter bicyclists. Among those hardy riders are an increasing number of riders of color.
It’s affordable. It’s great exercise. It’s easy on the environment. And best of all, it’s exhilarating. Minnesotans of color share their love of winter biking as well as tips on how to get started and where to find advice and camaraderie.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
Feds investigate nonprofit incorporated by Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman in alleged Feeding Our Future food fraud.
Federal search warrants connect a nonprofit called Stigma-Free International to Feeding Our Future. Jamal Osman said he was involved with Stigma-Free until June 2020, and then cut ties with the nonprofit. Investigators allege Stigma-Free participated in a wide-ranging fraud beginning in January 2021, stealing millions of dollars from programs intended to feed low-income children.
Posted inINSIDE SAHAN JOURNAL
Tell us what you know about Feeding Our Future and alleged food fraud.
Sahan Journal is reporting on Feeding Our Future and allegations that the nonprofit funneled federal food aid to shell companies and individuals who may have kept the money for themselves.
Posted inCoronavirus
Wilson Ekinde: Two years of experience dealing with COVID leaves nurses ‘armed to face the devil.’
Nurses have more knowledge and protective equipment. Patients with Omicron don’t tend to be as sick. But it’s far from business as usual on the COVID wards.
Posted inHEALTH
Michelle Davenport: ‘I couldn’t break the fever. I thought I was going to lose my life.’
Nursing educator is heading back to work on the hospital floor with COVID patients. Because of her own experience with the disease, she plans to be extremely careful not to spread the disease to her family.
Posted inCoronavirus
Kenyata Carroll: ‘I am seeing a lot of people with permanent disabilities.’
Not as many patients are dying as in the early days of the pandemic, but COVID patients may suffer permanent effects of a long hospitalization.
Posted inCoronavirus
Russ-Em Tracy Johnson: ‘You care for people who are angry and don’t want to listen to doctors.’
Younger patients hospitalized now sometimes think they know better than medical staff. Nurses are burned out and chronically short of hands to take care of them.
Posted inCoronavirus
On Twin Cities COVID wards: A younger, whiter wave of patients. And a whole lot of burnout.
The Omicron variant may have supplanted Delta, but hospitals still are struggling. There still are too many patients and not enough nurses.
Posted inNews
Confused about the alleged fraud at Feeding Our Future? The shell companies, the Las Vegas junket, the $500,000 apartment in Kenya? Here’s everything you need to know about the FBI raid and investigation so far.
Feeding Our Future allegedly funneled federal money through dozens of shell companies that appear to have been established on the fly. “To date, the conspirators have stolen millions of dollars in federal funds,” the FBI said in the search warrant affidavit. “The scheme is ongoing.”
Posted inEDUCATION
With the Omicron variant, teacher absences are way up. But what’s happening with students is… interesting.
Minnesota schools have run into protests as they try to decide whether to keep kids in school or switch to online learning during the Omicron surge. We asked Minnesota’s eight largest school districts just how many kids are staying home from school.
Posted inINSIDE SAHAN JOURNAL
Editor’s note: Why Sahan Journal published an article about criminal charges involving absentee ballots.
Sahan Journal writes often about how immigrants and communities of color are participating in Minnesota’s elections. Readers also need clear and fair reporting about investigations involving absentee ballots and election integrity.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Federal prosecutors file perjury charges against Minnesota man in investigation involving absentee ballots.
A November 18, 2021, indictment alleges Muse Mohamud Mohamed gave false statements in grand jury testimony about his handling of absentee ballots.
Posted inHelping Out
As hundreds of Afghan refugees flow into Minnesota, volunteers and aid agencies are stepping up to help. You can too.
Local aid groups have set a mid-February deadline to resettle 750 Afghans in Minnesota. Participate in a donation drive. Shop on an Amazon wishlist. Anyone can help. Housing is the most urgent need, but aid coordinators are well aware that needs go beyond material things. “We know a house is nothing if you don’t have dignity, if you don’t have joy, if you don’t have a sense of comfort and safety,” says one aid wrangler.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
In one of the most diverse corners of Minnesota, immigrants are making their mark in politics.
People of color make up 55 percent of Brooklyn Park’s population. Three of the four candidates running for an open city council seat are immigrants.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Abraham Brima Bah: ‘Law enforcement has to be trusted.’
City council candidate says Brooklyn Park should reimagine public safety to reflect the community’s diversity. Housing and supporting small businesses also are big issues.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Xiongpao ‘Xp’ Lee: Brooklyn Park has ‘a great mix of everything,’ and still has room to grow.
Currently a member of the city’s Planning Commission, candidate focuses on community engagement and bringing value to Brooklyn Park’s east side.
Posted inCoronavirus
How to get free COVID tests sent to your home in Minnesota.
For weeks now, at-home COVID tests have been in short supply at pharmacies and stores across Minnesota and the United States. Now, a new federal program means anyone can get COVID tests mailed to their home–for free? How do you do it? When should you use them? When do you still need a lab test?
Posted inCHANGING MINNESOTA
Futsal is a smaller, faster version of soccer. The global game is seeing a boom in the Twin Cities, driven by an immigrant player base.
Dedicated courts are growing in the Twin Cities. Funding has been set aside for two new courts in south Minneapolis, where a recreational scene is booming.
Posted inHEALTH
As a new senior executive at HealthPartners, Pahoua Yang Hoffman wants to make health care more accessible to Minnesota’s immigrants—starting with her mother.
Hoffman is leaving her senior role at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, where she directed community-giving programs. In her new role at HealthPartners, the giant Minnesota health provider and insurer, Hoffman will address community health, equity, and access to culturally competent care.
Posted inCLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
After having a daughter, Remona Htoo couldn’t find children’s books in the Karen language. So she wrote one herself.
Remona Htoo’s book, “My Little Legs,” is one of the few Karen-language books published in the U.S. Htoo and her 22-month-old daughter, Emma, enjoy sledding, backpacking, and camping out. They’ve visited wilderness areas in the metro and the North Shore; so far, the toddler has notched 10 national parks.
Posted inHEALTH
COVID kills Minnesota immigrants at higher rates, younger ages, survey says.
University of Minnesota researchers analyzed more than 5,000 death certificates in the state from the year 2020. They found a higher mortality rate from the virus for people who were born outside the country than among people born in the U.S.
Posted inEDUCATION
Teach in person? COVID causes chaos. Teach remotely? Kids suffer. Minnesota’s teachers of color say that Omicron presents schools with bad options and impossible choices.
As the Omicron variant surges, so do teachers’ stress levels. Staffing shortages and low student attendance are forcing some districts into remote learning. As schools enter their third pandemic year, Minnesota teachers of color talked to Sahan Journal about the challenges of teaching–and how their students are coping.
Posted inEDUCATION
Moriah Stephens, special education teacher: ‘We just had a staff member die of COVID that was contact-traced to school.’
Staffing shortages at a Brooklyn Park special education school make it difficult for teachers to safely work with high-needs students.
Posted inEDUCATION
Averi M. Turner, second-grade teacher: ‘Seven students showed up yesterday. I’m hoping for better tomorrow’
In a north Minneapolis charter school, many second-grade students struggle with distractions at home. Their teacher wishes they could be in the school building and leave the outside world behind.
Posted inEDUCATION
Grisel Vidal, English language development teacher: ‘I woke up on Monday and I thought it was 2020’
In-person school helps Grisel Vidal’s middle school English learners practice language skills with each other. But during the Omicron surge, the Minneapolis charter school is holding classes online.
Posted inEDUCATION
Jeff Garcia, special education teacher: ‘We don’t need to spend the rest of the year in distance, and I don’t want to.’
A St. Paul middle school teacher says the district’s response to the pandemic is leading his colleagues to quit. He hopes a short period of distance learning would help students and teachers reset.
Posted inINSIDE SAHAN JOURNAL
Sahan Journal is growing and hiring. Come join our team!
Since its launch in 2019, Sahan Journal has become a groundbreaking source of news for immigrants and communities of color in Minnesota. A new transformational grant from American Journalism Project will create new roles in business and fundraising.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
During the pandemic, employers asked immigrant workers in Minnesota to risk their health, safety, and status. In a new study, workers say they often got nothing in return.
Minnesota’s immigrants and refugees fill “essential” jobs in construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and more. In a new report, they shared their stories about working on the front lines of the outbreak, while finding themselves excluded from many federal and state relief funds. “You put yourself at risk for your family and the community,” one nursing assistant told researchers. “I was expecting something, but they didn’t give me anything.”
Posted inCLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
The new Metro Orange line brings rapid transit to the diverse 35W corridor. More bus rapid transit lines are coming soon.
The Orange Line is Minnesota’s latest highway bus rapid transit line. Officials say such services are key to meeting the state’s targets for reducing emissions.
Posted inINSIDE SAHAN JOURNAL
Sahan Journal receives $1.2 million grant from American Journalism Project to expand diverse news coverage in Minnesota.
Since its launch in 2019, Sahan Journal has become a groundbreaking source of news for immigrants and communities of color in Minnesota. The American Journalism Project, a leading venture news funder and incubator, will invest in Sahan Journal’s revenue and business growth to fund new reporters and editorial expansion.
Posted inPOLICING & JUSTICE
‘We can’t be a rubber stamp to what the police want’: Ramsey County attorney takes a new approach to criminal justice.
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the nation has watched the City of Minneapolis struggle to transform its police force. But across the river, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has quietly developed a reputation as one of the nation’s most reform-minded prosecutors. Over the past decade, his office has adopted bold new programs to address cash bail, youth detention, and more. The result: An almost 50 percent decline in new incarcerations over just six years
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Andrea Jenkins will lead the most diverse city council in Minneapolis history. Linea Palmisano, a moderate from southwest Minneapolis, is elected vice president.
Jenkins, who often straddles the line between progressive and moderate votes, was chosen unanimously. The council will have to adjust to its new role in the city’s strong mayor system.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Hamse Warfa is leaving the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for a position in the Biden administration, making him the highest-ranking Somali appointee in Washington.
As a senior advisor in the U.S. State Department, Hamse will play a role in promoting democracy abroad and addressing refugee resettlement at home
Posted inCoronavirus
With Omicron surging, these Minnesotans support the Twin Cities’ renewed mask mandate – in principle. In practice? That’s a slightly different matter.
Nearly two years into the pandemic, the CDC still recommends indoor masking and social distancing. But people are tired of it, and many are interpreting the guidelines in their own way.
Posted inCHANGING MINNESOTA
Brooklyn Center is changing. Its diverse population is telling the city and developers what they’d like to see.
City officials have been trying to redevelop an 80-acre site for two decades. The project appears ready now to take off this year. First up are an event center, affordable housing, and a market plaza.
Posted inEDUCATION
Omicron will hit Minnesota schools like a ‘viral blizzard.’ We need to prepare for mass absences, building closures, and more.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, a leading national epidemiologist, talked to Sahan Journal about how the Omicron variant will affect schools and families in Minnesota–and how to prepare for it. What’s helpful: Avoiding contact, high-quality masks, ventilation, and vaccines. What doesn’t help: back-to-school testing. The news isn’t good. But Osterholm expects the surge will pass quickly: “The big thing psychologically: We’ve just got to get through the next three or four weeks,” he says. “I think things will be much better at the end of that.”
Posted inEDUCATION
St. Paul Public Schools is one of the most diverse districts in the state. Increasingly, parents prefer segregation.
More than 20,000 St. Paul kids chose not to enroll in the city’s public schools last year. Many of those students—white, Black, and Asian—are leaving for charter schools that cater to students of their own race.
Posted inObituaries
Mel Reeves, a stalwart of Minnesota activism and community journalism, dies from complications of COVID-19
Reeves spent decades writing for and about Minnesota’s Black community and was a champion of social justice. He died January 6 after being hospitalized since mid-December.
Posted inCLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
State agencies and local governments have compiled the data on how pollution affects people of color in Minnesota. Environmentalists say its time to act.
The Roof Depot redevelopment. Access to parkland. Green jobs. Air quality. State and local governments have data showing people of color are more likely to feel the brunt of pollution in Minnesota. But solutions have been slow to come.
Posted inCHANGING MINNESOTA
How an emergency airlift in Afghanistan changed immigration in Minnesota
After the Trump administration’s campaign against immigration, President Joe Biden pledged to accept more refugees in 2021. But the Afghan refugee crisis stirred Minnesota to rebuild its resettlement infrastructure.
Posted inEDUCATION
Students of color know that having diverse teachers can make a huge difference. Last year, Minnesota finally took real steps to expand its teaching corps.
Debates about “critical race theory” dominated national headlines last year. Meanwhile, Minnesota provided record funding to train teachers of color and crafted an ethnic studies framework for schools.
Posted inCHANGING MINNESOTA
As a farm kid in South Dakota, Megan Schnitker learned about Indigenous medicines from her Lakota uncle and great-grandmother. Now she’s offering Native plant-based remedies at a new store in Mankato.
Megan Schnitker started Lakota Made in her garden and her kitchen, selling homemade herbal soaps, salves, and tinctures. After outgrowing her home business, she opened a shop in Mankato’s historic Old Town.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
A special Qur’an holds the signature of almost every Minnesota Muslim elected to office. At a historic swearing-in ceremony, three Minneapolis City Council members added their names to the list.
A local Minneapolis imam started the Qur’an tradition less than 10 years ago, when Muslim political representation was scarce. Now, three City Council members—Jeremiah Ellison, Jamal Osman, and Aisha Chughtai—talk about creating a Muslim caucus.
Posted inINSIDE SAHAN JOURNAL
Recap 2021: Sahan Journal photos that told the story of the past year.
Police killings and COVID-19 dominated the news in 2021. Sahan Journal photojournalist Jaida Grey Eagle covered those stories – and many more.
Posted inHEALTH
Minnesota made strides in 2021 to ensure vaccine equity.
The initial rollout of the COVID vaccine left out many immigrants and people of color. A year later, with Omicron case counts rocketing, health officials say administering booster shots will be essential.
Posted inA look back
Recap 2021: The seven most striking multimedia stories Sahan Journal published in 2021.
A Jummah service translated into ASL. A lightning storm over George Floyd Square. A video series about COVID vaccines in five different languages. Here are the photo and video assignments that stuck with multimedia producer Ben Hovland.
Posted inPOLICING & JUSTICE
Jury finds ex-cop Potter guilty of manslaughter in Daunte Wright killing.
A Hennepin County jury on Thursday found ex-Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 traffic stop killing of Daunte Wright.
Posted inCoronavirus
Year Two of the pandemic: Which strategies helped Minnesota distribute vaccines equitably – and which didn’t.
For much of 2021, Dr. Nathan Chomilo was the state’s vaccine equity director. He says taking a cue from the community is the key to getting shots in arms.
Posted inEDUCATION
Midwestern community colleges work to lure, and keep, students struggling with poverty and other barriers
From free tuition to food pantries, two-year colleges try to counteract plunging enrollments with new programs to make college more affordable and accessible.
Posted inINSIDE SAHAN JOURNAL
Sahan Journal is hiring a part-time project assistant for Citizen Lab, a collaborative community-listening project.
The project assistant will support the engagement editor and financial controller in various tasks that include budgeting and finance work, event planning and execution, and marketing strategy.
Posted inCHANGING MINNESOTA
Nine years ago, Zinet Kemal boarded a flight to Minnesota and a country she’d never seen. Today, she’s a mother of four, an IT professional seeking an advanced degree—and now, a children’s author.
After leaving Ethiopia, Zinet Kemal and her husband, Aman Hordofo, needed to learn everything about life in Minnesota, from enrolling in college to ordering a pizza. (Pro tip: Don’t try to pay the delivery guy with a $100 bill.) In her new kids’ book, “Proud in Her Hijab: A Story of Family Strength, Empowerment and Identity,” Zinet has her own lesson to offer.
Posted inCLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Many mobile homes aren’t built for Minnesota winters. Community organizations and utilities are on a mission to make them more comfortable and fuel efficient.
Affordability makes mobile homes popular among recent immigrants. But they’re often poorly insulated and expensive to heat. An outreach campaign offers ways to fix that.
Posted inCoronavirus
Gift cards, flight vouchers, college-scholarship lotteries: Some Black health experts express second thoughts about Minnesota’s vaccine incentives.
Since May, the Minnesota Department of Health has offered incentives to more than 100,000 people to take a COVID vaccine–including many people from communities of color. But one public health expert says he runs into questions: “If it is so safe and sound, why are you bribing us to take the vaccine?”
Posted inEDUCATION
Hunger on campus isn’t a joke about ramen: How unmet needs keep Minnesota students from enrolling in community college.
Community colleges provide the most popular higher-ed pathway for Minnesota’s students of color. But many immigrant students don’t qualify for federal aid. And tuition assistance still leaves more than 40 percent of students struggling to afford balanced meals. One solution: a growing student movement to demand funding for students’ basic needs.
Posted inCOMMUNITY VOICES
Jay Eidsness: The new Minneapolis City Council should vote again on a greener future for East Phillips.
Last month, the outgoing council approved a plan to move Minneapolis’ water facilities to the Roof Depot site. But that plan will bring pollution to a neighborhood that has already experienced environmental injustice. New information shows the vote was a mistake. It’s not too late to fix it.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Few public hearings, little coordinated outreach, and technology glitches: The bumpy start to the Minneapolis redistricting process.
The Charter Commission has only done this once before, and pandemic has forced the redistricting effort to go mostly on line. ‘It gets exciting when it starts to cut neighborhoods in half,” says the commission chair.
Posted inBUSINESS & WORK
Pinnacle Logistics employees in Eagan walk off the job after alleged anti-Muslim remark from supervisor.
Protesting employees at the cargo handler company, which contracts with Amazon, cite a string of similar comments by higher-ups. The company says it launched an investigation.
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Posted inCOMMUNITY VOICES
Abdul Dire: Ethiopia has huge potential. But before it can reach it, the country must find a way to end the current war.
Rebels must understand that they will never be able to return to power. But the government has to realize that it cannot completely eliminate the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. War crimes must be investigated.
Posted inHEALTH
Mayo clinic study shows people of color are less likely to receive a key treatment for a condition that causes the heart muscle to thicken.
Women also receive implantable defibrillators less often than men. Researchers say they need to do more work to understand why that is.
Posted inChanging the Narrative
‘We need a fund that doesn’t see funding Black people as risky’: How three Black leaders are working to change Minnesota philanthropy.
After George Floyd’s murder, a new philanthropic collective formed to raise $25 million to combat anti-Blackness in Minnesota. In a conversation with Sahan Journal, the group’s new president, Lulete Mola, discusses that plan and its progress.
Posted inCOMMUNITY VOICES
Habon: Islamophobia is a political weapon to keep Muslim women from participating in politics. The way to beat it? Run for office.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Representative Ilhan Omar faced a new slur from Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert. While Ilhan serves as a convenient target for anti-Muslim politicians and media figures, hate speech affects Muslims across Minnesota. Habon Abdulle, executive director of Ayada Leads, says the way to combat those forces is to organize African and Muslim women for civic leadership.
Posted inSTORIES FROM THE PANDEMIC
Bayan Research Center aims to define problems facing Somali Americans, provide data, and recommend solutions.
Somali Americans have a lot of pressing questions about family problems, substance abuse, mental illness, homelessness, and other issues. At Mohamed Shuayb’s St. Anthony-based nonprofit, academics and experts try to provide answers.
Posted inFood
Rice Street Garden is a gathering place for many east metro immigrants. A potential development project has them on edge.
A community garden in the east metro provides a sense of belonging for many older immigrants. But a land sale means it could be entering its final season.
Posted inEDUCATION
Native American students want the University of Minnesota Morris to search for lost burial sites. It may be even harder to recover generations of missing Indigenous culture and family history.
Archival research suggests as many as seven students from the Morris Industrial School for Indians could be buried on campus. Today, Native American students attend the university for free—but there’s a cost to reckoning with the site’s troubled history.
Posted inEDUCATION
Native American students want the University of Minnesota Morris to search for lost burial sites. It may be even harder to recover generations of missing Indigenous culture and family history.
Archival research suggests as many as seven students from the Morris Industrial School for Indians could be buried on campus. Today, Native American students attend the university for free—but there’s a cost to reckoning with the site’s troubled history.
Posted inHEALTH
Minnesota’s healthcare industry is short of workers. A gap persists in racial health outcomes. The University of St. Thomas thinks it can help solve both problems.
A new nursing program will aim to enroll at least 30 percent of its students from ‘historically excluded’ communities. Working on the streets with homeless people will be part of the curriculum.
Posted inCHANGING MINNESOTA
Immigration advocates push to eliminate impending deadline for the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program, a unique path to citizenship.
The program grants Liberians a green card and a chance to immediately apply for citizenship. But advocates say there have been barriers to applying, and many could miss the December 20 deadline.
Posted inEDUCATION
St. Paul school board spares three schools from closure after outcry from immigrant families. Six other schools will close in district consolidation plan.
Families from LEAP, Highwood Hills, and Wellstone expressed relief that their schools will remain open—a win for Somali, Latino, and other immigrant parents. But the prospect of closing any schools left many feeling uneasy–including school board vice chair Jim Vue.
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS
Community organizer Zaynab Mohamed hopes to make history as first Black woman elected to Minnesota state Senate.
Retiring Senator Patricia Torres Ray was the first Latina elected to the state Senate. Zaynab says she will campaign on a platform of widening healthcare access, improving working conditions, and expanding state programs like unemployment.
Posted inPOLICING & JUSTICE
Trial begins for ex-cop Kim Potter in killing of Daunte Wright: What happened, what’s being charged, and what might the legal arguments look like.
Former Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer Kimberly Potter is charged in the shooting death of Daunte Wright on April 11.
Posted inHEALTH
Worried about the Omicron variant of COVID? We called a Minnesota medical researcher for information, advice—and reassurance.
“The science is working,” says Dr. Tim Schacker, vice dean for research at the University of Minnesota Medical School. In a conversation with Sahan Journal, Dr. Schacker described what we know and what we don’t yet know about the Omicron variant. The global health system has become better prepared to evaluate the new COVID risks, Dr. Schacker says. And though the variant may be different, Minnesotans can protect themselves through familiar precautions like vaccines, masking, and social distancing.
Posted inCLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
‘Bring Back 6th’ launches campaign to reverse 80 years of Twin Cities history, and restore communities demolished to make way for Olson Memorial Highway.
When the highway was built in the 1940s, it followed the route of 6th Avenue North — straight through an early hub of Black life in Minneapolis. Organizers say its future should include dedicated bike and bus lanes, wider sidewalks, and slower speed limits.
Posted inEDUCATION
St. Paul has a plan to pursue more equitable education by closing and merging schools. But immigrant parents say it would hurt their communities.
Somali American parents in St. Paul say a plan to close Highwood Hills Elementary would endanger a neighborhood hub. Latino parents say they weren’t included in the decision to close Wellstone Elementary. With a school-board vote coming soon, immigrant parents want to be heard.
