After the Vietnam War, many Hmong people found themselves as refugees. The resettlement of some to the United States began in 1975, with multiple waves continuing until 2006. Today Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to the largest urban Hmong population in the world. The Hmong people in Minnesota have developed a strong and vibrant community in their chapter of the immigrant story in America.
February 5, 2008 - MPR’s Laura Yuen visits International Market, a no-frills Asian shopping bazaar in St. Paul, which attracts thousands of customers a day. Now, the owner of International Market wants to expand his business into a tourist destination. He's asking the city of St. Paul for 2-million-dollars in tax breaks to complete his dream. But first, he may need to improve his reputation with city inspectors and some tenants.
May 7, 2008 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Hmong author Kao Kalia Yang about her book “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir.” Yang also describes her family life experience and transition to living in the United States.
July 14, 2008 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Mee Moua, a Minnesota state senator, about the impact on Hmong farmers after a storm devastated crops south of the Twin Cities. The many small plots of crops are important to their family income. Moua discusses State Capitol efforts to find ways to support farmers affected.
July 31, 2008 - It's not every day that civic planners ask a shaman to chase away lingering spirits from a redevelopment parcel, but that was the scene in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. The city of St. Paul purchased the site of the old Hmong Funeral Home. Before they call in the bulldozers, they allowed a traditional Hmong healer to give it one final blessing.
May 11, 2009 - Brandt Williams reports on nearly 200, mostly Hmong people, demonstrating in front of the U.S. courthouse in downtown St. Paul. They came to rally support for the family of Fong Lee, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2006.
June 1, 2009 - There are over 50,000 Hmong people in Minnesota, but very few Hmong restaurants and no mainstream Hmong cookbooks... until now. The University of Minnesota Press has just published "Cooking from the Heart: the Hmong Kitchen in America."
June 22, 2009 - MPR’s Toni Randolph profiles individuals from the last wave of Hmong refugees to the Twin Cities. Five years after their arrival in 2004, about 5,000 new Hmong residents have made their homes here. Life for them is very different from what it was in the refugee camp in Thailand. For some, the change has been very good, and for others it's been very challenging.
September 24, 2009 - The number of Hmong women pursuing college is growing in Minnesota. But a college education can be hard won in families that traditionally encourage daughters to marry young and raise families. Kao Choua Vue of MPR Youth Radio Series shares her story and reports on what's driving young Hmong women like her to pursue their college dreams.
November 16, 2009 - On the 30th anniversary in the United States' post-Vietnam War experience, MPR’s Dan Olson takes a look back. 1979 was the year that the U.S., led by Vice President Walter Mondale, convinced world leaders to come to the rescue of more than a million so-called "boat people."
April 14, 2010 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer inteviews Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, a food writer for Minnesota Monthly, about Hmong food. Grumdahl discusses Hmongtown Marketplace and Hmong BBQ.