September 23, 1996 - MPR’s John Rabe speaks with Rochester resident Yascin Mohamed, an 18 year old who came to the city in 1994. Mohamed speaks about the discrimination and racism he has experienced in the city and his high school.
June 30, 1997 - Minnesota's population of people from Somalia is small but growing fast. The number has more than doubled in the past two years to about 8000. The attraction is the state's booming economy. But unlike some other economic migrants many of the Somali's arrive as refugees with no money and little English. What they find is a climate and culture vastly different from their homeland.
May 14, 1998 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on the testing challenges of public schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul see more immigrants and refugees each year…with few speaking English. That makes passing exams, including the 8th grade basic skills tests in reading and math, extremely difficult. The state provides money to educate these students, but in many cases the immigration is outpacing the funding.
June 10, 1998 - MPR's Lynette Nyman reports from Owatonna, where there are fights breaking out between some of the new and the old residents. That includes clashes against Somali members of the community.
July 8, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports on how Somali immigrants are adjusting and taking on the many challenges in creating a new home in the United States. Nyman speaks with local Somali residents about adapting while keeping culture and tradition intact.
April 4, 2001 - MPR’s Erin Galbally reports on the growing Somali immigrant population in Owatonna and the reflection of that number in the 2000 census. She speaks with Abdul Aziz Ahmed a cultural liaison at Owatonna High School who moved to the city in 1997. He speaks on the potential inaccuracy of the 2000 census in reflecting true numbers of Somali residents. Some Somali families are hesitant to respond to the census due to distrust of the government, large family sizes which may break housing code, or may respond inaccurately.
November 15, 2001 - A collection of reports from the MPR special series "The Color of Justice," which investigates the racial disparity in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. This Midday program includes reports by MPR’s Dan Olson, Brandt Williams, and Elizabeth Stawicki, as well as various interviews and commentary of officials, academics, and community members.
November 16, 2001 - “The Color of Justice: The News Disparities” is part five of an MPR special series which investigates the racial disparity in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. Discussions of race and the criminal justice system tend to focus on the disproportionate rates at which African Americans are arrested and jailed. However, the growth of Latinos, Hmong, and Somali in Minnesota has broadened the scope of the disparities issue.
September 9, 2002 - MPR’s Mary Losure speaks with local Somali residents about their experience in the cities after 9/11. They speak on fear of Minnesotans retaliating toward them based on their Muslim religion, experiences of racism, how immigration interviews were canceled and not rescheduled, and how money wiring services were shut down.
December 2, 2002 - MPR’s Lorna Benson talks with Met Council’s Frank Hornstein about which languages will appear on ticket vending machines for the Hiawatha light rail line. Under the current proposal, the machines will operate in English, Spanish and Hmong…the three most widely used languages in the Twin Cities. But Somali advocates are protesting the plan because so many Somali citizens live along the Hiawatha route. It would cost more than $100,000 to add a fourth language to the vending machines.