August 20, 2011 - The 10th Annual Hmong Arts and Music Festival kicks off this morning with a parade along University Avenue. The festival in St Paul's Western Sculpture Park showcases the work of traditional and modern Hmong artists of all ages and media. There are also activities like singer-songwriter contests. Organizer Katie Ka Vang says the youth tent is a big part of the festival.
September 1, 2011 - Midday presents an MPR special report from reporter Sasha Aslanian looking at a school that was held up as a model in St. Paul, but has since failed to meet federal standards. Following the report, St. Paul Superintendent Valeria Silva and Eric Mahmoud, founder of Harvest Prep and Best Academy, will discuss ways to improve the achievement of minority students.
October 1, 2011 - The annual Hmong resource fair marks its 10th year today. The free fair has grown over the last decade as more Hmong refugees came to the Twin Cities. It's been a key resource for social services, healthcare, education, and employment help. This year the event is at the Aldrich Arena in Maplewood. Fair executive director Kazoua Kong-Thao says the community's needs have changed as its population grew more established in Minnesota.
October 1, 2011 - More than 25-hundred people are expected to attend the 10th annual Hmong Fair today at the Aldrich Arena in Maplewood. Organizers have 2-thousand meals prepared for the event. It began a decade ago as a large family gathering to distribute information about how to connect with resources in Minnesota. The fair has expanded and added more features as the Hmong community grew larger and more settled. This year there's also a large job fair. Fair executive director Kazoua Kong-Thao says the community has been hit hard by the recession.
October 14, 2011 - A new Minneapolis police department unit that aims to educate ethnic communities about terrorism is a potential victim of city budget cuts. The new Community Engagement Team is two months old. Its officers say they've begun working in several communities. But in his proposed budget for next year, Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak has recommended using the Community Engagement team members to replace patrol officers who are retiring and are not being replaced. The Engagement Unit's officer for the Hmong community, Kou Vang, says he can't build trust with people unless his job is long-term.
November 5, 2011 - Hundreds of Somalis filled the Brian Coyle Center in Minneapolis today to audition for a movie starring Tom Hanks. Casting consultants say Hanks will play Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage in 2009 by Somali pirates. The movie is supposed to be shot next year in New Orleans. The casting auditions included a specific call for boys 7 to 10 years old. Eight year old Sadis Daurd waited for his turn for hours. He passed the time reading books and eating snacks.
November 14, 2011 - MPR’s Elizabeth Baier reports on the struggles Latino immigrants have with various health conditions and healthcare access. Like most people who immigrate to the U.S., Latino immigrants are usually healthier when they first arrive in the U.S. than U.S. born residents. But within a generation, many Latino immigrants lose that health advantage. And they are almost twice as likely to develop diabetes and other chronic diseases, compared to people who are born here.
February 19, 2013 - There's no shortage of coffee houses around the University of Minnesota. But Chris Pesklo's new shop is the only one in that neighborhood, and in North America, to highlight the Sami culture. Pesklo's goal is to share the coffee and customs of the indigenous people of Scandinavia.
July 18, 2013 - More than half a million refugees from the conflict in Syria are now living in Jordan, many in refugee camps and settlements along the border. We?ll speak with two Minnesotan aid workers who have been working with the Syrian refugees and learn about day to day life in these refugee camps - what don?t we know about the challenges and rewards of foreign aid work?
July 15, 2014 - On this Appetites segment, Tom Crann interviews Minnesota author Beth Dooley about the various food offerings of Hmong growers at farmers markets in the Twin Cities.