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Cynthia Boyd

Cynthia Boyd, MinnPost's Community Sketchbook reporter, covers poverty, education, homelessness, mental health, aging, immigration, culture and other topics related to the social and economic challenges facing communities. Her background includes a long career at the St. Paul Pioneer Press as reporter, feature writer and columnist writing about, well, just about everything.

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Community Sketchbook

Community groups plan AIDS events, Minnesota releases HIV/AIDS report card

By Cynthia Boyd | 12/01/10
The Minnesota Department of Health says the number of new HIV cases is increasing — marking a 17-year high — as local groups organize events starting today that include HIV testing, discussions and memorial services.
Community Sketchbook

Emergency unemployment benefits expire, but jobless Minnesotans have safety net -- for now

By Cynthia Boyd | 11/30/10
Because Congress failed to act, emergency unemployment benefits begin to run out this week for 2 million Americans. But for jobless Minnesotans receiving those benefits — and there are more than 63,000 of them — there is a safety net.
Community Sketchbook

Minneapolis considers adding more shelter space for the homeless

By Cynthia Boyd | 11/23/10
Some homeless people can't find adequate emergency-shelter space in Hennepin County, so Minneapolis will soon consider a request to open a temporary overnight shelter.
Community Sketchbook

A happy ending: Ramsey County project helps children find adoptive families

By Cynthia Boyd | 11/19/10
Seventeen-year-old Ashley Ankeny has been waiting most of her life for a family to call her own. Her wish comes true Saturday when the people she calls "my dream family" adopt her.
Community Sketchbook

Lives of the homeless: Their stories told with photos

By Cynthia Boyd | 11/18/10
Given the numbers, we know the poor and homeless live among us. But who are they, really? Thirty photographs going on display today let us see into the lives of poor and homeless people in the Twin Cities.
Community Sketchbook

Providing for the poor: Lawmaker describes how GOP Legislature will approach spending

By Cynthia Boyd | 11/12/10
Facing a big budget deficit, how will the GOP-controlled Legislature deal with expensive "safety-net" programs for the poor? GOP Rep. Morrie Lanning, who has worked on poverty issues, offers some hints.
Community Sketchbook

Project Spirit offers homework help and a lot more for African-American children in St. Paul school

By Cynthia Boyd | 10/29/10
The program funded by the St. Paul Area Council of Churches is part of a broad plan to improve academic achievement at one of the community's most troubled schools. The efforts are paying off.
Community Sketchbook

Central Corridor light rail: Researchers watching if it's changing residents' health

By Cynthia Boyd | 10/28/10
People who live along the Central Corridor light rail are poorer than average. How will the line affect their health and quality of life? There are fascinating projects underway to figure that out.
Community Sketchbook

Project using community workers confronts health inequities

By Cynthia Boyd | 10/21/10
The unhealthy tend to be non-white and poor. An innovative effort called the Community Health Worker Project is having some success in narrowing that health chasm.
Community Sketchbook

A day with a homeless family: Working to turn their lives around

By Cynthia Boyd | 10/15/10
The Ellis family history is punctuated by successes and challenges. Now homeless, they spend their days in a shelter, wondering about the past and looking for work to reshape their lives.