Gregg Aamot is a longtime Minnesota journalist and college instructor. After getting his start at a newspaper in rural Minnesota, he spent a decade with The Associated Press in Minneapolis, reporting from many regions of the state. Aamot is the author of “The New Minnesotans: Stories of Immigrants and Refugees” and teaches English at Ridgewater College.
For the next several months, the two will be studying samples from wastewater plants in several communities outside the Twin Cities region, gathering information about the location of the COVID-19 virus that could add helpful context to what health officials are learning from individual testing.
During the pandemic, a report on Somali workers at an Amazon warehouse in Eagan was aided by Mukhtar Ibrahim’s ability to interview them in their native language.
The top officials in the DFL and Republican parties both said they hoped – in an era of increasing ethnic diversity in Minnesota – to find ways to create stronger bonds with immigrants and refugees.
“It’s a really tough time right now because of the uncertainty,” said Judy Hulterstrum, executive director of the Litchfield Area Chamber of Commerce, “but we’re staying as positive as we can.”
Some early field work, such as outreach to the homeless, has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the bulk of the census’ door-knocking campaign is now expected to begin in late May rather than in late April.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of parents in 2015 and is currently in mediation.
MinnPost caught up with Dr. Ayaz Virji, who moved with his family to Minnesota in 2013 and experienced some tensions after Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric in 2016.
Gov. Tim Walz has included $200 million for such projects in a proposed $2.6 billion infrastructure spending bill that would pay for an assortment of initiatives across the state.
Two Greater Minnesota artists say their favorite classes included finance and entrepreneurship. They provided the kind of insight that the women needed.
In addition to finding workers, many challenges continue to perplex small dairy farmers in Minnesota: an unusually wet growing season, competition from large-scale dairy operations, changing consumer habits and, perhaps most significantly, volatile milk prices.
The recent sanctuary declaration by the ELCA, the largest Lutheran denomination in the country and one of the most visible church bodies in Minnesota, has, predictably, drawn different responses.
“We have gotten the message that the answer (to fewer foster care cases) is prevention,” said Nikki Farago, the assistant commissioner of Children and Family Services at the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Traci Tapani of Wyoming Machine says the cost of not being able to fill open positions is much higher than the cost of investing in strategies that can help workers keep their jobs. And she said taking some risks has “produced some great employees.”
Five years ago, after renovating a horse barn, adding a kitchen to it, clearing a pasture in back and building a music stage, Emily Knudsen and Bill Bartz opened Pleasant Grove Pizza Farm.
During the 2016-2017 school year, about 25,000 students open-enrolled into “rural” districts, a recent study found, while about 15,000 students open-enrolled into “regional centers.”
New osteopathic schools, or branches of existing ones, have opened in 16 states in the past five years, according to the American Osteopathic Association.
International Falls will get an increase of $153,000, which it uses it for essential services like paying police officers and funding the public works department. In Mower County, an increase of about $255,000 will go into the county’s general fund.
Willmar and other Minnesota towns want to attract professionals, young families and others who might be looking for an alternative to the suburbs.
The Minnesota Equity Blueprint is an ambitious set of policy ideas aimed at addressing some overlapping problems in rural and urban areas.
The decision to expand in Thief River Falls heartened the town of 8,600, whose identity has become increasingly tied to the fortunes of the growing company.
