MinnPost staff writer Ibrahim Hirsi received on Monday the 2018 MLK Commitment to Service Award at the annual Governor’s Council on MLK Day celebration in St. Paul.

The award honors public servants who are making a difference in Minnesota. Hirsi was among 14 award recipients honored at the event, which was held at the Ordway Center. Other honorees include Bill Blackwell of Bemidji State University; Luz Maria Frias, president and CEO YWCA-Minneapolis; and Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Hirsi joined MinnPost in 2016 as a staff writer, covering workforce and immigration issues. Prior to joining MinnPost, he reported on the challenges and contributions faced by marginalized communities and people of color for the Twin Cities Daily Planet, St. Cloud Times and other publications.  

In 2010, he went to Kenya as an intern and assistant researcher for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, spending three months in the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab. In addition to his work in cholera outbreak prevention in the camp, Hirsi also launched The Refugee, a newspaper he founded after introducing a group of refugees to news reporting through a weeklong workshop. The newspaper has since grown into a bimonthly magazine, giving thousands of refugees in the camp a platform to share their stories.