For immigrant women, bikes make goals and dreams possible

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“I received a bike last year and it was beautiful,” Mariana (who preferred we just use her first name) recalled. “I didn’t know how to ride before. But I was able to take my son to school. It also helped me lose seven pounds, and save time. Instead of walking somewhere in 45 minutes, I could ride my bike there in 15 minutes.”Mariana was one of 17 women from the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization’s Mujeres en Accion y Poder who signed up to participate in the 2013 Community Partners Bike Library (CPBL) program, a free loaner bike program of Cycles for Change in St. Continue Reading

Juventino Meza wins double honors for community work

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At 25, Juventino Meza is much younger than the typical recipients of the Ohtli Award and the Immigrant of Distinction Award. Meza was honored in a ceremony at the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul on March 7, with the Ohtli Award from the Mexican government. He received the Immigrant of Distinction Award on March 14 from the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, at the Hubert H. Humphrey School for Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota during a community forum on immigration reform.Ohtli is Nahuatl (an indigenous language in Mexico) for “path.” Meza has done much to improve the path of young immigrants in his community. Continue Reading

Volunteer lawyers make personal connection with Minnesota immigrant students

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“You might not believe this about lawyers, but we do appreciate when we can help individuals,” said Ed Wegerson, a volunteer attorney who has participated in the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota’s (ILCM) Pro Bono DREAMer Project. He has helped two young women who had come to the United States as children obtain deferred action status. Both of these clients now plan to continue their college studies in business, one at the graduate school level.Wegerson reported, “They were just grateful to come out of the shadows — to have a DREAM card, apply for a job and have a correct social security number and eliminate that fear of deportation.” Wegerson was attracted to the project as it offered him “the ability to help an individual directly—frankly, a lot of what I do in law has to do with a lot of abstract concepts — taxes, business …” He enjoyed the program because it allowed him to “help someone in a way that’s personal and important to them.”According to the ILCM’s description of the project,“ILCM trains and mentors attorneys to represent immigrants in their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) cases. DACA is a new immigration remedy being offered to undocumented immigrant youth. Continue Reading

“Boggled” by deadlines, charts, eligibility, Duluth woman loses out on insurance

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“People in their hard luck have a history of being frustrated and don’t reach out and explore their options. Then they lose out…there’s a lot of poverty here and people making choices that aren’t real great for their well-being,” said Tanya Beyer, an uninsured full-time worker from Duluth.In Beyer’s case, she lost out on what would have been a beneficial health insurance plan offered by her employer. She is now without health insurance. After 2 1/2 years on Minnesota Care, her coverage expired just as the open enrollment period ended for her employer’s health insurance plan. Beyer explained, “A lot of us look at charts and get kind of boggled by them. Continue Reading

Minneapolis Taqueria La Hacienda named Small Business of the Year by NDC; St. Paul’s A-1 Vacuum, Hmong House, others also honored

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Minutes after learning that she and her husband Miguel Zagal had won the most prestigious award at the Neighborhood Development Center’s 2013 Entrepreneur Awards, Maria Zagal commented, “We are very surprised and very pleased.” The Zagals own Taqueria La Hacienda and have worked with NDC since 1997. “Thanks to them we were able to open our first business. They helped us with classes about how to start a business, loans…and they still help us. About two years ago they gave a class for our employees about the duties of supervisors,” Miguel Zagal recalled.“And the award goes to…”Bonita Martin Best Business Plan Award: Denise Jarrett, Eco Hair InstituteEmployment Impact Award: Rachele Simmons, Foundations Health Career AcademyCommunity Impact Award: PaSee and Kay Yang, Hmong HouseLongevity and Sustained Impact Award: Russ and Mary Battisto, A1 VacuumGrowth in Revenue Award: Son Do, Ha Tien GroceryThe Senator Paul Wellstone and Sheila Wellstone Twin Cities Small Business of the Year Award: Miguel and María Zagal, Taquería La HaciendaThe NDC’s 2013 Entrepreneur Awards were held Saturday, April 20 at the Wellstone Center in St. Paul. Continue Reading

Easter Bunny blues: Pet rabbits need lots of love

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Aside from inspiring many people to dye eggs, the Easter Bunny is also cited as responsible for many ill-fated rabbit adoptions this season. Although the Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society MCRS reports that the number of rabbits surrendered to shelters in MN has gone down lately (approximately 700 in 2012 instead of 1000 in years past), there are still many rabbits lacking good homes due to their failure to live up to certain expectations.Luke Stultz, President of MCRS, summarized the problem, saying “People don’t realize they’re more work than a cat or a dog.” MCRS Marketing and Public Relations Volunteer Shelly Chirhart concurred, calling rabbits, “High maintenance pets,” but added, “They do make wonderful pets, but you’ve gotta spend a fair amount of time with them.”This past year MCRS took in 64 surrendered rabbits from other organizations and adopted out 54. To help prevent folks from adopting rabbits and then finding them to fall short of their expectations, MCRS hosts free Bunny Basics classes for prospective rabbit owners every month at the Animal Humane Society in their Woodbury and Golden Valley locations. MCRS also invites the public to attend Hoppy Hour every other Sunday for rabbit socialization. Continue Reading

Cancer survivor must choose between health or house

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“I’m paying $329 a month for the privilege of having an insurance card that won’t cover the first $10,000 of any kind of medical care,” summarized Joanne Boyer. Which health insurance company gave Boyer this rate? None. Boyer was forced into the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association (MCHA) which offers health insurance to individuals who have been turned down by private companies.Boyer has owned her own writing and communication business since 2000. She reports having been satisfied with her own health insurance, which she bought privately, up until 2009 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Continue Reading

Immigration reform in Minnesota: Reviving hope

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“When it comes to organizing, it’s easy to organize a rally and have thousands of people show up and they scream and yell. But to organize a group of people that’s committed to work—that’s more difficult,” said Pablo Tapia, co-founder of Asamblea de Derechos Civíles. Tapia was speaking at the “A Dream for All” immigration forum on March 3 at Incarnation-Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Church in Minneapolis. Instead of screaming, the approximately 100 attendees seemed to leave the event eager to commit to working on immigration reform.The forum was held through the partnership of several local organizations, including unions, clergy, Asamblea de Derechos Civíles, as well as Gamaliel, a national faith-based organization that works on various social justice issues. Panelists included representatives from the Latino Communications Network, Minneapolis City Council, Communities United Against Police Brutality, and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.The climax of the event featured a dynamic in which participants simulated a tug of war between “justice” and “injustice.” Continue Reading

Twin Cities Top Tacos: Northeast Minneapolis

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After sampling taco places in St. Paul, we crossed town to continue our quest in Northeast Minneapolis, finding two decidedly Mexican-inspired taco places: El Taco Riendo and Maya Cuisine.El Taco Riendo2416 Central Ave. NE, Mpls., MN 55418(612) 781-3000Mon-Thur: 10am-10pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-11pm, Sun: 11am-10pmWhen we walked in, those of us who have been in Mexico felt an immediate rush of nostalgia for its cenadurías (economical hole-in-the-wall dinner places). There were Mexican soap operas on the television in one corner, mariachi hats and cattle skulls hanging on the wall, the walls themselves had been decorated with sponge-painting techniques that are passé here but in style in Mexico.The clientele were all speaking Spanish, and all signage was in Spanish as well. The bathroom paper towel dispenser had even been programmed to dispense a mere 5 inches of paper towel, instead of the more wasteful American-style 18 inches. Continue Reading