Twin Cities pothole season is open: Tips for tracking and reporting

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Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have surveyors and crews out working night and day to fix the not-quite-spring potholes around the cities. Along with reports made via email and from phone calls from residents, both cities prioritize potholes based on size of potholes and the location’s traffic. Citizen reports on potholes are streaming in on SeeClickFix as people are frustrated by the number and size of potholes popping up around the metro area thanks to the thawing and refreezing that comes with spring. SeeClickFix is a popular online mapping tool, with mobile phone capability, that allows residents to report issues, like potholes, to keep government agencies accountable. Continue Reading

New country, new holiday, new foods for Minnesota immigrants

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Surviving the cuisine of a new country is a challenge for immigrants; so it was for the pilgrims in the sixteenth century, and so it is now for new American immigrants. And so history goes that Native Americans saw to it that the Pilgrims, the new immigrants, would not starve. Somewhere along the way turkey, cranberry sauce and all the present day trimmings were added to what is now one of America’s largest holidays. While the rest of that story on the Native Americans and the Pilgrims was to turn ugly, today Thanksgiving has become a day of giving thanks and feasting. So, how do today’s immigrants celebrate Thanksgiving? Continue Reading

Crime in Cedar-Riverside decreasing

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From trash talk on Facebook to national news, talk about Cedar-Riverside leaves many believing that this Minneapolis neighborhood is among the most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States. The facts? Not even close. While it is true that the neighborhood has suffered several tragedies in the recent past, crime statistics tell a different story. 

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English only? Not in Minnesota history

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Did you know that there was a time when there were non-English speaking towns in Minnesota that had non-English schools and newspapers? Would it surprise you to learn that in 1890 election instructions in Minnesota were in nine languages? The current uproar over English-only ordinances like the one recently passed by the city of Lino Lakes largely ignores Minnesota’s (and the nation’s) immigrant history. 
The sponsor of the Lino Lakes ordinance said it seeks to save translation costs. Those would be unknown future costs, as the city has not had to translate any of its documents to date. And the possible future savings would be limited, as the resolution accommodates translation services in matters of “public health, public safety, the promotion of tourism, the administration of justice and the handling of emergencies.” Continue Reading

Anti-immigration activist helped Lino Lakes pass English-only ordinance

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A decision by the Twin Cities suburb of Lino Lakes to make English its official language is under attack for its perceived  hostility towards immigrants to the US. Suspicions of an anti-immigrant agenda seem to be underlined by revelations that the city’s resolution was written with the help of Virginia-based Pro-English, an organization with the stated goal of making English the official language of the American government. 
Minnesota Public Radio reports that Pro-English was founded by John Tanton, a Michigan ophthalmologist whose strong anti-immigration stance extends even to banson legal immigration. It is noteworthy that another Tanton-affiliated outfit, Numbers USA, was partly credited with the failure of the passage of the 2007 comprehensive immigration bill. Another of his organizations, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. City council member Dave Roeser, who pushed the ordinance, reacted with surprise to the revelations. Continue Reading

Changing Minnesota: 1910 to 2010

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Minnesota’s population has more than doubled in the last one hundred years. In 1910, the Census Bureau reported that the state had two million inhabitants. Now, 100 years later, the North Star state has more than 5.2 million inhabitants. Before 1950, the Census Bureau did not define metropolitan areas such as the Twin Cities. But by using data from IPUMS, Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, a comprehensive population database, it is possible to see what the Twin Cities demographics were in 1910 and beyond. Continue Reading

Celebrating Somali Independence Day in Minneapolis

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On Saturday, June 26, Lake Street between Pleasant Avenue and Blaisdell was abuzz with celebration as hundreds of Minnesotans of Somali descent gathered to celebrate Somalia’s independence from the Italians and the British fifty years ago. Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali population. Estimates of the total number of Minnesota Somalis vary from 30,000 to 60,000 and up. 

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