Minneapolis to host global summit in 2015
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A global sustainability group announced earlier this week that University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler will co-chair a summit on environmental policy next year.
Minnesota African Taskforce Against Ebola created
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As the number of Ebola cases in West Africa continue to increase to more than 2,000 according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Minnesota African Taskforce Against Ebola, formed by the African community on Aug. 5, is gathering medical supplies and equipment to ship to West Africa.
IGGERS DIGEST | Somali singer Deeqa Bilan performs Wednesday at the Cedar
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On Wednesday night, September 17, Deeqa Bilan will be performing an intermission set at the Cedar Cultural Center with world jazz ensemble Bob’s Band, as part of their Global Roots Festival. (The headliners are Tunisian songwriter and singer Emel Mathlouthi and the Washington D.C.-based Faadel Band, who play Ethiojazz.) According to the Cedar’s website, the Mogadishu native is “part of the new generation of female Somali singers in Minneapolis.”In case you missed yesterday’s post about singer Muhamad Alta, I have decided, just as an experiment, to start posting video clips featuring local ethnic and immigrant performers and groups. Your nominations are welcome! This video is “Maanqaad 2014 *Deeqa Bilan* “, directed By Ahmed Ugaaska.Coverage of issues and events that affect Central Corridor neighborhoods and communities is funded in part by a grant from Central Corridor Funders Collaborative. Continue Reading
Poetry perfection: State champion Faiza Abubaker demonstrates her gift for expressing herself
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Faiza Abubakar loves language. A native Oromo speaker from Ethiopia, Abubakar is the reigning state champion for Poetry Out Loud, a nationwide contest in which students test their skills of oration and interpretation with poetry. She is starting her junior year at Ubah Medical Academy, a Hopkins charter school.
University of Minnesota officials monitor Ebola outbreak in West Africa
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As the largest Ebola outbreak in history continues to plague parts of West Africa, the University of Minnesota and other colleges nationwide are adjusting their travel policies to comply with new recommendations from the federal government.
Nathan Wold: How much did Jeff Johnson know about Cargill’s use of child slave labor?
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Current Republican candidate for Minnesota Governor, Jeff Johnson, was employed as a corporate attorney for Cargill from 1997-2001. According to the “About Jeff” bio on Johnson’s website, he worked at Cargill, Inc. “to handle employment and labor law matters.” It just so happens that some of the employees at Cargill around this time were child slave laborers, forced to work in Cargill’s supply chain.This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet.Cargill is a large multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, MN. It is primarily in the business of buying, trading, and distributing agricultural commodities around the world. Some of these agricultural commodities include fruits such as oranges, cocoa (for the production of chocolate) and palm oil; all of which have been found to have used child slave labor to produce said crops. Continue Reading
Lessons from Nicaragua
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Nicaragua is not sending waves of refugees to the United States. Instead, Nicaragua, along with Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize, is receiving waves of refugees coming from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. What’s going on here? Continue Reading
Mehr Jay Shahidi: Is this Cold War 2?
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The editors of Time magazine needed almost 6 years to pay attention to my article published in Twin Cities Daily Planet on September 8, 2008, in which I stated that Cold War Two had started (see Time of July 23, 2014). And the US government officials still do not really get it.This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet.Then, Vladimir Putin had just confronted the US by invading Georgia. Now, he has spread the new proxy war to Syria and Ukraine with more places to come. And the US foreign policy apparatus is as much to blame as Putin. Continue Reading
Bill to ease money transfers to East Africa, but some locals say problems persist
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To Mohamud Abdi, sending money to family and friends is routine.
“I don’t think I know a single Somali family who doesn’t send money back home,” the sociology sophomore said, adding that his family has done so ever since immigrating to the United States in 2003.
New Minnesota State Fair vendors reflect broader demographic changes
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When you think of Minnesota State Fair food, you may think of cheese curds, corn dogs and gooey cookies. But over the years, that narrative has been changing, and Minnesotans have been seeing more culturally diverse foods popping up on the fair grounds.Many ethnic food vendors from South Minneapolis’ Midtown Global Market (MGM) have made the fair their home, and this year that number is increasing. Panaderia el Mexicano made their debut appearance at the fair selling Mexican bakery items. Other MGM booths include Holy Land Grocery and Deli, La Loma Tamales, Taqueria los Ocampo, Manny’s Tortas, Salty Tart Bakery and Cafe, Fiesta in America, Café Finspång, and The Produce Exchange.”I expect within 5 years ethnic foods will take over the State Fair,” said Holy Land Grocery and Deli owner Majdi Wadi. “People are coming to the fair to try different, cultural foods.”Holy Land is making their seventh appearance at the fair this year with their location at the International Bazaar, and Wadi said that every year he has noticed an increase in sales and an increase in the acceptance of his food and other ethnic foods.Two years ago the lamb fries were so popular that Holy Land ran out, Wadi said, so now the meat has to be reserved far in advance and it’s hard to procure enough quantities for the fair. Wadi said he hopes to be able to bring the item back to the fair next year, but for this year fairgoers will have to look for their other items, like falafel-on-a-stick, kushari rice and tabouleh salad.After a three-year hiatus from the fair, La Loma Tamales is back for their fifth year as one of the featured restaurants at the MGM booth inside the International Bazaar. Continue Reading