Korean adoptees in Minnesota will soon have a way to better get in touch with their heritage.After seven years of planning, Minnesota’s first Korean immersion school Sejong Academy will open this year on Sept. 2 in St. Paul. The school will accept 65 students in K-6, and will serve children of Korean heritage, Karen immigrants, and any children interested in Korean language and culture.Related stories:Korean charter school – a new idea for language immersion educationKorean cultural festival raises funds for Sejong Academy charter school“It’s a brand new thing. We’re all learning from each other and starting together and the energy that we have,” said Sejong Academy teacher Yun Cho. Continue Reading
Early Wednesday morning, August 21, I was heading out for coffee from my motel in LaMoure ND, and a sight begging to be photographed appeared a few steps to my left, and I couldn’t pass on it. Here’s the snapshot. The waning moon appeared to be in the “bullseye”. Continue Reading
Despite the evils of FIFA, there is nothing like the World Cup. It is and always will be the greatest and most popular sporting event in the world. Nobody should have to wait another four years to get their football/soccer fix, and the good news is there is no wait. With footy now more available in the U.S. than ever before between the Premier League broadcasts on NBC, MLS (Major League Soccer) on ESPN, Liga Mexicana on Univision, the Bundesliga on Fox coming in 2015, not to mention accessing whatever league you want online, you can fill your plate easily. While it’s great to watch on TV, nothing beats singing and screaming your heart out at a live professional match. So come support your Loons, The Minnesota United.
As fear grips West Africa with an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus wreaking havoc in unprepared countries — Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leona and Nigeria — the Minnesota Department of Health is in a race to calm fears of a possible Ebola outbreak in the Twin Cities.
When Salif Keita stepped on stage as an 18 year old in Mali, West Africa, it was 1967. World headlines looked much the same as they do now: Israeli and Arab forces were at battle; racial violence in the United States troubled the population; and blacks were logging first-time statuses with Thurgood Marshall swearing in as first black US Supreme Court justice.
The 18th annual soccer tournament organized by Oromo Sports Federation in North America (OSFNA) held from Aug. 2-9 in Minnesota wrapped up last weekend after what has been described as the most successful event in years. Continue Reading
In this episode, Wynfred Russell joins Julia to talk about the current Ebola outbreak. Russell is a public health advocate, and the executive director of African Career, Education & Resource, Inc., in Brooklyn Park. Russell explains the outbreak, and delves into its implications for the Liberian diaspora, including Liberians in Minnesota. [Audio below] Continue Reading
Although Luba Lewytzkyj was born in the United States, she retains close ties with Ukraine, her parents’ homeland. Her father, the Very Reverend Dr. Wolodymyr Lewytzkyj, was a priest at St. Michael’s & St. George’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Northeast, from 1955 to the mid-1960s. He represented the 10th generation in his family to serve as a priest.
It was completely dark by the time Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived at Northrop Auditorium on the University of Minnesota campus on Aug. 9. But the lack of light didn’t stop protesters, many of whom had been demonstrating for hours, from rushing to the curb and chanting “Down, Hassan, down!” as the president arrived.President Mohamud’s visit to the Twin Cities is part of his attempt to build relationships with the strong Somali population in Minnesota, but his reception was met with mixed feelings. More than 100 protesters showed up among the several hundred attendees at the event, attacking the president for his current policies, which protesters say lack adequate security improvements and fail to keep promises.“Somalis back in Somalia, they have been in civil war for 24 years and they don’t have a voice,” said protest organizer Abdirizak Jama. “President [Mohamud] is ignoring the federal system, the federal constitution.”Back in May more than 100 Somali lawmakers asked the president to resign for failing to deliver more tangible change, like improving security in a nation struggling to rebuild after two decades of war.President Mohamud’s support also doesn’t accurately represent the Somali-American community in Minnesota, Jama said, which he estimates at more than 25,000.The U.S. Census Bureau estimates about one in three of the 85,700 people with Somali ancestry in the United States live in Minnesota, according to their most recent data.Said Mohamed said he’s frustrated by the lack of government funds used to educate the people of Somalia about the dangers of the extremist ideology perpetrated by terrorist groups like Al-Shabab.President Mohamud is responsible for the death of Somali parliament member Saado Cali Warsame, who was killed last month in a drive-by shooting in Mogadishu, Mohamed said. Continue Reading
