Wednesday, January 30
HEADLINES
Working Minnesotans are worse off than they were seven years ago
by Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota
As President Bush delivers his final State of the Union address and Congress considers an economic stimulus package, local leaders presented a very sobering picture of the challenges facing many Minnesotans. By nearly every measure, working class people are in worse shape today than they were seven years ago, the speakers said at a roundtable discussion Monday at the state Capitol.
Gaining dignity through words
by Deb Pleasants, TC Daily Planet
Once a week for the past five years, Peter Blau has stepped away from his paid job as a writing instructor to teach a creative writing class to a group of women at the Volunteers of America Residential Correction Center in Roseville. The women gather in a classroom anxiously awaiting his arrival. They want to share their stories…in their own words.
Ending poverty in Minnesota
by Matthew Little, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Prior to the official opening of the 2008 Minnesota State Legislature on February 12, there is still the hustle and bustle of committees and regular staff personnel in preparation for the sounding of the gong. One of the most active is in an obscure office located in the basement of the State House Office building.
Snow sculpting saved by Vulcans
by Melissa Slachetka, TC Daily Planet
“Make way for the true kings of the Winter Carnival!” Vulcans bellowed excitedly as they circled the snow sculpture competition on a red fire truck dressed in their signature blazing red. Earlier this January the competition was cancelled due to lack of funds. The Vulcans came to the rescue with funds and a new location for the event: the State Fairgrounds.
INSIDE THE DAILY PLANET
January 30, 31 readings: Chia Youyee Vang on Hmong in Minnesota
by Tom LaVenture, Asian American Press
Chia Youyee Vang, Ph.D. a Twin Cities raised Hmong woman is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, has authored “Hmong in Minnesota,” the latest of the People of Minnesota Series of books published by Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Paulsen announces congressional bid, invokes Ramstad and Frenzel
by Joe Bodell, Minnesota Monitor
Republican state Rep. Erik Paulsen made his bid official yesterday to succeed former boss Jim Ramstad in Congress, showering praise upon Ramstad and his predecessor, Bill Frenzel.
The wild ride of the South Minneapolis real estate market
by Stephanie Fox, Southside Pride
Go to your local daily newspaper or turn on the television or radio news station right now, and you’ll probably find a story on the collapsing real estate market. There are wildly contradictory predictions about what will happen and what it all means.
NEW IN VOICES
Caucus for change: being a leader on Super Tuesday
by Michele St. Martin, Minnesota Women’s Press
What are you doing on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 5? You could catch Christine Rosholt crooning jazz standards at O’Gara’s Garage in St. Paul. Go to Magers & Quinn in Uptown Minneapolis and listen to Susan Wicklund read from her book about life as an abortion doctor. Or you could hang out at home, reading a good book or vegging out in front of “American Idol.”
NEW IN BLOGS
Somali immigration obstacles
by Hussein Yussuf, January 2008 • For nearly two decades now, due to the civil war and the displacement of many Somalis, emigration has been increasing. From 2002 to 2004, 10,000 Somalis came to Minnesota. According to the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, by 2004, an estimated 25,000 Somalis lived in Minnesota.
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