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Laotian refugee, University of Minnesota researcher tapped to lead St. Paul’s East Side Freedom Library

By Frederick Melo | August 8th, 2022 When a number of Cambodian-Americans were deported from Minnesota, Saengmany Ratsabout took a brief side trip from Laos a few years ago to check in with them. What he found were young men struggling to adjust to a country and...

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits: Announcing Voter Engagement grantees

August 4th, 2022 Minnesota Council of Nonprofits is happy to announce our 2022 MCN Voter Engagement Grants recipients! Category 1 Grantees ($5,000) Category 2 Grantees ($10,000 - $25,000)  Access Press African Career Education and Resources, Inc. (ACER) Arrowhead...

KSTP 5: Minnesotans typewrite messages of hope for Ukraine

By Ben Henry | March 8, 2022 View the video on KSTP 5's website. Messages of love, hope, and encouragement have been created by Minnesotans for the people of Ukraine in a unique way. While hundreds gathered Sunday at the state Capitol, a “Typewriter Corps” connected...

KSTP 5: First-ever free ‘MasterClass’ for Black History Month

By Ben Henry | February 25, 2022 View the video on KSTP 5's website. During the rest of Black History Month, you can take advantage of a unique and free opportunity to reflect and appreciate the Black community. For the first time ever, MasterClass — a virtual...

Star Tribune: Time to rename Hillcrest, St. Paul Port Authority says

By James Walsh | October 5, 2021 According to its ambitious plans for the former Hillcrest Golf Club, the St. Paul Port Authority is seeking to transform the 112-acre site into a regional hub for light manufacturing jobs and affordable housing. So now, officials said,...

Star Tribune: The bench from Kao Kalia Yang’s ‘A Map into the World’ has a new home

By Erica Pearson | September 24, 2021 Bob Schally and his wife, Ruth, liked to sit on a bench outside their yellow St. Paul home, keeping an eye on neighborhood children skateboarding down the street and watching the seasons change. It wasn't a regular bench. Maroon...

Star Tribune: Aim higher, some residents tell St. Paul, over plans for former Hillcrest golf site

By James Walsh | April 26, 2021 Raquel Barrientos and her husband were happy their street dead-ended at the Hillcrest Golf Club in St. Paul. Especially in the four years since Hillcrest closed, their block has become a quiet place to raise their children. But now that...

WorkDay Minnesota: East Side Freedom Library Co-Sponsors Event on Black Labor in the Making of America

By Filiberto Nolasco Gomez | January 19, 2021 For nearly seven years, the East Side Freedom Library has been a place for producing new knowledge and making connections. The link between African American history and labor history is one such connection. In...