Social Issues

Preventing fentanyl overdose deaths in Minnesota
Drug overdose deaths reached a record high in 2021, according to the CDC. And synthetic opioids like fentanyl were involved in about two-thirds of those deaths. On Thursday, MPR News guest host Chris Farrell discussed fentanyl in Minnesota and the work being done to prevent overdose deaths.
Racial trauma expert Resmaa Menakem on 'The Quaking of America'
Over the past few years, Minneapolis trauma expert and author Resmaa Menakem has been in the national spotlight. Tuesday at 9 a.m., MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Menakem about his latest book, “The Quaking of America.”
Tamales are delicious, but are hard work to make, particularly on your own. Food writer Mecca Bos tells us about how the creation of this iconic dish helped one first-generation Mexican American create a community while also providing a link with his distant family.
Maplewood police release video after handcuffing children including boy, 10
Maplewood police on Wednesday released body camera video showing officers handcuffing four children between the ages of 10 and 16 while they were investigating a call about gunshots. The children’s parents are demanding an apology from police and are seeking changes to the way officers handle encounters with minors.
Minnesota Central Kitchen is a program of Second Harvest Heartland. Currently, the kitchen works with more than 100 partners — including restaurants, community distribution partners and culinary workers.
‘American dream’: St. Cloud’s Somali families see homebuying as path to grow wealth, sink roots
Owning a home can be an economic stepping stone in America, but the challenges of buying can be immense, especially for new immigrants. With St. Cloud’s East African population rising rapidly, finding answers is important to the region’s future.
Coming back to America: U.S.-born children who return from parent's native country face unique hardships
Data on how many U.S. citizen children return to a deported parent’s native country is hard to come by. Jordi Garcia Leal is one of an unknown number of young people who decide to return to the U.S.