Social Issues

As COVID surges, Minnesota dials it back.  Here’s what you need to know
As Minnesota’s COVID-19 cases continue to surge, Gov. Tim Walz has laid out new restrictions for the next four weeks, including a prohibition on social gatherings with people outside the same household. Here’s what else you need to know about the new rules.
ChangeMakers: Marlena Myles, educating through art and innovation
Marlena Myles is a self-taught professional artist. Her art leverages technology to create immersive interaction that engages and educates people about the language, history and spirituality of her tribe, the Dakota people.
A space to grieve: New Ulm moms connect for monument to infertility and loss
A group of women who had experienced similar loss joined together to build a dedicated space in the New Ulm Cemetery where people navigating infertility, miscarriages, infant loss and stillbirths can go to grieve and reflect. 
Minnesota immigration advocates hope for quick reversal of Trump policies
Immigration advocates say their clients are cautiously optimistic about their future, hoping a Biden administration will quickly roll back regulations that limited the number of refugees into the country, curtailed work visas and hampered family reunification over the past four years.
ChangeMakers: LeAnn Littlewolf, economic development rooted in culture
LeAnn Littlewolf, 47, is the economic development director at the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) in Duluth, Minn. She sees her work at AICHO as her cultural values in action. “All of the answers are in our culture, the path forward is in our origin story. We do economic development but we do it in an Indigenous way,” she said.
Elation, frustration: For women, Kamala Harris' win is a big step, but long overdue
For some women, the election of the nation's first female and first woman of color to be vice president is a move in the right direction. Others say it's a reminder of how much more lies ahead.
Judge rules acting DHS secretary lacked authority to suspend DACA program
It's the latest court ruling against the Trump administration's attempts to terminate the Obama-era program that protects young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
In Michigan, undocumented immigrants form learning pod so they won't lose their jobs
For the past six weeks, 24 students have been doing their virtual classwork in a learning pod at a Michigan church. Their parents feared losing their jobs if they stayed home to help their children navigate virtual schooling.
In effort to better serve Black customers, Target taps north Mpls. clothing designer
When the Target store on Lake Street in Minneapolis was damaged and shuttered during the unrest this summer, the company saw an opportunity. It set out to create a store that felt “overtly welcoming” to Black shoppers.