Social Issues

A record number of U.S. counties -- more than 1 in 3 -- are now dying off, hit by an aging population and weakened local economies that are spurring young adults to seek jobs elsewhere.
The name says it all: TXT4Life. Minnesota lawmakers are moving to add the text message-based suicide prevention program to the existing statewide phone hotline.
Westminster Forum: Anna Lappe on food, farming and hunger
Anna Lappe, speaking at the Westminster Town Hall Forum about sustainable food and farming. She and her mother, Frances Moore Lappe, founded the Small Planet Institute researching the root causes of hunger and poverty.
'I'm still innocent,' says Shattuck-St. Mary's former teacher in jailhouse interview
Former Shattuck-St. Mary's teacher Lynn Seibel, speaking publicly for the first time, said he is not guilty of sexually abusing students at the Faribault boarding school. In a jail interview with MPR News on Saturday, Seibel said he prays he will be acquitted and can return to his life as an actor in California.
The proposal would establish a prevention text line that people who need help can contact to get emergency contact information. It would also provide training in schools and communities about how to use the new program.
Wilder CEO sounds alarm on racial disparities
Minnesota's stark unemployment gap between whites and racial minorities continues to vex civic leaders. In the Twin Cities, for example, blacks are more than three times as likely as whites to be unemployed. That disparity leads the U.S. among 25 large metro areas included in a national study published last year. Local nonprofit and business communities warn that the region's economy will suffer if the gap persists.