Social Issues

Help at hand when elderly relative's health fails
Companies and individuals calling themselves advocates, care managers and advisers are standing in for the family and deal with the maze of responsibilities that comes with the care of an elderly loved one. With the aging of the baby boom generation, calls for such businesses are expected to increase.
Parents struggle to find gender-neutral toys
Parents who hope to expose their children to different kinds of play -- science sets for girls and dolls for boys, for example -- can find themselves stymied by a toy industry that can seem stuck in the past when it comes to gender roles.
Census: US population growth rising again
America's population is now increasing a bit faster thanks to an improving economy, but not enough to lift growth above its lowest level since the Great Depression.
The Department of Agriculture reports food stamp recipients redeemed almost $150,000 from Oct. 1, 2011 through Sept. 30, 2012 at the state's farmers markets and with direct marketing farmers -- such as those at roadside stands.
Census to offer Internet option in gov't surveys
For the first time, the Census Bureau is giving U.S. households a chance to respond to government surveys over the Internet, part of a bid to save costs and boost sagging response rates in a digital age.
Ranks of English learners swelling in Minnesota schools
Nearly 65,000 English learner students are enrolled in Minnesota schools, representing more than 200 languages. That number has grown rapidly in the past two decades, soaring by 50,000, a 300 percent increase in English learners.
In Minnesota, the world in the classroom
The challenge of learning English can have many dimensions for the thousands of Minnesota students identified as English language learners. For some, it is a matter of survival in a new country. For all, it takes resolve, resilience and time.