Social Issues

Leading gay activists gathered in Minneapolis for a national conference are releasing a nationwide report on discrimination against transgender individuals.
MnDOT preps new plan to hire more women, minority contractors
MnDOT has repeatedly failed over the past decade to meet its goals for hiring women and minorities. But after two years of negotiations with critics and others to change the patter, the department, has a new hiring plan.
Novel on English village life amuses while spearing prejudice
After struggling for a while to write a gritty up-to-the-moment novel, Helen Simonson decided to stop beating herself up and write something for herself. Now the resulting book "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" is a New York Times bestseller.
LGBT convention comes to Mpls. as rights debate escalates
The five-day event is billed as the largest annual convention for advocates of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, and it's getting under way at a time when debate over same-sex marriage in Minnesota is heating up -- again.
Egypt's Mubarak: From poverty to the presidency
President Hosni Mubarak came to power amid crisis three decades ago, a reassuring symbol of stability for many Egyptians as well as for Western leaders seeking a solid ally in the Middle East.