Social Issues

How to drop the shopping
Not too long ago, Judith Levine decided she and her partner could withstand the pressure to consume. Now that she's met her self-imposed challenge to stop shopping for all but the very basic necessities, her habits haven't changed much. She has advice for those of us who like to spend on stuff.
Alleged links to Somalia fighting divide Minnesota community
Recent claims that young men have left Minnesota to fight in East Africa are deepening divisions in the Twin Cities Somali community.
The U.S. Census Bureau has just released new data on mid-size Minnesota counties. For the first time, the American Community Survey includes information on places as small as 20,000 in population. It's considered the first statistical portrait since the 2000 Census on a wide range of topics, such as demographics, education, income and housing.
As thousands of Twin Cities Somalis gathered Monday to celebrate an important holiday on the Muslim calendar, their leaders expressed sympathy for the families of several young men who are missing and may have gone to Somalia to fight.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is making a nearly $27 million grant to the Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation to fund crop research.
MnDOT improves minority hiring record
The Minnesota Department of Transportation says the hiring of so-called Disadvantaged Business Enterprises exceeded the agency's goal.
Is a consensus building on health care reform?
The failed attempt to enact health care reform in 1993 is in the back of the minds of those who helped defeat it. But these same groups realize that the government will have to play an active role to ensure more have access to health care.
Budget woes dampen Henn. Co. schools effort
The county recently came up with a way to address school drop outs, but that new effort faces the same budget cuts as the rest.
Meet the Minneapolis Movie Bears
More than 80 bears turned up at a Twin Cities movie theater the other night. These bears were not true ursines, but members of a human social group, the Minneapolis Movie Bears.
Groups gearing up for 2010 census
While the 2008 election is nearly over, but for the Senate recount, some people are already gearing up for another big civic activity -- the 2010 U.S. Census.