Social Issues

Parenting tips from child development expert
Upon her retirement, University of Minnesota child development expert Marti Erickson reflects on her four decades of academic and personal experience with children and parents.
Weisman exhibit features New Deal art
Seventy-five years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt launched the New Deal. It was a massive federal relief effort intended to improve the economy and provide employment during the Great Depression. A new exhibit at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis features art from that program.
Rural nonprofits struggle with sagging economy
The sagging economy is putting a pinch on Minnesota's nonprofit sector. High demand for services and shrinking budgets are putting some nonprofits in crisis. Some say the problem may be worse in greater Minnesota.
Senators call on U.S. to press Thailand on Hmong refugees
Seven U.S. senators, including all four from Minnesota and Wisconsin, want Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to look into Thailand's repatriation of more than 800 ethnic Hmong to Laos.
Walker 'Queer Takes' film festival aims at preservation
The Walker Art Center is joining a national effort to help restore and preserve films about gays and lesbians. The Walker is working with the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights to preserve a copy of "Parting Glances."
Minnesota philanthropist Eugene Sit dies
The head of one of the Minnesota's leading investment firms has died. Eugene Sit was 69 years old. He died Tuesday from pancreatic cancer.
Native Americans confront problem of poor water quality
Native Americans have had to alter traditional ceremonies that involve the drinking of lake and river water.
Nonprofits receive reprieve on property tax issue
Minnesota nonprofit groups worried about whether they might have to pay property taxes have gotten a one-year reprieve. Lawmakers passed a moratorium that will keep county assessors from making any changes on this year's taxes.
Western Minn. school board drops Pledge requirement
The Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton School Board has scrapped a rule that students stand during the Pledge of Allegiance, a month after three students were suspended for breaking that rule.
A Microsoft executive's lessons from the past
When Kyle Kim was a teenager, he spent three years on the streets of South Central Los Angeles and West Hollywood. Now he is an executive at Microsoft who spends his career and spare time working for the safety of all kids, especially homeless gay and lesbian teens.