During her two decades in elected office, Melissa Hortman positioned herself as a consensus builder and DFLer willing to work with Republicans. “Everybody liked her and respected her on both sides of the aisle,” said former GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
To honor 50 years of Hmong refugee resettlement and immigration to Minnesota, MPR News highlighted Hmong Minnesotans throughout the month who are making a difference in our state. From a park naturalist to a soccer coach, these are our ChangeMakers.
MPR News visual journalist Ben Hovland lives minutes from where Minneapolis police killed George Floyd in 2020 and has spent the years since documenting the impact on his neighborhood.
While the police department works to make court-mandated changes and replenish its ranks with new hires, neighbors anxiously await transformation. But that task is a steeper climb in the 3rd Precinct, where George Floyd was murdered, turning the neighborhood into an epicenter of unrest.
Five years after George Floyd’s killing set off nights of destruction, vacant lots and broken buildings remain along Lake Street and other Minneapolis business districts. Some business owners say money woes and city zoning rules have made it hard to rebuild.
The state holds land in trust for the University of Minnesota, generating revenue for the Permanent University Fund. The U.S. government gave the land to the state in the mid-1800s after taking it from tribal nations through treaties often signed under the threat of violence.
MPR News found problems tied to inspections and local political pressures that leave low-income renters in potential danger across greater Minnesota. In Bemidji, those problems have pushed their way to the surface.
At the Minnesota State Capitol, Howard Pyle’s Civil War painting “The Battle of Nashville” stands as a vivid tribute to Minnesota soldiers, preserved through time and restoration as a centerpiece of historical memory and evolving interpretation.
Khaled Hosseini, author of the 2003 novel “The Kite Runner” speaks out as the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and Education Minnesota file lawsuits against St. Francis Area Schools over a new book ban policy.
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