Minnesota Now

Over the past six months, a group of seven writers have been working together under the mentorship of local author Kao Kalia Yang. But these aren’t just any writers, they are all refugees.

The cohort will share their work for the first time at the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul on Wednesday night.

Kao Kalia Yang and Pa Zao Vang, one of the writers from the workshop, joined host Nina Moini to share more about the project.

Fear has rippled through the state's East African community following reports of an immigration enforcement push in the Twin Cities targeting Somali immigrants who have final deportation orders.

The New York Times and the Associated Press reported Tuesday morning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement will send 100 federal agents to the Twin Cities this week and that the operation could sweep up legal residents including U.S. citizens.

Most of Minnesota’s 80,000 Somali residents are U.S. citizens or legal residents. A much smaller number in the hundreds have temporary protected status, a designation President Donald Trump has said he will end for Somali immigrants in Minnesota.

For perspective, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with three leaders of the Minneapolis Somali community, State Senator Omar Fateh, Imam Hassan Jama and police sergeant Mukhtar Abdulkadir.

Read the full reporting at MPRNews.org.

The Trump administration is pointing negative rhetoric and government action at Somali Minnesotans. The White House is citing the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal to cast suspicion on Somali immigrants. We got some perspective from a Twin Cities professor who is a leading expert on Somali studies.

St. Paul police and federal agents have used chemical irritants to control crowds at two sites of federal immigration arrests recently. We talked to a doctor who has studied the impact of products like tear gas and pepper spray on human health.

We learned how Minnesota fruit growers are trying to adapt to a changing climate.

A Minnesota horror writer has a special delivery. It’s a novel in the form of a newspaper, delivered over 12 months.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “4th” by FPA and our Song of the Day was “Radio” by Laura Hugo.

One week ago Tuesday, a confrontation led to St. Paul police using chemical irritants and projectiles on a crowd. Hundreds of people gathered to protest and document the arrest of two people by federal immigration agents. The police department says it is reviewing officers’ response.

The incident came just days after a similar confrontation with federal agents in another part of the city. They, too, used chemical irritants and projectiles.

In cities across the country, federal immigration actions have resulted in frequent clashes between law enforcement and community members who are organizing to respond. More could be on the horizon after reports came out Tuesday that federal agents are expected to target hundreds of Somali immigrants in the Twin Cities. Minneapolis and St. Paul leaders said in a press conference that local law enforcement will not assist the operation but will respond to public safety threats.

To understand more about the health impacts of what are called less lethal methods of crowd control, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Dr. Rohini Haar. She is an emergency physician, a medical advisor for the group Physicians for Human Rights and a lecturer in the University of California-Berkeley law school.

Somali Minnesotans are being targeted by the Trump administration. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke about the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, citing convictions of people of Somali descent. Leavitt used the case to drive home a narrative that Somalis who emigrated to Minnesota should leave the country.

President Donald Trump – has without proof – said that Somali people are funneling money to the terrorist group Al Shabaab. And the U-S Treasury is now investigating that claim.

Joining Minnesota Now to talk about the impact of the rhetoric from the federal government in Ahmed Samatar, James Wallace professor of international studies at Macalester College.

Fruit crops in Minnesota have gone dormant to survive the winter. That leaves the people who grow them to plan ahead. For organic fruit growers, that includes preparing for warmer winters, wetter springs and drier summers. Those are among the climate-driven trends affecting Minnesota.

On Wednesday, the University of Minnesota Extension will begin the second year of a climate resilience program for fruit growers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Madeline Wimmer is organizing the program as an extension educator and president of the Organic Fruit Growers Association. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the role fruit crops play in the region’s food system and how fruit farmers are adjusting for climate change.

Northfield-based horror writer Benjamin Percy has a new novel out and it’s unlike anything he’s done before.

To start, Percy’s new book “The End Times” does not come in the form of a book — instead, it’s being released as a series of 12 newspaper deliveries over the course of the year.

The story follows the residents of a fictional Minnesota town called North End as they try to rebuild 12 years after a horrific plague nearly wiped out all of humanity. In true Percy fashion, weird and strange things start happening as they work to restart their lives. 

Percy joined Minnesota Now to give a preview of what readers can expect from “The End Times.”

There has been a series of major changes to immigration policy out of Washington in the past few days. The Trump administration stopped all asylum cases, in addition to visas for Afghans. We'll learn about the impact in Minnesota.

The state of Minnesota has one more month to launch its new paid family and medical leave program. We'll talk with one of the people involved in the rollout.

Today is World AIDS Day, but the federal government is not participating. We'll find out what groups in Minnesota are doing to raise awareness and defend funding for HIV prevention and treatment.

And as the Vikings continue to struggle, the team announced today it is waiving receiver Adam Thielen. Our sports contributors will join us to explain this and other sports news.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Silence” by Jillian Rae and our Song of the Day was "Burnin’ the Midnight Oil” by Purple Funk Metropolis.

Monday is World AIDS Day, but the United States government is sitting out the commemoration this year. The World Health Organization created the day in the 1980s to remember those lost to the disease and rally support for prevention and treatment.

This is the first year since 1993 that the President of the United States has not signed a proclamation to recognize the day. The Trump Administration also told federal employees not to use government funds or social media for World AIDS Day, according to the New York Times.

Matt Toburen leads the Aliveness Project, which supports people living with HIV in the Twin Cities. He joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about how his organization is still raising awareness.

We're entering the final month of the NFL season. The Minnesota Vikings have been stuck at the bottom of their division, the NFC North, for weeks now.

And Sunday was another low point — or, you might say no point. They lost, 26-0, to the Seattle Seahawks.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined host Nina Moini to talk about this and more uplifting Minnesota sports news.