University of St. Thomas – dwkcommentaries

Outstate Minnesota City Aided by Immigrants

As noted in a prior post, a banker in Worthington, a city in the southwestern corner of Minnesota, estimated immigrants own more than a quarter of the businesses operating in that community. “If we embrace it, it’s what’s going to help rural Minnesota grow again.”

This report was amplified in an August 4 article in the StarTribune, Minnesota’s leading newspaper while another recent article addressed the general problems of outstate Minnesota.

Additional Report on Worthington, Minnesota[1]

This city’s population has surged from fewer than 10,000 in 1990 to more than 13,000 today and its residents expect it to exceed 14,000 in the near future with immigrants constituting roughly one-third of the population. And the median age is under 36.

Some of the immigrants are entrepreneurs, who described the difficulties they had in getting their businesses started and frustration over lack of stores with their favorite foods and police forces still almost exclusively locally born white people. But they still expressed optimism about their future in this community.

One of the largest employers in the town, JBS USA pork processing plant, has employees who are native speakers of at least 50 languages and dialects. The company seems supportive of its largely immigrant workforce with its human resources director helping an immigrant community form their own church.

Worthington recently was visited by Neel Kashkari, the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. At a community meeting in the town he said, “If you do the math, there are three choices we have as a society. One choice is just accept slower growth. A second choice is to subsidize [human] fertility. Or number three, you can embrace immigration. Now the advantage we have in the U.S. is that, while we are not perfect, we are better than just about any other country at embracing immigrants and integrating them in our society.”

“A Social Contract for Rural Minnesota”

Another recent article in the StarTribune lamented the struggles of “many of our smallest towns . . . to stay relevant” as their aging populations decline.[2] The author, Jim Mulder, the retired executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties and an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and a policy fellow at Growth and Justice, therefore, proposed a Social Contract for Rural Minnesota with the following six elements:

Education. Develop “new tools and strategies for educating children in sparsely populated areas. . . . [that] focus on outcomes, not on structure and process.”
Health care. With a “shortage of physicians, dentists and mental health professionals . . . . [we must use] mobile health clinics, . . .by housing county social service and public health officials [closer to the people, by aggressively using] nurse practitioners and physician assistants [and by providing ] transportation services for the elderly to get to care providers].”
Housing. Provide assistance to residents to meet their housing needs, including improving the housing quality.
Transportation. Invest in better roads and bridges and transit of all types.
Public infrastructure. Fund and build right-sized water and sewer systems.
Economic development. Increase jobs.

Analysis of the Social Contract for Rural Minnesota

Although I liked the idea of a social contract for rural Minnesota, I thought the one proposed by Mr. Mulder missed the key issue. Therefore, I wrote the following letter to the Editor of the StarTribune, which was published on August 5:

“While I agree with Jim Mulder that we need “a shared commitment to success for one Minnesota” (“One Minnesota: Your undivided attention, please,”Opinion Exchange, July 29), his “Social contract for Rural Minnesota” misses the point.”
“We all know that rural Minnesota has an aging and declining population, which underlies all the problems he seeks to address. Thus, these parts of the state need more and younger people, and the obvious source of such people is more immigration. This point was made by an editorial in the Mankato Free Press that the Star Tribune reprinted (“The immigrant workforce: It’s critical for Minnesota’s economy,” July 24).”
“Thus, the social contract requires development of welcoming rural communities for people from all over the world.”

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[1] Schafer, Immigration and Immigrants are a positive force in Worthington, StarTribune (August 5, 2018).

[2] Mulder, One Minnesota: YOUR UNDIVIDED Attention, Please, StarTribune at OP1 (July 29, 2018).

Cuban Events in Minnesota

Although far from Cuba, Minnesota has a strong interest in the island: its relations with the U.S. and its politics, religions, history, arts and people. Here are upcoming events in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul demonstrating that interest:

*Date*	*Time*	*Event & Place*
		“Cuba: The Accidental Eden.” This small island’s varied landscape, its location in the heart of the Caribbean and its longstanding place at the center of Cold War politics have all combined to preserve some of the richest and most unusual natural environments of the hemisphere. For decades, Cuba’s wild landscapes lay untouched while its Caribbean neighbors poisoned or paved over their ecological riches. Now, Cuba’s priceless treasures are about to face an onslaught. Tourism is already on the rise and most experts predict tourism will double once the U.S. trade embargo ends. What will happen to Cuba’s stunning biodiversity – an island filled with amphibians, reptiles and the most biologically diverse freshwater fish in the region? (National Public Television’s Nature’s Episode # 2711 was shown on local public television station, tpt, on August 3 & 4, 2014, and is available online as a DVD.)
		“Race to Revolution.” Dr. Gerald Horne, the author of Race to Revolution, discusses his book’s thesis that the histories of Cuba and the U.S. are tightly intertwined and have been for at least two centuries, including the interconnections among slavery, Jim Crow, and revolution. Slavery was central to the economic and political trajectories of Cuba and the U.S., both in terms of each nation’s internal political and economic development and in the interactions between the two countries. This was a Sojourner Truth radio program that was broadcast on August 29^th, but can be heard anytime for the next 90 days at www.kpfk.com.
Sept. 2	7:00-8:00 pm	“Cuban Missile Crisis: Three Men Go to War.” This film tells the inside story of the Cuban Missile Crisis, exploring how in October 1962 the earth teetered on the very brink of nuclear holocaust. The documentary brings to life the three central characters John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev, and explores how the world’s most powerful men fell into an abyss of their own making and what courage and luck it took to climb out again. tpt Channel 2.
Sept. 2	8;00-9:00 pm	“Fidel Castro Tapes.” This film takes viewers on a journey like none other. This program uses only news and documentary footage — past and present — to detail the life and times of one of the most controversial political figures of the 20th Century. There is no narration in this film and no interviews. Instead, The Fidel Castro Tapes relies solely on the words of journalists who covered the major events in Castro’s life to tell the story. It is a unique approach, one that gives the viewer a chance to experience the life and times of Cuba’s leader as if they were actually living through them. tpt Channel 2.
Oct. 5	7:30 pm	“A Night in Havana.” A special concert with pianist Nachito Herrera, a Cuban-American resident of the Twin Cities, and his Cuban Orchestra with a dance floor! Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington Street, St. Paul; www.ordway.org; tel: 651-243-2825. Tickets start at $23, but $10 discount with promo code “NACHITO SPECIAL.”
Oct. 6	5:50-7:30 pm	“What Does the Future Hold for Cuba-U.S. Relations?” Cuba’s top diplomatic official in the U.S., Dr.José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez, will speak about U.S.-Cuba relations, the impact of Cuba’s economic reforms and ongoing U.S. sanctions and the prognosis for normalized relations. Co-sponsored by the Minnesota International Center and the University of St. Thomas, the event will be at the University of St. Thomas, Thornton Auditorium, 1000 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis. MIC & corporate members, cosponsors & students, $5; others, $15. Advance registration requested online or by phone (612-625-1662).
Oct. 11	2:00 pm	“Reembarque (Reshipment).” Film about Haitians immigration to Cuba in the early 20^th century and their life in Cuba by Cuban documentary filmmaker, Gloria Rolando. Discussion after the film by Rolando and Robert Byrd, program director of the Jerome Foundation’s Film and Video Program. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Pillsbury Auditorium, 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis. FREE.
Oct. 22	7:30 pm	Creole Choir of Cuba. Experience the heart and soul of Cuba through irresistible melodies, poetic lyrics and impassioned vocal and percussive performance. With influences from both the Caribbean and West Africa, the Creole Choir of Cuba tells stories of survival, faith and tragic history, drawing you in with infectious music. Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington Street, St. Paul; www.ordway.org; tel: 651-243-2825.

If you know of other Cuban events in Minnesota through the end of this year, please add a comment with the relevant information.

Creole–http://www.ordway.org/performances/14-15/creole-choir-of-cuba/

Film–http://new.artsmia.org/event/durades-dialogue-film-reembarquereshipment-with-gloria-rolando-and-robert-byrd/

Somali Immigrant Meets Star of “MAS*H” TV Show

Tonight, June 21st, a Somali immigrant, Ifrah Jimale, met Mike Farrell, the actor who played Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the long-running, popular U.S. TV series “M*A*S*H.” The occasion was the annual fund-raising dinner and celebration for the Minneapolis-based Advocates for Human Rights.

Ms. Jimale told her amazing and moving personal story to the audience of 1,000 people.

In the Somali nomadic tradition, she was sent by her family to the U.S. to see if it was a place where the family could live in peace and security.

Her initial impressions of the U.S. were not positive. At the Cincinnati airport, when she told a U.S. immigration agent that she was a “refugee,” Ifrah was immediately detained and jailed and forced to wear a red jump suit. After a considerable period in a Cincinnati jail, she was told that she was being transferred to another immigration detention facility in Atlanta. She had no idea where that was; she thought it might be in Mexico. In Atlanta she was kept in that detention facility for another period of time. Finally she was released into the care of a relative.

She then came to Minnesota, where she was put in touch with Advocates. The organization provided her a pro bono (no fee) attorney, who helped her obtain asylum in the U.S.

Ifrah was illiterate when she came to the U.S., but she found a Minnesota teacher who taught her how to read and write. Eventually Ifrah obtained a college degree at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. She now is a journalist with a blog for the Twin Cities Daily Planet called “Ask a Somali.” Earlier this month the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists awarded her blog second place in the independent news blog category.

Her June 12th blog posting is a good example of her writing. The question was, “I keep seeing Somali women with cellphones tucked into their headscarves. Is this a common thing?” She answered that it is now common in the Twin Cities, but she advised her Somali sisters “to take a lesson in looking ridiculous from Somali men, and walk around with a bluetooth headset everywhere you go.” In an aside that was educational for we non-Somalis, Ifrah said, “If you don’t think that women wearing hijabs care about fashion, take another look at all of the beautiful colors and ways of wearing them.”

Ifrah with a big smile thanked Advocates for helping her to find her life in the U.S.

Mike Farrell in Los Angeles. — Mike Farrell

Mike Farrell, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, was this year’s recipient of the Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award. I discovered that he is a long-time activist for human rights and social justice, especially against the death penalty. He is the President of Death Penalty Focus. It “is one of the largest nonprofit advocacy organizations in the nation dedicated to the abolition of capital punishment through public education; grassroots and political organizing; original research; media outreach; local, state and nationwide coalition building; and the education of religious, legislative and civic leaders about the death penalty and its alternatives.”

Farrell concluded the program with an eloquent, passionate call for everyone to stand up and take action to protect human rights. (I hope that the speech will be published and that I can add it in a Comment to this post.)

My May 20, 2011, post, “Two Women “Shakers” Rock Minneapolis Dinner,” reported on last year’s annual dinner for Advocates for Human Rights.