Ground Level®: Amplifying Community Voices

Your story is powerful. The stories you share with others honor the complexity of our communities while forging a more equitable and vibrant future.

Call 651-228-4800 and leave us a voice memo. If you're more comfortable texting, you can text “Hello” to 1-833-870-4111. You can also email us at tell@mpr.org and join in on conversations in our Ground Level Facebook group.

We’d like to hear your thoughts and questions. Your ideas about solutions. How are your communities? What are you seeing today? And what do you want to see tomorrow?

Note that while we will exercise editorial judgment for language, length and avoiding personal attacks, we will not sacrifice your meaning. We will ensure your main message comes through on air and online.

‘I don’t have the virus’: Asian Americans in Minnesota confront a COVID-19 backlash
Asian Minnesotans say they’re facing increased hostility amid the COVID-19 crisis. Incidents range from name-calling to other forms of discrimination that appear to blame Asian Americans for the spread of the disease.
Wary of war, Iranian Americans sink into a familiar anxiety
The U.S. killing last week of Gen. Qassem Soleimani has many worried about another war as Iran threatens to retaliate and the United States threatens to fight back. Minnesota is home to about 3,000 people with Iranian roots.
Ground Level: The real St. Cloud
Nearly 50 people gathered at the Great River Regional Library in St. Cloud to discuss the past and the future of this once-small central Minnesota town on the Mississippi River.
Changing rural narratives: A Ground Level conversation in Grand Rapids
The great outdoors, as we heard at a community conversation at the Blandin Foundation, is a key reason why people choose to live in Grand Rapids. The discussion revolved around why people choose Grand Rapids, what they worry about and celebrate in daily life, and what issues they believe leaders should focus on.