North Star Journey

North Star Journey is a celebration of communities in Minnesota and the champions who are doing the work that we should be bringing a voice to. We hope to bring new understandings of our state and what brought us to today. About | Credits

MPR News also hosts North Star Journey Live, an event series discussing topics about what Minnesota’s diverse communities need to thrive. Check it out here.

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This coverage is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

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Minnesota's former education leader aims to give kids a healthier planet
MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with Brenda Cassellius about her inspiring story of growing up in poverty and then becoming a leader in education. Now she’s shaping Minnesota’s climate policy.
For 25 years, program has created brotherhood for Black high school seniors
Nine Twin Cities high school students began a “voyage to manhood” six months ago through Rites of Passage, a leadership program under African American-led nonprofit Jack and Jill of America.
Inequality even in death: Mankato project finds racial covenants in a cemetery and beyond
A Mankato project found racial covenants in seven neighborhoods and a cemetery. The city council recently voted to condemn racial covenants and now is pursuing the discharge of discriminatory language from property deeds.
Wells Academy founder creates spaces for Indigenous workers
A Red Lake Band member who has made it big in the engineering world has long tried to give others a helping hand. Now, Andy Wells has taken things one step further by launching an engineering internship in the community center on the Red Lake Reservation.
J.D. Steele: Spreading joy and soul through song
Musician J.D. Steele is known for his work with Prince and singing and producing R&B, gospel and soul with The Steeles. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with this Minnesota music powerhouse about his career, directing community choirs and inspiring the next generation to sing.
'It feels awesome': Heather Boyd makes history as first woman and first Anishinaabe to lead Grand Portage National Monument 
Boyd is the first female and Anishinaabe superintendent to lead the federal site on the ancestral homelands of the Grand Portage Anishinaabe.
'This is good food': Reclaiming a classic Nigerian dish in Minnesota
Ask just about anyone to tell their personal story, and it’s likely that food will feature at some point. For Nigerian immigrant Uche Irogbu, fufu was a staple of his childhood, and now its a staple of his identity in the U.S.
Voices across time: Theater Mu ignites intergenerational conversation
Theater Mu is hosting the AAPI Generations Conference, an event celebrating 30 years of fostering Asian American and Pacific Islander theater, promoting intergenerational dialogues, and encouraging inclusive participation.