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.

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

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July 21, 2022 4:00 AM

‘Where do I belong?’ Native roots, hard realities surface in woman’s search for her past

In her quest to find the birth mother she'd never known, Peggy Mandel confronted stories of government boarding schools, generational trauma and the loss of Indigenous culture and identity. She couldn’t change the past, but could she alter the future?

by Dan Gunderson

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July 20, 2022 5:53 PM

ToolKit: How housing can shrink the racial wealth gap

Income inequality is deepening in America. Economic gains in recent decades have been unevenly dispersed, with the vast majority of the wealth going to those already on top. Part of that discrepancy is rooted in the inability to buy property.

by Sam Stroozas

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July 15, 2022 5:00 AM

Number of Latino farmers small, but growing

According to the agricultural census, Minnesota is home to about 112,000 farmers. Of those, 650 identify as Hispanic or Latino. That number is growing.

by Vicki Adame

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July 14, 2022 5:00 AM

Mpls. man seeks reparations from the church that enslaved his ancestors

Elton Wright-Trusclair’s ancestors were among the more than 1,000 people enslaved by the Society of Jesus, many of whom toiled at Georgetown University. The church has pledged $100 million towards scholarships and other charitable causes designed to benefit descendants of the enslaved and Black communities. However, Wright-Trusclair and others say they want direct reparations.

by Lee Hawkins

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July 11, 2022 7:00 AM

Program helps educators accurately teach Native American content in classrooms

Most Minnesota K-12 educators say they lack access to resources they need to accurately teach lessons which include Native American content. But one teacher training program is trying to change that.

by Elizabeth Shockman

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July 8, 2022 4:00 AM

Dreamland: Then and now

Anthony Brutus Cassius broke ground in Minneapolis in the 1940s as a labor organizer and then as the first Black man to get a liquor license in the city. His aim was to create safe social spaces for Black people. Eighty years later, Mecca Bos explores his legacy.

by Mecca Bos

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July 6, 2022 7:40 AM

Valerie Castile says youth give her hope for future

Six years after her son Philando Castile was killed by a police officer, Valerie Castile says she’s encouraged by how a younger generation is speaking out for social justice.

by Lee Hawkins

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July 1, 2022 9:15 AM

The 'People's Station' KMOJ pushes forward

Like the Civil Rights Movement that inspired the push for Black representation in media, radio station KMOJ’s 46-year history is sprawling, joyous, messy and under-appreciated. But mostly it’s against the odds.

by Jae Bryson

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June 30, 2022 4:00 AM

Troubling stories surface as U probes its history with Native people

A University of Minnesota panel is broadly reviewing the institution’s treatment of Native people since its 1851 founding. While a report is expected later this summer, researchers and journalists have already uncovered some hard facts.

by Melissa Olson

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June 22, 2022 4:19 AM

Foraged plants form a connection to the earth

Over the past few weeks as part of the North Star Journey project, chef and writer Mecca Bos has cooked culturally important dishes of Minnesota prepared by other local chefs. Her latest was a journey to learn about a much older and local approach to food.

by Mecca Bos

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