Social Issues

Peter Kingoina is a native of Kisii, Kenya. He's 52 and a pastor of the Minneapolis Kenyan Adventist Church. He is married and has four children. They live in Andover.
Civil rights worker Charles Sherrod says that the fight for racial equality is far from over and that the strategies that were so effective during the Civil Rights Movement could still work today.
Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, says that while globalization may be dragging some parts of the world out of poverty, there are huge areas of the globe that are being completely passed by. In his new book, "The End of Poverty," Sachs says the richest countries in the world could eradicate extreme poverty worldwide for for less than one percent of their annual gross national products.
Young people on the Red Lake Indian Reservation sometimes complain there's little for them to do once school gets out. But this summer, there may be plenty of other activities to keep kids busy. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial help are flowing onto the reservation for summer youth programs. Tribal leaders are now planning ways to use those resources.
American Indian teens in the Upper Midwest are 10 times more likely than other teenagers to commit suicide. U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., held a hearing in Bismarck, North Dakota Monday to draw attention to what he calls "a tragedy of enormous proportions."
Two women with a passion for highlighting women's accomplishments are celebrating their own big achievement this month -- 20 years of publishing the Minnesota Women's Press. The free bi-weekly newspaper has 80,000 readers.
Red Lake community members are talking about ways to improve the lives of kids on the reservation. Perhaps the most visible effort involves the Boys and Girls Club. Tribal and club officials hope the national Boys and Girls Clubs will provide funding to help Red Lake's club broaden its impact on kids.
How long does it take to build a two bedroom house? Maybe half a day, tops, if you're building from the kit designed as quick and inexpensive temporary housing.
The population of Minnesota is on the rise. Both Wisconsin and Iowa are seeing a decline in population. While some states seek more workers and taxpayers, others wonder what additional people might mean for traffic and services.
The Minnesota House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to ban popular cold and allergy pills, like Sudafed and Actifed, that can be used to produce the illegal drug methamphetamine. The Senate has already passed a bill restricting the sale of the medicines, but not banning them outright. The two bills must now be reconciled in conference committee.