Mshale

Dozens of Brooklyn Park residents last evening crammed into city council chambers to witness history being made in Minnesota’s sixth largest city, the swearing in of the city's first black council member, Wynfred Russell, who was born and raised in Liberia. Russell, a former instructor at the University of Minnesota, defeated former council member Bob Mata by garnering a convincing...

New enrollments of international students fell by 6.6 percent at American universities in academic year 2017-18 compared to the year before, marking the second straight year in declines in new enrollments, according to new data from the annual Open Doors survey. New enrollments fell 6.3 percent at the undergraduate level, 5.5 percent at the graduate level and 9.7 percent at the nondegree level from...

Election Day is just a few days away on Tuesday Nov. 4 in Minneapolis but election officials in the city are making it easier for those who want to vote early in-person but can only do it on weekends. Minneapolis voters will be voting for mayor, the city council, the park board and for members of the board of estimate...

By Rebecca Santana WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7,500 and they will mostly be white South Africans, a dramatic drop announced Thursday that effectively suspends America’s traditional role as a haven for those fleeing war and persecution. The move cements a major shift in policy toward refugees...

On Saturday, former New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman who AIPAC spent an unprecedented $14.5 million to defeat last year, stopped in Minneapolis for a quick rally aimed at get-out-the-vote volunteers canvassing in north Minneapolis for mayoral candidate Omar Fateh, and city council candidates Marvina Haynes and Ethrophic Burnett. The election is next week on November 4 and voters in Minneapolis...

Kenyans in the U.S. dreaming of having a bank account in Kenya will have a powerful resource at their fingertips in the coming days as that country’s second largest bank kicked off its Diaspora Roadshow in Minnesota on Friday. Prominent Kenyan American, Mr. Sam Ireri - a longtime Wells Fargo commercial banker until last year - is now director of...

Kowsar Mohamed, a PhD student from the Twin Cities, has officially begun her term as the student-at-large representative on the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents, becoming the first Somali American woman to hold the position. Mohamed was born in Minneapolis to Somali immigrants and raised in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, a bustling immigrant community known for its cultural vibrancy. In...

Senegal never left me,” Alune Wade said to Mshale in a recent interview. Born in Dakar, capital of Senegal, now living in Paris, traveling around the globe touring with bass guitar in one hand and a microphone in the other, this versatile musician’s heart still beats for his beloved Africa. He switches with ease from French to English to Wolof....

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. - Former prime minister Raila Odinga of Kenya was remembered as a champion of democracy and human rights, during a “Celebration of Life” Saturday at the Church of the Nazarene organized by the Kenyan community. Odinga died October 15 in India where he was undergoing treatment, setting off frantic efforts by the Kenyan government to transport his...

The death of Kenya's former Prime Minister and prodemocracy leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday, October 15, has prompted mourning across the Kenyan diaspora in the US - including Minnesota where he had strong ties. He died in Kerala, India where he was undergoing treatment. A statement from the hospital said he collapsed and died as he went for his morning...

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has endorsed Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor, becoming the first key backer for the state senator as he seeks to unseat incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey. At a Monday morning press conference announcing her endorsement, Rep. Omar pointed specifically to Fateh’s work as a state senator, where he fought “tooth and nail” to pass legislation providing raises...

By Mark Banchereau DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso says it has refused a proposal from the Trump administration to accept deportees from the United States. The West African country was asked whether it would accept non-citizens expelled by the U.S., in addition to its own nationals, Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said Thursday on national television. “Naturally, this proposal, which we...

The Trump administration has launched a pilot program that seeks to address visa overstays by charging bonds of up to $15,000 for citizens from seven African countries seeking to obtain visitors visas. The State Department in a final ruling it published on Thursday, said by October 23, 2025 there will be a total of seven African countries on the pilot...