Brooklyn Park mayor, Jeff Lunde, right, administers the oath of office on Wynfred Russell to serve on the Brooklyn Park City Council on Monday, January 7, 2019 at the council's chambers. Russell who was born and raised in Liberia becomes the first black person to ever serve on the council. Photo: Bethel Gessesse/Mshale
Brooklyn Park mayor, Jeff Lunde, right, administers the oath of office on Wynfred Russell to serve on the Brooklyn Park City Council on Monday, January 7, 2019 at the council's chambers. Russell who was born and raised in Liberia becomes the first black person to ever serve on the council. Photo: Bethel Gessesse/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 55% of the vote in November’s midterm elections to make him the second person of color elected to the council after that of his now fellow council member, Susan Pha, two years ago. In 2012, Russell, who at the time served on the city’s planning commission, ran for a seat on the same council and lost by just five votes. This time, it was a joyous occasion as friends and family cheered and recorded the historic event.
Minnesota is home to the largest population of Liberians in the United States with Brooklyn Park home to most of them. Many of them were present last night to witness the brief yet monumental event as one of their own placed his hand on his late father’s bible to take the oath of office. The bible had been sent over from Liberia a few days ago in time for the swearing in.
In an interview with Mshale shortly after being elected in November, he said he looks forward to working with others to improve the economic well being of the city’s residents.
“I also intend to focus on the small businesses of which many are run by people of color and do not get the same tax breaks or incentives other big companies get from our city,” he said. “But if we can get some grants to support them, the small business is the backbone of the economy and it will benefit our city if they thrive.”
International student enrollment at US colleges and universities declined as schools opened for the fall 2018/2019 school year, new number show. Photo: Wikimedia
International student enrollment at US colleges and universities declined as schools opened for the fall 2018/2019 school year, new number show. Photo: WikimediaInternational student enrollment at US colleges and universities declined as schools opened for the fall 2018/2019 school year, new number show. Photo: Wikimedia
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 2016-17 to 2017-18.
A separate survey of institutions found that the decline in new international enrollments is continuing this fall, though the drop was less severe than that reported last year.
Institutions that responded to this fall’s enrollment survey reported on average a 1.5 percent continuing drop in new international enrollments, a drop that comes on top of last year’s declines. However, while about half (49 percent) of respondents reported declines in new international enrollments this fall, another 44 percent reported increases, and 7 percent said their numbers were stable.
“This is very much a mixed picture,” said Rajika Bhandari, a senior adviser for research and strategy and director of the Center for Academic Mobility Research & Impact at the Institute of International Education, which conducts the survey with funding from the Department of State. “We’re seeing those new enrollment numbers really vary based on institutional characteristics.”
Unlike in past years, IIE did not release the full findings of the current fall enrollment survey to reporters in advance along with the Open Doors data, but Bhandari and Peggy Blumenthal, a senior counselor to the president at IIE, shared several top-line findings in an interview last week with Inside Higher Ed. Among the findings, institutions in the center of the country — specifically the South Central region, which includes Texas, and the West North Central region — are seeing sharper declines than are institutions on the coasts. Less selective institutions are also seeing steeper declines.
“The large research institutions, many of them are seeing growth,” Blumenthal said. “The less well-known abroad schools and the schools giving associate degrees are seeing much sharper declines.”
Over all (as opposed to new) international enrollments did increase by 1.5 percent from 2016-17 to 2017-18, according to the Open Doors survey, which collected data from 2,075 institutions. But that growth is being driven by a boom in the number of students participating in the optional practical training program, OPT, which enables graduates of U.S. colleges to stay in the country and work for up to three years after graduating while remaining on their student visas. A change in 2016 to the duration of OPT for students studying STEM fields means that students are staying in the OPT pipeline for longer after they graduate from their program.
The increases in OPT participation by recent international graduates can mask declines in the number of international students who are currently enrolled in degree programs — the number that really matters to colleges when it comes both to their financial bottom lines and their goals of building diverse campuses. The total number of students participating in OPT grew by 15.8 percent from 2016-17 to 2017-18, while the total number of enrolled international students increased by 0.8 percent at the undergraduate level and decreased by 2.1 percent at the graduate level. The number of nondegree students — a category that includes students in intensive English programs — fell for the third year in a row, by 10.1 percent.
Among the big changes in the Open Doors data for academic year 2017-18 was an 8.8 percent drop from the prior year in the number of graduate and professional students from India, the second-largest country of origin for international students in the U.S. after China.
Another notable shift was a 6.4 percent drop in the number of international graduate students studying engineering, the most popular field of study for international students in the U.S.
Universities also saw a 15.5 percent overall decline in the number of students from the No. 4 sending country, Saudi Arabia. The number of Saudi students declined at all academic levels, a change that’s largely attributable to the Saudi government scaling back a foreign scholarship program that has sent thousands of Saudi students to study at U.S. universities.
At the undergraduate level, higher education institutions reported double-digit year-over-year increases in students from the No. 6 sending country, Vietnam, No. 10 Brazil and No. 11 Nepal.
The number of students from the No. 1 sending country, China, continued to increase at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, by 4 and 2 percent respectively, but declined at the nondegree level. Chinese students account for 33.2 percent of international students in the U.S.; together with India, students from the two countries account for more than half (51.1 percent) of all international students.
Among other notable shifts involving top sending countries, the numbers of students from the No. 3 sending country, South Korea, fell for the seventh straight year, by 7 percent, a trend that Blumenthal attributes to the changing demographics of South Korea and to the improving quality of the Korean higher education system.
There were also declines in the overall number of students coming from America’s neighbors, Canada and Mexico, two countries where President Trump is deeply unpopular. While there were drops at all academic levels for Canadian and Mexican students — except for the OPT level — the steepest decline was in the number of Mexican students coming for nondegree study, including intensive English, which fell by 39.1 percent.
This year’s Open Doors data also provide a first glimpse of the impact on international enrollments of President Trump’s various travel bans barring entry to the U.S. for citizens of a group of mostly Muslim-majority countries.
Iran, the No. 12 sending country, is the only country affected by Trump’s travel ban that sends substantial numbers of students to the U.S. Although an Inside Higher Ed analysis of State Department data showed a sharp drop in the number of student visas awarded to Iranians in the year after the first iteration of the ban went into place in January 2017, the Open Doors data do not suggest there was a big effect on Iranian student enrollments that fall. On the contrary, the Open Doors data show a 1.2 percent increase in the number of Iranian students at the graduate level — significant, since about three-quarters of all Iranian students in the U.S. study at the graduate level. The number of Iranian students did decline at the undergraduate (-16.8 percent) and nondegree levels (-35.7 percent), but from a much smaller base.
Among other countries covered by the first and second versions of Trump’s travel ban — which were in effect for parts of the application cycle of the 2017-18 year — there were drops in the total numbers of students from Iraq (-15.3 percent), Libya (-18.8 percent), Syria (-12.2 percent) and Yemen (-21.4 percent), and increases in the number of students from Somalia (+34 percent) and Sudan (+2.2 percent).
A third and current version of the ban bars all students from North Korea and Syria from applying for student visas unless they obtain a waiver. Nationals of the other affected countries are eligible to apply for student visas, though in practice they may have difficulty obtaining them.
Political and Social Factors?
International educators have been deeply concerned that international students could be deterred by more restrictive policies on visas coupled with the Trump administration’s rhetoric on immigration. The president reportedly described most Chinese students in the U.S. as spies and entertained a proposal from a senior adviser to stop awarding student visas to Chinese nationals. The Trump administration has introduced new, enhanced visa questionnaires for certain applicants and has introduced a controversial new policy making it easier for international students to accrue what’s known as “unlawful presence” in the U.S., a determination that can subject them to future three- or 10-year bars on re-entry.
There is also continuing uncertainty about what future changes may be in the offing to visa programs that let students stay in the U.S. and work, including the OPT program and the H-1B visa program.
“Institutions are reporting that the social and political environment continues to be a challenge for international recruitment,” Bhandari said in relation to the survey of institutions conducted this fall. “Institutions are also reporting that they’re concerned about recruitment from Asia.”
She added, “We have about 43 percent of institutions saying that cost continues to be a challenge and that they are trying to ameliorate the situation through approaches like providing more tuition waivers and scholarships and waiving the application fee.”
In a press call with reporters, officials at IIE and the State Department seemed to want to downplay the degree to which political and social factors — including a rise in mass shootings — might be deterring international students. In the call IIE officials emphasized a number of other factors for the drop in new students, including the rising cost of U.S. higher education, increased competition for students from other countries and changes to foreign government scholarship programs, including Saudi Arabia’s.
“It’ll always be a very, very mixed picture, and the international education consumer is always concerned about access, diversity, quality, cost, safety, but in the past couple of years for me the biggest new development is that there are real competitor countries out there that we’ve never had before,” said Allan E. Goodman, IIE’s president.
“This flattening started in 2015-2016, when applications were being filled out in 2014, so it’s quite frankly unwarranted to say that it is completely the result of a political environment,” Caroline Casagrande, the deputy assistant secretary for academic programs at the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, said during the press call. The Open Doors data show that new international enrollments at U.S. colleges increased in 2015-16, but by a slower rate (2.4 percent) compared to the prior year (8.8 percent). The first recorded drop in new enrollments came in academic year 2016-17.
Rahul Choudaha, the executive vice president of global engagement and research at StudyPortals, a company that offers an online international student recruitment platform, said it’s difficult to gauge just how much of an effect political factors have had, but he believes the political climate has dampened growth potential from certain source countries. “It’s a scenario of lost opportunity, because from the institution’s side there is clearly an interest to internationalize and attract more international students for a variety of reasons,” Choudaha said.
Choudaha added that another phenomenon to note is “the big getting bigger.”
“There are institutions in the Midwest that are facing a much sharper decline — and a bigger effect of this Trump effect, you might say — but then on the other side there are institutions in California, New York and Massachusetts, and if they are higher in the Carnegie classification, which means they are highly ranked, they are not seeing any effect.”
Among the top 10 states hosting international students, there were increases in the total number of international students (including OPT participants) in No. 1 destination California (+3.2 percent), No. 2 New York (+2.4 percent), No. 4 Massachusetts (+8.4 percent), No. 5 Illinois (+2.2 percent), No. 6 Pennsylvania (+1.3 percent) and No. 7 Florida (+1.7 percent), and declines in No. 3 Texas (-0.9 percent), No. 8 Ohio (-2.8 percent), No. 9 Michigan (-0.7 percent) and No. 10 Indiana (-2 percent).
Detailed tables from Open Doors showing changes in international enrollment by country of origin and field of study from 2016-17 to 2017-18 are below. Another table shows percent changes in total international enrollment in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, and notes which candidate the state went for in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton or Trump.
Percent Change in Total International Enrollments from 2016-17 to 2017-18 From Top 15 Countries of Origin by Academic Level
Undergraduate
Graduate
Nondegree
OPT
Overall
World Total
+0.8%
-2.1%
-10.1%
+15.8%
+1.5%
1. China
+4%
+2%
-7.7%
+9.8%
+3.6%
2. India
+6.2%
-8.8%
-16.6%
+32%
+5.4%
3. South Korea
-8.1%
-5.5%
-16.1%
-0.9%
-7%
4. Saudi Arabia
-15%
-10.2%
-34%
-2.4%
-15.5%
5. Canada
-4.6%
-5.9%
-5.8%
+2.7%
-4.3%
6. Vietnam
+10.9%
+5.7%
-3%
+3.4%
+8.4%
7. Taiwan
+7%
+3.2%
-4.4%
+6.5%
+4.4%
8. Japan
+1%
-1.7%
-2.4%
+3.7%
-0.1%
9. Mexico
-6.3%
-6.5%
-39.1%
+15.3%
-8.1%
10. Brazil
+16.6%
+5.8%
+17.1%
+3.6%
+11.7%
11. Nepal
+17.9%
+13.7%
-50%
+7.6%
+14.3%
12. Iran
-16.8%
+1.2%
-35.7%
+14.3%
+1.1%
13. Nigeria
+1.5%
+12.3%
-23.5%
+29.8%
+8.4%
14. United Kingdom
-1.5%
-4.1%
+1.9%
+12.3%
-0.3%
15. Turkey
-1.3%
-0.3%
-33.1%
+18.3%
-0.6%
Enrolled International Students by Field of Study and Academic Level
2016-17 Undergraduates
2017-18 Undergraduates
Percent Change
2016-17 Graduates
2017-18 Graduates
Percent Change
Agriculture
4,026
4,151
+3.1%
6,281
5,852
-6.8%
Business and Management
106,669
101,755
-4.6%
57,167
57,506
+0.6%
Communications and Journalism
12,395
12,460
+0.5%
5,759
5,691
-1.2%
Education
4,503
4,166
-7.5%
10,867
10,735
-1.2%
Engineering
71,622
71,151
-0.7%
105,060
98,307
-6.4%
Fine and Applied Arts
29,955
31,999
+6.8%
20,196
19,894
-1.5%
Health Professions
12,331
12,410
+0.6%
16,454
16,475
+0.1%
Humanities
5,037
5,077
+0.8%
9,877
9,555
-3.3%
Legal Studies and Law Enforcement
2,321
2,226
-4.1%
9,053
10,092
+11.5%
Math and Computer Science
43,847
49,566
+13%
76,113
76,352
+0.3%
Physical and Life Sciences
26,965
27,902
+3.5%
37,056
37,098
+0.1%
Social Sciences
42,761
43,579
+1.9%
28,188
27,734
-1.6%
Change in International Enrollments by State, Ranked by International Enrollments
Candidate Supported in 2016 Presidential Election
Percent Change in International Enrollments from 2016-17 to 2017-18
Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow-Nyanti, left, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore display a signed memorandum of understanding establishing a sister-state partnership between Liberia and the State of Maryland on June 24, 2026. They are joined by Liberia’s ambassador to the United States, Al-Hassan Conteh, standing left, and Maryland Secretary of State Susan C. Lee. | Photo by Al-Jerome Chede/Embassy of Liberia
Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow-Nyanti, left, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore display a signed memorandum of understanding establishing a sister-state partnership between Liberia and the State of Maryland on June 24, 2026. They are joined by Liberia’s ambassador to the United States, Al-Hassan Conteh, standing left, and Maryland Secretary of State Susan C. Lee. | Photo by Al-Jerome Chede/Embassy of LiberiaNearly two centuries after Maryland played a pivotal role in Liberia’s early history, the two governments have signed what officials describe as a landmark partnership aimed at strengthening economic, educational and cultural ties for a new generation.
Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow-Nyanti and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a sister-state memorandum of understanding on June 24, establishing what Maryland officials said is the first formal sister-state relationship between the state and an African nation.
The agreement creates a framework for cooperation in areas including trade, investment, education, agriculture, technology, infrastructure, public health and workforce development, while reaffirming a relationship that both sides say is rooted in nearly 200 years of shared history.
“This signing marks the reaffirmation of a relationship that stretches back nearly two centuries and is rooted in a shared history, common aspirations and enduring bonds,” Nyanti said during the signing ceremony.
For many Americans, Liberia’s founding is associated broadly with formerly enslaved and free Black Americans who settled there during the 19th century. Less widely known is Maryland’s unique role in that history.
Beginning in the 1830s, the Maryland State Colonization Society established a settlement along Liberia’s southeastern coast that later became Maryland County. Before joining the Republic of Liberia in 1857, the settlement briefly existed as the independent Republic of Maryland, giving the U.S. state an enduring historical connection unlike that of any other state.
Nyanti said Maryland continues to occupy “a special place” in Liberia’s national history, noting that modern relationships have expanded beyond history through exchanges involving Maryland and Liberia’s Maryland and Bong counties.
“The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding marks a historic new chapter in the longstanding relationship between the Republic of Liberia and the State of Maryland—a relationship rooted in nearly two centuries of shared history, friendship and enduring people-to-people ties,” she said.
The foreign minister said the agreement also aligns with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr.’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, Liberia’s national development strategy aimed at promoting economic growth, improved infrastructure and human capital development.
Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, opened his remarks by congratulating Liberia on its recent election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, saying Liberia’s voice was long overdue on the global body.
He also reflected on the historical journey that connected Maryland and Liberia.
“In 1834, free Black men and women fled the United States from dehumanizing conditions to find a new home in Liberia,” Moore said, noting that Liberia’s second president, Stephen Allen Benson, was born in Cambridge, Maryland, before emigrating to Liberia.
Moore described the memorandum as the first agreement of its kind between Maryland and an African nation and said his administration intends to focus initially on four priority areas: trade, education, public health and civic exchange.
“These pillars will deliver real projects in real time and with tangible results,” Moore said.
The ceremony brought together Maryland officials, members of the Liberian diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C., and leaders from the Liberian community in the Washington metropolitan area.
Among those attending were Liberia’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh, Assistant Minister for American Affairs Christiana Konneh and Sebastian Teclar, president of the Liberian Association serving the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region.
While the agreement was signed in Maryland, its significance extends to Liberian communities across the United States, including Minnesota, which is home to the country’s largest Liberian population. Brooklyn Park, where many Liberian Americans have settled, has long maintained formal ties with a community in Liberia, reflecting the enduring people-to-people relationships that continue to connect the two countries.
Although largely symbolic at its signing, officials from both governments said they expect the memorandum to serve as a platform for expanded trade, educational exchanges, public health collaboration and investment in the years ahead.
For Liberia, the agreement represents an opportunity to deepen partnerships with a state whose history has been intertwined with its own since the country’s earliest beginnings. For Maryland, officials said it opens a new chapter in a relationship built not only on history but on a shared vision for future cooperation.
Magdalene Menyongar, left, known in Minnesota's Liberian community as the "DED Queen" for her advocacy on behalf of Liberians covered by Deferred Enforced Departure, celebrates passage of the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness provision during a community event in Brooklyn Park in January 2020. Menyongar has since become a U.S. citizen under the law, while community leaders say others remain covered by DED as its June 30, 2026 expiration approaches. | Photo by Richard Ooga/Mshale
With less than a week before Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) protections are set to expire for an estimated 2,800 Liberians in the United States, community leaders and immigration advocates are warning that many families remain uncertain about their future even as many others have already become U.S. citizens through a law signed during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Liberia’s government this week launched a last-minute diplomatic push in Washington, D.C., urging the Trump administration to extend DED before the program is scheduled to expire June 30.
According to the Liberian Embassy in Washington, Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow-Nyanti met with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast and appealed for either an extension of DED or another pathway that would allow affected Liberians to remain legally in the United States. The embassy said Mast acknowledged the urgency of the situation and pledged to work with colleagues and engage the White House in exploring administrative options while longer-term legislative solutions are considered.
Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow-Nyanti, right, shakes hands with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast during a meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2026. The meeting focused on Liberia’s request for an extension of Deferred Enforced Departure protections for eligible Liberians. | Photo by Al-Jerome Chede/Embassy of Liberia
The Liberian Embassy has said more than 4,000 nationals could be affected, while USCIS says up to 2,800 people are currently covered by DED. The agency notes that because there is no application process for DED, the number is an estimate.
The approaching deadline comes even after many Liberians benefited from another immigration measure signed by Trump during his first term. In 2019, Trump signed the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) provision, allowing eligible Liberians already living in the United States to apply for lawful permanent residency.
Magdalene Menyongar, who was affectionately known within Minnesota’s Liberian community as the “DED Queen” for her years of advocacy on behalf of Liberians covered by Deferred Enforced Departure, is among those who ultimately benefited from the 2019 law.
Menyongar, whom Mshale photographed celebrating passage of the legislation in January 2020, told the newspaper she became a U.S. citizen about two years ago after pursuing permanent residency through the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness provision created by the 2019 law.
Community leaders say many Minnesotans successfully used that pathway and have since become U.S. citizens, while others remain dependent on DED because they were unable to qualify or faced other immigration complications.
Immigration attorney Paschal Nwokocha said he is concerned about the prospects for another DED extension given the administration’s recent immigration policies.
“Given the path the Trump administration has been going on lately, I do not expect them to extend DED for the Liberians as he has taken a hard-line approach to these matters,” Nwokocha said. “As you may recall, last year he ended TPS for Venezuelans, for example, and ultimately the Supreme Court upheld it.”
“It does not look good from where I am sitting,” he added. “I would advise any Liberian who is still on DED and is not already working with a lawyer to do so immediately for legal advice.”
Nwokocha, a former Minnesota assistant attorney general who has practiced immigration law for decades, said that in his experience many Liberians who remain on DED likely faced legal or eligibility issues that prevented them from taking advantage of the LRIF program.
“There may be other complicating factors that prevented them from obtaining green cards under the 2019 law,” he said.
Kamaty Diahn, executive director of the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota, said anxiety has been growing within the community as the June 30 deadline approaches.
“First of all, Tom, I am very happy that many of them have been able to take advantage of the law Trump signed in his first term and have become citizens,” Diahn said. “But we still have a number of people that are now in fear as June 30 comes and they don’t know what to do. There is a lot of anxiety.”
Diahn urged the administration to extend DED, citing the longstanding relationship between the United States and Liberia.
“I am pleading with President Trump to extend DED for Liberians because they are law-abiding residents,” Diahn said. “You know Liberians in Minnesota alone have about $1.6 billion in annual purchasing power, which contributes greatly to our state’s economy.”
Liberia was founded in the 19th century by formerly enslaved African Americans, and the two countries have maintained close diplomatic ties for generations. Thousands of Liberians settled in the United States after fleeing civil wars in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Deferred Enforced Departure remains a temporary presidential protection from deportation and provides work authorization for eligible beneficiaries. Unlike the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program, DED does not itself provide a pathway to lawful permanent residency or U.S. citizenship.
As of Thursday, no announcement had been made on whether the Trump administration would extend DED for eligible Liberians beyond the June 30 expiration date, leaving thousands of beneficiaries awaiting a decision that could determine whether they can continue living and working legally in the United States.
For Liberians who remain covered by DED, Nwokocha said the most important step now is to seek legal advice before the June 30 deadline if they have not already done so.
“Anyone who is still relying on DED should be speaking with an immigration attorney immediately,” he said. “There may be legal options available depending on that person’s circumstances, but they need individualized legal advice.”
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, left, and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig participate in the first televised debate of the Democratic primary for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat. The debate held on Juneteenth, June 19, 2026 saw immigration and the Laken Riley Act emerge as the defining issue of the debate. | Screenshots from TPT Almanac
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, left, and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig participate in the first televised debate of the Democratic primary for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat. The debate held on Juneteenth, June 19, 2026 saw immigration and the Laken Riley Act emerge as the defining issue of the debate. | Screenshots from TPT AlmanacThe first televised debate Friday in Minnesota’s closely watched Democratic U.S. Senate primary quickly turned into a referendum on the Laken Riley Act, with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan repeatedly attacking U.S. Rep. Angie Craig over her vote for the immigration law and Craig defending both her initial decision and her later public regret over supporting it.
Immigration has become a defining issue in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Tina Smith at a time when nearly one in 10 Minnesota residents is foreign-born. According to U.S. Census figures, about 9% of the state’s population was born outside the United States, including 33% from Asia, 28% from Africa and 27% from Latin America, making federal immigration policy an issue closely followed by many immigrant communities in the state.
The contest also carries historic significance. If elected in November, Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, would become the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Craig, meanwhile, is seeking to bring the experience she gained winning four elections in Minnesota’s politically competitive 2nd Congressional District to the Senate.
The Laken Riley Act requires federal immigration authorities to detain certain non-U.S. citizens accused of specified crimes, including theft-related offenses, while their immigration proceedings are pending. Immigration attorneys and legal analysts have argued that although the Trump administration did not publicly cite the law as the legal basis for Operation Metro Surge, it expanded federal detention authority in ways that could facilitate broader immigration enforcement.
Craig was one of 46 House Democrats to vote for the legislation and the only member of Minnesota’s Democratic congressional delegation in either the House or Senate to support it.
As the Senate campaign has intensified, Flanagan has made Craig’s vote one of her central lines of attack.
Opening the debate Friday on Twin Cities PBS’ Almanac, host Cathy Wurzer asked Craig why it took months after the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during Operation Metro Surge before she publicly expressed regret for supporting the measure.
Craig said witnessing the immigration crackdown in Minnesota changed her thinking.
“As I stood at the Whipple Center, I couldn’t help but regret giving this administration any additional authority under immigration,” she said. “And so I felt like I needed to be honest with Minnesotans that I did regret that vote.”
Pressed by Wurzer on why she supported the bill in the first place, Craig said that at the time several Democratic senators, including John Ossoff, Raphael Warnock, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, also voted for the measure.
“As I’ve seen what they’ve done in detention centers across this country, I have to be honest with the people that I represent,” Craig said. “I regret the vote.”
Craig framed her change in position as an example of accountability, arguing that witnessing immigration enforcement under the Trump administration convinced her she had made the wrong decision.
Flanagan argued Craig’s vote reflected poor judgment from the outset, saying other Minnesota Democrats recognized the potential consequences before the legislation became law.
“I think it’s important to say that what the Laken Riley Act does … it allows for indefinite detention of individuals, including children. It essentially does away with due process for immigrants.”
She added that every other Minnesota Democrat in Congress opposed the legislation.
“Amy Klobuchar, Senator Tina Smith, Kelly Morrison, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar — they all knew what was coming, and they had the judgment to vote no.”
The immigration exchange set the tone for much of the hour-long debate, with Craig emphasizing experience, accountability and electability while Flanagan cast herself as the progressive alternative willing to reject what she described as corporate influence in Democratic politics.
Beyond immigration, the candidates also sparred over fraud in Minnesota government, campaign fundraising, corporate political action committee money, cryptocurrency regulation, the war in Gaza and which Democrat is best positioned to defeat Republicans in November’s general election.
The debate ended on a notably more cordial note. Craig praised Flanagan’s leadership in expanding free school meals for Minnesota students, while Flanagan commended Craig’s advocacy for increasing federal funding for special education.
The Aug. 11 DFL primary has emerged as one of Minnesota’s most closely watched races. Flanagan secured the DFL Party endorsement at its state convention in May, while Craig bypassed the endorsement process and opted to compete directly in the primary.
Craig has maintained a significant fundraising advantage. Campaign finance reports filed for the first quarter of 2026 show Craig raised about $2.6 million compared with approximately $1.3 million for Flanagan during the reporting period. Overall, Craig has raised about $9.29 million during the campaign, compared with roughly $4.65 million for Flanagan. At the close of the quarter, Craig reported $4.9 million cash on hand, while Flanagan reported about $1.14 million.
Early voting for Minnesota’s Aug. 11 primary begins Friday, June 26. Voters may cast ballots in person before Election Day or request absentee ballots by mail. The winner of the Democratic primary will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Visitors arrive at the iconic museum tower of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, June 19, 2026, as the campus welcomed the public for the first time on Juneteenth. The tower houses the presidential library and museum and serves as the architectural centerpiece of the new campus. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Visitors arrive at the iconic museum tower of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, June 19, 2026, as the campus welcomed the public for the first time on Juneteenth. The tower houses the presidential library and museum and serves as the architectural centerpiece of the new campus. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/MshaleCHICAGO – When Peggy Neely Harris heard that the Obama Presidential Center was going to open to the public in 2026, she wasn’t sure that she would make the trip to Chicago on the first day.
“I heard them talk about that, but I didn’t know the specific day,” said Harris, a Missouri-based Black History interpretive artist, who narrates the lives of heroic Black women of the past through storytelling, music and dramatic performances.
All Harris knew was that the center was going to open after the spring. She thought she would make the 300-mile trip from her home in St. Louis to visit sometime after that. But when she learned that the public opening was set to coincide with one of the most important federal holidays for African Americans, she knew she had to be in Chicago on the historic day.
“I was so happy to hear it was going to be on Juneteenth,” Harris said. “The timing was perfect.”
Peggy Leeny Harris, (R) a St. Louis-based Black History interpretive artist, poses for a photo at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on June 19, 2026, with Sheryl Rogers, the creative designer for the performances Harris creates about heroic Black women. Photo: Courtesy.
Juneteenth is an annual holiday recognizing the end of slavery in the United States. Although President Abraham Lincoln made the January 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation, which ended centuries of enslavement of Black people in the Confederate southern states, the last slaves were not freed until two and half years later. On June 19, 1865, Major Gen. Gordan Granger marched into Galveston, Texas, with 2,000 soldiers and announced that all slaves were free through General Order No. 3. The following year, a group of formerly enslaved people celebrated the decree on the first anniversary. As years passed, Juneteenth gained more significance and has been celebrated by African American communities across the United States. On June 17, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19 a federal holiday.
Since President Donald J. Trump returned to the White House for a second term, however, he has been on what many see as a quest to erase and rewrite Black history. A president has no power to cancel any federal holiday without an act of Congress, but Trump’s administration refuses to acknowledge Juneteenth Day and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Trump even removed both from a list of federal holidays Americans can visit national parks without paying entry fees.
Such hostility towards Black History is the reason Harris and many people we spoke with thought opening the Obama Presidential Center on Juneteenth was a powerful declaration of that Black History cannot be erased.
“History is for everybody,” said Harris. “It should never be erased, and it should be in every classroom, every school, every church, every community center.”
Visitors wait in line to pose for photographs with life-size sculptures of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama at John Lewis Plaza outside the museum tower at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, June 19, 2026. The sculptures were among the most popular attractions during the campus’s first day open to the public on Juneteenth. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
In addition to picking Juneteenth as the opening day, many thought it was a bold move for the Obamas to bring his presidential center to Chicago. Although every former U.S. president often has a connection to the location of his library, it isn’t always built in his hometown or even state. The Obama Foundation considered other places like Columbia University in New York City, where the former president had his undergraduate studies, and the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, in the state where he was born and spent his early years. Ultimately, they settled for his adopted home of Chicago for the $850 million project.
Tony Thomas, who was born and still lives in Chicago, was happy that his hometown won the bid to host the historic Obama Presidential Center. Throughout the nearly 5 years it took to complete building, Thomas said he saw its various phases of construction during fishing trips to the lagoon next to the campus. He often wondered what it would look like.
“As a Chicagoan, I’m glad it’s here,” Thomas said. “I know there were other cities and states asking him to put it there, but I’m glad he decided to come back home and didn’t forget his political grassroots, where it all started.”
Members of The Potter’s House church in Houston, Mississippi, board a charter bus after visiting the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, June 19, 2026. The church group was among visitors who traveled from across the country to witness the campus’s public opening on Juneteenth. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
The Obama Presidential Center is located in historic Jackson Park, in the South Side of Chicago. The sprawling campus, which sits on 19.3 acres of land, features multiple facilities including a presidential library and museum, a civic auditorium, an athletic center with an NBA regulation-size court, a restaurant. It also includes a new branch of the Chicago Public Library with a rooftop vegetable garden that will donate to produce to local food banks, and a playground for children.
Visitors line up outside the athletic center at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, June 19, 2026, as the campus welcomed the public for the first time on Juneteenth. The building houses a full-size NBA regulation basketball court, reflecting former President Barack Obama’s longtime love of the game. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
The iconic tower, which hosts the presidential library and museum, is more magnificent and taller than it appears in pictures. The gray stone used to build it makes it look like a giant boulder that will never be eroded away.
Children play at the new playground at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, June 19, 2026, as the campus welcomed visitors during its first day open to the public on Juneteenth. The playground is among several community-focused features included in the 19.3-acre campus. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
“It is absolutely wonderful,” said Yolanda Torrence. “The structure of the building seems solid; just beautiful. I love the wording from his inauguration speech on the building. I cannot wait to get in there and see all of the other textures and fixtures that went into this building.”
Visitors line up for refreshments near the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, June 19, 2026, during the campus’s first day open to the public on Juneteenth. The garden is among several community-focused features designed to support education and neighborhood engagement. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Like most of the nearly 15,000 people who visited the center on opening day, Torrence was not able to get into the museum because tickets are sold out through November. But that did not deter Torrence and her friend, Jeanette Berry, from making the long journey from Dallas and Grand Prairie, Texas, to witness the opening.
Even journalists were not allowed into the museum without a ticket. But Mshale spoke with Vanessa Crim-Willis, one of around 1,700 who had tickets to the museum that day.
“You can see some stuff in there that make[you] think again,” Crim-Willis said.
Crim-Wills, who has spent her entire life in South Side, said she was amazed to discover that there were pictures accompanying stories of Black people from the 1800s. She was also happy to see the museum acknowledge local figures like Harold Washington, the first Black mayor of Chicago, who held the office from 1983 until his death in 1987. Crim-Willis was also pleased to the inclusion other people who helped Obama become “a well-rounded young man”, without which he wouldn’t have grown up to make history as the first Black president of the United States.
Yoland Torrence and her friend, Jeanette Berry, made the long journey from Dallas to Chicago to witness the historic opening of the Obama Presidential Center on Juneteenth, June 19, 2026. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale.
“Sadly, in our community there are people who don’t return after they get successful,” Crim-Willis said. “Obama is Chicago for sure, and I’m going to bring a lot of people to this place.”
For Athenia Deanes, another long-time resident of the South Side, bringing the Obama Presidential Center to her neighborhood was a divine act.
“I just screamed out several times and praised God for [Obama] because he is exactly what God wants us to be,” Deanes said, as tears flowed down her cheeks. “It’s not just about giving your tithes, but you’re supposed to get out here and do God’s work, and he’s doing that. He didn’t forget where he came from. He came full circle back to the area that helped lift him up, and now he’s lifting others up.”
Deanes said the museum will be a permanent reminder of not only what African Americans have been through, but also a beacon of hope that it is possible to overcome.
“And from today going forward, no one will ever forget Juneteenth,” Deanes said.
Chicago police officers patrol the grounds of the Obama Presidential Center on bicycles as visitors explore the campus during its public opening on Friday, June 19, 2026. Thousands attended the Juneteenth opening as the center welcomed the public for the first time. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Harris, the Black History interpretive artist from St. Louis, said that it was now time for others in the Black community to emulate Obama and continue what he started.
“We can’t just look to the Obamas to do everything for us,” Harris said. “We should go away now after seeing what he’s done, all the preparation and the research he has put into this center for us and send it on out to the community through education.”
Supporters watch former First Lady Michelle Obama deliver remarks on giant video screens during the grand opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center from Midway Plaisance Park in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Thousands gathered in the park to watch a livestream of the invitation-only ceremony. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Supporters watch former First Lady Michelle Obama deliver remarks on giant video screens during the grand opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center from Midway Plaisance Park in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Thousands gathered in the park to watch a livestream of the invitation-only ceremony. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/MshaleFormer First Lady Michelle Obama began her speech at the grand opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center Thursday with a warning that people in the audience were going to need tissue to dry their eyes.
“I got my tissue in hand,” she said. “I don’t know about all of you.”
She did not disappoint. Mrs. Obama delivered a powerful speech that left President Barack Obama and many of the in attendance in tears, as she paid tribute to the strength he showed not only during his eight years in the White House, but throughout their lives together.
“You told me all those years ago that you couldn’t promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life, and of course you outdid yourself and managed to give me both,” Mrs. Obama said.
Mrs. Obama described her husband as a resilient person who did not let adversity change his strong moral character and said that even she was often in awe as she watched him remain focused, calm, “always looking at the long view.”
“Eight years in the crucible, and not once did you melt from the heat,” she said. “Not once did you let it harden you. Instead, you used it to reveal your truest essence, your stubborn optimism and unflinching courage, your dazzling brilliance and unpretentious decency, your ferocious work ethic and absolutely unshakable moral fiber.”
She said that even as President Obama’s detractors spread lies about his birthright, his religion, and his patriotism, he remained calm and pushed on because he was too busy working for the American people.
“You were doing the people’s work: rescuing our economy, expanding health care, ending a war, ordering the bin Laden raid, saving an auto industry, winning a peace prize,” Mrs. Obama said, followed by laughter as people caught on what appeared to be a veiled jab at President Donald Trump’s belief that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. “And you did it all with such grace and class and cool that you made the hardest job in the world look like a walk in this beautiful park.”
At nearby Midway Plaisance Park, where thousands of supporters who couldn’t get into the main ceremony gathered to watch it livestreamed on two giant screens, many could be seen sobbing and wiping tears as the former first lady spoke.
Athenia Deanes, a retiree who has lived in South Side Chicago since she was 11 years old, said Mrs. Obama’s speech drove her to tears because it reminded her why Americans voted for President Obama twice.
“I am so proud to say that that’s my former President Obama,” Deanes said. “I am so proud. I’m just— as you can see, I am really just full. I’m full. And I just thank God for him.”
Former President Barack Obama addresses supporters during the grand opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center as attendees watch a livestream on giant video screens at Midway Plaisance Park in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2026. The overflow viewing area allowed members of the public and media to experience the invitation-only event. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Singer Jennifer Hudson performs the national anthem during the grand opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center as attendees watch the livestream on giant video screens at Midway Plaisance Park in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2026. The overflow viewing area accommodated members of the public and media during the invitation-only event. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
The event brought together elected officials, former U.S. presidents, and other leaders from around the world and featured performances by a long list of Grammy Award-winning artists like Stevie Wonder, Eddie Vedder, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Marc Anthony, Bruce Springsteen, Common, John Legend, Tems, and The Roots.
Attendees take a break for food near one of several food trucks serving visitors at Midway Plaisance Park during the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2026. A food truck sponsored by the Black McDonald’s Operators Association was among the vendors supporting the event. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Shuttle buses wrapped in Obama Presidential Center artwork transport visitors near the opening festivities in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2026. The buses provided service to the new cultural campus and directed visitors to the Obama Presidential Center during its grand opening events. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Located in the city’s historic Jackson Park, the Obama Presidential Center will be open to the public on Friday. The sprawling campus, which sits on more than 19 acres of land and cost $850 million to construct, features multiple facilities including a presidential library and museum, a civic auditorium known as The Forum, an athletic center with an NBA regulation-size court, and the newest branch of the Chicago Public Library.
Lizzy Nyoike, a University of Minnesota student and Mshale contributor, has been awarded a $2,000 journalism scholarship from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists. | Photo courtesy of Lizzy Nyoike
Lizzy Nyoike, a University of Minnesota student and Mshale contributor, has been awarded a $2,000 journalism scholarship from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists. | Photo courtesy of Lizzy NyoikeMshale contributor Lizzy Nyoike has been awarded a $2,000 journalism scholarship from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists (MNSPJ), one of two student scholarships presented by the organization this year.
Nyoike, a student at the University of Minnesota, received the larger of the two scholarships announced June 16. Maya Betti, a student at the University of St. Thomas, received a $1,000 scholarship.
According to MNSPJ, the scholarships recognize Minnesota students pursuing careers in journalism and are intended to support the next generation of reporters and storytellers.
Nyoike has contributed reporting to Mshale on issues affecting Minnesota’s African immigrant communities while continuing her journalism studies. Her work has included coverage of community affairs, local government and public policy.
The scholarship recipients were announced in conjunction with the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Page One Awards.
Minnesota Sen. Susan Pha, second from left, presents a copy of the legislation that secured a $400,000 state allocation for the Liberian Community Center to leaders of the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota during a community meeting in Brooklyn Park on June 11, 2026. Also pictured are, from left, Executive Director Kamaty Diahn, Board Chair Arthur Perkador Biah, board member Romanda Gaye-Schaeppi and board member Erasmus Williams. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Minnesota Sen. Susan Pha, second from left, presents a copy of the legislation that secured a $400,000 state allocation for the Liberian Community Center to leaders of the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota during a community meeting in Brooklyn Park on June 11, 2026. Also pictured are, from left, Executive Director Kamaty Diahn, Board Chair Arthur Perkador Biah, board member Romanda Gaye-Schaeppi and board member Erasmus Williams. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/MshaleLeaders of the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota on Thursday repeatedly emphasized that a community meeting celebrating a newly approved $400,000 state allocation for the Liberian Community Center was “not a political rally,” even as underlying political tensions repeatedly surfaced throughout the gathering.
The meeting at the Liberian Community Center in Brooklyn Park was organized to explain how the state funding approved by the Minnesota Legislature earlier this year would be used to renovate and expand the center. But the event also unfolded against a backdrop of increasingly visible political rivalries within Brooklyn Park’s Liberian community and broader DFL politics in the northwest suburbs.
OLM Executive Director Kamaty Diahn stressed multiple times during the meeting that the gathering was intended to inform the community about the funding and answer questions about the project rather than serve as a campaign event.
Still, politics remained close to the surface.
At one point, Diahn attempted to invite Liberian political candidates attending the meeting — including former Brooklyn Park council member Wynfred Russell and Minnesota Senate candidate Nehemiah Garley — to offer remarks. But mistress of ceremonies Alfreda Daniels, a Liberian labor organizer with the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, interjected.
“With all due respect, no, it is time for Q&A, I have already recognized all the candidates” Daniels told Diahn, drawing attention to the sensitivity surrounding the event’s political optics.
The exchange underscored the increasingly intertwined nature of civic institutions and electoral politics inside Brooklyn Park’s Liberian community, where alliances connected to multiple local races have become more visible in recent months.
Garley is challenging Sen. Susan Pha in the DFL primary in Senate District 38. Russell, meanwhile, is seeking to unseat Rep. Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley in the House District 38A DFL primary contest after previously losing to her in 2024.
Hiltsley, who became the first Kenyan-born person elected to a legislative office in the United States when she won election in 2024, has emerged as a prominent political figure among African immigrant communities in Minnesota and is politically aligned with Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston. Russell, meanwhile, has remained politically close to Pha dating back to their years serving together on the Brooklyn Park City Council.
Brooklyn Park City Council member Shelle Page, who is currently running for mayor against Winston, was also present at the meeting after being invited by Pha to stand alongside elected and former elected officials at the start of the senator’s remarks.
The meeting was also attended by Liberia’s consul general in Minnesota, Tracy Ashley Grigsby, reflecting the growing institutional presence of Liberia in the state.
Former Organization of Liberians in Minnesota presidents Kerper Dwanyen, left, and Wilfred T. Harris attend a community meeting at the Liberian Community Center in Brooklyn Park on June 11, 2026. Current OLM leaders credited the two men with helping lay the foundation for the organization’s evolution into a nonprofit service institution and the development of the community center. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Despite the political backdrop, the centerpiece of Thursday’s gathering remained the state funding itself, which supporters described as a major milestone for one of the nation’s largest Liberian communities outside Liberia.
Pha, who attended the meeting in person, described the funding as the culmination of a yearslong effort to secure state investment for the center and detailed what she characterized as a difficult legislative fight to ensure the project remained in the final capital investment package.
The funding will support renovations and improvements to the center, including upgraded space for workforce development programming, youth services and health navigation initiatives, according to remarks made during the meeting.
Pha also used the meeting to criticize what she described as structural barriers that make it harder for immigrant and minority-led organizations to access state funding, particularly matching-fund requirements attached to many capital investment projects.
“The state has a criteria that eliminates organizations like ours,” Pha said, arguing that smaller community organizations often struggle to meet state matching requirements.
Hiltsley, the chief House author of the legislation that secured the $400,000 allocation for OLM, said in her prepared statement that she was “incredibly proud” to have helped secure the investment and described the funding as an investment in “community, culture, opportunity, and the future of families across Brooklyn Park and the northwest suburbs.”
Hiltsley did not attend after flight delays prevented her return from a convention in Canada. Diahn instead read the statement on her behalf.
Thursday’s gathering also carried historical significance for OLM itself. Among those attending were two former presidents of the organization from an earlier era before OLM formally transitioned into a nonprofit service organization.
Former Organization of Liberians in Minnesota presidents Kerper Dwanyen, left, and Wilfred T. Harris attend a community meeting at the Liberian Community Center in Brooklyn Park on June 11, 2026. Current OLM leaders credited the two men with helping lay the foundation for the organization’s evolution into a nonprofit service institution and the development of the community center. | Photo by Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Former OLM president Kerper Dwanyen, who took office in 2008, was credited with helping transform the organization from a mobilizing association for Liberians in Minnesota into a service-oriented nonprofit structure. Under his leadership, OLM began acquiring part of the current office building that eventually became the Liberian Community Center.
Another former president, Wilfred T. Harris, who led the organization around 2004, was recognized for helping lay the groundwork for the center during his administration. It was during Harris’ tenure that OLM successfully lobbied then-U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton for a $250,000 federal allocation tied to the community center vision.
Current OLM board chair Arthur Perkador Biah thanked the former leaders for laying the foundation that eventually led to the current center and the new state investment.
The funding marks the latest milestone in OLM’s ongoing effort to expand and strengthen the Liberian Community Center following the organization’s 2022 purchase of the Brooklyn Park building that now serves as the center’s permanent home.
The Obama Presidential Center rises over Jackson Park in Chicago ahead of its public opening on June 19. | Photo courtesy of The Obama Foundation
The Obama Presidential Center rises over Jackson Park in Chicago ahead of its public opening on June 19. | Photo courtesy of The Obama FoundationThe much-anticipated Obama Presidential Center will have its grand opening ceremony in Chicago on Thursday and open to the public a day later.
Located in the city’s historic Jackson Park, the center will be open to the general public on Friday. The sprawling campus, which sits on more than 19 acres of land and cost $850 million to construct, features multiple facilities including a presidential library and museum, a civic auditorium known as The Forum, an athletic center with an NBA regulation-size court, and the newest branch of the Chicago Public Library.
President Barack Obama and former first lady Michele Obama arrived in Chicago last week for the grand opening, which will take place on Thursday June 18 at an exclusive ceremony.
“As we prepare to welcome visitors to the Obama Presidential Center, the President and Mrs. Obama can’t wait to see community members make the campus their own,” Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation, said in a statement. “The Center was built to be a place where people can gather, have fun, find inspiration, make connections, and bring change home.”
The center will be open to the general public the following day. Tickets to the presidential museum are sold out through Oct. 20.
Mshale staff will be in Chicago to report on the opening of the place that will honor the legacy of Obama’s historic presidency.
The TKO Drumline and dancers march during a Juneteenth parade in Minneapolis on June 19, 2023. Juneteenth celebrations across Minnesota this year will include music, cultural programming and community gatherings. | Photo by Jasmine Webber/Mshale
The TKO Drumline and dancers march during a Juneteenth parade in Minneapolis on June 19, 2023. Juneteenth celebrations across Minnesota this year will include music, cultural programming and community gatherings. | Photo by Jasmine Webber/MshaleFrom community festivals in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center to neighborhood gatherings in Minneapolis and St. Paul, communities across Minnesota are preparing Juneteenth celebrations centered on history, culture, music and Black joy.
Juneteenth, observed annually on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The holiday became a federal holiday in 2021 and is also recognized as a Minnesota state holiday.
Here are some of the Juneteenth celebrations planned around Minnesota this year:
Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center Juneteenth Celebration
The cities of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center are joining forces this year for a combined Juneteenth celebration under the theme “Two Brooklyns, One Vision.”
The event will feature live performances, cultural programming, food trucks, local vendors, a community resource fair and family activities celebrating Black history and culture.
Organizers say the partnership reflects a shared effort to create a more unified regional Juneteenth celebration.
Golf Tournament
Join us for a community golf tournament as we kick off Juneteenth weekend. This event brings together community members, partners, and supporters for connection, engagement and a shared start to the celebration.
When: June 19, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. Where: Centerbrook Golf Course – 5500 Lilac Drive N, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
To register, call (763) 549-3750.
Format: 4-person scramble
$50 fee per person, up to a team 4 ($5,000 putting contest, golf cart rentals, meal and hole events included)
Trophy prize for tournament winners (Winners will be announced at the Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at North Hennepin Community College)
Not a golfer? Come watch the tournament and enjoy a brisket dinner for $15!
Juneteenth Celebration
When: Saturday, June 20, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Where: North Hennepin Community College, 7411 85th Ave. N., Brooklyn Park Cost: Free Website: brooklynpark.org
Minneapolis Juneteenth — Celebrating Freedom Day
One of the Twin Cities’ largest Juneteenth gatherings returns to north Minneapolis with live entertainment, food vendors, cultural programming, youth activities and community organizations.
When: Saturday, June 13, noon to 6 p.m. Where: Bethune Park, 1304 N. 10th Ave., Minneapolis Cost: Free Website:minneapolis.org
Soul of the Southside Festival
The Legacy Building’s annual Juneteenth celebration returns to south Minneapolis with music, art, wellness programming, food vendors and Black-owned businesses.
Organizers describe the festival as a celebration of Black creativity, entrepreneurship and community along the Lake Street corridor.
When: Friday, June 19, noon to 8 p.m. Where: East Lake Street and Minnehaha area, Minneapolis Cost: Free Website:soulofthesouthside.com
St. Paul Juneteenth Celebration
St. Paul’s historic Rondo neighborhood will host Juneteenth programming featuring music, food, cultural performances and community organizations.
The celebration highlights the history and legacy of the historically Black Rondo community.
When: Friday, June 19 Where: Rondo Center of Diverse Expression and Rondo Commemorative Plaza, 315 North Fisk Street, St. Paul, MN, 55104 Cost: Free
The Anika Foundation’s annual Juneteenth gathering at the Capitol will include music, food, educational programming and community activities celebrating Black history and culture.
When: Friday, June 19, noon to 6 p.m. Where: Minnesota State Capitol grounds, St. Paul Cost: Free Website: theanikafoundation.org
Maple Grove Juneteenth Celebration
Maple Grove’s community Juneteenth celebration will include live entertainment, dance performances, vendors and family-friendly activities.
When: Friday, June 19, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Where: Town Green, Maple Grove Cost: Free Website: maplegrovemn.gov
Northside Juneteenth Weekend Events
Several north Minneapolis organizations are also planning Juneteenth-themed community gatherings, performances and neighborhood celebrations throughout the weekend.
When: June 12–14 Where: Various north Minneapolis locations
Juneteenth educational and cultural programs
Minnesota organizations are also hosting conversations, performances and cultural events throughout June connected to Black history and Juneteenth observances.
Programs include events hosted by the Minnesota Humanities Center and community organizations around the Twin Cities.
Greater Minnesota
• Rochester Juneteenth Festival
Rochester’s Juneteenth Festival will span two days this year under the theme “Beloved Community,” honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of justice, equality and unity.
The festival is organized by the Greater Rochester Martin Luther King Jr. Commission and Rochester Area Community Foundation and is expected to include live entertainment, food vendors, cultural programming and family-friendly activities. Organizers say the expanded celebration is designed to bring the wider community together around Black history and culture.
When: Friday, June 19, and Saturday, June 20 Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, Rochester Cost: Free Website: racf.org
• Duluth Juneteenth Celebration
The Duluth Branch of the NAACP is preparing its 52nd annual Juneteenth celebration at the Central Hillside Community Center.
Organizers say the event will feature food, entertainment, community activities and local vendors as residents gather to commemorate Juneteenth and celebrate Black culture and community in the Twin Ports region.
When: Friday, June 19, beginning at 1 p.m. Where: Central Hillside Community Center, 12 E. Fourth St., Duluth Cost: Free Website: Duluth Branch NAACP Facebook
• St. Cloud Juneteenth Celebration
St. Cloud is marking the 30th annual Juneteenth Celebration this year with a full day of live entertainment, food vendors, youth activities and community programming at Lake George Park.
Organizers say the family-friendly event will include live music and performances, a Kid Zone, basketball and dominoes tournaments, fishing and paddle boat rides, local vendors and nonprofit organizations. The celebration is organized by the African American Males Forum and community partners.
When: Friday, June 19, noon to 7 p.m. Where: Lake George/Eastman Park, St. Cloud Cost: Free Website:Juneteenth Celebration St. Cloud
• Winona Juneteenth Celebration
Winona’s sixth annual Juneteenth celebration will feature live music, spoken word performances, dancing, tumbling and original artwork in a youth-led event focused on community and Black excellence.
Organizers say the event is designed to “uplift and unite” the community while honoring 161 years of resilience and freedom. The celebration is being organized by Our Voices in collaboration with R.O.A.R. and Theatre du Mississippi.
Artists create live paintings during a Juneteenth community event in Brooklyn Center in June 2022. The city, one of Minnesota’s most diverse suburbs, faces a consequential election year that could reshape representation on the city council. | Photo by Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale
Artists create live paintings during a Juneteenth community event in Brooklyn Center in June 2022. The city, one of Minnesota’s most diverse suburbs, faces a consequential election year that could reshape representation on the city council. | Photo by Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/MshaleBrooklyn Center is one of Minnesota’s most diverse cities and membership of its city council has reflected that diversity over the last decade. The city elected its first Black mayor in 2018 when Mike Elliott won office. Elliott served one term before losing reelection in 2022 to April Graves, who became the city’s second Black mayor and the city’s first Black female mayor.
Currently, there are two Black members on the five-member Brooklyn Center City Council, including the mayor — Graves and council member Teneshia Kragness. Both of their terms expire after the November election.
Black leadership on the council could disappear after this year’s elections because of shifting political dynamics and the makeup of the candidate fields competing in the city’s mayoral and council races.
Graves is not seeking reelection after serving one term as mayor, though she previously served on the city council before defeating Elliott in 2022.
In total, the mayor’s office and two council seats are on the ballot this November — Kragness’ seat and that of council member Dan Jerzak.
The race to succeed Graves has attracted four candidates, three of them women. The field includes Kragness – a Graves ally, and fellow council member Laurie Ann Moore, newcomer Latrecia Mayo and Alexander Koenig, the lone male candidate in the race.
An Aug. 11 primary will narrow the field to two candidates who will advance to the November general election.
The race for the two council seats has attracted 10 candidates, including incumbent Jerzak. Several candidates in the field are people of color. An Aug. 11 primary will narrow the field to four candidates who will proceed to the November election.
The outcome of the Aug. 11 primary could play a major role in determining whether Brooklyn Center’s city leadership continues to reflect the demographics of one of Minnesota’s most diverse suburbs.
In the mayoral race, Kragness and Mayo are both seeking to become the city’s next Black mayor following Graves’ decision not to seek reelection.
The elections come at a potentially pivotal moment for representation in Brooklyn Center, where Black residents, African immigrants, Latinos and Asian Americans collectively make up a majority of the city’s population according to census data.
Of the two Black candidates running for mayor, only Kragness has prior experience running a citywide political campaign after serving one term on the council. She also comes from a political family. Her grandmother, former Mayor Myrna Kragness, was the city’s first female mayor and served from 1995 to 2006.
Graves has already endorsed Kragness. In remarks during a May 22 campaign launch shared with Mshale by a campaign aide, Graves said, “I am proud to endorse Dr. Teneshia Kragness as our next Mayor of Brooklyn Center. I believe she is the best person to continue advancing the work our community has fought so hard for. She leads with integrity, empathy, and a deep commitment to residents — with a head for the numbers and a heart for the people.”
Kragness has also attracted support from former Mayor Tim Willson and former state Sen. Chris Eaton.
As of the time of writing, Mayo did not appear to have a public campaign website or campaign social media presence, though she had posted a flyer on her personal Facebook page seeking volunteers and donations. The websites listed for Koenig and Moore were also not functioning at the time this story was published.
People of color make up nearly 70% of Brooklyn Center’s population according to census estimates. Black residents account for approximately 31% of the population, Hispanics 17% and Asians 15%. White residents account for about 31%.
The city of roughly 32,000 residents is also heavily immigrant, with 22% of residents born outside the United States. Census data shows the largest foreign-born population comes from Africa at 38%, followed by Latin America at 33% and Asia at 26%.
The city’s strong African immigrant presence is underscored by institutions such as the Kenyan Community SDA Church, believed to be the largest Kenyan church in Minnesota by membership. During protests following the police killing of Daunte Wright in neighboring Brooklyn Center, the church helped provide relief, shelter and assistance to injured demonstrators. The church sits adjacent to the Brooklyn Center Police Department campus.
According to census data, 64% of the city’s 11,572 housing units are owner occupied.
Brooklyn Center is also home to the corporate headquarters of Caribou Coffee and the FBI field office serving Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
An earlier version of this story stated former Mayor Myrna Kragness was Teneshia Kragness’ mother, she is her grandmother. We regret the error.
Victor Jumah, a Kenyan-born Ramsey charter commissioner, has filed to run for the Ward 3 seat on the Ramsey City Council. Photo: Courtesy of Victor for Ramsey
Victor Jumah, a Kenyan-born Ramsey charter commissioner, has filed to run for the Ward 3 seat on the Ramsey City Council. Photo: Courtesy of Victor for RamseyA Kenyan-born Ramsey charter commissioner who says he fell in love with the suburb while visiting family in neighboring Anoka has filed to run for the Ward 3 seat on the Ramsey City Council, setting up a race against incumbent council member Dan Specht.
Victor Jumah, who immigrated to the United States around middle school age and has lived in Ramsey for about a decade, said his decision to run grew out of years of civic involvement and a desire to help preserve what first attracted his family to the city.
Born in Kenya and raised in Minnesota, Jumah works as a program manager and earned a business management degree from Metropolitan State University. He said his professional experience has included helping families navigate housing, health and economic stability challenges.
“As our kids became school age, Ramsey struck us as the right place for us to live,” Jumah said in an interview with Mshale. “It was safe and even though it is a suburb, it still has that small-town feel that we both liked.”
He said he and his wife initially rented an apartment in Ramsey before purchasing their first home two years ago.
“We have now been residents for 10 years,” he said. “People in Ramsey are also very friendly and welcoming. I can walk to the parks with my kids and part of the reason I am running is to promote that welcoming and safe environment.”
Jumah said he wants future residents to experience the same sense of community his family found in Ramsey.
“Given my experience in Ramsey that is why I believe in balanced growth,” he said. “Meaning any growth we are pursuing as a city is thoughtful and sustainable and does not destroy our neighborhoods, but strengthens them.”
Jumah currently serves on the Ramsey Charter Commission, a volunteer body that reviews and recommends changes to the city charter, and has also completed the Ramsey Police Department Citizens Academy program.
“About four years ago I saw an ad for the charter commission asking for volunteers to join and I was like, ‘Why not me?’” Jumah said. “And shortly after that I received mail from the judge that I had been appointed.”
Charter commissioners in the City of Ramsey are appointed by the chief judge overseeing the judicial district serving the city. Under Minnesota law, the appointments are designed to operate independently of the mayor and city council.
Jumah said serving on the commission gave him a deeper understanding of how local government functions and the importance of collaboration, accountability and checks and balances in city governance.
“Serving on the Charter Commission has given me a clearer understanding of how local government is structured and how the city charter functions as the foundation for that system,” he said.
“It has also deepened my understanding that the work of the city council depends on many other leaders at different levels to make the best decisions possible, and that strong checks and balances are essential to ensuring accountability, transparency and good governance.”
The campaign also reflects broader demographic shifts occurring in some outer-ring Twin Cities suburbs. Census data shows Ramsey, a city of roughly 28,000 residents, has a growing foreign-born population, with African immigrants making up a significant share of those residents.
Jumah said part of his motivation for running is ensuring the city maintains the same welcoming environment his family experienced.
“I want anyone that moves to Ramsey to receive the same welcome I got,” he said.
Among the issues he said he is prioritizing are public safety, thoughtful development and what he described as “practical leadership.”
He described public safety as “the most important responsibility of local government” and said he supports partnerships between police, schools, community organizations and residents.
Jumah also pointed to his participation in the Ramsey Police Department Citizens Academy, a seven-week program designed to help residents better understand law enforcement operations and public safety work.
On development, he said growth should strengthen neighborhoods rather than undermine them.
“I love the outdoors and do not want to see that destroyed,” he said.
He said he also wants city leadership to focus more on collaboration and problem-solving.
“Let’s focus on what we have in common,” Jumah said. “Putting our differences apart, making sure that we are focusing on a solution.”
