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...

Applying for a non-immigrant visa to the United States just got a bit more complicated this week after the U.S. Department of State announced sweeping new changes on September 6. Effective immediately, all non-immigrant visa applicants must now schedule interviews in their country of nationality or residence. This effectively puts an end to a practice known as “third-country stamping” where...

By  Ope Adetayo and Edward Acquah ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A group of 14 West Africans deported from the U.S. arrived in Ghana, the country’s president said. The country joins Eswatini, Rwanda and South Sudan as African countries that have received migrants from third countries who were deported from the U.S., a controversial approach whose legality lawyers for the deportees...

S.H.A.K.E. is a community-centered, woman- and BIPOC-owned event and co-working space on the second floor of the restored Historic Coliseum Building. The enterprise provides inclusive office suites and flexible event venues that advance its mission where community-minded businesses prosper within the Longfellow neighborhood and the greater Twin Cities.  We offer flexible month to month or longer lease terms including...

When Mike Kenyanya joined the student government at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, 10 years ago, he didn’t know it would one day lead to an appointment to the university’s board of regents. Back then, he was a freshman, not quite familiar with how the student government worked and had only joined the student organization out of curiosity. “I wasn’t...

By Luena Rodriguez-Feo Vileira, Makiya Seminera and Collin Binkley One international student after another told the University of Central Missouri this summer that they couldn’t get a visa, and many struggled to even land an interview for one. Even though demand was just as high as ever, half as many new international graduate students showed up for fall classes compared to...

Despite the uncertainty the Trump administration’s trade policies have created, government officials, entrepreneurs, and business leaders of the African diaspora said there were still opportunities for trade and investments between Africa and the United States. The leaders spoke at the United States-Africa Trade and Investment summit, which was held on Aug.1 in St. Paul by Minnesota Africans United (MAU).  Steven...

With Democrats enjoying a one seat majority in the Minnesota Senate, a former DFL staffer turned businessman, Ian Oundo, on Thursday launched his own bid for the Legislature’s upper chamber to represent District 35. The district includes Coon Rapids and Anoka. The election is on November 2026. Oundo in a press release following his announcement touted his community organizing background and...

Zār Electrik will climb The Cedar Cultural Center’s stage steps September 24th and give their Minneapolis audience something new, something different, and something very needed—a musical respite from the political and cultural upheaval of current events. Mshale sat down with two of the band’s members, Anass Zine and Didier Miosine to understand more about their origins and influences. It was...

The Minnesota DFL’s Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee (CBRC), on Thursday revoked the historic endorsement of state Sen. Omar Fateh as the party’s nominee for Minneapolis Mayor following a challenge from current mayor Jacob Frey. Fateh on July 19 received the required 60 percent of delegates at the Minneapolis DFL convention to secure the endorsement, the first time in 16...

A Minnesota state legislator is the first to officially enter the open 2026 race to be Hennepin County’s top prosecutor. Rep. Cedric Frazier, 46, announced his campaign for Hennepin County Attorney on Monday in a YouTube video. He would become the first Black county attorney in Minnesota if elected. The race for county attorney in Minnesota’s largest county is open for the...

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and local officials on Thursday celebrated the successful completion of a $2 million project to convert a century old hotel into affordable housing units for veterans. The Robin Hotel building at 4628 41st Ave N. in Robbinsdale, is now officially open and will soon house U.S. military veterans in 14 one-bedroom units. The conversion of the...