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Mayor Hollies Winston delivers first State of the City address

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Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
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Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston delivers his first State of the City address on Thursday, May 11, 2023 in the Grand Room of the Community Activity Center. He took office on January 9, 2023 as the city's first Black mayor. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Mayor Winston Featured Image
Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston delivers his first State of the City address on Thursday, May 11, 2023 in the Grand Room of the Community Activity Center. He took office on January 9, 2023 as the city's first Black mayor. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

In his first State of the City speech, held in the Community Activity Center’s grand room on Thursday, Mayor Hollies Winston of Brooklyn Park touted the city’s recently implemented “Alternate Response Team” that pairs social workers and paramedics on some 911 calls.

In an address that was heavy on public safety and economic development issues, the city’s first Black mayor said the new response model “allows the police to deal with more difficult issues and frees up capacity for them to deal with other things,” instead of tying their time dealing with societal issues.

“I’m tired of hearing about crime going up because the economy is down, and then going down because the economy is up,” Mayor Winston said. “We need a model where over time consistently moving crime further and further down because we understand the underlying concepts.”

Since taking office in January, Mayor Winston has emphasized the need to work closely with other cities and government agencies to deal with crime, which on Thursday he called both a “regional and nationwide issue not unique to Brooklyn Park.” To that end, the mayor said Police Chief Bruley has in recent times been working closely with his counterparts in neighboring cities and the county, to better deal with criminals who are “usually transient” and move within the metro area.

“There is going to be a regional coordinator position,” the mayor said to coordinate between the cities in their responses to the criminal networks.

The mayor also highlighted key investments the city made using the $11 million it received through the American Rescue Plan, pointing out $2.6 million was allocated to businesses and nonprofits that provide support services to the community, as well as workforce development. The mayor applauded the investments, which were approved prior to him taking over in January, because “they had an impact in more than half of Brooklyn Park.”

Mayor Winston also addressed the city’s efforts to establish a small business center at the intersection of Brooklyn Blvd. & Broadway Ave., property that includes the Northwind Plaza strip mall that the city has owned since October 2021. When completed, it will provide coworking and retail space for small and microbusinesses. Setup under the aegis of the city’s Economic Development Authority, the center aims to ensure rents for the businesses already on the property remain affordable as property values in the area skyrocket.

“The wonderful thing about that (business center) is that it’s both affordable and it is going to be beautiful,” Mayor Winston said. “Really nice, upscale and really represents where we want Brooklyn Park to go.”

The mayor also announced efforts to establish a teen center, saying he is aware the city has not invested as much in youth resources “as you would like.” He said future announcements will be forthcoming on the city’s efforts in that front, adding that securing such a center will require “getting the right partners” at the state and federal levels.

Brooklyn Park resident and attorney, Ms. Peggy Larkin, praised the mayor’s promise to focus on youth programming.  She said Mayor Winston so far seems to be delivering on his campaign promises.

Ms. Larkin was among two Brooklyn Park individuals honored by the city for their volunteer service, including Met Council Member Reva Chamblis, a former human rights commissioner for the city. The African Minnesota Women Awareness Group (AMWAG) was also honored for its efforts at addressing domestic violence.

“What I am liking (about the mayor) is the model for violence interruption and community services,” said Ms. Larkin. “We are becoming a city that will wrap around our citizens and give them what they need to improve their lives.”

Mr. Jim Skelly, the executive director of communication and public relations at Anoka-Hennepin School District, described the mayor’s speech as “inspiring.” About 3,000 Brooklyn Park students attend the district.

“I have been around Brooklyn Park for over 40 years and there was a different tone to this speech, more of a realization that there is more to come,” said Mr. Skelly.

He said the mayor did a good job addressing the community’s concerns and assuring them the city is with them “for the long haul.”

AMWAG co-founder, Ms. Elizabeth Marigi, is a Brooklyn Park resident and businessowner who operates a medical training school in the city. She said Mr. Winston is the third mayor that she has worked with in recent years, both as a resident and entrepreneur, and she was glad to see him continue making the city attractive to business and newcomers.

She however has one ask for the mayor and City Council that she hopes to present soon through AMWAG.

“We would like a shelter where we can house the women fleeing domestic violence,” Ms. Marigi said. “This mayor has shown us he is a problem solver and supports everyone regardless of who they are – including the most vulnerable.”

This story has been corrected to reflect Mr. Jim Skelly’s correct title with the Anoka-Hennepin School District.

Comcast laptop donation gives refugees a chance at digital inclusion

By
Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
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Comcast Executive Vice President, Public Policy and Executive Vice President, Digital Equity, Mr. Broderick Johnson, left and Regional Senior Vice President for The Twin Cities, Ms. Kalyn Hove, right, pose with some of the recipients of the 100 laptops the company donated for refugees to Arrive Ministries of Richfield, Minnesota on Friday, May 12, 2023. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Arrive Ministries with Broderick Johnson
Comcast Executive Vice President, Public Policy and Executive Vice President, Digital Equity, Mr. Broderick Johnson, left and Regional Senior Vice President for The Twin Cities, Ms. Kalyn Hove, right, pose with some of the recipients of the 100 laptops the company donated for refugees to Arrive Ministries of Richfield, Minnesota on Friday, May 12, 2023. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

Recently-arrived refugees in the Twin Cities are getting a head start to fully participate in the digital world thanks to a donation of 100 laptops from Comcast during a surprise announcement, as part of the telecom giant’s efforts to expand digital equity.

On Friday, the company’s executive vice president for public policy and digital equity, Mr. Broderick Johnson, flew into town to announce a partnership with Richfield-based Arrive Ministries, a refugee resettlement agency.

“We’re proud to be a technology partner for Arrive Ministries because high speed internet is the ultimate tool for closing disparities and helping people succeed,” Mr. Roderick said when announcing the partnership at the nonprofit’s office. “I am incredibly lucky that I get to work for a company where I am able to give back in so many ways which is indeed very special.”

Arrive Ministeries Staff
Staff at Richfield, Minnesota based Arrive Ministries pose for a group photo at their office after Comcast donated 100 laptops for its digital literacy program on Friday, May 12, 2023. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

Hennepin County Commissioner Debbie Goettel and Richfield Mayor Mary Supple were present and both praised the partnership.

A recent Migration Policy Institute  report found that the digital divide hit U.S. immigrant households disproportionately during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, 36 percent of native-born, native-language adults were at higher levels of proficiency solving problems in digital environments or using digital tools as of 2015, compared to just 12 percent of U.S. residents who are foreign born and speak a language other than English, according to the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) study run by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Broderick Johnson with Twin Cities Comcast Staff
Mr. Broderick Johnson, second left, Comcast’s executive vice president for public policy and digital equity, shares a laugh with local Twin Cities Comcast staff including Ms. Stacey Nelson-Kumar, right, the company’s Twin Cities director of community impact after the company donated 100 laptops to Arrive Ministries of Richfield, Minnesota, a refugee resettlement agency on Friday, May 12, 2023. The agency will use the laptops for its refugee digital literacy program. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

Since 2005, over 30,000 refugees have relocated to Minnesota, with a slight pause starting in 2020 as pandemic restrictions begun and travel became impossible. In 2022, as refugee admissions started picking up again, most of the refugees who entered Minnesota last year came from Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr. Johnson said Friday’s donation is part of its nationwide $1 billion Project UP initiative, a 10-year program by the company to advance digital equity through programs and partnerships, such as the one with Arrive Ministries.

He also reiterated his company’s commitment to participating in the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which Mr. Johnson, who previously served in the Obama White House, described as a “game changer” saying an “an additional 50 million people are eligible for this voucher.”

Annie Perdue Olson
Arrive Ministries Managing Director Annie Perdue-Olson speaks at the event held at her non-profits offices where Comcast announced the donation of 100 laptops for its digital literacy program for refugees on Friday, May 12, 2023. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

The ACP provides eligible people with up to a $30 per month credit toward their internet and mobile services ($75 per month on tribal lands).

The refugees that received the laptops on Friday are part of a technology empowerment program by the resettlement agency to expand technology literacy and access for newly arriving refugees as they settle into their new country, Managing Director Annie Perdue-Olson said.

“You need technology to access your bank account, to pay bills, apply for a job and access to the internet all those things,” Ms. Perdue-Olson said. “And those are all critical services our refugees need just like you and I, and we decided to break that barrier.”

Association for Black Economic Power executive director honored as a credit union builder

By
Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
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Affinity Plus Credit Union President and CEO, Mr. Dave Larson, left, with Association for Black Economic Power Executive Director, Ms. Debra Hurston, who has been honored with a Credit Union Builder award. Photo: Courtesy Affinity Plus Credit Union
Larson and Hurston
Affinity Plus Credit Union President and CEO, Mr. Dave Larson, left, with Association for Black Economic Power Executive Director, Ms. Debra Hurston, who has been honored with a Credit Union Builder award. Photo: Courtesy Affinity Plus Credit Union

Debra Hurston, the executive director of the Association for Black Economic Power (ABEP), has been honored with the Minnesota Credit Union Foundation’s (MnCUF) Credit Union Builder award, in recognition for her work in leading the establishment of Minnesota’s first Black-led community credit union to serve Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

The award honors an “individual’s dedication to the success, growth, and vitality of the not-for-profit financial movement in Minnesota,” according to MnCUF. Individual Credit Unions that are members of MnCUF select an individual and make a dedication in honor of an individual through a donation to MnCUF. In turn, the recipient and donating credit union’s names are permanently displayed in the lobby of MnCUF’s headquarters “as a tribute to those who have dedicated time and energy to building the credit union movement.”

Ms. Hurston will join 90 other individuals that have been designated as credit union builders since the award’s inception.

Affinity Plus Credit Union made the dedication in honor Ms. Hurston and Affinity’s president and CEO, Mr. Dave Larson, was effusive in his praise, describing her as “an emerging and significant positive force for the credit union philosophy in Minnesota.”

Affinity has also in the last two years significantly increased its advertising spend with ethnic media (including Mshale).

The organization that Ms. Hurston leads, ABEP, was formed to shepherd the birth of Arise Community Credit Union which will be the state’s first Black-led credit union, after earlier efforts stalled.  A name change was approved by stakeholders last year from the previous Village Financial Credit Union, according to Credit Union Times.

Mr. Larson said Ms. Hurston has been successful in Arise’s state and federal chartering process, including raising seed funds, recruiting board members and setting up governance.

Last year, Mr. Mark Cummins, the president and CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network told Credit Union Times that a capital campaign to launch Arise had already secured $2.7 million in deposit commitments from credit unions.

“Debra is tirelessly and patiently leading all aspects of building Arise Community Credit Union,” said Mr. Larson.

Arise will be headquartered in north Minneapolis once it launches.

U.S. Census Bureau says 2020 census missed many noncitizens

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Associated Press
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A briefcase of a census taker is seen as she knocks on the door of a residence, Aug. 11, 2020, in Winter Park, Fla. A significant number of non-citizens appear to have been missed in the 2020 census, according to results from a U.S. Census Bureau simulation, during a head count of all U.S. residents in which the Trump administration tried but failed to prevent people in the country illegally from being tallied. Photo: John Raoux/AP File
Census Taker Bag by AP
A briefcase of a census taker is seen as she knocks on the door of a residence, Aug. 11, 2020, in Winter Park, Fla. A significant number of non-citizens appear to have been missed in the 2020 census, according to results from a U.S. Census Bureau simulation, during a head count of all U.S. residents in which the Trump administration tried but failed to prevent people in the country illegally from being tallied. Photo: John Raoux/AP File

New results from a U.S. Census Bureau simulation indicate a significant number of noncitizens were missed in the 2020 census, a national head count during which the Trump administration tried to prevent people in the United States illegally from being tallied at all.

Some civil rights groups pointed to the bureau’s latest findings as evidence that, despite the Trump administration’s failure to exclude residents in the country illegally from the 2020 count altogether, the former president’s push contributed to an undercount for some racial and ethnic minorities.

A simulated head count by the statistical agency utilized 31 types of administrative records from government agencies and third-party sources to produce estimates of the U.S. population on April 1, 2020 that could be compared to the survey-like responses used in the last official tally of every U.S. resident. The simulation was an experiment which doesn’t change the results of the once-a-decade count of every U.S. resident that helps determine political power and the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal funding in the U.S.

Almost a fifth of noncitizens found in the administrative records had addresses that couldn’t be matched in the 2020 census, suggesting that “a significant fraction of noncitizens” were missed, according to the U.S. Census Bureau report released Friday. By comparison, that same figure was 5.4% for citizens.

Using administrative records from government agencies that have records on immigration, welfare programs, motor vehicle registrations and other data, the test tallied 2.3% more people than in the actual census in 2020 that produced a head count of 331 million U.S. residents, primarily because the simulation captured more noncitizens residing in the U.S., the report said.

The simulation was a test to see how good a job administrative records perform in counting historically undercounted groups like racial and ethnic minorities, renters and young children. Its results actually bumped up the numbers for Hispanic and Black residents, two groups who were undercounted in the 2020 census, respectively, by 8.3 million people and 2.8 million people, the report said.

The administrative records census produced estimates of 11.6 million people in the U.S. with an unknown legal status.

Opponents have said Trump administration policies in 2019 and 2020 created a chilling effect which likely deterred immigrants, Hispanics and others from participating in the 2020 census.

In 2019, the Trump administration attempted to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire, but the U.S. Supreme Court blocked it. In the middle of the 2020 census, President Donald Trump directed the Census Bureau to exclude people in the country illegally from numbers used for divvying up congressional seats among the states. An influential GOP adviser had advocated excluding them from the apportionment process in order to favor Republicans and non-Hispanic whites. Trump’s memo was rescinded when President Joe Biden arrived at the White House in January 2021, before the census figures were released.

The Black population in the 2020 census had a net undercount of 3.3%. The undercount was almost 5% for Hispanics, 5.6% for American Indians and Native Alaskans living on reservations and 0.84% for children under age 18. Those undercounts were higher than in the 2010 census, though only the Hispanic count and tally of children had statistically significant differences from 2010 to 2020.

“The Census Bureau simulation strongly indicates that Donald Trump’s attempt at a race-motivated manipulation of the decennial census, despite being largely blocked in court, had a significant impact on noncitizen participation, which also may explain, in significant part, the substantial Latino undercount in 2020,” said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Saenz added that the simulation points to the need to study and confront the reputational harm to the Census Bureau in the Hispanic community due to the “manipulation” by the Trump administration.

“Failure to do so now risks long-term and serious damage to future Census data-collection efforts,” he said.

Using administrative records produced lower population estimates in rural areas, mainly because of the more common use of post office boxes and rural route addresses rather than physical addresses, according to the simulation results. Counts from administrative records also were lower than the 2020 census figures for people between ages 65 and 74, Asians and people who identified as being two or more races. Among the reasons is that these populations were more likely to be double counted in the 2020 census.

Along with noncitizens, Blacks and Hispanics, the administrative records produced higher counts for males, working-age adults, children under age 15 and non-Hispanic whites.

At the state level, Minnesota and several other Midwestern states had the highest match rates between a person identified in an administrative record and a 2020 census record, while Hawaii had the lowest. Minnesota also had the highest rate of residents who answered the census questionnaire on their own without needing prompting from a census taker visiting their home.

Inaugural Somali Day at the Capitol: ‘Support equal opportunity for all’

By
Mohamud Farah Dulyadeyn, Mshale Contributing Writer
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Attendees listen to speakers at the inaugural "Somali Day at the Capitol" on May 2, 2023 at the Minnesota State Capitol. Photo: Siyad Salah/Somali TV of Minnesota
Inaugural Somali Day at the Capitol May 2 2023 by Siyad Salah

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Days after a Plymouth, Minn. man was arrested by federal authorities for setting fire to two Minneapolis mosques, the Somali American Coalition hosted the first of its kind “Somali Day at the Capitol” on Tuesday.

“The community has come to the realization that by working together, we can effectively tackle a wide range of challenges such as education, housing, the opioid crisis, security, and issues concerning Uber and Lyft drivers,” said Ms. Fartun Weli, the executive director of Isuroon, a non-profit that was part of the coalition that organized the day.

Following November’s election, the number of Somali legislators in the Minnesota Legislature almost doubled after two new members were elected, adding to both chambers by bringing the total number to five – three in the House and two in the Senate. The two additions last year include Samakab Hussein who became St. Paul’s first Somali elected to the Legislature and Sen. Zaynab Mohamed of Minneapolis who is the youngest person ever elected to the state Senate.

A Muslim call to prayer preceded the historic day’s proceedings to set the stage and as Gov. Walz took to the podium to address them, he acknowledged the strength of the Somali community.

“The influence of this community is across Minnesota,” Gov. Walz said describing their presence as a proud moment for the state. ” We are proud because of the contributions you make to business, to arts, to education to the economy in all corners of Minnesota.”

Gov Walz at inaugural Somali Day at the Capitol May 2 2023 by Siyad Salah
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota speaks at the inaugural “Somali Day at the Capitol” on May 2, 2023 at the Minnesota State Capitol. Photo: Siyad Salah/Somali TV of Minnesota

Members and supporters of the Somali Museum of Minnesota carried placards with the museum’s logo and the slogan “SUPPORT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.”

The top issues the Somali leaders at this inaugural lobby day highlighted fell in four categories, and included calling for greater protections for Uber and Lyft drivers, increasing resources for the community to deal with the opioid crisis and additional funding for the Somali Museum of Minnesota.

All the priorities highlighted had supporters in the crowd with supporting placards and slogans.

Eid Ali, president of the Minnesota Uber and Lyft Drivers Association, emphasized the need for worker protections, citing unfair treatment and compensation for people of color. Farhia Gabeyre, a board member of the Somali American Coalition, also addressed the issue, stating, “It’s time for fair wages, affordable benefits, and other worker protection rights for our drivers.” MULDA has been lobbying the Legislature and anticipates proposals this year.

Ms. Nimco Ahmed, president of the Somali American Coalition, speaking with Mshale after the event, expressed gratitude to all the participants, hailing the day as a success for unveiling the community’s legislative priorities.

“It provided an opportunity for dialogue and engagement between community members and elected officials,” Ms. Ahmed said. “Overall, I am pleased that it was a success.”

Minnesota State announces insider and outsider as finalists for chancellor

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Mshale Staff
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Dr. Tonjanita "Tonja" Johnson, senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Alabama, and Dr. Scott Olson, president of Winona State University, are the two finalists for the Minnesota State chancellor position. A decision will be made on May 9, 2023 on which one of them will be chancellor. Photo: Courtesy of Minnesota State
Johnson and Scott

Minnesota State, the state’s largest highest education system that runs seven state universities and 26 community and technical colleges, is closing in on hiring a new chancellor. Dr. Devinder Malhotra, the current chancellor is scheduled to retire this summer.

The system announced Dr. Tonjanita (Tonja) Johnson and Dr. Scott Olson as the two finalists that were scheduled to come to Minnesota State for interviews last week.

Former state finance commissioner under Gov. Jesse Ventura, Ms. Pam Wheelock and Mr. George Soule, vice chair of the Minnesota State Board of Trustees, co-chaired the search committee.

AdvertisementIn a news release, the system said Dr. Johnson has served the University of Alabama System since 2019 as senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. Previously, she served the University of Tennessee System as the executive vice president/chief operating officer from 2016 to 2019 and as vice president for communications and marketing from 2013 to 2016. Previous engagements include serving the State University of New York at Stony Brook as chief deputy to the president from 2010 to 2013, Middle Tennessee State University as associate vice president for marketing and communications from 2008 to 2010, and Mississippi Valley State University from 2001 to 2008. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s from the University of Alabama and a doctorate from Jackson State University (MS).

Dr. Olson has been the president of Winona State University since 2012. The university is one of seven under the Minnesota State system. He previously served Minnesota State University, Mankato as provost and vice president for academic and student affairs from 2003 to 2012. He also served the Minnesota State system office as interim vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for 13 months from 2010 to 2011. Previous engagements include Ball State University in Indiana as dean of the College of Communication, Information, and Media from 1998 to 2003, and Central Connecticut State University as a professor and then administrator between 1985 and 1998. He holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s, and a doctorate from Northwestern University in Illinois.

The Board of Trustees will have a special meeting on May 9 to review feedback received from interview participants and appoint a new chancellor.

If an appointment is made on May 9, the new chancellor will start on August 1.

Innovative program aims to evaluate impact of helping Minnesotans get back to work after injury or illness

By
Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
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Workers at the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minnesota listen to President Joe Biden speak to them about his administration's economic agenda on Monday, April 3, 2023. The Biden administration's Department of Labor has given the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) a grant to enroll workers in a research program measuring the effectiveness of providing early supports for ill and injured workers. Photo: Abbie Parr/AP
Workers at Cummins Plant on April 3 2023 listen to Biden
Workers at the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minnesota listen to President Joe Biden speak to them about his administration's economic agenda on Monday, April 3, 2023. The Biden administration's Department of Labor has given the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) a grant to enroll workers in a research program measuring the effectiveness of providing early supports for ill and injured workers. Photo: Abbie Parr/AP

As a longtime restaurant manager, Victor Obisakin knows what it’s like to stay busy on your feet. Anyone who works in the industry knows that there’s an art to managing staff and customers while addressing unexpected issues – all of which happens at a rapid pace.

For Victor, his world changed in ways he did not expect when he broke his leg playing soccer, a sport he has engaged in for all his life in 2019.

What followed were multiple surgeries that took him out of work, effectively ending his career at a job he loved.

While recovering, he took some part time virtual jobs to stay busy and bring some income to supplement what his wife was bringing home. That however brought new complications as it meant they could no longer qualify for social relief programs that could relieve the reduced income burden on the four-person household. Him and his wife have two young children. The best option was for him to not work at all.

“I am not used to not working and I could never imagine that I would get injured and be put out of work,” Victor said. “It was not just a leg injury, even my mental wellbeing got injured when I found I could no longer work.”

Despite these challenges, Victor considers himself fortunate to have found an initial team of occupational and environmental medicine providers that were able to help him recover after his injury. After moving to the Twin Cities for his wife’s new job, the next step in Victor’s journey was continuing his recovery and exploring possibilities to reenter the workforce. That’s when Victor connected with MN RETAIN.

MN RETAIN, short for Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network, is a research program measuring the effectiveness of providing early supports for ill and injured workers. Funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration, only five states nationwide were selected to participate in the program. The program aims to enroll 3200 MN workers by May 2024. Individuals who enroll are randomized to either a control group or an intervention group. The control group workers are provided a list of resources to help them make connections on their own that could help with return to work. The intervention group participants are assigned a MN RETAIN return-to-work case manager who connects them to services they may need. Victor is in the intervention group of the program working with a RETAIN return to work case manager.

In Minnesota, RETAIN, is led by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Ms. Nancy Omondi, Director of workforce development programs at the agency leads Minnesota’s RETAIN system which is comprised of multiple state agency partners, healthcare organizations and workforce development agencies. “MN RETAIN’s purpose is to get those who are out of work due to an injury or illness, back as soon as medically safe,” Omondi stated. “Programs like these are critical to the state’s economic recovery and growth,” she continued.

Tammy Usha Nancy at
Ms. Nancy Omondi, right, director of workforce development programs at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) with collegues Ushakumari Valappil and Tammy Green as they represented MN RETAIN at the Minnesota Hospital Association Innovation Conference in Brooklyn Center on April 17, 2023. Photo: Courtesy MN DEED

The program facilitates communication between employees, employers and health care providers through a Return-to-Work Case Manager who is a member of the clinical team. As of April (2023), more than 1,100 workers have participated in the program.”

“If someone has an injury or illness that prevents them from going to work, they can call or email us to see if this program is viable for them” said Lensa Idossa, a DEED Program Manager. Workers must meet the eligibility criteria to be considered. Workers in the program are randomly put into two groups. One group will receive free RETAIN services funded through the grant to help them get back to work and the other will be given information on CareerForce services.

Drs. Laura Breeher and Clayton Cowl from the Mayo Clinic lead the medical oversight of Minnesota’s RETAIN program including a team of return-to-work case managers and in partnership with healthcare institutions and providers throughout the state.

“The longer someone stays away from work it can quickly become the new normal, so we sensitize our fellow providers on new approaches,” said Dr. Cowl.

Dr. Breeher said part of the opportunity is to get providers to approach injury or illness holistically and not exclusively on the physical recovery aspect.

“A provider might think they are helping someone to recover by taking six weeks away from work, but we also want them to look at the psychological toll it might have on someone being away from work that long,” said Dr. Breeher.

It is possible for example that the injured employee can work remotely part time while recovering, the two doctors say. Such an approach can be beneficial for the injured employee’s mental wellbeing and helpful to the employer who does not have to hire and train someone new.

The RETAIN program comes at a time when Minnesota is facing a historic worker shortage. DEED data shows that there are well over 200,000 job vacancies across the state, and the shortage affects all sectors of the state’s economy. When you factor in Covid, it is especially acute in health care and the food service industries, the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Though most industries have recovered from pandemic induced shortages, healthcare and hospitality industries continue to struggle for workers.

In Minnesota’s case, immigrants like Victor accounted for most of the state’s labor workforce growth, making up more than 10% of the state’s available workforce in the last decade according to the American Community Survey.

Though he is far from being fully recovered and continues with therapy, Victor said he hopes to help other injured workers by sharing his perspective with the community.

“All the physicians and therapists I have worked with, and my case manager have helped me tremendously to get me back on my feet,” Victor said.

To get in touch with MN RETAIN you can visit their website at www.mnretain.com or by calling them at 507-284-4537.

Books for Africa celebrates 35 years of promoting literacy

By
Panashe Matemba-Mutasa, Mshale Reporter
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Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba after keynoting the annual Books for Africa fundraising luncheon in St. Paul, Minnesota on Friday, April 28, 2023. Mshale Staff Photo by Panashe Matemba-Mutasa
William Kamkwamba
Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba after keynoting the annual Books for Africa fundraising luncheon in St. Paul, Minnesota on Friday, April 28, 2023. Mshale Staff Photo by Panashe Matemba-Mutasa

Books for Africa (BFA), the world’s largest shipper of donated books to Africa held its annual spring luncheon on Friday to celebrate 35 years of fighting illiteracy in the continent. The event, which was themed “Reading for All,” was held at The Town and Country Club in St Paul and was attended by various dignitaries, including Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.

“Books for Africa represents the philanthropic values of our state, and the power of the [African] diaspora here in Minnesota,” Walz said.

The World Population Review reports that 9 out of 10 least literate countries in the world are in the African continent. Only 67% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa can read and write, according to the World Bank. But the number is a significant improvement from the 49% recorded in 1985, thanks to organizations like BFA, which as has shipped more than 57 million books to every country in Africa since its founding in 1988.

BFA founder Tom Warth remembered the organization’s early days. He got the idea when he visited a library in Uganda that had nearly empty shelves. So far this year, BFA has sent 3.3 million books to Africa. By comparison, it sent 3.2 million books for the entire 2022, and is not on course to surpass its goal of shipping 4 million books by the end of 2023. In recent years, BFA has begun shipping computers and electronic devices to provide access to eBooks.

“Every child should have a book,” Warth said. “My ambition is for every child in Africa to have a book.”

Malawian inventor, William Kamkwamba, was the keynote speaker of the event. He spoke about how his humble beginnings inspired his journey as an inventor and education advocate. After dropping out of high school because his family could not afford to pay for his education, Kamkwamba 14-year-old Kamkwamba used to sneak into his school’s library to read book. Using the books, he taught himself and build a windmill that used bicycle parts to generate electricity, which his farming community used to pump water from a well to grow food crops during a severe drought. Kamkwamba’s remarkable story was documented in his book, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which was adopted into a film by the same name in 2019.

Kamkwamba said that Africa is full of talented young people whose potential could be unleashed by giving them the tools they need to excel.

“There are so many talented kids, but if we don’t give them the opportunities to read, their dreams and desires will die before they can see the light of day,” Kamkwamba said.

At the conclusion of the event, Peris Outa, a nonprofit coordinator and BFA volunteer, joined others as they raced to the line to be photographed with Kamkwamba. Outa spoke about her passion for the mission of BFA.

“I started volunteering [at Books for Africa] in my college days,” Outa said. “It was such a good experience, and I’m glad to still be supporting years later.”

Rosemond Sarpong Owens, a Ghanaian-born author whose company Lion’s Historian publishes Afrocentric children’s books, said she understood the value of books firsthand. While she recognized the transformative impact of the organization, she said that she would like to see more involvement from local Africans.

“I see Books for Africa becoming very innovative in the future, but we need diasporans to be even more involved first,” Owens said.

Kimberly Sannes, a local business owner, beamed as she made small talk with other attendees. She said the first time she heard about BFA was when a friend invited her to the Friday even event. She said that she was most impressed by BFA’s wide reach.

“We need this now more than ever,” Sannes said.

Abdirahman Kahin is the National Small Business Person of the Year

By
Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
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Afro Deli Founder Abdirahman Kahin is the 2023 National Small Business Person of the Year. He posted this picture of himself at the White House as he and winners from all the states waited to be addressed by President Biden the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. Photo: Kahin's Facebook
Kahin at teh White House
Afro Deli Founder Abdirahman Kahin is the 2023 National Small Business Person of the Year. He posted this picture of himself at the White House as he and winners from all the states waited to be addressed by President Biden the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. Photo: Kahin's Facebook

Restaurant owner Abdirahman Kahin, after being named Minnesota’s Small Business Person of the Year last month, told Mshale in an interview “I am looking forward to competing at the national level and win it all.” He did exactly that today after SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, announced him as the national winner at the annual National Small Business Week which started yesterday and will conclude on May 6.

Mr. Kahin and winners from each state were in Washington, D.C. for the awards ceremony as well as an address by President Biden today.

“Abdirahman has pursued the American dream of business ownership — overcoming challenges, launching multiple food businesses, pivoting during COVID, and lifting local neighborhoods along the way.  He combines great ideas with hard work and diligence, and we are honored that SBA has been a part of his successful and ongoing journey,” said Administrator Guzman.

Ms. Guzman went on to say that Mr. Kahin “reflects the best of American entrepreneurship.”

Mr. Kahin who immigrated to the United States as a student in 1996 first ventured into the media production business after attending community college, before turning to the restaurant business.

He opened the first Afro Deli and Grill location in Minneapolis in 2010 and has since expanded to four locations in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. He has his eyes on a nationwide expansion that will make it the first national African restaurant chain in the United States.

His win places him in elite company. Previous winners of the prestigious award which “recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate exceptional leadership and create sustainable, thriving businesses in their communities” have included Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of Chobani yogurt as well as Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of the famous Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba bring back magical sounds of Mali to Minneapolis, with a few surprises

By
Susan Budig
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Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba during their show at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba at Cedar
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba during their show at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga

Over 200 people sat in the audience welcoming waves of Malian music wash over them. Bassekou Kouyaté and Ngoni Ba played on the Cedar Cultural Center’s stage Saturday evening, April 22nd in Minneapolis delivering the magical sounds.

All of the instruments were of the centuries-old traditional style including two ngonis, a calabash, a tama also known as a talking drum, a yabara that is a hand-held percussive gourd, a calabash, and the human voice provided primarily by Bassekou’s spouse, Amy Sacko. All of these time-honored instruments were enhanced by electronic pick-ups.

As the instruments are hybrids of old and new, so too was the sound created. Bassekou Kouyaté seeks to play with tradition while incorporating pop styles. He kept his audience entranced.

The band trouped on stage at 8:15 immediately warming the hall with a slowly developing melody, like dipping one’s toes into the water to check for temperature. The rhythm picked up and suddenly the song came to a close.

Amy Sacko
Amy Sacko at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 22, 2023 when she and her husband Bassekou Kouyate along with their band Ngoni Ba performed. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga

Chérif Keïte, Carleton College professor, jumped on stage to provide commentary on the songs and to offer song titles as well. Bassekou Kouyaté spoke to us in French and occasionally English, preferring to have Keïte speak on his behalf.

At the start of the third song, Keïte said, “The essence of Mali is in music. If you try to suppress music, you’re committing cultural genocide,” a sentiment that Bassekou strongly agreed with.

The ngoni is a very unassuming instrument. It’s plain without scrolls or intricate pegs or fancy engraving, made of a simple brown wood or gourd with an animal skin stretched over the top. In Bassekou’s hands, it bursts with intricate melodies. Both Bassekou and his son, Madou Kouyaté, play one on stage, Madou’s larger ngoni has a deeper sound.

The fourth song of the evening, Jama Ko, (Come Together) is an appeal to humanity, a call for unity. Keïte impulsively called out, “Let’s go to Mali together!”

Bassekou shouted into the crowd to find out where people are from, thinking he’s performing mostly for a local crowd. When he heard people call back, “Togo…Mali…Rwanda” and other countries in Africa, he smiled broadly and said, “Ah, yes…tonight is a good night.”

The Cedar’s sound was in good form with Bassekou signaling adjustments to be made by the sound engineers for various instruments and voices throughout the evening. When each band member took a solo, Bassekou made sure technical issues didn’t mar the sound.

The audience was thrilled when Mahamadou Tounkara stepped from the back of the stage to center to play his talking drum. The tama is a small drum, held under the armpit and struck with an L-shaped stick. When the musician squeezes his arm down on the drum’s sides, the resulting sound fluctuates in pitch as if talking. Tounkara added dance moves to titillate us even more.

Keïte quipped, “Africa can make instruments of anything, that’s the genius of Africa.”

The show was almost over when Keïte tells Bassekou something in Bambara or French. They engaged in a lengthy conversation and then Keïte urged a woman to come to the stage. In the audience, with her pipa in its case sat Gao Hong, a world-class pipa player.

She climbed the steps and explained to the audience that she’d been performing at another concert earlier that day so she was dressed in her stage costume. She had her pipa with her because it was too cold to remain in the car while she attended Bassekou’s show.

Hong, also a professor at Carleton College, hails from China. Her instrument was shaped similarly to a violin with an ornate scroll on top, but it closer to the size of a small cello. She held it upright between her legs as she sat on a chair to play it.

Having never played together before, but finding themselves suddenly performing in unison, Bassekou and Hong decided to each play a series of notes and then echo one another. Eventually they found a pattern to create a melody and the rest of the band joined in. It was perhaps an historic moment, a first for the two instruments to be played together in concert, an Asia meets Africa musical moment.

An amazing tribute to Sekou Kingdom of Central Mali, long since its reign, comprised the band’s encore and after almost two hours of music, the show was over. The audience filed out, fully satisfied with the accomplished players who’d entertained them for the evening, bringing the warmth of Mali to this cold Minnesota spring.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar announces support for President Biden’s reelection

By
Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
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Ilhan and POTUS at MSP Airport April 2023 PRINT
President Joe Biden hugs Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as he is greeted at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Wednesday said she will support President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, after the president announced on Tuesday that he is running for a second term.

“This is a very dangerous moment for our country and the president (Biden) that is leading us has done a great job and we need to coalesce behind him,” Omar told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner.

In a Thursday morning statement from her campaign staff following the MSNBC appearance, Omar emphasized the president’s visit earlier this month to her district to celebrate the major accomplishments the Democrats’ slim majority has brought about, and the dangers a return of Trump to the White House poses to the country.

“President Joe Biden’s visit to Fridley in my District this month underscored all that we have accomplished as Democrats in the past two years—the biggest investments in clean energy in history, hundreds of thousands of new jobs in Minnesota and millions of dollars invested in community projects directly in the Fifth District. It is for these reasons and more that I plan to support our Democratic President for reelection,” the congresswoman said. “We are facing a direct threat to our existence as a democracy from Donald Trump and his fellow MAGA Republicans and we need a united front to combat it. I will continue to push for progressive change on issues like student debt, child hunger, immigration, and foreign policy.”

Mr. Biden made his reelection bid official with an early Tuesday morning video, launching by saying “When I ran for President four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America and we still are. The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer. I know what I want the answer to be. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.”

During his visit to Rep. Omar’s district earlier this month, Biden said of Omar “You never stop working to level the playing field for everybody.”

In the 2020 presidential election in Minnesota, where the state led the nation in voter turnout at almost 80%, Mr. Biden beat Mr. Trump by 7 percentage points.

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