Author: Sahan Journal

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. It was produced in collaboration with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Minnesota Attorney General’s office is investigating potentially exploitative real estate transactions that have targeted Somali and Hispanic immigrant homebuyers in the state. The attorney general’s action follows a report by ProPublica and Sahan Journal last year that revealed how contracts for deed — an alternative home sale agreement made directly between a seller and a buyer — can…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. A Minneapolis man pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing more than $1 million in the Feeding Our Future fraud case and using the money for personal purchases, including a BMW.  Abdikadir Kadiye, 51, is the twelfth defendant to plead guilty to defrauding federal food-aid programs during the COVID pandemic. He admitted to using his business to operate sites that claimed to provide more than 400,000 meals to children in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka,…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. Minneapolis’ iconic Keefer Court Bakery & Cafe is reopening under new ownership later this year at the Asia Mall in Eden Prairie. The Chinese bakery’s Facebook page shared a post Monday announcing the development, which comes five months after it closed its sole location in the Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in December 2022. The bakery’s new owners are Michael Bui, Mai Bui, and Peter Do, who own the Pho Mai Vietnamese restaurants located in…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. A crowd of spectators erupted in cheers Friday, April 28, after the Minnesota Senate narrowly voted to legalize recreational marijuana, moving the effort the closest it has come to becoming law in Minnesota after years of failed attempts. The Senate passed the measure on a 34-33 vote, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposed. The vote follows a similar passage from the state House of Representatives Tuesday, April…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. Before physician assistant Mohamed Adan can start explaining the importance of the measles vaccine, parents tell him they don’t want their child receiving the shot. Mistrust of the vaccine among many Somali community members goes back many years, setting the stage for measles to reach Minnesota’s East African community this fall. Low vaccination rates combined with travel to countries where the disease is endemic led to 14 unvaccinated children contracting measles…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. How to protect yourself and others from measles The vaccine that protects people from measles, mumps, and rubella is highly effective at preventing measles. Who should get vaccinated? Children should get the first dose of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine when they’re about 12 to 15 months old. If a child younger than 12 months old is traveling to a country where measles is endemic, a doctor may recommend they receive the…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. It was produced in collaboration with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. For many Somali families in Minnesota, the barriers to homeownership have long seemed insurmountable: reluctant lenders, low incomes, short work histories, and little credit. Members of the East African Muslim community encounter an additional, unique challenge: Because of the principles of their faith, many avoid paying or profiting from interest. This means they typically won’t apply for…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. If you are struggling to pay off your home through a contract for deed, Sahan Journal and ProPublica would like to hear about your experience. Email the authors at jpeters@sahanjournal.com and jessica.lussenhop@propublica.org. If you bought your home through a contract for deed and can’t make the payments, help may be available through the following agencies and nonprofit organizations: Immigrants seeking general education and help with the homebuying process can also access the following resources:…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. A lifelong public defender and a retired judge vying to become the next Hennepin County attorney both call for criminal justice reform, but disagree about how much power the office has over police accountability. Mary Moriarty and Martha Holton Dimick bested five other candidates in the August primary to advance to the Nov. 8 general election. Voters in Hennepin County will choose which one leads the county attorney’s office, the largest public law office in the…

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox. Hennepin County voters will make history at the polls in November when they elect their next sheriff. Dawanna Witt or Joseph Banks will become the first Black sheriff and sheriff of color in Hennepin County. If Witt wins, she’ll become the first Black woman sheriff in the state, according to the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association. Both candidates said representation in law enforcement leadership is important but is only part of the picture.…