Be careful what you wish for!
Haven’t you all seen what is happening to Canada since the boy wonder just north of your border said the same thing?
They are rolling out the welcome mat in Minnesota (and not just for the NFL).
Come to think about it, the NFL has put its faith in that rag-tag Minneapolis PD (yikes!).
From the Star Tribune:
City leaders across Minnesota are passing “welcoming” resolutions in an effort to send a message that their communities are inclusive amid growing national tension around the issue of immigration.
City councils in Willmar and St. Joseph, two central Minnesota cities that are becoming increasingly diverse, are expected to discuss resolutions Monday. The measures don’t change policy but are considered symbolic.
“This resolution will just tell everybody ‘We want you in Willmar,’ ” Mayor Marv Calvin said, adding he expects the resolution will pass.
It isn’t America First! or Minnesota First! It is M-O-N-E-Y First!
“Willmar’s strength is in its diversity,” Calvin said. “If people feel they’re not welcome to a community, that’s detrimental to economic development.”
Willmar, a city of nearly 20,000 residents two hours west of Minneapolis, has long had a large Latino population. In recent years, it has also seen a growing number of immigrants from East African nations. Calvin said the newcomers have helped the city flourish with new businesses.
But the resolution isn’t meant just for immigrants and first-generation Americans. It also is designed to send a message to people who were born in Willmar or used to live there that they should return, he said.
“Willmar is open for business,” he added.
***Update*** See CAIR organizing in Willmar, here.
In St. Joseph, residents formed a group called Cultural Bridges more than a year ago to build connections, especially between Christians and Muslims and the town’s Somali refugees and longtime residents after a Somali man stabbed*** 10 people at the Crossroads Center mall in nearby St. Cloud in 2016.
Since then, the group has taught adult basic education classes, provided homework tutoring and launched a jobs search program for Somali immigrants.
The group will ask the City Council on Monday to consider a welcoming resolution. It also plans to post fliers affirming inclusivity after white nationalist posters were plastered across the city illegally. [See posters here.—ed]
“The City Council has a great opportunity. … This is not something that should be met with silence,” said Raj Chaphalkar, a member of the group. “It may seem obvious, but sometimes we need leaders to say [these words] out loud. This is a good place to be for everybody.”
More here.
We have a massive archive on Minnesota where resettlement of Somalis began in earnest about 30 years ago thanks to resettlement contractors: Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services and World Relief. I’ve been there twice now myself.
***They like knives. Just ask the young white woman attacked and stabbed by a man described as Somali (still on the loose?) recently. Her story was in my top three stories of last month, see here.