COMMUNITY

July may get all the glory for its patriotic displays of fireworks, but when it comes to a true explosion of colors, it’s tough to beat the show put on each year by September and October.

Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) has been named a recipient of a 2019 Cultural Jambalaya Diversity Award, which honors those who have made a positive difference by advancing multiculturalism and ethnic diversity in their Minnesota communities.

Bo Thao-Urabe, CAAL’s executive and network director, for years has been a thought leader in the Hmong and Asian Pacific American community. She co-founded CAAL in 2013 after a series of conversations that assessed that there was not another effort that brought emerging and experienced Asian Pacific American (APA) leaders from different sectors, age groups and various ethnic communities together.

The Minnesota State Arts Board has awarded two grants, totaling $58,700, to the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent and the Hmong Cultural Center. 

Museology Museum Services has recently completed two additional museum panels for the Hmong Cultural Center Museum. These panels focus on Hmong Weddings and Hmong Funerals.

Mai* and her husband Pheng* legally immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand in 2005 in a desperate attempt to improve their lives. After settling in Saint Paul with their four children, the couple learned about HAP’s job training services and enrolled in the organization’s 13-week soldering program.

When people come together, amazing things happen. This October, a group of educators and parents are bringing together Hmong authors from around the country to spark and cultivate a love of reading and writing amongst Hmong youth in the Twin Cities. This year’s theme is “Embracing the Love of Reading and Writing in the Hmong Language.”

Janssen Hang has accepted the Executive Director position at the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) and will start in this new capacity on September 22, 2019.

Parents of boys and girls in grades K-5 can sign their children up for Scouting online today or at one of more than 700 local joining events taking place at ALL area elementary schools. From 6-7 PM on Thursday, September 19.

The St. Paul City Council recently introduced an administrative ordinance in preparation for the first minimum wage increase to be effective on January 1, 2020.

The Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) announced 15 Asian Minnesota leaders as the recipients of the Spark Leadership Fund and will present selected leaders with awards of $1,000 each.

Dr. Brian V. Xiong created the Hmong Education Resources (HER) Publisher for the Hmong community in 2018 that provides services for Hmong students, writers, educators, researchers, and graphic artists.

Dear friends,

The Better Business Bureau® of Minnesota and North Dakota is warning consumers of a seasonal scam that tends to pop up in warmer months – asphalt paving schemes.

HAP Farm Coordinator Tou Xiong didn’t dream of becoming a farmer when he was growing up in south Minneapolis – he wanted to be a detective. He imagined himself unearthing clues and getting to the root of crimes, not digging up vegetables and pulling roots from the soil.

On Tuesday, June 11th, nine Minnesotans were recognized with the state Department of Human Services’ 2019 Outstanding Refugee Award. The St. Paul ceremony honored refugees who have made significant contributions in civic engagement, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

I transformed from a boy climbing to the top of the tallest tree in a small village back in Laos, wondering what all those glittery things in the night sky were, to now being able to answer my own wonderings through my own research and explorative expertise as a doctoral graduate.

Come celebrate the Hmong Folk Arts Traditions taught at HCC and shared in the Hmong Cultural Center Museum on Wednesday, June 26, 2019 from 5:00 to 6:30 PM.

Hmong farmers make up the majority of the farmers in the local Twin Cities’ farmers markets, but many are getting older, and exiting farming because they do not have access to equipment that could make their operations less laborious and hard on their aging bodies.

The Saint Paul Police Department is collaborating with the Safe Summer Nights organization for another summer of fun and BBQ throughout the city.

When LEAP high school student Iya Xiong decided to compete in the annual Miss Hmong MN pageant, she was hardly expecting to win the grand title.

If you love angling and want to live in a big city, you couldn’t do any better than the Twin Cities metro region. Bright lights, big fish – we’ve got it all.

The Xab Pheej Kim Hmong Music Foundation, LLC in partnership with the Hmong Men’s Circle student association from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities are proud to announce that on Saturday, July 6th, 2019 at 7:00 PM they are hosting a community celebration.

On Tuesday, April 30, representatives of the Minnesota House passed a provision to create a state holiday to honor Hmong veterans who served in the U.S. Vietnam War.

City Manager Jay Stroebel announced today another milestone toward their BP2025 goals of “Beautiful Places.” The City is being honored as a “Tree City USA” community. This is the 18th year the city has been recognized.

In the epicenter of Hmong America, an unrivaled collection of over 200,000 unique cultural artifacts – including but not limited to books, photographs, videos, sound recordings, newspapers, maps, musical instruments, and paj ntaub – turns 20 years old.

Hmong-American teen Chuejee Thao, 17, has been missing since Monday, the 15th of April.

Four of 24 Bush Fellows selected by the Bush Foundation from across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota are Hmong-Americans this year.

Training provided by HAP leads to better jobs for two determined individuals.

Diane Moua, critically acclaimed pastry chef, is paving the way for women of color in fine dining. She is the first Hmong-American woman to be nominated for a prestigious James Beard Award.

After a historic election saw the number of Asian Pacific legislators triple in Minnesota, we formed the first-ever Minnesota Asian Pacific (MAP) Caucus.

Baby food giant Gerber continues to pursue a marketing strategy focused on multiculturalism – in 2019, the face of the company will be one year-old Hmong-American, Kairi Yang.

In February 2019, Hmong Cultural Center was awarded a new grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the Hmong Folk Arts Initiative involving classroom instruction, curriculum development and interactive museum exhibits to teach about Hmong folk art forms.

Receiving Social Security benefits? Check. Over 15 grandchildren? Check. Buried loved ones? Unfortunately check.

Minnesota Children’s Museum recently unveiled a new experience that features a variety of games for visitors to play – giant games, board games, an interactive dancing game and more.

With the Immigrant Microbiome Project, a University of Minnesota study that investigated the gut microbiomes of Hmong and Karen women in Thailand and the Twin Cities, Dr. Pajau Vangay reveals the often unseen intersections of science and social justice.

Pinwheel Photo Booth will be presenting the first Asian Wedding And Events (AWE) Fair on March 9th at the Radisson Hotel Minneapolis/St. Paul North.

Nancy Yang, digital producer at Minnesota Public Radio, champions the cause of building diverse newsrooms – as a Hmong American woman in mainstream media, she’s guiding the change.

The St. Paul-based Hmong Studies Journal is pleased to announce the publication of Volume 19, Issue 2. An internet-based journal, the Hmong Studies Journal is the only peer-reviewed academic publication.

2018 was a very eventful year for the Hmong community locally, nationally and beyond. The Hmong Times takes a look back at some of the top stories of 2018.