News Day

In early January, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder jointly announced new federal guidelines on school discipline. Why? “Racial discrimination in school discipline is a real problem today, and not just an issue from 40 to 50 years ago,” said Duncan. Continue reading →

Poor people run out of food at the end of the month. No mystery about it: when you run out of money, you run out of food. Every mother struggling to stretch food stamps knows it, and so does every food shelf manager. Continue reading →

I just signed up for another MOOC. So far, I’m batting .500, completing one MOOC and withdrawing from a second. That puts me way ahead of the average, since the average completion rate is only four percent, according to one recent study. Continue reading →

(Photo from Scott Sonnen Facebook post)

Suspended coffee? The Facebook post looked intriguing – looking it up made it even better. Continue reading →

With temperatures below zero most of this week, and on schedule to dive even lower next week, what happens to homeless families and individuals? Usually, shelters shoo people out in the morning, allowing them to return in the evening. But with highs of 25 below zero, that’s not practical. In cold weather, says Stephen Horsfield, “We now have confirmation that St Stephen’s Human Services will also be keeping their shelters open, along with us at Simpson Housing Services, our friends at Our Saviour’s Housing and The Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, Minneapolis keeps open as a warming center on cold days like these.” Continue reading →

Is the GED the same as a high school diploma? No, but for people who have dropped out of high school, it’s often the next best thing. In 2012, 9,712 Minnesotans took the GED test and 5,562 passed, getting a credential that can open doors to jobs and college or vocational training. Next year, the test will get harder, and more expensive. What’s up with that? Continue reading →

Despite protests and pleas, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority announced October 26 that they will go ahead and allow the use of the derogatory team nickname of the Washington NFL franchise in the Metrodome at the November 7 game. The American Indian Movement — AIM of Twin Cities and AIM Patrol of Minneapolis — had called on the MSFA to ban the use of the mascot and logo inside the publicly-funded stadium and now plans to protest the game. Continue reading →

Food stamp help takes a hit November 1, as benefits decrease for hungry people across the country.

The reason for the cut? The federal government raised the amount of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP = new name for food stamps) during the recession. The increase was small, and temporary. Now it’s going away. Continue reading →

One in four women. One in seven men.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, that’s the number of women and men who have been the victims of “severe physical violence by an intimate partner” during their lifetime. Most of the violence goes unreported and unnoticed outside the home. Continue reading →

Who cares about affordable housing? For a start, baby boomers thinking about downsizing and members of Generation Y, wanting desperately to find a way out from the basement bedroom, need affordable housing. So do single moms piecing together multiple part-time jobs and the vast middle group of workers watching wages erode. Continue reading →