"The year I came here it was snowing so much that I can't even go outside." I can really appreciate this comment made by a young Ridgewater College student in Willmar who grew up in Kenya as quoted in a recent MinnPost.com article by Gregg Aamot.
On the other hand, as a life-long Minnesotan, how could I really know what it would be like to experience the drastic differences in climate and weather conditions between the two continents? Fortunately for our small towns in rural Minnesota, new immigrants and refugees like Abdalla Mohamed who gives the interview in this article, are adapting to Minnesota winters and a lot more. For some communities, population growth is only because of new immigrants coming here and settling in.
If you're not already following MinnPost's "Rural Minnesota - A Generation At the Crossroads" series, I recommend it. Aamot's article is among others that, according to the site, "features both traditional stories and the ongoing voices of young people throughout the state..." I notice also that the project is made possible by a grant from The Otto Bremer Foundation.
Lois Schmidt, NRS, Willmar
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