The Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, or MIWRC, celebrated its 40th anniversary this week in Minneapolis. The center was established in 1984 out of a need for addiction treatment centers that focused on care for Native women in Minnesota. 

Since its founding, the nonprofit has expanded its offerings with services and programs such as support groups, family services and housing assistance.  The center’s mission is to empower Native women and their families.  

“Healing is at the heart of everything we’re doing,” said CEO Ruth Buffalo. The programs the center offers are committed to traditional ways of providing support rooted in cultural values. 

Buffalo said their leadership is grounded in the community and the community’s desire to help fellow members through hardships that are seen in Native communities such as addiction and violence.  

“I believe MIWRC continues to stand as a true pillar in the community,” Buffalo said, “I think of it as place where people can come and get nurturing, get loved, get their basic needs met and continue to thrive from there.” 

One program that the center offers is emergency housing, which Buffalo said is often the most used program that is offered. Emergency housing is located on the top two floors of the center’s building.

Currently there are 14 units available but plans to expand to 24 units are in the works. Among the 24 units, four will be permanent housing for those with disabilities.  

Buffalo says construction is planned to start in late October and will open in July 2025. 

MIWRC was recently presented with recognition from Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for leading 40 years of culturally grounded services and programming. 

“We are here to serve the community. Our doors are open, and we’ll continue to help the best way we can,” Buffalo says.  

ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Starting Friday in Minnesota, you’ll be able to cast a ballot for the 2024 election. Early in-person voting is set to kick off statewide with 46 days left until Tuesday, November 5.

On Thursday, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon previewed the start of early voting as his office prepares to receive the very first votes of the election cycle this week.

“Between now and November 5, I want to see high turnout and low drama,” said Simon. “One essential component for both of those outcomes is to make sure that Minnesotans have the information they need about our elections.”

This general election cycle is the first for several new state laws. Since the last election cycle, the state has implemented things like automatic voter registration and reintroduced the right to vote for felons. According to Simon, those new laws ought to make an impact.

“55,000 people now, folks in Minnesota who have left prison behind, can vote again,” said Simon.

Ahead of the first ballots being cast, the Office of the Secretary of State also worked to quell any concerns about election integrity and security. He explained that the state makes sure the system is tamper-proof.

“We always use paper ballots. Just think about that. There’s been a lot of misinformation about election equipment and tabulators, but remember, the ultimate backup is paper,” he said.

Simon said that all state election machines are tested, and that the ballot machines are assessed after the election to make sure they match perfectly.

“All local election offices must, under state law, conduct what’s called public accuracy tests on their election equipment to seek to ensure that every item is working perfectly. Then on election night, every precinct must ensure that there are the same number of ballots cast as registered voters,” he said.

“Our election security navigator team partners closely with a wide range of state and federal agencies and local election offices across Minnesota to monitor physical and cyber threats to our elections,” said Bill Ekblad, Elections Security Navigator for the Secretary’s office.

Early voting can be done in person or by mail.

Simon warned that those voting by mail ought to do so as early as possible this year to avoid hiccups with the US Postal Service.

“We are seeing some delays nationally with the US Postal Service. It’s not everywhere, and Minnesota has fared better than many places across the country, but we just want to make sure that if you plan to vote by mail from home, you’re requesting your ballot and returning your ballot early,” he said.

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