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Minnesota education commissioner visits migrant school in Olivia to hear students’ stories

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Minnesota education commissioner visits migrant school in Olivia to hear students’ stories


OLIVIA, Minnesota

— Spending a part of the varsity 12 months in Texas and half in Minnesota has its challenges, each with totally different required courses and a few topics taught in several grades.

However college students on the Migrant Training Program at BOLD Excessive College in Olivia discover some good, too. They’ve associates in each locations, and there is much less violence in Minnesota.

College students shared their tales with Minnesota Commissioner of Training Heather Mueller when she visited this system final week.

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College students in this system come from the BOLD, Buffalo Lake-Hector, Renville County West and Willmar faculty districts. This system is there to assist college students keep away from gaps of their studying as their households transfer.

About 72 college students from preschool by means of highschool attend faculty on campus, mentioned director Jane Sanchez, and one other 30 are served in different methods.

The college operates Monday by means of Friday and can finish July 20.

The scholars’ households work in agriculture. Many dwell in Texas and transfer north for work in summer season and fall. The identical households have come to the world for a few years.

Sanchez mentioned she has recognized a few of the highschool college students since they have been in kindergarten.

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Minnesota Commissioner of Training Heather Mueller listens to scholar feedback throughout a go to to the Migrant Training Program at BOLD Excessive College in Olivia on July 6, 2022. This system gives schooling for households of migrant farm employees.

Linda Vanderwerf / West Central Tribune

Mueller mentioned she needed details about how this system serves college students and households.

The scholars instructed her commencement necessities differ between the states, and academics current data otherwise.

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Typically credit don’t transfer simply from one state to the opposite, they mentioned, and a few courses are taught in several grades.

For instance, Algebra I is a junior excessive class in Minnesota however a highschool class in Texas. Texas doesn’t require college students to check American civics, however Minnesota does.

Junior excessive college students instructed Mueller there’s much less violence and combating within the Minnesota colleges and communities, they usually like having a lot of associates in each locations.

One junior excessive boy mentioned summer season migrant faculty “retains my mind sharp; once I don’t research in the summertime, I neglect issues.”

On the migrant faculty, he mentioned, “folks help me.”

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Senior Leo Silva smiled barely and mentioned, “It’s good,” when Mueller requested him concerning the faculty. “The academics are pleasant and everybody’s good,” he instructed her.

Mueller mentioned it’s vital that the migrant program meet each college students’ and households’ wants.

“Life takes folks throughout, and persevering with to be versatile is vital,” she mentioned. “The system shouldn’t get in the way in which of a scholar’s path to commencement.”

Officers on the Division of Training have mentioned methods of providing diverse paths to commencement, Mueller mentioned.

“We don’t have cookie-cutter college students,” she added. “I don’t need something within the Ok-12 system to inhibit you from what you need to do subsequent.”

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Minnesota Training Commissioner Heather Mueller, left, listens to Maria Silva reply questions concerning the Migrant Training Program on July 6, 2022, at BOLD Excessive College. Silva’s grandson Alex Silva translated for her and in addition answered Mueller’s questions.

Linda Vanderwerf / West Central Tribune

Maria Silva mentioned her household has been working within the space for a few years. She mentioned the summer season program has been good for her kids — and now her grandchildren.

Alex Silva, 13, an eighth-grader, translated for his grandmother and in addition answered Mueller’s questions.

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Maria Silva mentioned this system helped maintain her members of the family on monitor to graduate, and it gave them optimistic experiences.

“They didn’t fall behind, they usually got here to highschool as a result of they didn’t need to be within the solar,” she mentioned.

Alex mentioned he appreciates the summer season faculty. This summer season he’s receiving assist to arrange for the superior courses his faculty in Texas desires him to take after he did so effectively on his standardized assessments.

He’s been shifting forward in math and studying Shakespeare and Homer, Sanchez mentioned.

Minnesota academics take extra time to assist college students perceive what they’re studying, Alex mentioned, whereas in Texas academics have a tendency to maneuver on extra shortly.

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Mueller mentioned she was glad to listen to that the scholars and households have been discovering issues they favored in Minnesota. It is vital to search out methods to ease the migrants’ transition between the varsity methods.

It is her hope that a few of the migrants could ultimately determine to place down roots in Minnesota, she added.





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ATV riders shell out millions riding northern Minnesota trails, study finds

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ATV riders shell out millions riding northern Minnesota trails, study finds


Survey respondents, who came from 63 different Minnesota counties and 14 different states and the District of Columbia, were drawn by this region’s reputation.

“When we asked survey respondents ‘how did you hear about it,’ the most common response was via word of mouth,” said Brigid Tuck, lead researcher from the University of Minnesota Extension. “There is a positive reputation out there that is bringing people to this area.”

The findings could be used to leverage more money from the state and to make a case for more trail coverage in this region, according to Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown.

“We need to make the case to other legislators from the Twin Cities, from Mankato, from other places that, look, your people own these licenses, they own these ATVs, and they’re coming to our region to utilize our outdoors and our land for their benefit,” Hauschild said.

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Between 2005 and 2020, registrations for ATVs increased by 36%, according to the study.

ATVs have gotten a bad rap in the past, said Ron Potter, president of ATV Minnesota. He credits the development of organized ATV clubs with changing that. Ten years ago there were no clubs, he said. Now there are 70 in Minnesota.



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The Minnesota Wild have made resilience a valuable habit, halfway through a banged-up regular season

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The Minnesota Wild have made resilience a valuable habit, halfway through a banged-up regular season


ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild wouldn’t need much time to identify a theme for their first half of the regular season — unfazed ought to do it.

In a fitting finish to their 41st game, the Wild reached the midpoint of the schedule in taxing fashion by fending off the St. Louis Blues 6-4 for their fourth straight victory on Tuesday night.

“Even if we’re up or even or down, I think we just keep playing,” defenseman Jonas Brodin said. “To do that, I think that’s really good. We’ve just got to keep doing it the rest of the season.”

Minnesota (26-11-4) kept pace with Central Division leader Winnipeg, staying two points behind the Jets with one game in hand. The Wild have the fourth-best record in the NHL, after missing the playoffs last season with largely the same roster. One key difference in 2023-24 was a lack of resiliency when injuries and slumps came their way.

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“The vibes are high. Everyone’s feeling good,” defenseman Jake Middleton said.

With Brodin leading the way with a career-high 33:02 of ice time, the second-most by any player in the NHL this season, the Wild managed to outlast a late surge by the Blues with contributions from everywhere in the lineup.

Defenseman Brock Faber, the runner-up for the Calder Trophy last year for the league’s top rookie, departed in the first period with an upper-body injury. That meant more minutes for Zach Bogosian on the first blue-line pair with Brodin, with captain Jared Spurgeon sidelined by a lower-body injury.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Jake Middleton is congratulated for his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. Credit: AP/Matt Krohn

Flanked by the second forward line of Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman down the stretch with a one-goal lead, Brodin and Bogosian were a two-man wrecking crew in front of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury during a supersized shift to end the game. Johansson’s empty-netter with 36 seconds left gave the Wild a 6-4 lead and a much-needed deep breath.

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“That six-man unit to end the game was special to watch,” said Middleton, who returned from a 10-game absence due to an upper-body injury with a goal and an assist.

The defensemen combined for three goals and two assists. Brodin, who led the team with four blocked shots, was justifiably proud of the effort.

“It’s fun to be playing those situations, too, like when it’s on the line. I love to play those minutes. That’s what you dream of when you’re a kid, play those tight games and those shifts. I love it,” Brodin said. “You forget you’re tired when you’re on the ice.”

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn, right, and Minnesota Wild...

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn, right, and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin reach for the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. Credit: AP/Matt Krohn

So what’s the recovery plan?

“I don’t know. Maybe order a pizza or something,” Brodin said.

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Wild coach John Hynes had no update on Faber’s condition after the game, but Brodin and his blue-line boys will surely be ready for more role upgrades after the first half they’ve experienced. Brodin missed 10 games earlier this season himself.

Up front, star left wing and leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov is still out with a lower-body injury that has cost him six games and counting. Earlier this season, Eriksson Ek and another top-six forward, Mats Zuccarrello, missed 29 games between them.

“You can go one of two ways when you hit adversity, and we’re choosing to rise to the occasion,” Bogosian said. “That’s what we need to do.”



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Winners unclear as pay transparency arrives in Minnesota

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Winners unclear as pay transparency arrives in Minnesota


Anyone applying for a job in Minnesota this year should have a pretty good idea of how much the job pays.

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Pay transparency arrives

Minnesota moves: Employers have to list a salary range on job postings because of a new pay transparency law.

At least four other states beat Minnesota to the punch, and data from those states show some clear trends.

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Transparency is way up, and not just in states where laws require it.

Economists at the Minneapolis Fed are trying to figure out exactly why and whether the laws are benefiting you.

Scroll the employment website Indeed and you’ll see the next assistant manager at the Cottage Grove Domino’s will earn up to $19.50 an hour and the next Walmart manager trainee in Red Wing will make between $65,000 and $80,000 a year.

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Pay transparency arrived in Minnesota this year, but what’s not transparent yet is what impact the law will have.

“These laws are pretty new in the United States,” said Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis economist Ayushi Narayan.

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Spreading clarity

Transparency rising: Economists at the Minneapolis Fed found a huge increase in transparency in four states where it’s been mandated by law for up to four years now.

But it’s also significantly up in states without mandates and they’re not sure why.

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Narayan says the data she’s collected show it’s not necessarily driven by occupational patterns, the shrinking gender pay gap, or transparency laws in other states.

And neither high nor low unemployment rates seem to impact transparency.

“There’s been a pretty steady rise despite big fluctuations in the unemployment rate between 2019 and 2024,” Narayan said.

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Increasing salaries

Early hope: She’s curious about research in other states showing slightly improved salaries follow transparency laws.

But the bottom line is, today, we know salaries for more jobs, but it’ll be a while before we know what else is changing.

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“It would be really cool to see ‘are the wages increasing? Which employers are complying and which ones aren’t, and what does that mean for who we think is benefiting from the increases in pay transparency?’,” said Narayan.

What else changes?

Enforcement energy: One wildcard here is enforcement.

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Even in states with transparency laws, only about 72% of jobs include salary ranges.

Minnesota may have the benefit of seeing how other states handle non-compliance before taking any action here.

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