Minnesota
Minnesota's Welcome Corps celebrates 1 year of helping refugees resettle
Minnesota’s Welcome Corps celebrates anniversary
Minnesota has a history of welcoming refugees from all over the world. Some Minnesotans have found a new way to help displaced people through a federal program that celebrated its first anniversary on Jan. 19.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minnesota has a history of welcoming refugees from all over the world. Some Minnesotans have found a new way to help displaced people through a federal program that celebrated its first anniversary on Jan. 19.
Malow Osman and his wife, Fatumo Yusef, and their two children moved from Somalia to Minnesota 3 months ago in search of a better life. Traditional tea gives them a taste of their home country, but starting over is never easy, especially when it’s halfway around the world.
“It is difficult but at least we are trying. I’m feeling very good and better, but I’m worried about the cold,” said Osman.
About 30 members of the Nokomis Square Cooperative Senior Living Facility in South Minneapolis joined together to help Osman and his family through a program called Welcome Corps, which allows groups of at least 5 private citizens to sponsor refugees for 90 days as they resettle in the United States.
The Nokomis Welcome Group as they call themselves has helped the family with everything from finding an apartment to getting food to learning their way around town.
“The fact that we have built a relationship with Osman and Fatumo has been very rewarding for all of us,” said Cynthia Devereaux, a member of the Nokomis Welcome Club.
The non-profit Alight says it has worked with 17 sponsor groups here in Minnesota since Welcome Corps started a year ago.
The charity says Minnesota is consistently the top state for helping displaced people through the program.
“We’ve seen church groups. We’ve seen folks that have come together because they’re in a book club. We’ve seen all different types of people, whether they be related, friends in an organized group,” said Steph Koehne, Alight Private Sponsorship Lead.
Osman says thanks to the relationships he and his family have built with the Nokomis Welcome Group, Minnesota is starting to feel like home and he hopes those friendships last long after their sponsorship is over.
“Home is where we started a life, so we can’t forget Minnesota,” said Osman.
If you’d like more information about becoming a sponsor through the Welcome Corps program, click here.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Expect a sunny Saturday with heat expected to build up this weekend before an even hotter work week.
Saturday forecast
Local perspective:
Winds stay light out of the south with plenty of sunshine today.
There are hints of an extremely isolated thundershower, but the chance of that happening over any given area is extremely small.
Expect highs to peak in the upper 80s with dew points in the mid to upper 60s this afternoon.
Extended forecast
What’s next:
This forecast is hot.
Highs will peak in the 90s every day this upcoming week for the Twin Cities and a large portion of the area as well.
Dew points really don’t look to surge into the 70s but mainly stay in the lower to upper 60s depending on the day of the week.
Little to no precipitation forecast this upcoming week. Expect dry and sunny days.
The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.
BEMIDJI — The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development recently announced over $1.4 million in child care economic development grants, including a $200,000 award to the
Northwest Minnesota Foundation
in Bemidji.
Split between 11 programs and organizations around the state, more than 80% of the awarded funds support programs in Greater Minnesota, with the aim of creating more than 1,100 new child care slots.
“Affordable, reliable child care is essential for a thriving economy,” DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said in a release. “These grants are supporting working families by ensuring Minnesota parents are able to work knowing their child is well cared for by some of the best caregivers in the nation. We’re also helping employers retain talent and working together to establish the foundation for long-term economic vitality.”
DEED’s Child Care Economic Development Grant program provides funding to organizations and communities to invest in new or expanding child care businesses, including facility improvements, worker training, attraction, retention and licensing, and other strategies to address the child care shortage.
Since the office’s inception in July 2023, DEED has awarded over $13 million in grants to 56 organizations to fund child care startups or business expansions, resulting in over 4,000 new child care slots.
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