Topics

Poverty

• Poverty rate climbs
  A new U.S. Census report says the number of people in poverty increased by more than a million between 2002 and 2003. And more than a million more people nationally reported they did not have health insurance over the same period. The latest figures show children under age 18 are increasingly at risk from poverty.August 27, 2004
• Census numbers show 'a lot of wealth' in Minnesota
  New government numbers show Minnesota remains among the most affluent states in the nation, with one of the lowest rates of poverty. Wisconsin and Iowa, two other political swing states, also showed fewer signs of poverty than many other states in the country.August 26, 2004
• Cleaning up the White Earth Reservation
  The White Earth Indian Reservation in northwest Minnesota has struggled for years with poverty. Unemployment hovers at around 25 percent, well above the national average. The tribe employs some 1,500 people at its casino and in tribal government jobs. But White Earth leaders have had little success in attracting jobs in the private sector. Now, the tribe is getting some help. A Detroit Lakes-based non-profit group is working with White Earth to make the reservation more attractive to new businesses.March 17, 2004
• Work isn't always the solution to poverty
  It can be as minor as a car breakdown or as major as serious illness. Either can send the working poor deeper into poverty. One author explores various lives of people on the economic edge which show the cycle is tough to break.March 9, 2004
• State plummets in ranking of child care generosity
  Minnesota plunged 25 places in a state-by-state ranking of the subsidies available to families needing child care, according to a report by several child advocacy groups.January 29, 2004
• Cub Foods store may revitalize Minneapolis neighborhood
  For most Twin Cities residents, it's not difficult to find a large grocery store, like Cub or Rainbow, close to home. However, people who live in north Minneapolis have to drive outside the city to find a big box grocery store. But the neighborhood is getting a Cub Foods store and residents hope this is a sign of better economic times ahead.January 14, 2004
• Minnesota is hungry for help
  Each day, thousands of Minnesotans go hungry, and their numbers are growing. Officials at area food shelves say there are more hungry people this year than last.November 27, 2003
• Homeowners victimized by foreclosure rescue scam
  A St. Paul real estate investor is accused by his customers of duping them into selling their homes and taking their equity. Minnesota officials want a judge to order Hendrie Grant to turn over documents from transactions. Several homeowners facing foreclosure say Grant rushed them through a complicated and confusing real estate deal they thought would help them save their homes. Instead, they discovered they'd sold their house to Grant and had agreed to a lease-back deal with much higher monthly payments. His accusers say the deals fit the pattern of a foreclosure rescue scam. It's a little-known form of predatory lending that appears to be spreading.October 22, 2003
• Minnesota's poverty rate is the second lowest in the nation, but the numbers may not tell the whole story
  Once again, Minnesota has the country's second lowest poverty rate. However, people who help the poor say the formula for calculating poverty is woefully out of date and Minnesota's real rate is probably double what's reported. The new U.S. Census Bureau poverty numbers released Friday showed nationally that poverty rose and incomes declined for the second year running.September 26, 2003
• Duluth public housing reborn
  Duluth is tearing down its only public housing project. When the Harbor View Homes were built in 1951, housing for low-income people was separated from everyone else. That's changing now, and most residents are pleased.June 17, 2003
• Change in poor neighborhoods
  A new study says poverty is less concentrated in some major cities in the U.S., including Minneapolis. But does this really mean that the poverty picture is improving?May 30, 2003
• Falling Behind
  There was a time when all you had to do was get a job. In the 1950s and '60s, most full-time jobs paid enough to support a family and even buy a house. But times have changed. Today, you can work 40 hours a week and still not be able to buy health insurance, let alone a house of your own. Many people in Minnesota are working, but poor. They hold down not just one, but two jobs, and barely get by.January 31, 2003
• Falling Behind
  There was a time when all you had to do was get a job. In the 1950s and '60s, most full-time jobs paid enough to support a family and even buy a house. But times have changed. Today, you can work 40 hours a week and still not be able to buy health insurance, let alone a house of your own. Many people in Minnesota are working, but poor. They hold down not just one, but two jobs, and barely get by.January 27, 2003
• A Child's Work
  There are almost as many child laborers around the globe today as there are citizens of the United States: around 250 million. Marketplace provides a five-part examination of the exploitation of children at the dawn of the 21st century.Despite breathtaking economic and social advancements in recent history, children continue to be forced to bear some of the heaviest burdens. Reporters traveled from India to Iowa to hear stories of kids who work as bonded laborers, gold miners, farm workers, soldiers, and even entertainers.January 24, 2003
• Olmsted County offers Somali Meals on Wheels
  Last fall Olmsted County launched Somali Meals on Wheels. The Rochester-based program is a spin-off of the traditional Meals on Wheels program, which provides free lunch for those who meet state and federal qualifications. The Olmsted program is believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation.January 22, 2003

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