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Dear reader,

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Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?

\n

You can learn how to have civil political conversations with our new e-book!

\n

Download our free e-book, Talking Sense: Have Hard Political Conversations, Better, and learn how to talk without the tension.

\n",DEAR_READER_CTA_TEXT="Get your free ebook »",DEAR_READER_CTA_LINK="https://cloud.connect.mpr.org/mprnews-cfw03-01-talking-sense?utm_campaign=cfw_talkingsense&utm_term=dearreader_co";!function(){const e=async function(r,t=100,n=1e4){t=Number.isInteger(t)&&t>0&&t<=100?t:parseInt(t);let a="Array";if("NaN"==t)return console.error("Invalid refresh interval:",t);Array.isArray(r)||"string"!=typeof r||(a="string",r=[r]);let o=e=>document.querySelector(e),i=e=>e.every(e=>!!o(e));return new Promise((l,s)=>{let c=(e,r=null)=>(r&&clearInterval(r),l("Array"==a||e.length>1?e.map(e=>o(e)):o(e[0]))),d=a=>{console.error(`${a.name}: ${a.message}`);return s(a,()=>e(r,t=100,n=1e4))};try{if(i(r))return c(r);let e=setInterval(()=>{if(i(r))return c(r,e)},1e3/t);setTimeout(()=>{try{if(!i(r)){clearInterval(e);let r=Error(`Failed to find matching elements within ${n}ms`);throw r.name="Timed Out",r}}catch(e){return d(e)}},n)}catch(e){return d(e)}})};e("article").then(e=>{e.insertAdjacentHTML("beforeend",`

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St. Paul, Minn.

July 3, 2006 4:33 PM

Celebrating citizenship

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Star and Stripes — Igor Yakovlev arrived in the United States almost 12 years ago. This weekend, the native of Azerbaijan became an official American citizen.
MPR Photo / Nikki Tundel

Independence Day brings lots of things. Fireworks. Barbeques. Sunburns. And lots of media stories about new Americans.

American family — Igor, his wife Yuliya and their daughter now live in Robbinsdale. This April, Igor opened his own realty firm.
MPR Photo / Nikki Tundel

It's not uncommon for newspapers, television stations and radio networks to do reports about Fourth of July naturalization ceremonies.

But, as reporter Nikki Tundel discovered, there's a reason why those stories make the news every year. She talked to host Mary Lucia about what it's like to see immigrants and refugees become official, legal, American citizens.

At a naturalization ceremony at the Fort Snelling History Center, Nikki met Igor Yakovlev and his family. They talked about why they left their home country of Azerbaijan and what it feels like to become citizens of the United States.

Gallery

3 of 3

New Americans — Each day, about 4000 people across the country receive their citizenship.
MPR Photo / Nikki Tundel

1 of 3

Wrap yourself in the flag — Igor Yakovlev arrived in the United States almost 12 years ago. This weekend, the native of Azerbaijan became an official American citizen.
MPR Photo / Nikki Tundel

2 of 3

It's official — To become citizens, people have to renounce all allegiance to their home countries.
MPR Photo / Nikki Tundel

Turn Up Your Support

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.

Dear reader,

Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?

You can learn how to have civil political conversations with our new e-book!

Download our free e-book, Talking Sense: Have Hard Political Conversations, Better, and learn how to talk without the tension.