MNpublius.com

Only tangentially related to Minnesota politics but there were two fascinating articles about the changing face of the Metro area in the Strib and PiPress yesterday.

From the Strib: Minority growth surges in suburbs.

The growth of minorities, he said, also is a sign that attitudes are changing in a county still known as a white ethnic enclave. “Historically, there wasn’t the opportunity here for minorities to find good-paying jobs,” he said, “but those doors are starting to open as employers realize that African immigrants, to take one example, are hard, eager workers.”

From the PiPress: Suburbs the new melting pot.

Despite the state’s increasing diversity, minorities in Minnesota still make up only about 14 percent of its population, compared with the national figure of about 33 percent, said state demographer Tom Gillaspy.

“We are changing, and this is a change that is going to continue, but we are starting from a starting place that is much less diverse than the rest of the country,” Gillaspy said. “We’re the part of the country where this hasn’t already happened.”