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Spanish Minnesota

Minnesota has long had a diverse linguistic tradition. Ojibwe, French, German, Norwegian and English have all been languages of commerce at one time. Now the latest census numbers show the language landscape has shifted once again.

Calling all bilinguals...
For some companies, learning to work in Spanish is a matter of necessity. For others, embracing Spanish is a business decision. We look at one large Minnesota company in Brooklyn Center finding bilinguals are good for the bottom line.

Community policing, in a changing community
For many hospitals, courts, police departments and social service agencies, clients who can't speak English are no longer a novelty. We spent an evening in Melrose with one rural cop helping his force relate to the town's changing population.

Amid the chickens, coping with change
Some companies in Minnesota, such as meat processors, have been adjusting to a growing Hispanic workforce over the past few years. Here's what they've learned amid conveyors of butchered chickens near Cold Spring.


Hispanics in Minnesota
(source: 2000 U.S. Census)
Note: Some Hispanic groups claim census numbers underestimate actual population.
Minnesota map Crookston St. Cloud Duluth Melrose Moorhead Bemidji Minneapolis St. Paul Rochester Worthington Sioux Falls St. James Willmar Long Prairie
Extra Web-only interviews
with Mainstreet Radio's Jeff Horwich

  • Elsa Brignole, interpreter for The Bridge Language Services, St. Cloud (20 min.)
  • Bill Pearson, president, United Food & Commercial Workers 789, St. Paul (16 min.)
  • Juan Rivas, H.R. manager, McDonald's Corp. (13 min.)
  • Eduardo Wolle, workers' compensation mediator, MN Department of Labor (14 min.)
  • Cynthia Maunu, non-Hispanic bilingual telemarketer, Fingerhut (4 min.)