Somali poetry is a unique art form with an ancient history and a living legacy. Since 1991, it has connected Somali and Somali American refugees living in the United States with those who remain in their East African homeland. In the twenty-first century, Somali Minnesotans have kept their poetic traditions alive by forming arts groups, organizing public performances in the Twin Cities, and encouraging young people to become poets.

Korean adoption to the United States began at the end of the Korean War and continues in the 2010s. Over 200,000 Korean children have been adopted worldwide, with over 120,000 joining American homes. Minnesota has the highest concentration of Korean adoptees of any state, and its large and visible Korean adoptee population has made crucial contributions to local culture.

Believing that war and violence are inconsistent with Jesus’s teachings to love one’s enemies, a group of people from Molotschna Colony, Russia—Mennonites of Dutch descent—searched for a permanent home in the early 1870s. They found such a place, where they could follow their faith without persecution, in Minnesota’s Cottonwood County.