APAs in the Heartland 2004

News, opinions, and feature articles focusing on Asian-Pacific Americans' lives between the Coasts

IMDiversity.com Asian-American Village Annual Special Section

• Feature Articles: Notes from the Midwestern Battleground
• People Profiles: This Asian American Life
• News Readings: Midwestern News Round-up State-by-State

Battleground APAs: Feature Articles

Q&A: The Passion of Iowa State Rep. Swati Dandekar
By Stewart David Ikeda, IMDiversity.com
Dandekar talks about her passion for education, for John Kerry, and for the state that made her the first Indian-born American to serve in a state legislature

Conversation at a Swing State Asian Mart
By Peggy Hong, Special Contributor to IMDiversity.com
In many Asian families and communities, opportunities for cross-generational political dialogue are few. But sometimes they arise in unlikely places.

Childish Dreams: To Be Secretary of State
By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, AAV Contributing Editor
Bittersweet reflections on politics, parenthood, Star Trek and the idealism of youth

Beyond Partisanship, a Huge Political Moment for Wisconsin and Its Minorities
By Stewart David Ikeda, IMDiversity.com
Regardless of stereotypical jokes about us living in the nation’s “most white-bread,” segregated, “Happy Days” state, independent-thinking and minority Cheeseheads will briefly wield a national influence that’s wildly disproportionate to our numbers...

Visiting the Hmong, America's Forgotten Refugees
By Pha Lo, Pacific News Service
March - As a mass exodus of Hmong flows from refugee camps to Minnesota, Wisconsin and other U.S. areas, the writer visit a family in Thailand and asks why some Hmong who fought for America get to emigrate, and others do not

But I Don’t Want to be Political...
By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, AAV Contributing Editor
A last push to go to the polls for those of us who really don't want to.

In November, Remember Our Hmong Veterans
By May Her, with Blong Yong, FutureHmong Magazine
Commentary pleads to recall sacrifices of Hmong vets, forgotten allies in "The Secret War," many of whom are still hiding or persecuted in SE Asia. NOTE: Includes images that may be disturbing to some readers.

Chicago and other American cities and states rush to expand ties with China
By Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer
Council of Great Lakes Governors Shared China Trade Office just one of many initiatives to compete with big players like California for a piece of the pie

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Heartland APAs: People Profiles

New Indian Am woman shares yoga healing with University of Wisconsin-Waukesha
Told she needed surgery for a deviated septum, a math prof instead turned to yoga and now breathes easy and is allergy-free

The tragic tale of Bee Her: MN helps family of 16
A moving portrait of a father and sole supporter for family of 16 doing the best he can in the face of overwhelming tragedies

Story with legs: Back-of-the-pack WI marathoner is sponsor-magnet
The story of Grace Lim, the "slow-moving billboard'' for a local shoe store, who became an in international news story

Wisconsin mathematician leads "double life" with gov't work, students
Meet Ken Ono, mild-mannered Madisonian who came up with a proof a few years ago that left the math world gasping

St. Louis woman, adoption agency aids China with children's surgeries
Fresh out of university, Melody Zhang came of age in the deadly pro-democracy protest 15 years ago in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and has been looking to heal her country's hurts ever since

Montana woman, survivor of sex trade, plans to help Vietnam girls, women
A woman who says she survived life as a prostitute in her home country of Vietnam plans to return there and operate a school, giving girls and women skills to help them stay off the streets

Nebraska artist building a replica of her parents China home
Liu's house, built of Nebraskan materials and on Nebraskan soil, still will be a part of her and China

Arkansas man finds himself helping Laotian countrymen
When someone wants to get married, file for divorce, have a funeral, seek advice, enroll in school, receive medical attention, appear in court or be listened to, they call on Sengmanivong...on his off-time

Vietnamese American priest reaches out to KS immigrants in services, Asian center
From in-language masses to serving as translator to Asian Community Center, pastor helps those who followed his footsteps

News Round-Up

All this month, AAV will run articles every day emphasizing news from the Heartland in our Village Daily Headlines from the Associated Press.  Many will also be posted here, but for more news from all across Asian America, stop in daily.

ARKANSAS

• Ark. man finds himself helping Laotian countrymen
  When someone wants to get married, file for divorce, have a funeral, seek advice, enroll in school, receive medical attention, appear in court or be listened to, they call on Sengmanivong...on his off-time.
• WWII generation remembers fear after domestic attack
  By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer
  Gathering in Arkansas recall war years
• Thailand learns from Midwestern education systems
  A 22-member group of Thai officials tour schools in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri to find ideas, models for Thailand's community college program

MICHIGAN

• Not My Reality
  By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, AAV Contributing Editor
  New: From reality TV to the elections, where are all the APAs, anyway?
• Frank Wu to head Wayne State law school
  A homecoming for the lawyer and author who grew up in the Detroit area
• Children of MI Indian couple try to recover from fiery tragedy
  Family rocked by depression, madness, suicidal tendencies finds some comfort in preserving mother's memories

MINNESOTA'S CHANGING FACE

• Census shows changing, youthful face of Minnesota
  Whites remain the largest group by far, but minority groups are growing at a clip that is four to five times faster
• Poll: Immigration views vary in Minnesota
  Many believe immigrants help boost the economy, but the cost of helping them begin their new life outweighs their contributions
• Activists urge Minnesotans to speak out against hate incidents
  Human rights activists call on Minnesotans to speak out against racist and hate-filled acts after several recent incidents targeting Hmong, Somalis, Muslims, Jews, and "families with Kerry signs"
• Gadget helps translate Minn. cops questions into several languages
  'Phraselator' can save minutes or even hours previously spent waiting for translators
• New Hmong push St. Paul to become MN's largest school district
  District may serve up to 1,500 as the new year term starts
• The tragic tale of Bee Her: MN helps family of 16
  A moving portrait of a father and sole supporter for family of 16 doing the best he can in the face of overwhelming tragedies
• For Hmong kids, farm work can be blissful -- but dangerous
  U. Minn program uses centuries-old Hmong storytelling to deliver safety lessons on some very modern farming hazards -- rototillers, sharp tools, and even difficult customers at urban farmers' markets

ILLINOIS

• Chicago and other American cities and states rush to expand ties with China
  Council of Great Lakes Governors Shared China Trade Office just one initiative to compete with big players like California for a piece of the pie
• Chicago exhibit of artist Fiona Tan's work on display
  World-recognized Chinese-Australian Indonesia artist focuses on profiles of America's prisoners, guards
• Chicago: Two-museum exhibition shows contemporary Chinese images
  By F.N. D'ALESSIO, Associated Press Writer
• IL community groups push to register new citizens to vote
  Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is working with campaign veterans, neighborhood associations and social service agencies to help rock the immigrant vote -- officials say the group has registered more than 25,000 so far
• AALDEF Seeks Volunteers to Defend Asian American Voting Rights
  Legal advocacy group seeks help to avoid ballot-blocking, voter harassment in Illinois, other states

INDIANA

• Census: Hispanics, Asians leading Indiana's population growth
  Estimates show Asians are the largest minority group in at least two counties -- Hamilton, northeast of Indianapolis, and Monroe, the home of Indiana University
• Indianapolis museum acquires Chinese art
  Paintings dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties among more than 30 works acquired by the Indianapolis Museum of Art collectively valued at $7 million
• Some Purdue officials lament drop in foreign students
  Getting visas can be a problem; government Technology Alert List puts students in nuclear technology, navigation and guidance control and chemical and biotechnology engineering under more scrutiny

IOWA

• Groundbreaking held for first phase of Asian culture center
  Garden planned to honor former Gov. Robert Ray, credited with welcoming thousands of Vietnamese refugees; new Chinese Center also planned
• New Advocates: IA's new online process brings obstacles for immigrant interviews
  Digital divide, language barriers mar plans for nationwide InfoPass, which requires immigrants to make an appointment online if they wish to meet with a CIS officer

KANSAS

• Vietnamese American priest reaches out to KS immigrants in services, Asian center
  From in-language masses to serving as translator to Asian Community Center, pastor helps those who followed his footsteps
• KS conference to analyze Godzilla's legacy for film's 50th anniversary
  "Not just about celebrating campy creature features," but to "provoke discussion of globalization, Japanese pop culture and Japanese/American relations after WWII"

MISSOURI

• St. Louis woman, adoption agency aids China with children's surgeries
  Fresh out of university, Melody Zhang came of age in the deadly pro-democracy protest 15 years ago in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and has been looking to heal her country's hurts ever since
• MO task force looks to address human trafficking
  Authorities hope a new task force in eastern Missouri can help identify and aid victims of human trafficking, people often held captive and forced into sweat shops, domestic servitude, agriculture or prostitution

MONTANA

• MT woman, survivor of sex trade, plans to help Vietnam girls, women
  A woman who says she survived life as a prostitute in her home country of Vietnam plans to return there and operate a school, giving girls and women skills to help them stay off the streets

NEBRASKA

• Nebraska artist building a replica of her parents China home
  Liu's house, built of Nebraskan materials and on Nebraskan soil, still will be a part of her and China
• New Cultures blend as Lincoln, NE couple weds in Sikh-Christian union
  Her mother used to say: Marry a Sikh and you get all my jewelry. Marry a Hindu, like your father, and you get half of it. But marry a Christian and you get none of it...

N. DAKOTA

• Changing Times: A Vietnamese restaurant opens in Fargo
  The increase in both the number and diversity of people in this area wasn't the only reason that Thuy Le and her family decided to open the city's only Vietnamese restaurant

NEVADA

• Nevada bridge saved as memorial to Chinese laborers
  Historians seek to protect a wooden bridge dating to the 1860s to serve as a memorial to Chinese immigrants who built the Central Pacific Railroad
• Indian American M.D. underdog among Nevada's schools candidates
  In Las Vegas District 7 university Regent race, Dr. J.S. "Jack'' Surpure is a $2000 David to incumbent Steve Sisolak's $90,000 goliath

OKLAHOMA

• Judge urges settlement in Pickle factory "slavery" lawsuit

WISCONSIN

• New Hmong charter school operating in Milwaukee
  With special focus on Hmong culture and language, Hmong American Peace Academy has over 200 students in K-5, including 30 new refugees from camps in Thailand
• New Chinese woman who had moved to Wisconsin for "safe home" fatally beaten
  Moved family from NYC after 9/11 attacks to peaceful De Pere, only to be victim of first town's first homicide since 1977
• WI honor guard practices for Lao vets' funerals
  New state resolution provides for proper burials with honor of Lao veterans
• In WI, elderly, disabled Asian refugees lose benefits because of citizenship
  Va Choua Vang, 74, fought for the U.S. in Laos with the promise that America would take care of him. Then he couldn't sleep with worry about how he would support his family when the government checks stopped coming.
• Feingold-Michaels spar over Hmong refugees, Laos trade, human rights
  With new refugee influx, Hmong community put center stage in heated Senate race
• Conversation at a Swing State Asian Mart
  By Peggy Hong, Special to IMDiversity.com
  MILWAUKEE - In many Asian families and communities, opportunities for cross-generational political dialogue are few. But sometimes they arise in unlikely places.
• Story with legs: Back-of-the-pack WI marathoner is sponsor-magnet
  The story of Grace Lim, the "slow-moving billboard'' for a local shoe store, who became an in international news story
• WI mathematician leads "double life" with gov't work, students
  Meet Ken Ono, mild-mannered Madisonian who came up with a proof a few years ago that left the math world gasping
• Buddhist monks to build Waukesha temple
  Small WI town clear way for $1.5 million monastery, temple structure to be raised for Laotian, Thai faithful
• Federal funding for Hmong seniors slashed
  But the federal funding for Hmong seniors who are already living in the state has been cut drastically, said Rose Lynch, director of communication for the state Department of Workforce Development, which distributes the money. "The feds have cut the funding from $608,000 for this year to just $65,000 (for 2005). And those are statewide figures,'' she said.
• Young Hmong Professionals Giving Back
  By FutureHmong Magazine
  Kids can earn scholarship money, participate in professional job shadowing programs and internships, and find mentors who want nothing more than to see kids succeed
• In November, Remember Our Hmong Veterans
  By May Her, with Blong Yong, FutureHmong Magazine
  Commentary pleads to recall sacrifices of Hmong vets, forgotten allies in "The Secret War," many of whom are still hiding or persecuted in SE Asia. EDITOR'S NOTE: Commentary includes images that may be disturbing to some readers.

WYOMING

• WY concentration camp considered for historic landmark
  A National Park Service study recommends that Heart Mountain Relocation Center be shortlisted
• Indian teachers, students visit WY, CO colleges
  Visitors come from Ram Rati Gupta, a 300-student school in Uttar Pradesh, the first higher-education institute for women in the area

UTAH

• JA to be confirmed first minority judge in Utah's 2nd District Court
  Hawaii-born, Virginia-raised lawyer graduated from Princeton and from Brigham Young University Law