Latest Worthington News

Minnesota farm town reshaped by migrants wrestles with real changes beyond the political vitriol

Nov. 01, 2024 09:05 AM EDT

WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Two Guatemalans wearing traditional embroidered skirts bought coconut boba teas on an October afternoon at the bustling downtown Asian market. In decades past, the building served as this rural town’s hardware store where farmers shopped for hammers, nuts and bolts. ...

In Amharic, Karen and Spanish, worship is like home for migrants in heartland town

Oct. 31, 2024 08:16 AM EDT

WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Come noon on Sundays, overlapping worship options reflect how much Worthington has changed from a typical Midwestern farming community to a majority-minority hub with migrants from around the world. An overflow crowd is still swaying to thumping praise...

Takeaways from AP's report on how immigration transformed a Minnesota farm town

Oct. 31, 2024 08:14 AM EDT

WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Over the past generation, immigrants from Southeast Asia, East Africa and now predominantly Central America have transformed Worthington, a once overwhelmingly white farming community. Students of color constitute more than 80% of those enrolled in K-12, Spanish is most...

Then & Now: How immigration reshaped the look of a Minnesota farm town

Oct. 31, 2024 08:14 AM EDT

WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Immigration from around the world has transformed Worthington, bringing new businesses to emptying downtown storefronts as well as new worship and recreational spaces to this town of 14,000 residents in the southwestern Minnesota farmland. On the same...