MPR: A new bilingual newspaper serves rural Minnesota

“St. Cloud, Minn. ”” Shoshana and Renan Cruz are sitting at a table in the downtown St. Cloud library. A man in a cowboy hat is eavesdropping as they talk about their new publishing venture, a Spanish and English newspaper. After a few minutes he approaches the two. In Spanish he tells the couple the newspaper sounds like “a good idea” and gives them a thumbs-up. Shoshana and Renan say that’s all the proof they need to know their effort will be successful.

The two began publishing a monthly newspaper called El Vecino — or The Neighbor — in December. The idea came about a year ago when Renan Cruz began work as an interpreter in St. Cloud. When the native of Guatemala worked at local hospitals, he was bothered by something he saw. In waiting rooms, the area’s Spanish speaking population, people from Mexico and Central America, stared at the walls. They had nothing to read.”

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