Kyra Miles

Birmingham

Reporter at Minnesota Public Radio (St. Paul, MN)

covering early education @mprnews | prev: @wbhm | @edwriters @nabj @nlgja | @unchussman alumna *views are my own* (she/her) 🌈

Featured in: Favicon

mpr.org

npr.org

al.com

usf.edu

wbur.org

mprnews.org Favicon

kpbs.org

wlrn.org

opb.org

wvxu.org + 89 more

Articles

Reporter’s notebook: How Minnesotans perceive Asian people and notions of success

3 weeks ago | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Recently released polling data found Minnesotans think it’s harder for Black, Hispanic or Indigenous people to succeed here compared to people who are white or of Asian descent. The survey found about 2 in 5 Minnesotans think being Black or Brown makes it more difficult to be successful in Minnesota, while only about 1 in 5 say the same about being Asian.
American Public Media to sell popular Brains On! podcast, eliminate jobs

3 weeks ago | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

American Public Media, an affiliate of MPR News, said Monday it was in active talks to sell the Brains On! Universe, an award-winning science podcast for children and young adults. The sale will eliminate 15 positions. “This is not the outcome we hoped for, as these are valued colleagues and award-winning, rightfully beloved content,” Chandra Kavati, APM’s president, wrote in an email Monday.
These 11 Minnesotans reflect the richness of Hmong culture in the state

3 weeks ago | mprnews.org | Lisa Ryan |Kyra Miles

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. To honor 50 years of Hmong refugee resettlement and immigration to Minnesota, MPR News featured Hmong Minnesotans in a variety of careers throughout the month of May as part of our “ChangeMakers” series. This series highlights Minnesotans from diverse and often underrepresented backgrounds who are making an impact.
St. Paul youth heal through art at the Boys and Girls Club

3 weeks ago | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

At the Al Lenzmeier Boys and Girls Club, students move from art station to art station. They paint with water colors, make bracelets or create eccentric designs with tie dye. It’s the vision of 16-year-old Satiza Garcia-Anderson and her peers. She wanted to give young people in St. Paul space to express themselves without pressure. “I never grew up in a really stable home,” Satiza said.
Minnesota disabilities advocates push back on plan to restore school seclusion rooms

1 month ago | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

Disability rights activists applauded Minnesota’s move two years ago to ban the use of school seclusion rooms to discipline children in kindergarten through third grade. On Thursday, they returned to the Capitol to fight a legislative effort to lift that ban. Seclusions are forced isolations, and in Minnesota 100 percent of the children put into school seclusion rooms are students with disabilities, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
For 50 years, Hmong immigrants and their children have shaped Minnesota culture

1 month ago | mprnews.org | Lisa Ryan |Kyra Miles

This year marks 50 years of Hmong refugee resettlement and immigration to Minnesota. When communists took over Laos in May 1975, many Hmong people had to quickly escape. Across the Mekong River in Thailand, Hmong people were homeless and stateless. They'd been allies of the United States during the Vietnam War and had to flee as the U.S. pulled out. The first Hmong family arrived in Minnesota on Nov. 5, 1975.
Schools across Minnesota face ‘reckoning’ as they struggle to close budget gaps

1 month ago | mprnews.org | Elizabeth Shockman |Kyra Miles

Minnesota schools are dealing with budget shortfalls and staffing cuts as they face inflation, uncertainty from possible federal cuts and the rising costs of recent state legislation. A recent survey of more than 50 metro-area school districts showed the vast majority expect budget shortfalls for the upcoming academic year. Some rural and suburban districts are also struggling to close gaps.
Minnesota child care centers struggling with rising costs, enrollment shifts

2 months ago | mankatofreepress.com | Kyra Miles

Enrollment is rising again at Minnesota child care operations but the counts remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to a new statewide survey that also found providers facing challenges with staffing and operating costs. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the nonprofit group First Children’s Finance also revealed family child care providers and child care centers are struggling at the same rates for the first time in the survey’s five-year history.
Minnesota child care centers struggling with rising costs, enrollment shifts

2 months ago | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

Enrollment is rising again at Minnesota child care operations but the counts remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to a new statewide survey that also found providers facing challenges with staffing and operating costs. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the nonprofit group First Children’s Finance also revealed family child care providers and child care centers are struggling at the same rates for the first time in the survey's five-year history.
From territory to today: Mapping Minnesota’s Black history

Feb 11, 2025 | mprnews.org | Lisa Ryan |Elisabeth Gawthrop |Kyra Miles

In celebration of Black History Month in February, MPR News is highlighting Black history throughout the state. From a fur trader believed to be one of the first African descendants in territory that is now Minnesota, to streets and parks renamed in 2024 after Black community leaders, these sites span the state and the centuries. Southern MinnesotaGibbs Elementary School in Rochester is named after George W. Gibbs Jr., the first known Black person to set foot in Antarctica.