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Austin, Minn. — Employers around Minnesota are increasingly looking for bilingual employees, as a way to better respond to a growing Latino population.

There is no specific data that show exactly how many bilingual workers there are in Minnesota. But employers and labor market analysts say bilingual employees are in demand in customer service jobs, call centers, schools, hospitals, and retail sales. Analysts expect language skills to become more important for job-seekers, especially those who work directly with customers, as Minnesota becomes more diverse.

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Owatonna, Minn. – Centro Campesino, the southern Minnesota organization that helps migrant workers, is among a handful of nonprofits across the country that have lost funding from a branch of the U.S. Conference of Bishops because they are at odds with Catholic Church’s position on birth control.

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Northfield, Minn. — The population of Latino children is growing faster than any other group in the U.S., by age and ethnicity. These kids are also among the most burdened with health problems, like diabetes and obesity.

Currently, nearly 40 percent of all Latino children in the U.S. are overweight or obese.

This is the story of one-10-year-old girl in rural Minnesota struggling in her own battle against obesity. It’s the second of an occasional series of stories looking at the impact these health problems create today.