I checked for dup's and found out this was posted back in May of 2011 but thought I would put it on again since this was from 10/10/2011:
A Look At Iowa's First Majority Hispanic Town
by David Schaper
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/10/141150607/west-liberty-is-iowas-first-majority-hispanic-town?ft=1&f=1014&sc=twOctober 10, 2011
(This report is part of the Morning Edition series "2 Languages, Many Voices: Latinos In The U.S.," looking at the ways Latinos are changing — and being changed — by the U.S.)
One place the Hispanic population is growing is in the overwhelmingly white state of Iowa. The latest census figures show the Hispanic population, while only 5 percent of the state, has almost doubled since 2000....
West Liberty Mayor Chad Thomas says that unlike a lot of other small Midwestern towns that are dying, West Liberty is alive.
"I see a lot of businesses that are open, and not vacant storefronts," Thomas says. "Probably half of the businesses are Hispanic-owned."
...Zacarias, who was sworn in as a U.S. citizen only a few weeks ago, says this is especially true when it comes to civic involvement. For example, with local elections coming up next month, he says he recently attended a forum for school board candidates. About 30 or 40 people showed up, but he says he was the only Hispanic there. He says he is taking matters into his own hands by running for a seat on the West Liberty City Council.
"We need to get together with the Hispanics and say, we are no longer a minority, we have some responsibilities, and we need to get organized," he says. "We've run out of excuses. It's time to do some work."
(more at link)
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Great article - Thanks to NPR. I live in Ohio and our Hispanic population is growing as well as our Asian population. We all need to get involved to make a better America.