Takeaways from AP’s report on how immigration transformed a Minnesota farm town WSOC TV [Video]

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 children’s first language, and soccer is far more popular than football.

“Literally everything has changed,” said city councilor Chad Cummings.

Immigration is a core issue for voters this election. Some of the 2024 campaign’s most charged political vitriol swirls around its effects on towns all across the country.

Most lifelong residents in this politically red area are proud of Worthington’s cosmopolitan flair, thriving economy and booming population. Thanks to migrants, most of whom come to work in the pork processing plant, the town has bucked the trend of rural communities nationwide that never recovered from the 1980s farm crisis.

But such rapid change has come with significant challenges and costs, many due to language and cultural barriers. Crucially, old-timers and newcomers …