KSTP Pair Launch Severe Weather Training Program in Hmong Community

KSTP Meteorologist Jonathan Yuhas and KSTP News Anchor Joy Lim Nakrin are collaborating with the Lao Family Community of Minnesota to hold a series of severe weather training sessions targeting the Hmong community, as part of an outreach initiative by the Asian American Journalists Association's Minnesota Chapter.

The kick off event is Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. at the Lao Family Community's Saint Paul location at 320 University Avenue West. It will be the first of at least three monthly sessions, all of which will have Hmong translators present. Lao Family Community Board Members will facilitate, including President Chupheng Lee and Youth Director Chong Lee. The sessions target newer immigrants transitioning from Southeast Asia's vastly different climate to one of the most extreme and variable climates in the world: Minnesota. Sessions will cover everything from tornado warnings and sirens, to ice and water safety, to the risks of hypothermia, frostbite and heat exhaustion. If unprepared, Minnesota's extreme weather can be dangerous or potentially even deadly. The hope is that these sessions will help newer immigrants stay safe, despite cultural and language barriers.

Nakrin is coordinating these events on behalf of the Asian American Journalists Association's Minnesota Chapter. Nakrin is Vice President of AAJA Minnesota. Yuhas will lead the trainings, having spent more than 20 years forecasting weather, including 13 years at KARE-TV before joining KSTP-TV in 2011. A former reserve police officer, Yuhas provides similar trainings to fire and police personnel across Minnesota.