When Manuel Pizano Carlo first arrived in Minnesota 14 years ago, he did not plan on staying.
A college student from Mexico studying architecture, he came to Minnesota to learn English with the hopes of improving his job prospects in Mexico.
Soon he got a job and was able to buy a TV and a car and rent an apartment. He was making more money here driving a garbage truck than most of his college friends were making back in Mexico.
So he stayed. "I thought it would be a better opportunity here," he said.
Today, Carlo is a U.S. citizen and a real estate investor. He lives in Woodbury with his wife of Ecuadorian roots and their two young children.
He's grown, and so, too, he's noticed, has his community.
On Wednesday the Census Bureau reported a 74.5 percent increase in the state's Hispanic population between 2000 and 2010. With slightly more than 250,000 people, it's the fastest-growing minority population in Minnesota.
The figures put Hispanics at 4.7 percent of state residents, up from 2.9 percent in 2000. The news did not surprise those who live and work with Latinos.