- [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(upbeat music) - "R-Town," a show about Rochester learns about a sports-based program for youth.

And we get some real talk about local real estate.

We also hear about a local Meals on Wheels program and sit down with the coaches and players of the RCTC men's basketball team after a stellar year.

All that and so much more coming up next on "R-Town," the show about Rochester.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Coming to you from 125 Live in Rochester, Minnesota, "R-Town."

(upbeat music) We are joined today by Andre Crockett, Director of Sports Mentorship Academy, here to tell us more about his work with youth and young adults in the community.

Welcome back to "R-Town.

- Thank you for having me.

- Last time we caught up with you, you had just moved into the new gym at the old Gage East Gym.

And you had just opened up that space for the Sports Mentorship Academy.

Can you tell us a little bit about what the Sports Mentorship Academy is?

- Well, Sports Mentorship Academy is an afterschool program for young African American youth between the ages of 10 through 18 years old.

We find it is a safe place for them to go for academic and athletics.

- Wonderful.

Your work is primarily with boys and young men of color.

And there are some very specific needs to that community.

Can you tell us a little bit about why it's so important to center those needs?

- Because the majority of the kids that I work with doesn't have a father in the home.

And we know that fatherless households leads to incarceration and the various other issues that African American young men face, especially in our community whereas we have very few role models that look like 'em.

- How does your program continue to support not only health and wellbeing because you do the sports and you have that space for them, but also issues of social justice and racial justice in the community?

- I think outside, we don't look at sports in that aspect of social justice.

But in our community where we're at, there's a lot of kids who can't even afford to be able to be on basketball teams or a sports team.

So there is an equitable piece within our organization to make sure that those kids have the same opportunity other kids have.

Especially if you look at, even look in the high schools and stuff, the majority of the kids that's Black and Brown are not playing because of that.

- Because of the economic disparity issue?

- [Andre] Yes.

- So there is a cost to pay to be part of these teams.

So when they come to the Sports Mentorship Academy, what kinds of opportunities are you offering them specifically?

- Yeah, basically, you know, giving 'em the same opportunity that other kids have, besides just the academic part but the athletic part.

So they'll be able to compete once they get into high school.

So the kids do not have to pay to play sports at our organizations.

And we also offer like basketball training, you know, health and wellness stuff that whereas they probably wouldn't get anywhere else.

- They compete as well, right?

- Right.

- I mean, they have games.

- Right, so we travel, you know, as far as Wisconsin and Minnesota.

We provide transportation, you know, for the kids.

A majority of kids come, they don't always have the tennis shoes.

So we have to buy tennis shoes for the kids also to be able to participate.

- What is your vision, you know, for... You have this vision for the Sports Mentorship Academy.

You have understood that the Sports Mentorship Academy is just as good for the young men and boys that you work with as it is for the whole community.

As you think about the future of it, what does that look like, the growth of the Sports Mentorship Academy?

- Well, that's a difficult one right there.

I think that we have changed over the years, especially now because we have a central location where it's at.

I like the way it's going because we have a lot of other organizations now that are utilizing the place whereas they didn't have a place to be at before.

Such as T&K Basketball, you know, was traveling from the YMCA.

Since the YMCA closed, they really never found a home.

They was going in and out of other various high schools.

But now they actually have a place here.

And he works with kids similar to I work with.

But then you have Perfect Practice.

You know, they also do training and stuff in our building.

So we have various different things.

We have parties and something.

Whereas African Americans didn't have a place to occupy and do programming stuff, now they have a place in Sports Mentorship Academy.

- And that's incredibly important to be able to have a physical space where people can come to and there's not just the basketball training and the games and things like that, but also, as you said, gatherings and other opportunities to use that space as well in the community.

How can community members... Well first, actually, how do youth get connected to your program?

And then how can community members learn more about what you're doing generally and get involved?

- Well basically, from word of mouth and referrals from like the school district, mental health agencies, probation officers.

And then we just have walk-ins.

Especially with the areas where we're at now, there's probably like five different apartments that's low income.

And that's one of the reasons why I moved from RCTC to there because I wanted the kids to be able to have access, easy access and not have to worry about transportation.

- And what neighborhood is that, remind us?

- That's off of 37th Street.

- Okay.

- 37th Street and 41st Street Northwest.

- And how can people stay connected to you?

- Well I guess they can stay connected to me by, you know, I guess Facebook.

We got a website, you know, or my phone number.

- Wonderful.

You're just gonna give your phone number out, Coach Andre?

- That's universal, that's universal.

I think I said I had that thing for three decades.

(both laugh) And I don't think I wanna switch up now.

- Wonderful, well thank you so much for what you do in the community.

And yeah, hopefully we'll catch one of these games soon.

- Yes, thank you for having me.

- Thanks a lot for coming.

(upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music continues) Be sure and stick around.

We have much more coming your way on "R-Town."

We hear about the Meals on Wheels programs at Family Service.

And we sit down with two local real estate agents who get real about the ins and outs of real estate.

But up first, we catch up with RCTC after a remarkable year for their men's basketball team in this week's Our Culture segment.

(indistinct shouting at basketball practice) (indistinct shouting at basketball practice) - This season's been a tale of two halves.

Our non-conference schedule, we were five and eight at the end of our non-conference schedule.

Got into conference, we've won 13 in a row now.

So finished tied for the conference championship.

People were saying, "Well, how are you five and eight?"

Well, there's three types of junior college basketball.

There's Division 1, which is full scholarship; Division 2, which is partial scholarship.

We're D3, non.

So of those eight losses we had in non-conference, six of 'em were to scholarship schools.

So we've played a really tough non-conference schedule, which helps us in the conference schedule and led us to that streak.

(indistinct shouting during basketball practice) - As a team, it's been up and down.

Obviously, this last month and a half, it's been up and up because we're on a 13-game winning streak.

But the first month and a half of the season was, we'd win three games in a row, we'd lose four in a row, win one, lose two.

We'd get really high and then really low.

Once we came back from Christmas break, we started as a team to start to pick up more and more.

- I'm not surprised at all because of, you know, the caliber of guys we've got here.

And our non-conference schedule was off the charts hard.

Now we get back into teams at our level.

And all of a sudden, our conference play gets a little easier.

(indistinct shouting during basketball practice) We don't always rely on one person.

Ball moves, ball dictates our shots.

We're a good screening team.

And from a culture standpoint, I think that's always been something we've preached is being really unselfish.

I have a big time philosophy, and a lot of kids don't fit into what we do.

There's a lot of really good players out there that wouldn't play for us because of our philosophy.

They would not buy into our culture and our chemistry.

So the people that we bring in are, they have to be about winning.

If they're about themselves, it will not work here.

(indistinct shouting during basketball practice) - My favorite thing about this team is I would say how like connected we are on the court.

Obviously, every team has struggles.

But it seems within the last month and a half, we've been connected 99% of the time, as connected as you can be for only knowing some of these guys for five to six months.

- And in my time here, we've been to the national tournament nine times.

So I think I have a pretty good understanding of how to prepare what we need to do in this next week, that type of thing.

That experience allows me to help these guys to prepare for their best.

This team, they have a focus and a direction, I think, that'll allow them to get to where they need to go.

- My favorite thing about Coach is two hours before the game, he's locked in.

He always calls himself a piano wire.

He's tight, he's unstable is how some of us might consider it.

But he's on edge and he's ready for any challenge that we have.

(indistinct shouting during basketball practice) - That's our leading scorer.

Get him the ball.

Well, we have to continue to do what we've been doing.

That's play great defense and share the ball and get some timely buckets.

They're really nice guys.

They're good human beings.

They're good students.

(indistinct shouting during basketball practice) They're really good stewards of RCTC, their home community, their families.

But when they get together, they play for each other and that's pretty powerful.

(indistinct shouting during basketball practice) (soulful jazz music) - [Narrator For Commercial] For more information about this story and other "R-Town" features, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter at KSMQ hashtag Rtown, or KSMQ.org/rtown.

(upbeat jazz music) - Hi, I am Danielle Teal with "R-Town" Spotlight, a segment talking about awesome happenings in Rochester, organizations, businesses, and amazing volunteer opportunities.

I have two guests here from Family Service in Rochester.

Welcome.

- Thank you.

- We're so glad to have you.

So introduce yourself and your role, and we'll just dive into some volunteer opportunities.

- Sure, my name is Amanda Kintzi.

I am the Senior Independence Outreach Specialist at Family Service Rochester.

- [Danielle] Awesome.

- And I'm Jennell Loeffler, and I am the Volunteer Services Manager.

- Excellent, so let's talk a little bit about the volunteer opportunities.

We know there is an immense need in the community with our senior individuals as well as other individuals in the community and families.

Can you share a little bit more about that?

- Absolutely.

Family Service Rochester has a number of different volunteering opportunities that assist seniors and adults with disabilities through chore services, transportation to and from appointments, as well as Meals on Wheels here in town.

- And I know that there are things like mowing the lawn and, you know, the Meals on Wheels.

There was an event with, you know, raising funds with the Denim and Diamonds that I was a part of, really, really awesome effort, because we do need funds to support this.

In what ways do you see the impact of the volunteers helping individuals in the community?

- I would say that one great thing that I see is that we're able to help people to continue to live safely and independently in their homes, and also to retain their dignity.

- And the dignity is an important aspect of it as well as engagement, right?

Because it can feel isolating.

It can feel lonely.

In what ways is it important that engagement be a component of this with the volunteers?

- Yeah, so I would say that senior isolation, it can be a huge thing that older adults are impacted by.

And say, Meals on Wheels, our Meals on Wheels volunteers might be the only person that that senior sees that day.

So just that small interaction can really brighten their day and also let them know that there's someone there for them and someone's checking in on them.

- Now I volunteered with the Meals on Wheels.

It's super fun.

I would encourage anybody to do that.

You get to see the individuals in person.

And the food's pretty good, right?

- Mm-hmm.

- Yes, it is.

(all laugh) - Can you give us some examples real quick of what the food entails?

- Yeah, so I would say, I've heard that there have been some rave reviews.

Like lately, there was like Chicken Parmesan.

One consumer said that it was like the best Chicken Alfredo that she's ever had.

So we've had some pretty good reviews lately.

- I mean that's kind of a good thing to have, right?

- Mm-hmm.

- Where can folks find out more information to volunteer?

- They can go onto our website at familyservicerochester.org and click on the volunteer button in the upper right corner.

- Awesome, thank you both so much.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- This is Danielle Teal with "R-Town" Spotlight.

(upbeat jazz music) - Hello again.

This is Michael Wojcik with your "R-Town" Legislative Rundown.

Sometimes there are issues that are so challenging that groups come together that don't normally work together to try and create solutions.

Right now, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, realtors, and home builders are working with social justice groups like ISAIAH, The Sierra Club, Minnesota Housing Partnership, Habitat for Humanity, groups like Neighbors for More Neighbors all on the issue of affordable housing.

And there is no place in Minnesota where affordable housing is more challenging than here in Rochester and the surrounding areas.

Up to 55% of folks who rent in this region can't afford the level of rent that they're paying based on their incomes.

This is far and away the worst in Minnesota.

So what can we do about it?

Well, there's a number of proposals.

Some would allow a single access or a single staircase to multifamily buildings.

The People Over Parking Act would eliminate parking minimums.

A lot of times, we're forcing expensive parking into buildings where the residents can't even afford to own an automobile.

And there's a whole host of solutions that would allow for what's called Missing Middle Housing.

Think of it as small apartment buildings, small condo buildings to be built more easily.

Now, groups opposing this tend to be groups like the League of Minnesota Cities and the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.

And they oppose it on the grounds that it's a loss of local control, which it certainly is.

But to quote current GOP Senator and Waconia Mayor Jim Nash, he says he "supports local control "but not local out of control."

And that's what a lot of folks are coming to conclude is that the restrictions are so great right now that we really do need significant action.

So we don't know what bills are gonna come out of this session.

But with a coalition like we've never seen before, there really is a chance to make progress on affordable housing this session.

This has been Michael Wojcik with your "R-Town" Legislative Rundown.

(mid tempo jazz music) (mid tempo jazz music continues) (mid tempo jazz music continues) (mid tempo jazz music continues) (ambient mid tempo music) - Welcome to "R-Town" Walkabout.

I'm Pam Hugdahl, the Director of Rochester Art Center.

And we're here at Open Studio.

We just started opening the studio up on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 to two to allow families and people of all ages to just come in and try some different things.

Quite a variety.

So we always have a painting station, usually tempera but we also have acrylic paints.

We have one artist that likes to come back every week and work on a specific acrylic painting project that they're bringing in, also some beading, collage.

Today, we have watercolor, tempera, Play-Doh and coloring activities with coloring sheets.

Sometimes, we have model making, so with like air-dry clay, knitting, weaving projects: that's been a popular one.

I think the main thing is that we're offering an opportunity for people to creatively engage with the materials that they're seeing in the galleries.

So when they're going through the galleries, they might have a disconnect with how something is created.

And when they come up here, it's like, "Okay, this is feeling really positive.

"This is feeling really good and I'm feeling creative.

"And I'm doing something that can lead to something "that's down in the gallery."

Sometimes, it's kind of quiet on Fridays.

People are at work, kids are at school although we do see some traffic from distance learners and homeschool students.

Saturdays are definitely busier.

And we get a lot of traction when we have free family days on Sunday.

Working, doing something physical, doing something artistic, creative is good for the brain, good for the psyche, good for your emotions.

Rochester Art Center's website is RochesterArtCenter.org.

We have all of our programs and exhibitions listed there.

(upbeat music) - Our next guests, Tim Nela and Philip Thomas, are here to give us some real talk about local real estate.

Welcome to "R-Town."

- Thanks for having us.

- Thanks for having us.

- So you both are real estate agents and you also have a very popular podcast, video cast called "Real Talk."

Can you tell us a little bit about how that got started?

- I think it was just us brainstorming.

'Cause we was in a hallway one day and said, "You know what, let's actually utilize the media rooms."

The broker that we work for realized that real estate has taken a transition to social media.

So they really implemented that.

They wanted us to do more video.

And that was kind of like right up Tim's alleyway.

For me, I know real estate.

And we kind of meshed together very well, so.

- That's great.

- Yeah, that's exactly how it went down.

And you know what, we're fortunate enough to where we are able to do things like that.

In the world we live in now, social media is huge so it's been a blessing.

- Well, I'll be very real.

I don't know the first thing about real estate.

I find it to be very confusing and overwhelming.

And it is actually a little bit confusing.

You both work in this space, you're passionate about it.

It's your profession, your career.

Why is something like this podcast so important, especially when it comes to just gaining accessibility and even myth busting about real estate?

- Well, with us, and we appreciate your honesty.

Because that's the one thing why we started doing this because you have to really explain real estate in layman's terms, right?

I mean like, it's the infamous as if you're talking to a third grader.

Not trying to be disrespectful about it, but we wanted to take an approach where it's like, "Hey, we're educating people in regards "to not only the market "but real estate and just what things are happening."

But we're also showing 'em a different side where it's like you don't have to be a certain type of way when it comes to educating people about real estate.

- And it's transparency.

The more you're transparent with people, the more confident they are about doing it.

So for us, we realized that there's not a lot of folks in Rochester that are doing or pushing social media for real estate.

So that's why we took on the task.

And we've been very confident behind doing it, so.

- Yeah, I love what you just said there.

I think there does seem to be kind of like an empowerment piece around giving people like the tools and the information.

Can you talk a little bit about, maybe just some quick tips you have in terms of empowering people that are, you know, either thinking about residential home ownership, commercial real estate, things like that?

What are some things to kind of help empower people going through the real estate process?

- Well, it's exactly what we're doing right now, creating the content for them to do research.

I was just thinking about this.

Nobody really goes to encyclopedias or dictionaries anymore.

Most of the research is done online.

So the more that I put content about what we do and how we do it and doing it in the right way, that should make a person who's, you know, their first time looking for a home or looking to sell, it should make it easier for them.

Because they feel more confident doing the research.

- Correct, and you always wanna work with people that you know and trust.

And so our approach is, I mean we are ourselves all the time.

And then we allow people to feel comfortable around us.

So then, like you had said right now, it's like, "Tim, Phil, I know nothing about real estate."

"Nicole, totally fine.

"Here's what is important.

"Here's what's not important."

And really just spend enough time and break things down for you.

Not enough people do that.

- Definitely not.

(laughs) I feel like Rochester is talking a lot more about real estate in the last few years.

The market has changed quite a bit.

As folks that are kind of at the center of all of that, what are some trends that you're seeing in the Rochester real estate market?

- Well, I mean as far as Rochester goes, I mean our trend is Mayo.

So I mean, we have a bubble within a bubble.

So as long as Mayo continues to grow like it is, our market is gonna continue to grow.

- And the hardest thing with Rochester is because of Mayo, it puts us in a position now where we're encountering people from different places.

- All over.

- Right?

And so it's like you have your typical buyers in the Southeast Minnesota area that you're accustomed to.

But then now when you're working...

I know you're from the New York area and a lot of people are coming from like the South, the West Coast.

They don't understand how the market is.

They don't understand.

They're not Minnesota-type people.

And so like with people like us, when you put that content out there and people get to know you, you know exactly what they're looking for and it makes it that much easier for the transaction.

- I also feel like it's about building relationships, obviously, right?

So like people are building a relationship with their real estate agent, with you all in the podcast world, I guess.

- Right, and they are.

And they don't even know who we are yet.

- Exactly.

- Yeah, 100%.

- So much of your message and the content produced is very welcoming and inclusive.

But we also know that there are actually a lot of disparities in the housing market and home ownership here in the state, in the city, across the country.

Why is it important to have diversity and representation in the real estate industry?

- It comes down to just being comfortable.

I mean, because I'm a first time home buyer as of almost three years ago.

And growing up, I never even thought about purchasing a home.

And then now, the people that I communicate and talk with, a lot of them are in positions that I was in.

And so when you can relate with them and really just break it down and say, "Hey, you know what?

"The process does sound scary, "but it's really not that scary."

And you're coming from a place where you're not speaking to 'em where you're going, "I'm up here, you're down here."

I'm really talking to people eye to eye.

And people appreciate that.

- 100%.

I mean, so Rochester is a very big melting pot too.

There's so many different cultures and diversities here.

I mean at the end of the day, I think that people will gravitate towards people that they feel... And I guess I don't wanna make it sound, you're going to start to talk more with people that you feel that they understand where you're coming from or your background or how you were raised.

So for us, I feel like it's a way for us to show like there are people out there that look like us that are at that level.

- I'm gonna go ahead and say it.

It's easier to work with somebody that looks like you.

- Yeah.

- And I do the same thing though too.

And a lot of times when like, it's relatable.

Right?

- It is.

- And there's nothing wrong with that.

Because the thing is, but there's not enough people out there- - But that's the issue that we have.

- Yeah, it is an actual issue, right?

It is a barrier to access that you're kind of helping to bridge a gap there for sure.

Thank you for that.

We don't often have real estate agents on the show.

And also, again, I think there is that kind of this sort of mystifying sense of like what the real estate process is like, what real estate agents can kind of help you do.

What is, I guess, one or two things that you wish everybody knew about real estate agents?

- That it's not an easy job.

And it doesn't just start with us saying that we're real estate agents.

Like there is task upon task from start to finish.

Like we have to be multitasking even after.

Even after you help somebody buy a house, there's still a job to be done.

So it's not as easy as just putting a contract in front of somebody.

There's so many different steps that go into building relationships and also helping them from point A to point Z, but also helping their family members or just breaking down what's gonna happen years down the line.

There is so much that goes into it than just thinking that a real estate agent is a guy who wears a suit or a gal who wears a suit and they sign a piece of paper and then get paid a commission.

It's bigger than that.

- Definitely.

Well, thank you both so much for coming on.

I will continue to stay connected to "Real Talk."

And thank you for all you do.

- Thanks for having us.

- Thanks.

- And thank you for joining us today.

I hope you learned as much as I did about all that's going on in our city and the people making it happen.

For more wonderful content produced right here in Rochester, please be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter at hashtag rtown.

I'm Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara, host of "R-Town," the show about Rochester.

We'll see you next week.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (ambient musical notes) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.