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

♪ It is time ♪ ♪ It's the perfect summer night ♪ - Coming to you from Rochester, Minnesota.

"R Town."

♪ Those three words are spelled out ♪ In 1888, we marked the first Hispanic heritage month here in the United States.

And since then, the month between September 15th and October 15th has been a time to celebrate Latinx heritage and honor the everyday contributions of Latinx people and communities.

So here to tell us what the month means to him, and all the ways in which he serves our local community is Miguel Valdez-Soto.

Welcome to "R Town," Miguel.

- Hi, Nicole.

How you doing?

- [Nicole] Good, good.

- Thank you for the invite.

- Well, I'm so glad that you're here to chat with us a little bit.

And it's good to catch up with you.

So I wanted to start off by asking you, what does Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you personally?

- Well, to me, it means a time to share our culture with our friends and community, and also to educate our younger generations about the contribution that we have done, we have brought to this country.

- What are some ways that I guess you like to share?

I know you have a family.

Do you talk to your children about Hispanic Heritage Month at all?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

For example, in this year my parents sent some outfits, traditional outfits, that we usually wear during the national celebrations, which is for example Mexico Independence Day September 15.

So we got certain dresses for my girls, and they were wearing that that day and we went to a local restaurant here, a local Mexican restaurant.

And that day they had a DJ and they had some specials so we went out there.

- That's fantastic.

You know, I actually just learned that the reason that we celebrate Hispanic heritage month on September 15th is actually because of the Mexican Day Independence that also marked the independence of a lot of other countries in Central America from Spain.

So that's a nice connection that you get then to share with your family as well.

You know, why do you think that it's important for us to be able to amplify Latinx individuals and communities, not just during this month, but all year round really?

- Well, I guess it's important to celebrate because we're all unique, and everybody's unique and everybody has a contribution.

But also just as always as a person, it's always good to give, you know?

And in this case we just give and sharing our culture.

And if you're happy, if you're feel that you have something to offer, you're gonna feel better overall and then you're gonna contribute more to society.

So I think just for any other culture, it's always good to be proud and celebrate all cultures.

- And I know that as we honor this month, we also know that there's a lot of stark disparities within Latinx communities and a lot of communities of color in this country.

And I know that you work a lot to work with our local community.

Can you talk about some of the things that just highlight some of the things that you do?

I know there's a lot, but maybe you can pick some of the things that really inspire you about the work that you do in the community.

- Yeah, so let me share something that happened actually this week in a project that I've been working.

So this week, which was a friend of us with an organization that I collaborate here in town in Rochester is ACHLA, Alliance of Chicanos, Hispanics, and Latin Americans.

A nonprofit organization that has been serving the local area since 2004.

We put together, we usually put a Latino Fest during this time of the year but with COVID, we just, to keep it safe, we decided to scale down and we decided to change the theme to a civic fest.

So we tried to celebrate civic engagement and invite all community members from the Latino community, and everybody to be civic engaged.

And especially because like you mentioned during this time of COVID, that disparities are being more clear, obvious.

So the more we're involved with on the various civic opportunities, we contribute to society.

But at the same time, we learn about resources and opportunities that are out there.

So we put this group together, this event, and I got a chance to meet two mental health Latino providers that I haven't met.

And they want to... We all have the same kind of goals to put up a mental health resource group for the Latino community.

So we're looking ways to spark the conversation to how we can recreate some of the curriculum that NAMI has for peer-to-peer counseling.

So we're gonna start getting together to work on the support group for the Latino community.

So that's just one example.

Obviously there's a lot of needs, but at least if we focus and start working together as one, we can see some progress.

- Definitely, and I know this past year mental health has kind of gone on the top of that list.

So thank you so much for sharing that with us, Miguel.

And we'll be sure to catch up with you at another time once you've developed that a little bit more.

Thank you so much for joining us and sharing a little bit about what this month means to you and all the work that you're doing.

We hope to catch up with you next time.

(upbeat funky music) Be sure to stick around.

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

We check in with the Rochester Fire Department during fire prevention month, and we visit with Tim Penny to learn about The Feast Local Foods Network.

But up first, we learn about Wale Elegbede's immigration journey and how he came to Rochester.

In this week's R Culture segment.

(upbeat uplifting music) - [Presenter] Wale Elegbede was born in the African country of Nigeria.

He grew up in an educated upper class family, and was able to attend high quality schools.

It was during a school day that the then 13 year old's life would be changed forever.

- I was in the Nigerian Navy secondary school, and I was about basically I was 13 years old and the commandant called me up.

And whenever you're commandant in school calls you up, it's not a good thing.

It's like, you know, so I had no idea what was going on.

(somber music) - [Presenter] Wale's uncle sent someone to his school to pick him up, but he wasn't told anything about what had happened.

- But when I went there to my uncle's house, I saw there was a big crowd.

I saw my mom and I just started crying because I knew there was something.

I knew there was something wrong and, so that was tough.

(somber music) And that night I was in shock, and that night I was in the hospital.

And as a kid, I was just afraid that, okay, what's gonna happen to my life?

You know, I've lost my dad.

God, please don't take my mom away.

You know, I don't wanna be an orphan.

And I got assurances from my uncle that he was gonna take care of me.

And two years after my dad died, my uncle got assassinated.

(somber music) - [Presenter] Wale's uncle was the chief of Nigeria's Defense Intelligence Agency and was speaking out against General Sani Abacha who was a former military dictator who had taken over control of the country, despite not being elected.

- It's such a brutal way where, you know, 70 bullets on your body, right?

- [Presenter] Wale's dad and uncle were the breadwinners of the family.

When they died, his family had little income.

Today, despite the losses, Wale feels grateful.

- I'm grateful for the short time, you know, my dad had.

That I at least had with my dad.

'Cause in those short 13 years, and my uncle's 15 years, I've learned so much to fill my cup for a lifetime.

(upbeat uplifting music) - [Presenter] He says his dad taught him the importance of integrity, of helping others, he taught him how to be a good husband, and how to be a good father to his own kids.

- And my dad would always call my mom honey, honey, honey.

Singing, dancing, helping people in the community.

The lessons that my dad gave me in terms of just the work ethic.

You know, education is the best legacy.

Working hard, treating people well.

Everybody has a role to play whether you're big or small, or whatever your station is.

Act, and you know, choosing to act is extremely important.

- [Presenter] Wale began learning English at birth, and from a young age, he was intrigued by the ideals of the United States.

- You know, the concept of America just always appealed to me.

You know, when I was thinking about college, you know, it was really I wanted to come to the United States.

It didn't really matter to me if it was in Alaska, Florida.

I just wanted a really good education where I could provide for my family, and also learn some skills to better my community.

- [Presenter] Wale came to La Crosse, Wisconsin to attend college.

There, he worked his way through school and learned computer and database programming skills.

He also learned a new culture.

- People are laying out on lawns.

That didn't make any sense to me.

Why are you gonna sit out in the lawn?

You know, and it's really hot.

I mean, now I get it.

'Cause it's like, hey, we don't see no sun.

(laughs) - [Presenter] After college, Wale started a software company, then worked for the largest furniture company in the world.

Ashley Furniture.

Today, he's in project management at the Mayo Clinic.

A place he loves and wants to retire from.

When asked what one thing would he like to change about the United States, he says race relations and social justice.

- We all have to play in the same sandbox, you know?

The big fear is I don't know who this other person is.

And once you started talking to one another, once you start to eat, once you start you have your kids play together, go to the same school, have the same access to opportunities, then there's nothing to be afraid of because I am you, you are me.

The American dream, you work hard, you're gonna get yours.

You know, it's not exactly reality, but it is a dream, but it's a dream that is worth holding onto.

(upbeat uplifting music) - [Announcer 2] For more information about this story and other "R Town" features, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter @KSMQ #RTown, or ksmq.org/rtown.

(upbeat bluesy folk music) - Hello, I'm Danielle Teal your moderator for "R Town The Spotlight."

This segment covers organizations, events, and happenings across Rochester.

And a big shout out to 125 Live.

They host this segment as well as line up our guests.

And our wonderful guest today is Erin McGee.

Welcome.

- Thank you for having me.

- And you're the community program manager for the Parkinson's Foundation.

We're gonna talk a little bit about that.

Can you give us just a quick definition of what Parkinson's is just in case, even though Michael J.

Fox has created the awareness, just in case somebody doesn't know anything about it.

- Yeah, so it's a neurodegenerative disease.

That's a progressive disorder that affects dopamine producing neurons in your brain.

So symptoms look different from person to person, but typically you may see a person with a tremor, slowness of movement, gait and balance problems, and there's a whole host of other non-motor symptoms that you wouldn't even know are happening.

- Good background.

- Yeah, and it's really growing as our population is aging.

So we estimate about one million Americans and 10 million worldwide are living with Parkinson's.

- Oh, wow.

- Yeah, it's right behind the most common neurological disorder, Alzheimer's.

- Right, and it's important that the Parkinson's Foundation exists because of that amount of people that need the support.

What are the main priorities right now for the foundation?

- Exactly.

We wanna help people live better today.

And by doing research for a cure for tomorrow, helping find that interests, we can get people better help today, better care and hope for the future as well.

We also help people who are new to the diagnosis.

Where to go for that specialty care, where to find support network, and how they can live well with Parkinson's.

'Cause people live five, 10, 20, 30 years with Parkinson's disease.

- Well, is there a cure in sight?

Is the research showing that that could be probable?

Or is that still years in the making?

- I mean, that is one of the things that we're continuing to fund.

We wanna get the new and the young researchers the excitement to start targeting more information, to learn and research key pieces.

And one of the things that we're doing is a genetic testing called PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson's Disease so that we could potentially find those mutations in the genetics to help provide precision medication for the future.

- That's incredible.

Where are some resources that are available that people can find?

- Yes, so website is parkinson.org.

And also my go-to is our helpline, 1-800-4PD-INFO.

That's 1-800-473-4636.

It will help you with any type of questions you may have.

They're also gonna let you know what's happening locally.

So I'm hoping to get two in-person events at some point.

And we do lots of virtual programs, and we've even done programs at 125 Live before in partnership with them.

So definitely keep an eye on when we'll be coming back to the community.

- Well, we certainly appreciate your work, Erin.

Thank you so much for being on the show.

- Thank you so much.

(upbeat music) - Hello again, this is Michael Wojcik with your R Town Rundown.

Sixth street bridge is being discussed.

This will be a new bridge over the Zumbro river, just east of Broadway on sixth street Southeast.

Now Rochester has some interesting geography and that it's a confluence of a number of waterways.

And that's the Zumbro river.

But in addition to that, you've got Cascade Creek, and Silver Creek, and Bear Creek all flowing into the river at different points.

And what that creates is a lot of obstacles and the need for a lot of bridges to create good connectivity in the community.

And that's something we've actually been challenged with for a long time, just getting in and getting through the community, because bridges are really expensive and you have to be strategic where you put them.

This new opportunity for a connection, it could potentially be for bikes, transit, and pedestrians, or it could be a more traditional bridge as well.

But the city of Rochester is looking for your input.

There are some educational sessions coming up.

There'll be ongoing opportunities to provide input at the link below.

So go ahead and learn a little bit about the project, and give your input as to what you think is going to be the best solution for the city of Rochester.

Also going on this weekend is roller disco.

That's right, we're turning downtown Rochester into a roller rink.

And that's gonna be from 2 to 10 on Saturday and Sunday.

So go ahead and get those roller skates or roller blades on, and go downtown and have a good time and be safe.

Also going on on Saturday at the Rochester Art Center, is free family days.

That means you can get into the art center without a membership.

There is usually fun activities to do, and you can check out all of the local exhibits that are going on at the same time.

Additionally, "Whose Line" is coming to Mayo Civic Center next week.

That's gonna be on October 13.

"Whose Line" live features Ryan Styles and some of the original cast members.

It's a lot of fun improv comedy.

So if you like that, get out there and enjoy it.

The Team RED Beer Mile is going on October 9th at LTS.

You can get out and support a good cause and good beer as well.

And finally, a huge congratulations to the KSMQ team in Austin on groundbreaking of their new $5 million facility.

Look forward to celebrating with you in that facility.

Thanks, and that's just a little bit of what's going on in Rochester and Austin.

(upbeat funky music) - My name's Caleb Feine.

I am a captain here at the fire department, and I work down here at station one.

We have three apparatus down here.

We have a big ladder truck right there.

We have another truck that's on display back here that people can walk through.

And then the other one is gone.

They are actually on a call right now.

And then we also have our battalion chiefs in the house as well.

There's actually a car that we're gonna be cutting apart in about 15 minutes.

In the city of Rochester, the fire department responds to virtually everything.

Everything from medicals, to rescues, to car accidents, to fires, to high angle rescue, low angle rescue, public service calls, which is kind of it doesn't fit any of the other criteria.

It's stuff that we...

It's a service that we provide that nobody else does in the city.

There are less fires.

That's not a secret.

And the biggest thing for that is, you know, things like we're doing tonight.

Fire Prevention Week, education, and just getting out there.

In the city of Rochester, we have very strict fire codes that have been in place for a very long time, and we have more sprinklers and more fire protection systems that really keep people safe.

So there'll be kids that will show up that will have fire gear on.

I would say the number one question is, can I wear your helmet or can I wear your fire gear?

Or can I drive the truck?

Which we know the answer to that one.

I actually had my uncle worked here on the Rochester Fire Department.

My father was a volunteer firefighter in the town I grew up in, and I said at four years old that I wanted to be a firefighter.

My parents thought, you know, that's really cute.

Well, here I am.

It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do.

- [Questioner] Are you afraid of heights?

- No, but I have a healthy respect for them.

This really just shears the metal.

Cuts it completely in half so we can get in there.

Crawling low, having smoke detectors close before you doze.

It's kind of all of it.

Everything we can teach in a short amount of time is really what we're after tonight.

- Welcome back, everyone.

Today, we are joined by Tim Penny, president and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation to tell us more about SMIF, and some exciting upcoming programming and opportunities.

Welcome to "R Town," Tim.

- Hey, happy to be with you.

- So let's just jump right in.

There is a food innovation marketplace happening in December.

Can you tell us a little bit more about this event?

- Yeah, well, several years ago, our foundation began to get more grant requests from people that were working in the local food space.

More loan requests from people working in the local food space.

So that led us to charter a study that would sort of examine what are the needs for local food producers and processors in our Southern Minnesota region that will help them grow and prosper and build their business?

That led us then to a collaborative that includes Renewing The Countryside, Cannon Falls Grown, some of the sustainable agriculture groups, some of the local food co-ops.

And that collaborative has come up with several programs to help grow the local food sector here in Southern Minnesota.

And among those is an annual feast festival that's held at the Mayo Civic Center.

This year, it will be on Saturday December 11th.

I always describe it as a farmer's market on steroids because we got at least 80 producers and processors that rent booths and set up for the day.

And you can walk through and sample an awful lot of great local food that is being produced and processed right here in Minnesota.

- I think for a lot of people, we don't think about all the food that's grown in our region.

Can you tell us a little bit about just some of the things that are grown here and what that ecosystem looks like in our region?

- Yeah, well, it is huge and a lot of them do produce for the restaurant and grocery store markets here in the area.

And one of the advantages of this annual festival is that in addition to the 1,500 people roughly that come on that day, we get 40 to 50 institutional buyers.

Restaurants, grocery stores, others to sample and some contracts result from that.

But it's good exposure for these producers and processors, and it covers the gamut.

There is fresh produce.

Even in December there's some of that.

There's jammed and jellied products, syrups.

We have a producer, a couple of producers, that have different ways of processing honey, A lot of meat products, cheese products.

One of the participants, historically, has been CannonBelles cheese manufacturing firm up in Cannon falls.

I could give you, you know, a long list of all the producers that are there, but that gives you an idea of the gamut of food products that are brought to this event and sold every year.

- What are some of the key elements you think in really building a sustainable local and regional food system?

- Part of it is just trying to take it to the next level.

And one of the reasons this collaborative created about five years ago, a Grow a Farmer Loan Fund, which we helped to manage here at our foundation, is because sometimes you just need a piece of equipment or a truck to take your stuff to market.

And a small micro loan program can help with those basic needs.

Another part of it is marketing.

A year ago in the midst of the COVID crisis, a lot of the local food producers here in Southern Minnesota were losing restaurant markets because the restrictions and the temporary shutdowns.

And so we gave a $10,000 grant to Cannon Valley Grown, renewing another grant to Renewing The Countryside, and another grant to Driftless Grown, which collectively are local food organizations that cover our entire Southeastern Minnesota region.

And they in turn worked with a lot of local food producers and processors to develop online marketing strategies to offset some of the market that they were losing.

So I think that the marketing piece is always a challenge for local food producers.

And we try to provide through this regional collaborative some support in that regard.

- I'm glad you mentioned the pandemic 'cause I'm sure this past year has been obviously very challenging for all sorts of businesses and growers.

We know that.

You know, you mentioned some ways in which you were supporting folks around that.

Are there other initiatives that SMIF has been involved in this past year to just help address some of those impacts of COVID pandemic?

- Yeah, our foundation typically expands about five, five and a half billion dollars annually.

That includes the value of our lending pool.

We do 25, 30 small business startup early-stage business loans each year, but we also do some other entrepreneurial work including the feast festival and a prosperity initiative.

A training program for new immigrant entrepreneurs in our region.

But we do a bunch of work around early childhood, and also have some programs that are specifically dedicated to the smaller towns in our region.

But last year, we brought about $17 million of resources into this region.

And the extra 12 million that we helped to administer, were dollars brought here through us to assist with the needs that grew out of the COVID and economic crisis we all went through.

A big chunk of that was the state of Minnesota asking us to be the fiscal agent to distribute small business recovery grants for businesses in this part of the state.

And we processed 1,020 $10,000 grants to businesses in this region last fall.

And because of our ability to do that and because there were more people in need of those recovery grants than there were dollars available, the state of Minnesota approved in this legislative session another allocation of dollars so we can do another round of recovery grants this fall.

- What do you think is the future, I guess, of the local and regional food system in our region?

- I think it's great.

I think it's very bright.

And part of the reason is, of course, consumer demand.

You know, we now have the Minnesota Department of Agriculture with its field to fork program.

We now have school districts that are prioritizing buying local.

We now have many, many restaurants and many, many grocery stores that pride themselves on locally sourced products and menu items.

So I think that, you know, the demand is growing.

We're also in the sweet spot because here in south central Southeastern Minnesota, we have several regional centers with lots and lots of restaurants that want to source locally, but we're very close to the twin cities where additional markets are available to us.

Restaurants, grocery stores, other outlets in the Metro area.

So we're close to all of that buying power, so to speak.

And then I think the lay of the land in our region really lends itself to small scale farming operations.

And you can in a small acreage, with goats, or hogs, or cattle, or fruits or vegetables, you can produce a business for you and your family.

And so I'm very excited about the future of local foods here in Southern Minnesota.

- Wonderful.

Well, as we wrap up here in the next 30 seconds, can you tell us how people can learn more about the upcoming event in December and get involved with it?

- Yes, there are a couple of ways to do that.

There will be a magazine out shortly, The Feast magazine.

So watch for that.

It promotes the event, tells stories about some of these entrepreneurs in our region.

You can contact us at the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.

Just Google those words, you'll find us.

It's www.smifoundation.org.

Call us (507) 455-3215.

Or our partner foundation organization, Renewing The Countryside.

And you can Google them and you'll find them.

And they're the ones that really do the leg work to pull all the logistics together to make this event happen every year.

- Wonderful.

Thank you so much, Tim.

We'll make sure to link to those sources, and we look forward to catching up with you in December.

- Thank you very much.

- And thank you for joining us today.

For more wonderful content we produce right here at Rochester, please be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter at #RTown.

I'm Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara for "RTown."

Be well and stay safe, and we'll see you next week.

♪ Gonna try ♪ ♪ With something new ♪ ♪ And I'm not gonna say ♪ ♪ That I love you ♪ ♪ Yes I'm gonna try ♪ ♪ With something new ♪ ♪ And I'll never say ♪ ♪ That I love you ♪ (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and the citizens of Minnesota.