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

(soft music) ♪ Come and have this drink beside me ♪ ♪ Let's open up ♪ - Coming to you from 125 Live.

♪ I just wanna have a conversation ♪ RTown ♪ No obligation, show me vulnerable ♪ ♪ We ain't come here ♪ So several years ago I took a trip to Asia and one of my fondest memories is of walking through this beautiful market at night moonlit, also neon and lanterns.

But one of the most amazing things that I had that I still dream about is this amazing taro drink.

So this was a market in Thailand and every time I see taro now I just get excited about it.

And it's never gonna be the same as what I had in that night market, but I still dream about it.

And I was really excited to hear that word on the street is we're gonna have our very own night market here in Rochester.

And so today to tell us about this is the brainchild of the night market, as well as the creator of Choochoo-ca-Chew Tiffany Alexandria.

Welcome to RTown.

- Hi, thanks for having me.

- I see you've got some merch on for the night market.

- Yeah.

- I love that.

(laughs) Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired you to organize this event?

- So I'm originally, I'm born and raised in Taiwan, moved here three, four years ago, and I'm a night owl and I'm always looking for more activities and events to do at night that doesn't involve drinking necessarily.

So I've always wanted to have a night market here in Rochester.

Just thought it'd be so cool.

And also like, we have so much diversity in small businesses and people in Rochester, but it's not always highlighted.

And that's why I wanted to create a night market and highlight a lot of these vendors and businesses.

- Wonderful.

I'm glad that you followed your inspiration.

When is it gonna take place and where will it be?

- So it's going to take place at Mayo Civic Riverfront Plaza and in Rochester Art Center.

And there will be three dates.

This is going to be a series of events, July 17th, August 21st, September 18th, from 5 to 9 pm.

- Awesome.

I can just picture it just along that waterfront.

We don't have that much water in Rochester, but that's a great spot- - Yeah.

- For it.

You know, this past year has been obviously particularly difficult for small businesses and you mentioned a little bit about just wanting to amplify on the small businesses and the minority businesses.

Can you talk a little bit about just from your perspective, how small businesses and specifically minority businesses, what challenges they've faced even before the pandemic came in the community?

- I think so they don't have as much funding as a lot of some of the bigger businesses or like chain businesses.

So they can't focus these resources on advertising or like getting their words out or sometimes they don't really know to do that on like a larger platform.

So it's, I think it's more important to highlight them.

- Definitely.

And I feel like there's a little bit of like almost a tale of two business communities really, you know, I think about going to, you know, we've got Asian markets, we've got some really great like African markets as well, like stores, storefronts, but the information that we see in those places, whether they're events or other businesses that, you know, business cards that you see on the bulletin boards are different than what we might see say at, you know, Steam or, you know, another type of store a more, I guess well-financed and more visible.

- Definitely.

Yeah.

And that's why I wanted to create this event and to put them on like a larger stage and to showcase to everybody in Rochester that these businesses exist and we should visit them more and spend money with them.

(laughs) - Definitely.

So can you just walk us through what can people expect when they go to one of these events, one of these night market events?

- So these events are highlighting BIPOC, small businesses, artist, food vendors, and craftsmans.

And I also encourage try to encourage like boutiques, just any small businesses, so they don't have to make their own product to be there.

So there will be lanterns hanging across the whole of the Art Center and there will also be performances in the Art Center.

And throughout Art Center as well there are many arts exhibitions right now that are related to minorities and like showcasing the beautiful diversity we have in Rochester.

- Wonderful.

So it would be something for everyone.

It sounds like- - Yes.

- In that space, I know it's a really busy time for you.

So I have a two part question.

What is keeping you up at night about this event and what are you most excited about?

- I think just getting a helping vendor be in the place where like, and like to help them promote is something that keeps me up at night.

Just like getting everything ready and make sure that they have all the licenses that they need because a lot of these vendors will also be first time vendors.

They've never done this before.

So I wanna make sure that they have what they need and support they need to do this and make this event happen.

- Awesome, so setting them up to succeed.

- [Tiffany] Yeah.

- And what are you most excited about?

- Food probably always because I'm a food blogger.

(laughs) But also just all of it.

Like just seeing it happen, seeing people have fun, seeing people enjoying themselves and learning something new.

That's what I'm excited about.

- Awesome.

So to wrap us up, how can community members learn more?

How can they support this event?

Where can we get some merch?

- They can find out more information at nightmarketmn.com.

All the information are on there.

And if they wanna support this event, they can shop for merch.

The procedures goes to print signs, like all the things to make this event happen really.

- Wonderful.

Well, thank you so much, Tiffany, for all your work, I will definitely be there and I hope to see you there.

(upbeat music) Be sure to stick around.

We have much more coming your way on RTown.

Danielle Teal heads Downtown to chat with Cassandra Buck from Forager Brewery.

Planner Emma Miller-Shindelar tells us how the city is updating the zoning ordinance and how you can give your feedback.

But first we head Downtown to check out the first in-person Thursdays Downtown since 2019, and this week's our culture segment.

(guitar music) - I'm Holly Masek, the Executive Director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance.

And I am out here enjoying our very first Thursdays Downtown post pandemic, 2021.

(guitar music) It feels great.

It is so rewarding to see all of these people coming together.

Over the course of last year we've all had to be physically separated.

We've had a lot of our employees away from Downtown of lower number of patients for a while.

There was construction going on.

And so to be able to bring people together again, physically together is super meaningful for us.

We have loved seeing the crowds.

We've seen people from Mayo, people from all over the community.

We've got over 80 vendors here, but we also have over a hundred small businesses in this area alone.

So knowing that everyone's come back Downtown to support them is huge for us.

(guitar music) - It's definitely a learning curve getting back into the rhythm of what are some of the operational procedures of setting up our booth and making sure that we're accommodating of staff for the RDA and doing things in such a way that it's smooth for all other vendors, but it feels really good to be in a large gathering space and to do so under the, in support of small business and Downtown businesses especially.

(guitar music) - And I think people were a little nervous about what are the crowds gonna be like, but as you can see from today, it's, you know, this is a slow time.

We've already had thousands and thousands of people move through here.

- You know, I think everybody's settled back into it relatively quickly by comparison.

I know at the very beginning, when our business was able to have people begin to sit in doors, that felt really strange.

But I think with the progression of things, we'd ease back into it more than it's been a shocker pool water kind of thing.

So, you know, we've had events like in Rochester, like you know fireworks being at Soldiers Field.

And so that's helped ease us back into that transition to having larger group gatherings.

(guitar music) - We have a very high vaccination rate here in Rochester.

It's almost 80% if not over at this point, which is quite high compared to the rest of the nation in the world.

So I think people feel pretty confident.

We have a lot of medical employees here who were early adopters of the vaccine, so that's great.

We are outdoors and we open air also very good for us.

I think public health is gonna be here as one of our vendors actually.

- There is always gonna be an elevated level of caution.

And especially with this event, I know they took a lot of steps to ensure that we were doing so in a way that was conscious of that impact that it may already have.

But I think every person involved with both this event and the people who are attending it have given their all in being able to prevent it up to this point.

And I think I'm happy to see it come to kind of a close or be transitioning to a state of normalcy.

(guitar music) - Something that I do think will be a concern for people is something we've mentioned before, is that a lot of people haven't been in a crowd in a while, and even though it might actually be safe health wise, I think it's natural to feel a little bit of apprehension and nervousness as you step back into this.

Something I'd recommend to people is this time between two and four tends to be a little bit quieter.

So if you wanna come and check out the vendors and maybe have a little bit more space to move around and get used to this again, that would be the time I'd recommend coming.

It's probably gonna be busier at lunch and at dinner time.

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

(soft music) - Hi, I'm Danielle Teal, your moderator for RTown Spotlight.

It's a segment that really showcases organization's happenings across Rochester.

And I'm excited to have Kate Jirik on the show today.

She's from the Elder Network and we're to chat out chat a little bit about what the Elder Network does.

So what is your role with the Elder Network?

- Well, I am the senior advocate at Elder Network.

We talk a lot about, how I'm the information and assistance specialist.

So.

- So you're able to connect and network with those in the community.

And tell us what your services provide for those in the community.

- Sure.

So we have been in Rochester for over 30 years, providing services for seniors and caregivers here in Rochester and Winona and Wabasha to connect those individuals with the needs that will help them to keep their family members in their homes or themselves able to live alone.

A lot of people are really needing, you know, just connections and services to keep them in the, where they love to live.

- And we certainly know that when people are able to be in their homes, they can continue to thrive and flourish in those dynamics.

And so that's a service that is greatly needed in the community.

What are the programs that are offered through the Elder Network to help support these individuals?

- Well, absolutely.

We have a medical and nonmedical transportation program.

We have a companion program that is a service that would be helpful to the caregivers with respite, maybe grocery shopping, organization, packing, if you were moving transitional activities, things like that, as well as our Friendly Visiting Program.

So many seniors just need people to have companionship with.

And then we've got some newer programs for depression, for people that are struggling with that.

It's called PEARLs.

We are in a collaborative with other organizations to make that happen.

And also trying to access technology is a real big need now for seniors.

And we have some in-home technology help with iPads and volunteers to teach you how to use them.

- Now, did you notice during the pandemic that these services were more in demand?

- You know, absolutely.

And even though we were doing our services in a different way, you know, a lot more Zoom, phone calls, things like that.

We were really still providing as much if not more services for people in the community because they were so alone.

And this was really like a, you know, a safety hook.

Someplace they knew they could call and get the support that they needed.

- That is a beautiful thing about this organization.

And in what ways can the community help support these efforts?

- Well, we always need volunteers to be transportation and friendly visitors.

We're always looking for donations and every year we have our gala and this year it is gonna be September 25th.

And so you can look for that information on our website at elder-network.org, and we're gonna have a silent auction, live auction.

You could donate things to us and just letting people in the community know that we're here to service the needs of seniors and caregivers.

- Awesome.

Thank you so much.

(soft music) - Hi, this is Michael Wojcik with your RTown Rundown.

I was biking around Downtown recently I had a great question.

What does that green paint mean that sometimes on the bike lanes?

And what I tell folks is the thing to remember when you see that green paint, don't worry about it.

It's there just for informational purposes.

What it means is that safe space where a both a bicycle and a car can be at certain times.

If you're an automobile, you're gonna wanna not stop on that green space, but know that sometimes when you cross bike lanes that is a place where you will cross it.

It's something to just give a little guidance, to make sure that bicyclists and cars know that they're coming into a position where there can potentially be some conflict.

It's something that's been shown around the country to make cyclists safer.

A lot of cool events coming up.

Urinetown by the Immersion Rep theater is going to be playing as Rochester Civic Theater, and also save the date August 21st, it's going to be the 70th anniversary bash for Rochester Civic Theater.

I am so excited how they've invited so many different (indistinct), the theater groups to come in and use this public space.

It's been wonderful and this is a night to get out and support them.

The Night Market is coming to Rochester.

We've never had this before.

If you've been to Asia or other places like that night market are so much fun.

Our first one is going to be on July 17th.

It's going to be right outside Mayo Civic Center on that beautiful plaza overlooking the river.

Building on the success of the Down by the Riverside concerts that go on on Sunday night, Rochester Civic Music started another concert series recently called forWARD is something that goes on around the city.

It's a great opportunity to come out and get exposed to music you might not see.

And it's gonna be right in your neighborhood.

This next one is going to be on the evening of July 17th and that is at Reverend Dr Martin Luther king Jr Park.

And lastly, there's music going on everywhere.

Get out there, support the local artists.

Let's enjoy this beautiful season of Rochester.

That's just a little bit of what's going on in our community.

(upbeat music) - Hi, it's Danielle Teal.

We are back with RTown Walkabout.

And as you can see, there are people around me right now.

We're at Thursdays Downtown back in full swing.

We're excited to check in to see how it's going and right here at Forager Brewery, I'm with Cassandra.

- Hello.

It's good to see you.

- Good to see you to like see you in person.

- Good to see you in person IRL.

- Right, in real life, in real life.

So tell me how it's been having the booth back.

- Oh, it's been fantastic.

We got busy right away.

A couple kinks trying to get every, you know, the cars moving and everyone unloaded and stuff at first, but there's been so many people and everyone seems really happy and excited that we're down here again and- - [Danielle] I'm seeing lots of smiles, lots of people interested in the food and drinks because you know, that's the thing here.

- [Cassandra] Yeah.

- So what is being offered at the Forager Brewery booth right now?

- So we have salads and wraps and different flavors.

So we've got a lot of healthy options for people.

Here you go.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- [Danielle] I did hear about this new it's like a seltzer, right?

- Yeah, well there's a couple of different, we've got a couple of different beers and then a seltzer.

And so Forager Brewery is its own entity and restaurant, but the head brewer created another like brewery for distribution nationally.

And that is based in Wisconsin.

And so that's what we're selling right now.

- My favorite thing is eating.

So I think I'm gonna like track some food down.

Thanks so much for being on- - Oh yes, of course.

Thank you.

- On the little walkabout.

- Thank you.

I'm so glad I got to run into you.

(both laughs) - I agree.

(both laugh) We can give hugs now.

- Yes I know.

Vaccinated.

- Woo-hoo.

(Cassandra laughs) All right, I'm gonna grab some food, go listen to the tunes and enjoy Thursdays Downtown.

This is Danielle Teal with RTown Walkabout.

(upbeat music) ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Let's not come off to impress ♪ ♪ How bout we just do our best ♪ ♪ To express ♪ - The city of Rochester is currently updating the city's zoning ordinance, which regulates the way in which private property can be developed in the city.

As part of the city's efforts to engage the community, the Community Development Department is hosting virtual and in-person opportunities for feedback.

Here to tell us more is Emma Miller-Shindelar and she's gonna tell us a little bit more about how to get involved and what this is all about.

Welcome to RTown, Emma.

- Hi, thank you for having me.

- Awesome.

So to get us started, what is this ordinance it's called the Unified Development Code?

Can you tell us a little bit about it.

- Yeah, so the Unified Development Code project is the city updating its zoning ordinances, which as you said, is the manner in which the city regulates the development of private property.

So everything from residential to commercial, how it's gonna look, where it's gonna go.

And the last time our zoning ordinance was fully updated was 1992.

- Wow.

- So it's been a while and a lot has changed.

So we're really looking forward to this opportunity.

It's very much a once in a generation project.

- Fantastic.

So there are apparently three major installments.

Can you walk us through what those are?

- Yep.

So the Unified Development Code is being drafted into three installments.

So the first installment was zoning districts and uses, which basically is what can I build and where can I build it.

Right now, we're on the second installment draft.

And that is dimensional standards and incentives, which is what does the project have to look like?

This is an especially important time for neighbors to get involved because it is going to affect the way that Rochester redevelops and develops in the future.

So it's you know, critical to get the neighbors engaged because this affects everybody in Rochester.

And then finally the third installment is administration and procedures, which is basically whose permission do I need.

so yeah.

- In order to develop this.

- In order to do the development, correct.

So, yeah.

- So is there a timeline for the develop not the development, but rather the finalization of- - Yep.

So we are hoping to have a final draft of all three installments, which will be our consolidated final draft in spring of 2022, at which point we will bring it to the City Council for adoption.

- And you spoke about this in some general terms, just about the impact and why it's important.

Can you tell us a little bit more, like I'm thinking about myself as a city resident, you know, I'm a homeowner as well.

I live in Slatterly Park Neighborhood.

Why might I, why might this be important to someone like me?

- So for someone who already has, you know, their own home set up, this is not really gonna change what happens on your property specifically, but it could have a big in impact on what your neighborhood looks like in the future.

So as properties are redeveloping in Rochester, that's when we're gonna see this code take effect.

So if you, you know, have any care of what, you know, the future of your corner looks like, or if there's maybe a small commercial development it's gonna redevelop, what is that gonna look like in the future?

So we need to think on the neighborhood scale here.

- Fantastic.

- So, yeah.

- And there are a number of different ways for people to get involved.

Can you talk us through how community members could provide feedback?

- Yeah.

So we are hosting a lot of in-person engagement opportunities, as well as some virtual kind of drop in question and answer opportunities.

So we have several open houses scheduled as well as we're doing a Neighborhood Week from August 17th to August 20th, where we're going to do a neighborhood event in each quadrant of the city, and there's gonna be food trucks and lawn games, and people can come and ask their questions about the code, give their feedback.

And I think, you know, I think it's really important to say that we're not just, you know, here to ask, answer your questions.

We also wanna hear what you think about the code and what you would like to see in the code and, you know, improvements that you think could be made to the city of Rochester's ordinances.

- And if people aren't available to attend those events, are there other ways to provide their feedback?

- Yeah, we do have a ConsiderIt, which is a engagement platform online and that is available through our city's website, as well as if you just have a couple minutes, you know, and you wanna jump in and ask a planner a question we're always available by phone, just by calling the Community Development Department.

But also we have Q&A cafe events that are virtual online.

You can jump in, ask your questions.

There may be a short presentation about what is the Unified Development Code and you can be on your way.

- So I know sometimes it can seem really overwhelming to provide feedback to city projects.

There's a lot of language and a lot of just a lot of details, obviously that you as a city planner, you know, need and it needs to be part of the code, but can be a little bit daunting to folks as they're sort of thinking about, like, can I give feedback about, you know, what's happening, you know, with the drainage system or you know, some development project?

So can maybe, can you provide me with just some tips for people to approach this and to kind of empower community members to feel like actually I do have something that I can contribute.

I'm in this conversation.

- Yeah.

So absolutely it's a long document.

It is quite daunting to read.

And in fact, one of the main reasons that we're doing this rewrite is because the Land Development Code we have right now is very hard for people who are not professionals in the departments to understand.

And, you know that's a problem because like I said, the code affects all citizens of Rochester.

So it's beneficial if everybody can understand it.

So our new code is going to be laid out in a much more intuitive manner that is easier for the lay person to understand.

And so if you are looking at these drafts and you still don't understand it, we wanna hear that too.

But I would say if you know, it's daunting to look at that large document and you just have specific questions about how the city is gonna handle this in the future, or you know, policies that you're interested in.

You can just drop into one of our events and ask, how is, how are we handling this now?

And how is the Unified Development Code going to change that or not change that?

And that way you don't, you can just, you know, pinpoint your issues and you don't have to worry about the entire document.

- Right.

- Yeah.

- And then there's opportunities to just learn to just listen and learn a little bit more.

- Mmh.

- Awesome.

It's part of that question too.

I think, you know, we have a growing diverse population, different ways in which people learn and also engage.

Outside of these events, are there other ways that the city is thinking about engaging maybe populations that haven't always felt like they can contribute to the conversation or just have some different concerns?

- Yeah, absolutely.

So we are trying to visit neighborhoods where they're at and going to their neighborhood meetings.

We're going to have an engagement opportunity at Meadow Park next Monday.

We're also working to get a lot of our primary materials translated into the languages that are most spoken in Rochester, aside from English.

So that, you know, because as I said this, this code affects every single person in Rochester.

So it's important that everybody have an opportunity to engage.

- Is there an upcoming event in the next week or so?

- We do have a Q&A cafe next Tuesday I believe from 12 to 2 and yeah and then Neighborhood Week is gonna be our big one in mid August and I'm really excited for.

- Fantastic.

Well, we'll make sure to link to all that information so that people can get connected.

Thank you so much for joining us, Emma.

- Thank you.

- And we'll be sure to have you back on as we finish up as you finalize the UDC.

- All right.

Thanks so much.

- And thank you for joining us today for more wonderful content produced right here in Rochester.

Please be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter at #RTown.

Be well and stay safe and we'll see you next time on RTown the show about Rochester.

♪ No obligation, show me vulnerable ♪ ♪ So come and have this drink beside me ♪ ♪ Let's open up, girl speak your mind ♪ ♪ I just wanna have a conversation ♪ ♪ No obligation, show me vulnerable ♪ ♪ Show me vulnerable ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.