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

- "R-Town, the show about Rochester" learns about an organization celebrating Indian culture.

And we meet the new community development director for the city of Rochester.

We also get our fill of caffeine and plant life and meet a local painter.

Coming up next on "R-Town, the show about Rochester".

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

(upbeat music) - We're joined today at 125 Live by Nisha Kurup, vice president of the Indian Cultural Association of Minnesota.

Welcome to "R-Town", Nisha.

- Thank you, thank you for inviting me.

- So you just had a wonderfully successful community event this past weekend.

Can you tell us a little bit about some of the highlights of that event?

- Yeah, it's a festival of colors.

It's a spring festival and it is usually celebrated in India and it's called Holi.

We usually celebrate it in a small scale, but we wanted to open it up for the bigger crowd.

And with that purpose in mind, we also added 5K run, DJ music, food vendors, activities, other, and lot of fun.

It's basically a celebration during the spring festival.

- So a little something for everyone.

- [Nisha] Yes.

- What is the mission of ICAM?

- Our purpose is to connect, collaborate, communicate, and create a platform to support and serve the, you know, cultural and educational needs of the, you know, Asian Indian communities in Rochester and surrounding areas.

This was founded around June 2020, though the legwork has been going on for quite a few months.

We have a board and we also have several committees and volunteers.

- So having started in June 2020, of course, I'm wondering, what types of support were you providing communities, especially throughout this pandemic?

- Yeah, this has just happened, you know, right around that COVID lockdown period, for the same reason most of our, you know, initial projects were surrounding that topic and we collaborated and connected a lot with many governmental and non-governmental agencies for that.

So we did, you know, we had a vaccination testing center.

We, you know, collaborated with Asian media access from the cities to do that.

Again, we collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Health and other organizations like Diversity Council.

Under their umbrella, we had a grant, Project HEALING.

And one activity of that was to conduct surveys to understand the barrier for reaching, you know, taking vaccinations.

And we also conducted vaccination clinics, you know, based on the survey.

And we provided transportation and interpreting needs, collaborating with IMAA and other community partners.

You know, during the second wave of COVID in India, ICAM stepped up our kind of support.

We collected fund to collaborate oxygen cylinder supplies.

- And this was because of the impact of the pandemic in India.

- Yes, in India.

So we kind of coordinated that supply to some of the, you know, locations in India.

That was a huge effort.

Again, you know, we wanted to support our families and brothers in India.

You know, we are all here, isolated, we cannot go back.

This was like our emotional connection.

Again, we also created many contents, you know, in various Indian languages related to messaging on you know, safety, how to say stay safe, you know, getting vaccination, and even prevention.

And also did many health seminars, virtually, on related topics with experts from Mayo Clinic.

- Wow.

Well, you know, the pandemic, of course, is its own set of issues.

And I'm wondering, you know, just generally, in terms of the Indian community here, we know it's so diverse.

What are some of the unique challenges that the Indian community faces here in Rochester in terms of staying and I guess, how does ICAM provide resources and help them stay culturally connected?

- So if you look at the Rochester Indian community, you can see many different groups like the religious groups, regional groups that speak different languages, you know, that follow different traditions, culture, rituals from east, west, north, southern part of India.

And yet, we all identify as Indian community.

That itself is a challenge.

And we also do not have a physical space to come together culturally.

Hence, the second generation, they don't understand this diversity and they don't have an opportunity to acknowledge that diversity and feel proud about it.

And also due to this limitation, we had to discontinue some of the language classes, cultural classes, talk shows that we used to organize since that community is growing and we don't have a, you know, like a space for that.

And also for new families, individuals, and families who are moving into Rochester to accessing resources from a common platform.

- Well, thank you so much, Nisha, for joining us and sharing a little bit more about ICAM.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Are you a green thumb and a coffee lover?

If so, you wanna stick around as we grab a latte in a lush plant oasis.

We also meet the new community development director for the city of Rochester.

But at first, we explore the work of an artist whose paintings are full of symbolism and a love of nature in this week's R-Culture segment.

(gentle music) - We are all born creative, I believe.

(gentle music) Pablo Picasso said that, that everyone is born an artist.

(gentle music) Some of us nurture it and some of us don't.

Hi, I'm Brianna Stenzel and I am a local artist.

My local business name is Cece's Collective.

Cece is short for my middle name, Cecilia.

I am definitely a multi-medium artist.

I like to work with acrylic paint.

I like to work with oil paint and watercolor paint, and I even dabble in resin.

I was raised in a creative family and I've been creative since I was three or four.

Even at restaurants, drawing on all the placemats.

My grandma kind of nourished my love of painting by taking me to, like a summer art camp for kiddos.

We learned a lot at a very young age.

What I like about painting is the freedom that I can express how I'm feeling.

I do that based on the colors I use.

I do that based on experiences I've lived and had to go through.

It's been a sort of therapy for me.

(gentle music) I was working on a painting of a bird flying in the sky, and at the same time, my grandma had passed away.

So what started as a bright yellow painting quickly turned into a dark painting with blue and black and just accents of gold to encompass the grief I was feeling.

(light music) I am heavily inspired by art and nature and music.

So I have a lot of birds in my paintings and a lot of plants.

I see birds as this, just pure freedom, being able to fly anywhere they want to.

Also, like their musical in a way, they sing.

And that's one of my favorite things about spring is hearing them sing.

And we've been hearing more and more that lately, so that's been making me so happy.

I also have some work where I've included music lyrics 'cause I grew up in a musical family, but definitely just a lot of funny punny things in my greeting cards as well.

Something I'm known for, locally.

My favorite moment when painting is when I can lose myself.

I struggle with a lot of daily pain.

I have some chronic illnesses and just being able to get lost in my art world and just sewing out everything, every pain receptor, and just get lost in my painting is really wonderful.

One of my favorite show and tell moments was when I was accepted in a summer gallery because it is judged.

So either you're in or you're out.

And that was really validating for me when I was voted in.

I felt very seen.

Like, I am an artist, I can do this.

(gentle music) - For more information about this story and other "R-Town" features, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, at KSMQ #RTown or ksmq.org/rtown.

(upbeat music) - Hello, this is Danielle Teal with the "R-Town" Spotlight.

I'm super excited about the guest that we have today.

Nadia Victoria, welcome.

- Thank you, thanks for having me.

- So, there's something big happening, right?

At least, it's been open for a month and a half, a new restaurant - Yeah.

- that's connected to Victoria's restaurant.

There's a little bit of history.

Can you share a little bit more about the name and what's it all about?

- Yeah, so Sorellina's is a sister restaurant to Victoria's restaurant.

And that's what Sorellina's means, little sister.

- [Danielle] Oh, I love that.

- So it's just kind of a spinoff of Victoria's.

We kept a lot of the traditional popular dishes with a modern twist on Italian and we do have some fun new items on the menu as well.

- Awesome, and it's a really cool concept when you walk in.

Beautiful ambiance, there's a, for pizza, wood fire pizza, correct?

- Right in the center of the restaurant, yeah.

- Right in the center.

And then also, a beautiful patio.

I have driven by it a few times.

Tell us a little bit more about the aesthetics and then the new items that are on the menu.

- Yeah, so actually the patio just opened two weeks ago.

We didn't open with it initially and that will be a four seasons patio.

So it's heated in there.

It'll eventually be fully enclosed.

We're waiting on the rest of the glass there, but the space is very light, airy.

It's just a lot more different than Victoria's that what people are used to there.

- Which is more traditional.

- Right.

- Right, yes.

- Traditional Italian.

Yeah, absolutely.

And this is just, like I said, modern and airy.

- I love it.

And the new items that are on the menu?

- Yeah, so we have some fun pizzas.

We have a lot more pizzas on the menu, but we do have some fun pizzas, like our Berry Fire 'Za.

It's probably one of our most popular ones, which would be strawberries and a balsamic lazed drizzle on the top with prosciutto ham.

We do have like a meat lovers type of pizza.

We have a peach, yeah, peach pizza as well.

And those are all fun, too.

- Awesome, and you opened this up with your cousin, right?

- Correct.

- I mean, this is not a new gig for you.

You've been in the restaurant business.

So how did that all shake out?

- So Jordan and I grew up together and it was just always kind of a dream to continue into this family business.

- So you didn't fight?

- So you're (laughs).

- No, no.

- [Danielle] That's awesome.

- Yeah, so he's just like a little brother to me.

And then yeah, so we just got to talking one day and we're like, oh, have you seen the location?

It's right by the Apache Mall.

And yeah, we've seen it, it was an old bank.

And then it was like, oh, we should turn it into kind of a restaurant.

Then it just kind of.

- That's neat how that kind of, you know, panned out.

- Yeah.

- Really awesome, it's a one-stop shop.

You can go have, you know, a nice lunch and stop at the Apache Mall.

Perfect, thank you so much.

- You're welcome.

(melodic music) - Hey, this is Michael Wojcik with your "R-Town" Rundown.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer.

There continues to be a lot going on here in Rochester.

This weekend, some of the activities that you can check out is the Party in the Alley and that's going to be going on in the alley behind Pannekoeken, just north of downtown on Broadway.

Should be an interesting event with a lot of new businesses showing off their wares.

Also, every Saturday morning at Graham Park, there is a farmer's market.

It's attended by a lot in the community and there's, oftentimes, free live music there.

This weekend, it's going to be Pat Egan playing at 9:00 a.m. Also going on this Saturday, "Much Ado About Nothing" is being put on at Peace United Church by a new theater company.

Now what's interesting about this is they mix in current music that is gonna be going on this weekend and next weekend.

On Sunday, there is an artist talk at the Rochester Art Center.

Genie Hien Tran will be speaking at the Rochester Art Center at 11:00 a.m. and that event is free.

And our riverside concert this week is en vogue.

The opening act starts at 7:00 p.m. Hope to see you there.

This coming Tuesday is primary Election Day.

If you haven't already voted, remember to vote.

And if you're not sure where to go, you can follow the link to vote.org and that'll show you where you vote.

It's easy to register to vote in Minnesota.

Finally, on Thursday, the Diversity Council will be having their annual celebration.

That's going to be at the History Center of Olmsted County and that starts at 4:30 p.m. You can take a look at the website link here to find out more information.

Hope to see you out and about, enjoying activities in our town.

(light music) - This is Danielle Teal with "R-Town" Walkabout and I'm excited.

We're at Cafe Aqui in this beautiful ambiance at Sargent's.

We're gonna find out more how it got started.

So I'm here with Shawn and Michelle Fagan and super excited we're at Cafe Aqui in Sargent's.

Lots of greenery, it's gorgeous.

You have to set the stage.

How did this come to be?

- We were out on our friend Nick Sargent's boat.

And he said, "You know, I've been thinking about doing something to bring some new traffic to the Sargent's on 2nd store."

And he said, "You know, I've been to Vancouver.

There's this market there, it's beautiful.

I love the vibe.

Wouldn't it be cool to do something like that here?"

- Well, we talked a little bit about the name Aqui and where that came from.

- Yes.

- And I think everything we've touched upon pulls back to that, to our name.

The word aqui is Spanish for here.

So the idea is to be here.

We don't have a drive-through.

That's intentional.

- Can you share a little bit more about this?

- So this is the Black Eagle.

- It's the Black Eagle.

- Yes.

- It's even got a cool name.

And this machine is actually used in the World Barista Championships for their competitions.

- [Danielle] Can your baristas do the world championship?

- They could compete someday, if they would like.

- Nice!

- Coffee can get too sour, get too bitter.

So our team's phenomenal at dialing in.

Every couple hours, they're dialing in that espresso, making sure it tastes perfect.

- When we travel, it's the kind of place that we hope to visit, 'cause we knew that it wasn't here before this.

- [Shawn] You see people studying.

You see people working.

You see a couple out on a date.

Fantastic.

- [Michelle] Just the idea of coming into a space that just makes you feel good and your shoulders drop.

You come in and you get a treat.

You're surrounded by beautiful nature and like a really cozy environment.

What more can you ask for?

- All right, this is Danielle Teal with "R-Town" Walkabout.

I'm gonna drink my cup of coffee.

(bright upbeat music) - The city of Rochester recently welcomed Irene Woodward as community development director.

Irene joins us today to talk about the work of the community development department and to tell us a bit about herself and her role.

Welcome to "R-Town" and welcome to our town.

- Thank you for having me on both occasions, yes.

- So could you just give us a little bit of a refresher?

What is community development?

- Yeah, so community development really covers a lot of different things from building and development, to planning, to heritage preservation and urban design, and neighborhoods and housing.

So we cover a lot of different topics.

So we really touch anything that's going on in the physical environment.

So like if you see any housings going up or any large buildings, they have come through community development.

So we really do get to get involved in a lot of different aspects.

- And how are everyday citizens interacting with community development?

- So we interact with the public on a lot of different cases.

If they're coming in to get a permit, to maybe put a deck on their house, to part of it is when any larger plan or larger plat is going through, there's a Planning and Zoning Commission.

We also have a Heritage Preservation Commission.

So we get people interacting with us, providing comments.

They're also coming in to get permits.

Or there might be an inspection happening on their property.

So I would say the public interacts very much with community development.

So we interact a lot.

We try to provide that customer service to them, but they're probably seeing us and asking us questions.

- Well, the community development has already brought the UDC, the unified development code, to the city council for approval.

What is a UDC and what is it gonna help us facilitate?

- Yeah, so in 2018, the city adopted a new comprehensive plan.

And so it was part of that comprehensive plan.

The net aspect is really looking at some of the zoning and the overall land development manual, which we had in place.

And it's updating that.

So the UDC is kind of the new version that we're taking in.

The draft is out for people to look at.

It's gonna be before the Planning and Zoning Commission next week on August 10th and then before city council for adoption in September.

But really, we wanted to make sure and part of it is really making sure that the UDC aligns with our comprehensive plan.

So it's updating that.

We're trying to simplify things.

We're trying to make it user-friendly, so there's gonna be more diagrams, better language.

It's a little bit easier for people to understand 'cause it's a little bit of a daunting task sometimes.

So part of that is really making sure that those aspects are incorporated.

So we're hoping that it simplifies things and it's gonna be a good tool for us moving forward.

- And you mentioned the public could take a look at it.

Where could they find that?

- So the city of Rochester, there is a community development page.

There's a lot of great resources on it, both UDC, but if there's questions related to permits and anything else, we have a lot of great resources and FAQs.

So if you're like, do I need a permit for something?

You can find a lot of that on our website as well.

- Perfect.

So you're new in this role, the department itself, if I'm correct.

Started in 2018, so it's relatively new.

What are you most excited about building upon and just growing?

- Yeah, so 2018, it's still very new.

I think part of that, you know, the department has really kind of come together in the last couple years.

So what I'm really excited about is kind of, I think it's first and foremost, everything has kind of come together.

And so like really looking at how we take that to the next level.

We've really started to, like look at different planning areas.

We just finished a small area plan, which is really taking some aspects from our comprehensive plan and like focusing in on a smaller area.

And so some of that, we're gonna continue to do.

Identify areas within the city that we feel that it's appropriate.

So I think that's gonna be a really exciting aspect to continue to do.

And that'll also really engage with the public and kind of create those planning, but as well as just kind of continually improving and looking at our processes and how we do things.

And obviously, implementation just in various projects that are going on.

So we stay pretty busy depending on what's going on.

And there's a lot of resources out there and we're trying to capture those and really make Rochester a better community and participate in that and kind of help that.

- Sure, and I imagine a big part of your work, too, is community engagement.

So what is your vision, if you have one, of continuing to engage, especially our diverse communities here in really meaningful ways?

- Yeah, we do a lot of engagement with the community.

A lot of times, we feel, I think we are informing people, but we're also asking for their feedback.

Sometimes, it's just for a short period of time.

I think one of the things, what we're really looking at as we kind of move forward is that continuous engagement.

How do we not just like pop in and leave, so that people also can like rely on, you know, that we're a resource as well.

So I think it's, you know, with all community engagement, it's a continual process.

We keep changing how we do it because we're learning as we go.

So we wanna figure out the best way to engage the community so that they feel that they're a part of it.

And that we're hearing what they're saying and that is really important for effectiveness.

So I think as we continue, we have a great diverse community.

And figuring out the best way to engage each one of those areas so that it's appropriate and we get the feedback we need so that we can better serve them.

- So can you tell us a little bit about where you were before you came here to us and why you chose to join the city of Rochester and make Rochester your home?

- Yeah, so I most recently was in Pennsylvania.

I spent the good majority of my career out there.

My background is in city planning.

So I really saw this position and really what drove me here was the job at first.

But when I came out here, I really like the community aspect.

The neighborhoods, everything that's going on.

There's like so many great opportunities.

And I just saw, I think, the potential here and it was really exciting to me and to kind of, I think a little bit of that planning background of like, what's going on?

How does it all come together and where do we go from here?

And I think even the fact that community development is relatively young, as we just talked about, that became a really good opportunity to kind of be part of that as it kind of moves forward.

So that's kind of how I ended up here.

- That's fantastic.

So eastern Pennsylvania, here to Rochester, you know, every community is unique, but are there some similarities or even just some lessons that you're taking from your previous home here with you?

- Yeah, so I most recently was with the city of Allentown in Pennsylvania, which is also the third largest city.

So I got to go from one third largest city to another, which is also very exciting.

(Nicole laughs) And the populations are somewhat similar.

And so, what's nice is like seeing the different concerns that communities are seeing are relatively similar.

So like how we address those becomes very important.

So really, like looking at that and I feel like bringing some of that experience, but also really like getting to know Rochester and what works here is kind of exciting to kind of think how best to serve this community.

- For sure, as we're wrapping up here, can you just share a little bit about how people can stay in contact with community development and just find out more information and kind of stay on the pulse of what's going on?

- Yeah, I would, once again, say like our city of Rochester community development page is a great resource.

We try to put out as much information as possible so that people know what's going on.

I think as things come up, we try to get them out to the community.

Sometimes, it's through mailing.

Sometimes, it's getting it posted.

So you might see some of that, but we really wanna make sure that our website becomes a key resource for people.

So I'd highly recommend, you can just Google it too if you can't find that, but it's a great resource of information on the department.

- Yeah, and I know the city just revamped their website, so it's very user-friendly for sure.

- [Irene] It is, yes.

- Awesome, well, thank you so much, Irene.

Welcome again.

And we look forward to talking to you again in the future.

- Great, thank you so much.

- And thank you all for joining us today.

Coming to you from 125 Live, I'm Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara, host of "R-Town, the show about Rochester".

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.

We'll see you next time.

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