(upbeat music) ♪ I just walked into a ♪ - [Announcer] Coming to you from Rochester, Minnesota.

♪ Life seems so perfect but we never have ♪ "R Town."

♪ Stay on the good side of the road ♪ - We're approaching the end of January which means in a normal year we'd be right on the cusp of SocialICE.

Something that I attended every year and unfortunately 2021, isn't looking like a normal year.

But there is still an event to look forward to.

With us today is Monika Kopet with the Rochester Downtown Alliance to discuss Improv-ICE.

That's the new name for it.

Welcome Monika.

- Thank you so much.

- Let's talk about Improv-ICE.

Can you share more about it and how it is similar or different than SocialICE?

- Yeah so, you know prior to COVID, we were able to have a DJ.

We were able to have a stage, ice bars, lots of long lines and people close to crowded together.

We obviously can't do that this year.

So we aren't having a very beautiful, lit up, recorded music, sculpture experience kind of a walk through experience you can experience anytime you want, day or night, music and lights will start at about right before sunset and they will turn off at 10 o'clock.

So experience at any time but that's when you'll get the full experience during that time.

We're gonna have a 10 block community sculpture that was designed by a local artist which is really exciting.

Together letters that are currently at Broadway are gonna be moved to the Plaza for a follow up, and we're gonna have a lot of other cool sculptures.

And then we're gonna have the ice walker which is one of my favorite parts of it.

- Now is the downtown businesses involved, like they have been in the past for these where I think maybe did they sponsor them before, is that the same kind of concept or is it different this year?

- We do have partnerships with some downtown businesses previously we've worked really closely with downtown bars.

You know, it's a big investment of time stuff and financial resources.

And I think that was a little daunting for some of our bars with everything going on.

Restrictions just changed again.

So they're getting really excited about being able to be open at 50% capacity again.

So it just looks totally different this year.

2022 we wanna get back to it.

We wanna really add some new elements.

It's gonna be happening during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

That's going to be really exciting.

So trying to give them a little break this year and kind of let them focus on their bar and restaurants.

- Yeah, that totally makes sense.

What events are being hosted with Improv-ICE this year?

- Do you mean within our event or just other things going on- - Right there, typically have been some other events that are integrated into it as well.

Is that happening or is it specific for what you've mentioned?

- We're just doing the walk through ice experience.

We thought about bringing curling in the alley back.

We wanted to really focus on keeping those people from the Rochester grilling clubs safe, the attendees safe and we just couldn't figure out a way to keep everyone distance with that kind of activity.

So anything we looked at, maybe it was possible but we are really big on safety and we wanna keep our community safe until everyone can get a vaccination.

So not really doing anything like that.

I know a lot of our bars, restaurants and shops downtown are doing activities during the week that we're having the lockdown experience.

We're planning to have listed online a lot of those activities.

So people could take a look at that.

And it's almost a calendar of things you can do that full week.

- Okay, that makes sense.

And then where does the start, the walkthrough where they...Is it in the same location?

- So this is gonna be located in the West side of the Peace Plaza.

It's gonna be open to the public on Thursday February 4th for the first time for viewing.

But if you wanna go down there and see them actually sculpting.

Which is really exciting and fun to watch, they're gonna start that on Tuesday, February 2nd.

They'll be sculpting pretty much all day, the same thing Wednesday, the 3rd.

So if you wanna see them in action carving, it's pretty exciting.

- How's the weather looking?

I haven't looked at the calendar yet.

The weather calendar- - It wasn't okay.

I've been watching really close.

We want below freezing temperatures.

It looks like we're right on the border for the first couple of days while they're sculpting.

And then during the event, it looks like it's gonna be below freezing so I'll press my fingers but- - I'm doing it too.

- I would like to get even more of a cold snap so, yeah.

- Yeah, that'd be good.

Can anybody participate from home?

Do you have a virtual delivery for it too?

- I don't know if we're gonna do anything like that.

I know we are gonna do some live videos, Facebook lives things like that.

So you could see the carver sculpting while they're doing it.

Probably be down there ourselves as staff kind of letting you know what's going on.

But I don't think we have an actual like virtual event experience for this event so.

- And where can people find out information?

- On our website.

And what I was gonna say is, you know we really want people to come down and experience this, but we really wanna support our local downtown businesses cheapo.

So we're really encouraging people to go shop a little bit before or after.

We're doing the charity aspect of this, the buy a meal, give a meal to support our local restaurants too.

So if you don't feel comfortable eating it yet order take-up get a gift card.

We're trying to support all of these businesses downtown that have really been struggling in 2020 and are still struggling so.

- That's really good info.

Thank you so much, Monika.

We appreciate having you on the show.

- Thank you so much.

- And I'll see you down there.

- Yes.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] R-Town is brought to you in part by the following amazing people and organizations.

- [Narrator] The Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

- [Announcer] And the members of KSMQ Public Television.

Thank you.

- You should to stick around.

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

Amarachi Orakwue chats with George Thompson about how he came to Rochester in a time when very few black families lived here.

We check in with a Reverend Andre Crockett to discuss his new position as a community liaison.

And we meet Robin Hosel to talk about cookies that's right cookies.

But at first we need Kim Sin whose family fled from Cambodia and fly to come to the U.S. in this week's R Culture segment.

(soft music) - Hi, my name is Kim Sin.

I am from Cambodia.

I came to the US in 1983.

I'm an advocate working within the Cambodian community for 20 years.

The journey, you know, coming from a worn torn country like Cambodia and not a lot of people really knew about Pol Pot and the killing that was going on.

Pol Pot was able to over thrown the Cambodian government and took power during that time.

And so it costs a lot of Cambodian to flee and to try to escape to Thailand.

In the refugee camp, we had, you know, my mom and dad and then I have four brother and then two sister and myself.

They had, you know, school for people to go.

People were living in small huts.

And so it's very crowded.

A lot of people got sick and some were, you know die of the disease because they weren't very clean.

You know, the sanitation was really bad.

The United Nation would bring all these food and then they would distribute it to each family.

So if you had a larger family you get a larger quantity of food.

And my mom had to really make sure that the way she cook it and feed the kid was able to feed the whole month.

Or else if she was cooking too much then it would cause her to be, you know, shortage.

We had to travel from one refugee camp to another.

From Tower Deng, we have to go to Turnberry after Turnberry we stayed there for six months and then we go to Cat Cheng after Cat Cheng then we went to the Philippine.

And so in the Philippine, that's where they done a lot of quarantine for a lot of refugees that were coming from Laos, Long, Vietnam, and it's not easy.

And a lot of parents would sacrifice and do so much for their kid, you know.

In order for them to come to another country that provide opportunity, especially you know, my mom and my dad want us to come to the U.S.

It was you know, a lot of people talk about.

The U.S. is like a paradise.

It's like heaven, so many opportunities.

And so finally we pass all the tests.

Our family didn't have any, you know, medical record any issue.

So we were given a Visa to come to the U.S. To make things short is that when we don't really understand about each other, that's what create that stigma and hatred.

Is that people really need to understand that we all came here for the same reason.

You know, this country was based on immigration.

People came there because of religious, or they were being persecuted by the government.

And it's the same race for a lot of refugee and immigrant.

And so we all need to understand, their struggle, their needs.

And if we all really focus on the need, then everybody will understand and appreciate one another.

Thank you so much for this opportunity.

And I really appreciate it.

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

(upbeat music) - Hello, I'm Danielle Teal with Amarachi Orakwue your moderators for R-Town.

The show about Rochester with a brand new segment called R-Spotlight for KSMQ Public Television.

We'd like to thank 125 Live for hosting.

We have a fabulous guest on our show today, Robin Helsley from Sugar Sugar Cookies.

That could be a tongue twister.

So great.

Robin, we're excited to have you on the show and I hear you like cookies.

So tell me more about that.

- Yes, I love cookies.

So I decorated sugar cookies, very elaborately for any type of occasion that you can think of or whatever reason, reason, or no reason.

- Well, we're gonna make sure that we share some photos of your cookies because I want to know what elaborate looks like.

And I bet it looks good.

Oh my goodness!

Amarachi, I hear you got a few questions for her.

- Yes well, could you tell us when this started and where can we find these cookies?

- Good, so I started a few years while I've been decorating cookies since I was a little kid and a few years ago work was stressful and I found I had a hobby for decorating cookies and making them elaborate and over the top.

And I would start just to give them away to anyone who would take cookies from me.

And it got to the point where people started saying, do you sell these?

And where can I buy these?

And so that's where Sugar, Sugar Cookie came from.

And so you can go to Instagram, to Sugar, Sugar Cookies or to Facebook at Sugar, Sugar Cookies and see what I've got and purchase them.

I do pre-sales or customers order.

- Nice, and has the pandemic affected your business?

- At first, it slightly did.

So after Valentine's for any holiday there's a lot of orders.

I do small pre-sales where you can buy just a couple cookies at a time if you want to for holidays.

So after Valentine's Day, when things kind of hit hard I stopped selling them just cause I wasn't sure what would happen and if it was safe to.

But the University of Minnesota states that, "You can't really get COVID transmitted through food."

So about April, I started selling again and it actually has been a great business.

I haven't had any slowdown once I started doing cookies.

- Nice, I'm glad to hear that.

How can the community support your business?

- Just go on my Instagram page and like on my page and share with others.

And if you want to give the cookies a try, I have a cookie of the month.

I always have vanilla, almond and chocolate, but I also do a cookie of the month.

So February's as cookies and cream.

There's new flavors every month, new styles every month.

- Nice, so my dad definitely be a great year for me to spend this pandemic eating all those cookies.

- Yeah.

- And thank you for your service and for being a guest on the show.

Thanks for tuning in, to R-Town Spotlight.

This is Danielle Teal and I'm Amarachi Orakwue your moderators.

With KSMQ Public Television.

Huge thanks for 125 Live hosting.

And you can also catch up with us on Facebook or Twitter @KSMQ RTown.

(upbeat music) - Smart Children's Museum is bringing back free first Sundays.

Once a month Sparks opens the museum to the community.

Starting on February 7th, bring your children to Spark for free.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of visitors will be limited.

This is the first come first serve basis.

Anyone over the age of five has to wear a mask for more information about the event and their upcoming schedule.

Check out Sparks, Facebook page or their website at sparkrochestermn.org.

Rochester Civic Theater is presenting a "Romantic Fools" by rich Orloff.

"Romantic Fools" explorers love, lust, dating and romance from a date with a caveman to surprise frustrations of having a perfect date.

With influences of my python Saturday night live Julie Pfeiffer the Marx Brothers and Classic Ball Deal comedy.

These sketches are very in style.

All celebrate the inherit comedy of relationships.

The show will be online from February 12th to February 14th.

Tickets are available for purchase on Rochester Civic Theater website, rochestercivictheater.org/romantic fools.

The Rochester Art Center is presenting the 2021 Sweet(Art) Pop-Up sale.

During the entire month of February enjoy 10% off of Valentine's Day items including kids cross-stitch kits.

Do it yourself cat kits and artesian Valentine's Day Cards.

Also during the pop-up sale in February you'll get a free do it yourself postcard kit with any purchase of $500 or greater.

Mardi Gras mask kit are also available for purchase from February 1st to the 14th to help you get ready for Fat Tuesday.

The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

You can also check out the shop on Rochester Arts Center website @rochesterartcenter.org.

Coming up next Amarachi chats with George Thompson about his family's experience in Rochester.

And this week's Walkabout segment.

(upbeat music) - Hello, this is Amarachi Orakwue with R-Town Walkabout.

Here with me George Thompson.

And I've had the pleasure of working with him in Toastmasters through my time in undergrad.

So I'm really excited to move to him today.

How are you Mr. George Thompson?

- I'm doing absolutely great.

- I like to start off with, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

- I came here to IBM in 1968 same year that one Luther King was assassinated?

Well, I was graduating from Washington University in St. Louis and I walked through a cafeteria and there were people who were looking to interview people for positions.

And one of them had a black gentleman named Pearl McKeon.

I walked up to him and I said do you have any need for industrial engineers?

And he said, "No, we need electrical but I'll take your application."

Week later, I got a letter.

Came to IBM and worked there for 28 years.

- You and your family were one of the first black families in Rochester.

- When we came to Rochester, I had Darryl who was nine months old and I didn't see another black person other than my family for two weeks.

And when I saw this guy we kinda came together like people doing and feeling like "Oh my God," anyway, that started it off.

But we did a number of things together.

He and I organized some things to try to make it more appealing for black people in the community.

- You'll be very active in our community especially in the diversity council with the Toastmasters and you've definitely brought us together in this community.

So thank you for that.

- Well, thank you.

I have to admit that I'm basically a very introverted person but sometimes you have to do and step up.

- Thank you, Mr. Thompson for being on here today.

This has been R-Town Walkabout with Amarachi Orakwue.

♪ Sleeping in my home tonight ♪ ♪ 'Cause it's all they serve to do ♪ ♪ It's a finally something new ♪ - Following the murder of George Floyd last May, protests calling for reform have been almost constant around the United States.

With us today is Reverend Andre Crockett to discuss how our community is coming together to fight for racial justice and for black lives.

Welcome Andre.

- Welcome, thank you.

Thank you for having me.

- Well, it is an honor to have you on the show.

Full disclosure, I do know Andre, we've done some work in the past collaboratively with his important work in the community, and I'm just so grateful for that work.

So thank you for being here.

- You're welcome.

- Alright, can you describe what I've alluded to a little bit about the work that you've been championing in the community this far?

- Yeah, so you well know everything that's been happening since George Floyd and everything like that.

And basically what I wanted to do is make sure that our community did not run into some of the issues that happened up at Minneapolis is across the country.

And so I wanted to create a community liaison position that can work between the police officers and the black community.

- And that is important work.

And some of your previous work has helped inform kind of the strategy.

Your background includes the Sports Mentorship Academy, and barbershop and social services.

Can you give a little bit about that background and then we're gonna dive into what that community liaison work does?

- Yeah, just a little bit about that background, I started Sports Mentorship Academy in 2008 for almost the same exact reason.

Because many of the kids that I've been working with had run in with the police officers.

And now that group of kids are now adults and they still having some of those same problems.

And I wanted to extend and do barbershop and social services because I was only working with, you know, adolescents and young teenagers.

And so I wanted to make sure now that I've been able to engage now their uncles and their fathers.

- And so what brought up this idea of connecting the dots to the Rochester Police Department?

How did that relationship start for you and then this community liaison position?

- Yeah, I think that that rapport, that relationship started on barbershop talk.

- Okay that's cool.

- Having them come on and talk about some of the issues which were what they face internally within the police department and some of the issues that we face within the community.

And I realized that the police department nor the black community was gonna be intentionally come together.

It wasn't gonna do it about somebody being the bridge, someone bringing them together.

And so I realized that I had to find someone in the community and we use in our board why con to be our community liaison that he has a reputation, with the police officers and reputation in the community of doing community work and that he can bring both of them together.

- And do you feel like you have support or already or do you feel you're gonna have to build that support as you go from them.

- I think we're gonna have to build that support.

I mean, you looking at this history, this goes way back, you know, to slavery days.

And the tension is there, but I'm excited that the community want change.

The police department wants change.

So I think that now is the time.

- Yeah, you're not one to shy away from the hard work at all.

So, thank you for sharing that perspective.

How has the Rochester Police Department addressed the community outreach component so far and what are gonna be the next steps?

- How did I address this so far I mean, they've been doing, you know, I think like the pals program around Christmas holidays but they haven't never been intentional until now.

We wanna make sure it'd be intentionality in this thing.

And what I mean by that, often times that the police officers they police our communities, but they don't know our communities.

And so working alongside with a community liaison will give them an opportunity to really really know and get a grasp of who they policing.

- What would the day in the life of the community liaison position look like?

What is it gonna look like?

Are they gonna ride along or are they gonna be they have an office at the Rochester Police Department.

- Right now, we still in the early stages of trying to figure that out.

You know, we got to figure out all the logistics and everything like that.

But believe it or not that he's gonna work across the spectrum.

What I mean by that not just gonna work with the police department, he's gonna work with like workforce center.

We will try to get them to work with the school district, work with probation, because we realized that we gotta be proactive also.

So that means that some of these guys that come in out of jail had to be prepared when they come out of jail.

So they won't have the encounter in running with the police officers.

So we wanna make sure that he's a community liaison.

So he's gonna do more than just work with the police officer, he go work, make sure they have employment and everything like that.

So, his first task, his first duties is to be able to just build those relationships, just to have those talks, just get them all in one place, so they can start building meaningful relationships.

- And will there be some sort of community forums or some way that individuals or groups can connect with the community liaison and RPD?

- Yeah, so he's already sold the community leads on.

When they start February 1st he's already hitting the ground.

He's already started some polonium work already in the early stage of that, of talking to our organizations already.

Getting the organization hits together and talking about, and some of the concerns that they had had with the police department and then he will bring back that collective data to the police office so they can make necessary changes how to interact and engage the community.

- And how can the community come together to support the work?

- How they can come together to support the work.

Yes, I'm glad you asked that, it takes money.

(both laughing) It takes money to take finance to make it happen.

Right now, we had a generous gift from Mayo Clinic, Midwest Bank, the Police Department themselves.

They want to invest.

They want to put their money where their mouth is at.

And so that was the great thing but we're still in the midst of trying to raise $35,000 so we can get this individual four times.

So right now we halfway there.

So right now he's only gonna be working around 15 hours or 20 hours on part-time.

- That's perfect.

And is there a place that people can go to to find out more information?

Or is it still in the works?

- It's still, in the works.

- [Danielle] Okay.

- It's still in the works.

And so hopefully, you know, in the next week or two then we can get some of the information probably be posted on our website.

And so hopefully we'll have it posted on the city website as well.

- Any parting words of encouragement and perspective related to this?

- Yes, a change is coming.

A change is coming and I wouldn't want to be anywhere placed the separate Rochester 'cause we on the cutting edge, I really seeing racial tension decreased because of this position.

- Awesome, it's great work.

Thank you so much, Reverend Crockett.

- You're welcomed.

- 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 @#RTown.

Be well and be safe.

We'll see you next time on R-Town.

The show about Rochester.

♪ Ooh ei, ei, ei, ei, ei ♪ ♪ Ooh ei, ei, ei, ei, ei ♪ ♪ Ooh ei, ei, ei, ei, ei ♪ ♪ Ooh ei, ei, ei, ei, ei.

♪ (upbeat music)