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

(upbeat Music) ♪ Sure, sure I ♪ - [Announcer] Coming to you from Rochester, Minnesota, RTown ♪ The lights have shaded green ♪ - There are a lot of new changes coming from the city of Rochester, a new city council and a new city administrator, and a new dedication to diversity inclusion.

With us, today to discuss all of that and much more his City Council President Brooke Carlson.

Welcome, Brooke.

- Hello everyone.

Thank you so much for having me, Danielle.

- Yes, I'm so excited to have you on the show and looking forward to learning more about your role.

But something to note, is that you're new to it in this aspect, how has this felt?

See when was your first day?

- January 4th.

- January 4th and so I'm sure it's been a fire hydrant of information, right?

And what is the most interesting thing about the new role that you've learned so far?

- Oh, most interesting thing...

I think just the wealth of knowledge that the city staff bring and the breadth of work that the city is really, truly engaged in that has been fascinating.

And it really turns on your learner mode in order to start getting your head around all the different moving pieces that the city's involved in.

- And this is not new to you in the aspect that you have coordinated quite a bit with the nonprofit network and facilitating that.

So having to kind of assess the environment and learn about what roles are and what the contributions are, and then pull that all together is nothing new to you, obviously.

Yes, that is right in the space that I do as a consultant for my small business, I look at community landscape, figure out what's happening and figure out how we collectively move forward.

- Awesome.

So let's dive into the city and some things that are gonna pop up for 2021 and into the future.

What are the top issues that you're hearing from city residents right now?

- Yes, well, certainly economic recovery and our ongoing response and restrictions related to COVID so we're sure that.

We also just have such an ongoing important conversation around affordable housing.

And I like to talk about it as affordable living.

It's much bigger than housing-- - Interesting perspective.

- In thinking about how we, and I can talk more about it, but how we connect different aspects of our life and ways that our organizations can work together to support people in living and working here and really thriving.

- Yeah.

- And then there's also, of course, DMC is an ongoing major issue in this community.

And I just started on the DMC board yesterday.

So having some new insights in that space as well.

- Let's dive into a little bit about the pandemic.

I mean, this is obviously in the forefront of everyone's mind right now, how has the city approaching and supporting people in the community face the pandemic?

You know, the vaccine is coming, people are getting vaccinated, so things are gonna get a little better, but what are some ways that are staying consistent and changing?

- Yeah, good question.

So the city of Rochester continues to be involved in the collaborative effort of Rochester Ready, which has really been supporting the business community and community response from an economic perspective, the city also has had some federal funds, the KIVA's Funds in the past to funnel to businesses.

We've worked with our partners to make sure businesses are accessing those funding opportunities.

We've used some tools that the city has related to liquor license fees to parking and some other ways that we actually have some control over reducing costs for business.

And then we are also just thinking about how do we think creatively in the future as a new council who is committed to economic recovery, that we can support what may lie ahead?

I mean, really, we're not looking at an immediate recovery.

We're looking at impacts across our government and certainly our private sector budgets for quite a while ahead.

So being really thoughtful about how we're good stewards of our dollars and using our tax dollars well.

We're involved in the COVID response in many different ways.

One of which is we'll be providing, I think, some space for vaccination clinics.

We have the Mayo Civic Center, which has already been part of the pilot distribution of the vaccine.

So we're involved.

I get to sit at some of those tables with Mayo leadership and OMC and the County about how we can move together.

- And Brooke, I wanna jump in really quickly about those pilots.

I think there's been some confusion related to that, that they are truly pilots and those pilots are being used to inform a strategy is that correct?

- Absolutely, very well said.

- People are not gonna get their appointment right away at this time that this is to help inform and strategize for moving forward.

Brooke, we're gonna take a little break here and we're gonna talk more about this after the break.

(upbeat music) Be sure to stick around, we have much more coming your way in RTown.

Amarachi Orakwue checks in with Fade Clinic Barbers.

And we catch up with Abe Sauer from Old Abe Coffee Shop.

But up first we meet an immigrant who shares how dramatically different life is for the school kids and parents in Germany in the US in this week's R culture segment.

(upbeat music) - I think I was probably within the first generation in Germany or in my circle at my school where you started having conversations about, you know, "Do you wanna spend a semester "or a school year over in another country?"

I pretty quickly knew I wanted to do this and I would wanna do it in America.

(upbeat music) I went to North High School in Minneapolis, spent a year there, what will be my junior year.

And in that year, really, I pretty firmly made up my mind about this is not enough, I want more.

- [Narrator] Axel return to Germany for four years before returning to the US to attend the University of Minnesota, where he majored in journalism and met his future wife, Jen Wak, he began his career as a TV journalist and has since moved on to senior communications roles at the Mayo Clinic.

Jen became a lawyer.

Today they live in Le Roy, a small Southern Minnesota town.

They have four children.

- So my kids are 10, seven, five, and three.

- [Narrator] Axel and Jen shared how different Germany and the United States are when it comes to schools and parenting attitudes.

When I went to grade school, it was just desks and a chair and yes, a whiteboard or a blackboard in my days, right?

On occasion, a TV screen would be rolled in if a video would have to be played, but there's no atmosphere in a classroom other than, you go there to learn and then you leave.

You don't leave anything there, there aren't any lockers, carry your bag all the time.

And you hated the days when you had, you know, like in my case math and German and geography, because those were the three heaviest books.

And I happened to have it all on Fridays.

You go into an American grade school classroom, the amount of other stuff that's happening in these classrooms is amazing.

And there might be a couch or reading corners where kids can hang out and read a book.

And it's not just academics, it's almost like a home of sorts.

It's a living room where you're supposed to feel comfortable and learn and immersed in more than just what's on that whiteboard in front of you.

Teachers are trying very hard to not leave anybody behind.

Another huge observation I make here is how much American families, American parents really have an expectation that school will take care of their kids, not only academically, but also things like food and nutrition, right?

School is a huge pillar in a child's life that goes much beyond academics whereas, in Germany, it's just academics.

- That is one way that German culture very different than American culture.

They are in some ways, the other end of the spectrum from helicopter parenting, sending their kids out to play with without supervision.

There's no like school busing system.

And so kids, even elementary kids will be expected to take public transit to their school and be responsible for that.

- Fifth grade, 10 years 10, and 11 years old, I would bike to the train station in my hometown, hop on a train and then walk another, I don't know, 10, 11 blocks to get through the school.

My parents said, "Hey, take your bike, take the train and walk to school."

So it was I don't know, 45-minute undertaking.

German parenting it's characterized by instilling the self-reliance probably much earlier than here.

- Germans are known for things like expecting a level of independence and competency out of your child and not always rushing in to make things right for them.

- Now I let my three-year-old old go up and down the monkey bars.

I know that there are some parents who would never allow their three-year-old kid to do that but for me, it's normal.

I used to do it.

Of course, you always tailor your parenting to how you experienced your life.

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

♪ Oo-Ooh ♪ ♪ I'm not here for the glory ♪ ♪ Oo-Ooh ♪ ♪ I'm not here for ♪ - Hello, I'm Amarachi Orakwue and this is a brand new segment called R spotlight for KSMQ Public Television.

We would like to thank 125 Live for hosting.

Today we have Abe Sauer, owner of Old Abe coffee shop as our guest.

And welcome Abe and we're happy to have you here today.

And could you tell us about yourself and what your shop has to offer?

- Sure, thanks for having me on, thanks for the introduction.

The shop started off as largely a coffee shop with some vegan food on the menu.

And now it's mostly a vegan food restaurant with some coffee on the menu.

So it's changed over the years.

We started as a small kind of bike operation, farmer's markets, catering downtown, and things like that.

And then kind of had the opportunity to convert an old house that was on some commercial lease zone property into a restaurant.

And we've kind of been tricking it out piece by piece ever since you know, this constantly making changes every year, to it.

So it's kind of a work in progress.

I don't know if it will ever be done frankly.

- Well, how has the pandemic affected your business and how can the community support you during this time?

- So we like most restaurants have been impacted by COVID, our business is down.

Luckily about half of our business was takeout before.

So we've seen the take-up business increase over the old amounts and then the in-person dining you know, has been almost zero.

I mean, frankly, I'm okay with that just because we've been lucky and our staff has completely avoided any COVID scares so far.

We've been super careful.

We mask up, take all the precautions, try not to stay close together, try to keep people getting out of the place fast.

But we're still down a considerable amount.

You know, we'll survive, we'll be okay.

And that's not true I think of a lot of places in Rochester.

And I would say if people are looking for a way to support us frankly I would ask them to support our peers in town who might not have a to-go model that was kind of as ready to go as ours.

And you know, places like you know, Chez Bojji, you know, Forager, you know Cameo At The Castle, you know, Hot Chip, there's just like a ton of places that are local porch, local places that really relied on in-person dining.

Places like Blue Duck, you know, Blue Duck is doing some great TV dinners things now that are really amazing.

I mean, places have gotten really creative.

And frankly, again, I would really want people to go out and support them.

We are going to make it probably as long as this is over within this next year.

But you know, I want the restaurant community to be as healthy as possible because we're part of it and we do better when everybody else does better also so.

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

Thanks for tuning in to our RTown spotlight.

This is Amarachi Orakwue, your moderator with KSMQ Public Television.

Huge thanks to 125 Live for hosting.

You can also catch up with us on Facebook or Twitter at KSMQ#RTown.

♪ Maybe then you'd still be around ♪ ♪ I need love ♪ - The city of Rochester has announced the appointment of Chao Mwatela to serve as the City's first Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director.

She will start the role on February 25th.

The new position will provide leadership to effectively embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion as core values throughout the city.

For more information about her appointment and the city news, check out the city website at RochesterMN.gov.

Quarry Hill Nature Center is hosting a Valentine's hike by candlelight.

Enjoy the sparkling landscape with your sweetheart, or come with a friend for an enjoyable evening in nature.

Flow the glow of candle-lit rails to the Prairie House and warm up by a bonfire while you enjoy an adult beverage.

Hikes will take place every half hour between six to 8:30 PM on Saturday, February 13th.

You must 21 plus to purchase tickets and attend the event.

Trials are unpaved and may be snow-covered so snowshoes are welcome, but not available to rent.

Multiple bonfires will be available to properly social distance and master required.

For more information about the hike and to purchase tickets, visit Quarry Hill Nature Center's Facebook page at facebook.com/ QuarryHillNatureCenter.

Whether you're starting your professional life or well vested in your career journey, you may wonder if you're aligning with the work you were meant to do.

Mayo Clinic is hosting a virtual career fair on February 18th from three to 7:00 PM.

The Fair's free and open everyone.

Visit virtual booths to learn about different careers offered through Mayo Clinic, including financing, human resources, research, surgical tax, nursing, pharmacy, information technology, healthcare technology management, and many more.

For more information, and to register, visit CareerFair.MayoClinic.org.

If you have any questions, reach out to diversityrecruitment@mail.edu.

Coming up next, Amarachi Orakwue checks in with Fade Clinic Barbers in this week's WalkAbout segment.

(upbeat music) - This is Amarachi Orakwue with RTown WalkAbout here with Antewan Webber from Fade Clinic.

Could you tell us what it's like working and getting a haircut at your shop?

- I got a lot of calls during COVID 'cause a lot of people missed the shop, they missed the interaction just to be able to get away from home or getting off work before they go home, come to the shop and get a couple of labs, it's a good experience, 'cause we have a very diverse group of guys cutting, all ethnicities here.

So that's the fun part, you know we cater to the whole entire city, not just one drive road, even our clients are different themselves.

So you never know what story they're coming in with today, or even in the conversation about sports, politics, you're not supposed to talk about politics in the shop, but you know, the past couple of years it's been hard.

(laughs) It's hard not to.

(laughs) So it's a great place to be.

- What are your popular styles especially in 2021?

- The drop face is the most popular style.

And then the kids with the Afros and the high cuts on the side and (indistinct) in the back.

- Bet a lot of us were looking shaggy?

- Oh yeah, we have a lot of transformation 'cause people walk in and you're just like, "Oh my goodness!"

We look at each other as barbers and like, "Who's appointment is that?"

(laughs) Transforming somebody from looking like "Teen Wolf" to looking like the executive.

You know, you walk out of that like, who is that guy?

That's not the same guy that came in, you know, so.

- You're now an expert.

I mean, you can do all those hairstyles real quick.

- I mean, I've been doing this since I was 13 years old.

Now I'm 42.

I was poor growing up and I always looked real shaggy.

We couldn't afford me going to the barbershop.

So my mom got me a pair of clippers and I started cutting my hair and I've never looked back.

- Thank you, Antewan Webber, for being on RTown WalkAbout this is Amarachi Orakwue.

♪ Sparks fly into the ocean ♪ - And we're back with City Council President Brooke Carlson to talk more about what's coming for Rochester.

Right before the break we were discussing the pilots for the vaccine and the strategy and how that's gonna be informed.

Let's talk about the economic impact and we already know that affordable housing has been an issue before this, that people that are underrepresented in our community have been challenged as well.

And with the pandemic that adds a whole layer of a struggle in that aspect.

How do you feel affordable housing will be supported through City Council and how are you going to make that a priority for the committee?

- Absolutely, so we haven't done our council priority setting yet.

We'll be doing that in the next couple of months, which will of course affect our budget as well, moving forward.

But affordable housing is absolutely top of mind for the council and we're having conversations about all the different ways like I said affordable living.

So it's not just thinking in the silo of housing, but thinking about how we create economic opportunity for underrepresented populations that connects to housing.

So how do we tie in conversations to workforce?

How do we prompt or spur opportunity for home ownership, not just affordable rental, you know?

It's shifting the conversation to what tools does the city have compared to what tools does our community have to collectively work together in promoting a way for communities to thrive that haven't necessarily had access to in the past.

So I think that's the shift I am feeling and seeing, and I heard it during the DMC board meeting yesterday is really thinking about how these pieces tie together, transportation and workforce, and housing.

And I like to talk about childcare because we know that's such a critical piece that limits our ability, especially as moms to thrive in our careers.

So really I see the holistic approach starting to shape up.

- That's a really good segmented perspective to that in the aspect that those are going to be stressors and removers of what a livable wage or a livable income is in order to even afford that housing.

That makes absolute perfect sense.

Regarding the budget and how that's being planned.

You know, there is no shortage of funding request and what's needed in the community.

When you're looking at the 2021 budget, what are your thoughts on how that is going to be allocated in response to obviously you've got to do the priorities for the City Council?

- That's a really good question.

And I think in two months I'll have a better response, but I think we are in the prioritization space, and with our new council members who are really deeply engaged with community voice that at least my goal as a council member, and I hear it from my colleagues is that we wanna be putting forth something that really reflects the needs of the community and our community's priorities.

And we'll see how that shakes out, but we're listening and we're trying to be sure that we're using our resources as smartly as possible.

- We know that police reform has been a desire by some of the community and across the state, how's that being incorporated into the lens of the city council, and what's that looking like?

- Yeah, great question.

Really important question.

So the city council does not directly oversee the police chief, the mayor does.

So there is that dynamic and the police chief is currently or about to release his report on re-envisioning policing in Rochester.

So we will see that possibly even coming out today, it will be in our agenda packet for, I think it's already next week, otherwise a meeting very soon.

So that's really exciting to see how they're thinking about reform in our community.

- How are you working to ensure a spirit of collaboration and working towards a meaningful dialogue and decision-making with other city council members, especially when there's conflict or disagreements?

We know in the past we've seen it.

But one thing that I've definitely appreciated about you is that balanced approach that commitment for civility.

I'm an advocate for that as you know.

So I'm curious, how are you keeping the peace, but amplifying voices and perspectives that are really important for our community?

- Absolutely, well, I seek collaboration in a number of ways, so there's certainly the internal collaboration with my colleagues on the council, with the mayor, with our fabulous really strong new city administrator, and the administration overall.

So I work in building those individual relationships, finding that space to disagree, but still have robust, important conversations to get us moving forward.

We've hit a few bumps in some of our early meetings, honestly, and so I think that discomfort or that sort of tussling with the process is allowing us to figure out how we develop better processes moving forward.

So we have productive community-oriented policy decision making discussions.

So I think we're in good shape.

We're moving into great direction as a council and then quickly, from a community collaboration standpoint, of course, that is one of my very top priorities.

So we've had meetings.

The mayor myself and the city administrator have met with County electeds and leadership and school electeds and leadership about how do we just keep going with finding those shared opportunities and staying on top of things.

So we're not surprising one another, so we know what our lanes are, but really know where they intersect and even know where there's some potential friction.

So we're having good discussions and it's a dream of mine as one council member to have a tri-government meeting on a regular basis across school, County, and the council.

And so that would be something that I would be seeking some support from my council colleagues to formalize in the future.

- That's awesome, and storming and forming is definitely normal in the early stages.

And so really appreciate your courage and everyone else's that are involved in this.

Obviously, the community is passionate about, you know, what is important issues and they're very vocal and you know, it takes guts to be in your role and the city council and stuff too.

So thank you so much for your joining us today Brooke.

- Yes, and can I just wrap up by saying our Diversity Equity Inclusion Director starts on February 24th ish.

- Yes!

- We are so excited.

Chao Mwatela she is so well respected in this community and whilst she will not carry the burden of an organization, she will be a central coordinating, a strong force for us to all be accountable in carrying our organization forward.

- That's awesome Brooke.

I'm glad that you brought her up.

We have shared about her on the show.

We're looking forward to learning more about her role and what she's gonna be contributing.

Well, thank you so much, thank you for listening.

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 be safe.

We'll see you next time on RTown show about Rochester.

(upbeat theme music) ♪ 'Cause we are lovers ♪ ♪ We're loosing our heads ♪ ♪ 'Cause we're (indistinct) ♪ ♪ Heading for the end ♪ ♪ Losing all control ♪ ♪ Doing nothing (indistinct) ♪ ♪ 'Cause we're lovers till the music ends ♪ (soft instrumental music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.