(inspirational music) - [Announcer] 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 kicks off Black History Month with Wale Elegbede of the Rochester branch of the NAACP.

We also learn about a community project centered around sickle cell disease and we find out more about the Family Services Meals on Wheels program and how to keep your house plant alive this winter.

All that coming up next on "R-Town," the show about Rochester.

(upbeat jazzy music) (jazzy music continues) Coming to you from 125 Live in Rochester, Minnesota, "R-Town."

(upbeat jazzy music) This month marks over 90 years since Dr. Carter G Woodson first established an observance of Black history during the month of February.

The national theme this year set by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is centered around Black resistance.

We are joined today by Wale Elegbede, president of the Rochester branch of the NAACP here to tell us about this year's programming in our community in honor of Black History Month.

Welcome back to "R-Town," Wale.

- Always a pleasure.

- Can you just give us a little bit of an outline about what we can expect from this month's programming?

- Yeah, we have from the NAACP just a slew of events.

So we are, where should I start?

So, last week, you know, we started with a vigil to honor Tyre Nichols.

Originally, that was not part of the programming, but it was important for us to take time just to honor his life before we went ahead with additional programming.

So, that's what we did last week.

This week we have a town hall on racial covenants.

There's gonna be a virtual story time for the kiddos.

We have a Black excellence symposium at the end of the month.

And then also for art lovers, there's gonna be a collaboration that we're doing with Art Heads Symposium for people just to go in just to paint stuff.

So, again, lots of details, but I encourage people to check our website and also to check our Facebook page to learn more about all that we have going on.

- That's really exciting.

It sounds like there's a little bit for everyone to get involved and engaged.

- Absolutely.

And it was, it's important, you know.

So, sometimes, you know, topics like racial covenants, you know, maybe kind of a little bit heavy, right?

And so, how do we, you know, balance it out where we have some of the heavy topics but then we also have, you know, things that are, you know, more light, you know, like, you know, story time or even just the arts, you know.

The other thing that I think is important is Destination Medical Center.

We're gonna have an update on on that.

And you know, title is "What's Still In It For Me," 'cause I know there have been questions in our community about how do we engage in Destination Medical Center and so, we're gonna be sharing more about that.

- Great.

Wonderful.

How do you think this year's programming is maybe different from other years and how, it already sounds like, through all the different types of programming that you're offering, you're partnering with a lot of different folks in the community.

Can you tell us a little bit about what those partnerships look like?

- Last year when we did this, we were in COVID, so it was really purely just all virtual, and I'm not sure about you, I want to get out of the outta the office and see people, right?

And so, the, you know, that was the general sentiment is how do we sort of balance it out.

I think from, in terms of the collaboration with the partnerships, you know, everything that we do, you know, is really, yes, we are the oldest civil rights organization.

Yes, we, you know, there's a lot of strength that we do, but even if you look at the civil rights movement, it wasn't just NAACP.

There were a whole bunch of other groups, you know, doing basically, you know, doing the good fight.

So, it was important for us to partner, collaborate with, you know, other organizations and obviously bringing them true.

So, it was just natural and we were just excited.

It also makes, gives, you know, other businesses and people an opportunity to engage, so.

- Can you tell us a little bit about why you think Black history is important to learn and to be engaged with?

- The main thing is really this, you know.

Black history is American history and you know, and then you, if someone asks, why do we need Black history?

Well, because African Americans have often been relegated to the footnotes of history.

Even within our local community, there's a lot that we don't know, right?

And so, you know, what Black history does is try to elevate people's voices, you know, the contributions of African Americans to this nation, and it's really, it's something really positive, right?

So, I think that's where, you know, there are also missed opportunities.

And when I think about, you know, what's going on in other places in terms of maybe the perception, and I'm rephrasing some of what I've heard.

It's like, well, you're making us feel bad or this is, you know, we don't want our children to learn about slavery, you know, but that's part of our history, you know, and sometimes you have to look back to learn from it and then to move forward, and so, it's not a bad thing.

I mean if you look at World War I or any war or any, you know, traumatic trend in society, you know, in history, yes, there may be be things that are not good, but do we learn from it?

- Well, thank you so much.

I know that we have a lot to learn still about Black history and I'm excited about this year's programming.

Thank you so much for joining us, and happy Black History Month, Wale.

- Thank you.

Appreciate you.

(jazzy music) (jazzy music continues and fades) - Be sure to stick around.

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

Find out if you're a house plant murderer as we head to Sargent's for some green thumb tips.

We also learn about a new community project and a local Meals on Wheels program.

But up first, we check out the oldest Dairy Queen in Minnesota in this week's R Culture segment.

(big band music) (big band music continues) - This is the oldest Dairy Queen in Minnesota, and I can prove it.

We've got some documentation.

International Dairy Queen put out a book in 1990 to celebrate the 50th anniversary, and it states in there that we opened the first Dairy Queen in the state of Minnesota.

(big band music) How Dairy Queen got going was a gentleman invented the Dairy Queen machine, the soft serve machine, and the Dairy Queen mix formula is patented.

No one else can sell it, and what it is is Dairy Queen soft serve comes out fresh at the spigot, so it's as fresh as fresh can be.

The great thing about this store is it's still run by the same family, the Spratte family.

The third generation owns it, and the fifth generation is working in it.

And there aren't a lot of businesses that can say that.

(big band music) It was just great memories, great working with family members, great working with my grandfather, my father, my siblings, my kids, nephews and nieces.

Just really makes for a closeness, and it's just been a great family operation, great opportunity to serve the community.

Myself and my sister Diana and then her son Chris, we're the three managers and at any given time, one of us are here.

There's always a family member here.

- It's really cool.

I love working with my mom, and I can't imagine it any other way and, like, yeah, Tim's pretty cool, too.

We all get along pretty well.

So, been working here on and off for about 38 years.

I first started when I was 11 doing, like, pickup with trash outside and like stock work and everything.

It was like in '85, like, the first year the Blizzard came out.

So, it was an exciting year.

- The big change would've been when the Blizzards came out and that just blew up.

That was just fantastic for Dairy Queen.

And to this day probably, oh boy, at least 50% of our business is the Blizzard product.

(big band music) - [Chris] Oreo is probably the most popular Blizzard and then probably after that would be a peanut butter cup Blizzard.

- I would say an Oreo blizzard or a cookie dough Blizzard.

- We don't really have to here, but I always flip Blizzards, 'cause why not?

People, they get pretty excited about it.

- [Interviewer] Have you ever tried to flip something and it fell out?

- Nope, it's never happened.

- [Interviewer] Okay.

- I'm pretty good at this after this many years.

- My favorite thing probably is to see the repeat customers.

You know, someone maybe used to work here, they come back or their kids or their grandkids.

They bring them with, and just great to see them and visit with them and have 'em come back for another year.

- They can't think of doing anything different.

It's been a long time that I've been working here, but it's a pretty rewarding job, a lot of happy people.

- Well, we just enjoy the people, enjoy the employees 'cause of the proximity to downtown and the Mayo Clinic.

Seems to be a lot of downtown expansion this way.

And now with the renovation of Broadway, which has turned out very nice, and we've noticed a lot more foot traffic and bike traffic.

We feel we do a pretty good job at, here at the Dairy Queen and, you know, we'll close here for the season shortly and, you know, take a little break and you know, maybe go on vacation, do a few things and, before you know it, we're kind of chomping at the bit to get back in and get things ready for the next season.

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

(funky music) - This is Danielle Teal with R-Town Spotlight, and our guest today is from Family Service of Rochester.

Scott Maloney, welcome.

- Thank you for having me.

- Glad to have you, and let's dive right in.

Share a little bit about Family Service.

What is the offering, and then we'll dive into an event 'cause I'm gonna be a part of that event, so.

- Yes, thank you.

Family Service Rochester has been in the community since 1965, and we have services that are organized around three primary divisions.

We have our child welfare division, which consists of primarily a bunch of social workers that do work with families, ideally to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Our second division is our clinical division, and it consists of therapists, therapists that operate out of one of our two locations, but we also have therapists in, that go into families' homes.

And then we provide school-based therapy, and we have therapists in schools, and we are in Kenyon-Wanamingo, Cannon Falls, Lake City, Dover-Eyota, Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Byron, Rochester, Kasson Mantorville.

- Wow, you're cranking out that list, like.

- Quite a few different school districts.

- Yeah.

- And then our other division focuses on senior independence, and that is done through the delivery of Meals on Wheels, and we deliver about 35,000 meals a year with that program.

And then we also have our handy worker and chore programs that provide non-medical support for seniors to remain living in their home.

- Now, these services are obviously greatly needed.

There's not enough to go around.

You know, the, we need more of this in Rochester, and a way to sustain it is through events like the Denim and Diamond event that's coming up in March.

Can you share a little bit more about that?

- Yeah, Denim and Diamonds is an event that we started a number of years ago to support Meals on Wheels.

So, all of our services are provided on a sliding fee scale.

And so, what that means is some of our consumers are paying little to nothing for a meal, whereas consumers that have the financial means are paying the full amount, and to provide our services on a sliding fee scale requires donations and fundraising.

And so, our Denim and Diamonds event this year is a gala type event.

It has a casino theme to it, and we have some celebrity dealers, and we'll have live and silent auction and food and drinks and we hope to raise a significant amount of money to support Meals on Wheels.

- Awesome.

And it is, what is the date again, March?

- It's March 25th, Saturday, March 25th.

And if anybody wants additional information, we'll have that available on our website to purchase tickets.

- That's perfect.

I'm excited to participate as a dealer.

- Well, we're excited to have you.

- Anything else you wanna share?

- No, I just appreciate the opportunity to talk about Family Service Rochester.

I still think we're one of the hidden gems in the community.

We have about 150 employees, and we do stuff in about 12 different counties, and I think oftentimes, the community just thinks of Meals on Wheels when they think of Family Service Rochester.

- Right.

Awesome.

Thank you so much for being on the show, Scott.

- Well, thank you for having me.

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

(playful music) - This is Michael Wojcik with your R-Town Legislative Rundown.

This week, governor Tim Walz signed the 2040 Clean Energy bill into law.

Now, this bill passed the House and Senate but it was by an entirely partisan vote with all Democrats voting for it.

And sometimes, when that happens in government, you may feel that the minority party really doesn't have a say in policy.

But I think we saw a good example this week of how that's maybe not the the case.

A new bill that's been introduced, Senate File 1171, actually goes back and takes a look at one of the questions that was raised by the Republican Party, and that is the question of nuclear reactors and new technology.

And this proposed bill would fund a study looking into the possibility that new nuclear technologies might be worth reconsidering the moratorium in the state of Minnesota.

This was something that was frequently raised during the discussion, but it was never part of the final bill that passed for clean energy.

And we do understand that nuclear energy, despite all of its difficulties, does produce carbon free electricity.

So, it's something that, even though the minority party didn't get what they initially wanted for, they had an opportunity to still influence policy, and we'll see if this becomes law, as well.

Also this week, local Olmsted County Commissioner Sheila Kiscaden and testified before the state on a bill that would substantially increase state aids to local governments.

This is something that's seen a 20 year trend of decreasing, and what ultimately happens is between what we call LGA or local government aid and property taxes, that makes up the bulk of the shortfalls from other parts of government.

And as you have less aid, you tend to see property taxes increase.

And we've certainly seen that.

The bill being proposed would increase aid to Olmsted County by about 57% and increase funds to the city of Rochester by about two and a half million.

Now, I did some quick math, looking at what the property tax levy was this year, and that would be about a 2.5% decline.

So, not a huge number, but the reality is is when you see property taxes going up in the city of Rochester, it has typically more to do with property values than it actually does with government spending at this point.

Another bill moving in the State House, House File 3, deals with elections and election policy.

This bill would create pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds.

It would create a permanent absentee ballot status where you can just sign up to get an absentee ballot for every election.

It would address voter intimidation, and it would also increase disclosure for third party contributions to financial campaigns.

And finally, in some fun but perhaps less consequential voting this week, MnDOT announced the names of snow plows that won its Popular Choice Awards.

Governor Tim Walz tweeted that he was a fan of Blizzo, and you can't go wrong with that Minnesota icon.

I, given my more nerdy roots, really appreciated Yer A Blizzard, Harry, but you can't win 'em all.

This is Michael Wojcik, looking forward to catching you with our next R-Town Legislative Rundown.

(gentle music) - This is Danielle Teal with R-Town Walkabout.

I'm at Sargent's Gardens and super pumped because it's my favorite theme of the day, plants.

I'm here with Libbey and she is teaching a class.

Can you share a little bit more about it and what you do?

- Yeah, so my name's Libbey, and I work here at Sargent's on Second.

Love it here.

A lot of what I do is I work in the greenhouse.

I do customer service.

A lot of what I do is gonna be talking to people about plants and caring for them.

- And plant murderers.

- And this is kind of a discussion thing.

So, if you guys have questions along the way, please ask.

- [Danielle] So, you teach a class that really covers a first level of the basics, and then today is the second level.

Share a little bit more about that.

- Yeah, so today we're gonna be really diving deep into pests, repotting, when to fertilize, when not to do things, and then especially focusing on caring for house plants in Minnesota, because we know it's gonna be totally different from people who have house plants that live in Florida.

So, we got a little bit different game here going on, and so, we'll talk a lot about propagation and so many other things.

- Which I just recently did.

I propagated a Monstera, and it's exciting when they start propagating.

- Yes!

- It really is.

- Those roots, I love seeing those roots.

- You're like, it survived.

- You take it cutting and you're just like, okay, okay.

When are you coming?

Yeah.

- [Danielle] Babies.

Okay.

- Give it a couple days.

Take our least expensive soil meter and stick it in there and see if it's dry or wet.

- Why do you think people are so engaged right now?

- I think really honestly, after the pandemic, people are really trying to, they're just kind of reevaluating things, and plants bring us so much joy, it's just an innate that we are drawn to plants, and people are just really wanting to bring that nature inside.

- This is Danielle Teal with R-Town Walkabout.

Can you go wrong with all the plant life in here?

I don't think so.

(pulsing music) - According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, sickle cell disease affects approximately a hundred thousand Americans with a higher prevalence in Black communities.

We're joined today with Dr. Ali, the Health CORE coach and coordinator at the University of Minnesota here to tell us about a collaborative community project centered around sickle cell disease.

Welcome to "R-Town," Dr. Ali.

- Thank you for inviting me.

- To get us started, can you just tell us a little bit about what sickle cell disease is?

- Yes, sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder.

It actually has two different types of ways that it presents.

One way is the sickle cell trait, which means that out of two parents, one of them has passed on the trait.

The other way is the sickle cell disease itself, which means that the child that's born inherited it from both parents.

- [Nicole] And what inspired this project?

- A friend of mine's sister in Delaware is the one that inspired the project because of her development of a sickle cell foundation in Delaware, and she asked me to help with some organizational types of things.

I decided to investigate here in Minnesota about what's available for sickle cell.

- Great.

So the inspiration was there.

Now you're, the project is underway.

Can you tell us a little bit about who you are collaborating with and partnering with to get this initiative going?

- Yes, it is a very diverse partnership.

First and foremost, we are with the Sickle Cell Foundation of Minnesota.

Then, we have, through Rae Blaylark, the executive director.

Then we have the, Dr. Asmaa Ferdjallah with the Pediatric Sickle Cell Clinic here in Rochester.

And also nurse practitioner Rachelle Rouse with the Sickle Cell Adult Clinic with Mayo.

And then other partners are our faculty and staff within University of Minnesota Rochester, School of Nursing people, and then we have some community partners and then there are students.

- That's exciting.

I mean, it's a big disease as I mentioned before.

It's highly prevalent in Black communities, although a number of different people can have either the trait or the disease.

So, I would imagine you need a very diverse community partnership and collaborations.

You work with students.

That's part of, big part of your job.

- [Ali] Yes.

- Can you tell us a little bit about the role of the University of Minnesota Rochester students and how they're getting involved with this?

- Through our living learning community called Health CORE.

we have about 62 students in Health CORE, and 24 of those have decided to participate voluntarily with a sickle cell disease community service.

The other students are doing other types of community service.

So, as part of this, the students have read numerous articles, heard presentations by speakers in the fall, and then, they develop creative ideas that we are planning to turn into posters and flyers and, what do you call those?

Board displays and exhibits for our sickle cell community education program.

- Fantastic.

What are some of the next steps as you're sort of thinking about the project moving forward and then what support is it that you're think, that you're looking at in terms of getting community support and things that you might need for this project?

- Our next steps for which we need community supported involvement are, there are several things.

One is I'm actively seeking people in the arts community to help us to turn the creative ideas into actual posters, exhibits, and if anybody has access to a 3D printer, we would love to have communication with you because a couple of the ideas can turn into some really excellent exhibits.

Also, we are looking for community people with PTAs and other organizations, particularly for students fifth through 12th grade, your middle school and high school students, sixth through 12th grade.

Because we, this is planned as a community education event.

It's also educational.

So, we do expect and want students and parents to attend and community college students.

We also need people in the health professions who are also public health people or they may have some other role in the health professions, the broad genre of health professions, to be part of this survey.

Part of what's being done is by the students working with Dr. Asmaa Ferdjallah is to survey health professionals in Olmsted County to find out what types of services they can offer to patients with sickle cell.

- Wonderful.

Well, that's very exciting.

It's a big call out to a lot of different sectors of our community.

How can people get involved?

So, if I'm an artist and I'm out there, a public health professional, how can I get connected to you and your students and the work that you're doing?

- The easiest, most direct way is to just email me, EAli@R.UMN.edu.

That is the most direct way.

- [Nicole] Fantastic.

- Yes.

- Well, thank you so much for what you're doing and we look forward to keeping up with your progress and maybe having you back on to share the outcomes of this project.

- Thank you.

- [Nicole] Thank you so much, Dr. Ali.

- All right.

- And thank you all for joining us today.

I hope you learned a new thing or two about our community and I'm also excited to check out a few of the Black History Month events we learned about today.

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

I'm Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara, host of "R-Town," the show about Rochester.

Be well and stay safe.

We'll see you next week.

(relaxed music) (relaxed music continues) (relaxed music continues) (no audio) (inspirational music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.