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Med City Beat is a Rochester-based news project rooted in fairness, transparency and civic responsibility.
Est. 2014
Rochester Public Schools’ initial plan for the first two months of the 2020-21 school year is here. Most elementary schoolers and Lincoln (K-8) students will use a hybrid model, while most middle and high school students (grades 6-12) will stick with the distance learning model implemented in the spring.
The city released a ‘risk dial’ that will be updated every Friday, offering guidance and advice on how to stay safe, at home and in public. Currently, the dial says there is a ‘moderate’ risk of Covid-19 spread in Rochester.
2020 was always supposed to be a year of change for Spark, formerly known as Minnesota Children’s Museum Rochester. On the last day of 2019, the organization announced the name change and an imminent move to the Apache Mall. Since their former space near Glynner’s Pub closed in February, the world has changed entirely — but the goal of a summer reopening remained.
With the local primary only a week away, most candidates for Rochester City Council seats have released their pre-primary campaign finance reports, giving insight into the different strategies implemented by the candidates ahead of a packed August 11 ballot.
The Rochester Civic Theatre will be on new terms with the city by next month, after the City Council on Monday approved recommendations from the Outside Agency Oversight Committee calling for a ‘one-roof’ model for the space adjoining the Mayo Civic Center.
In a unanimous vote Monday, the Rochester City Council decided to give residents the final say on a proposed $2 million annual tax levy, designed to give Rochester Parks and Recreation added funding.
In an election season unlike any other in America, local election officials say they are hard at work ensuring the voting process is safe, accessible and fair for all involved.
Mayo Clinic says it will invest $100 million over the next 10 years to address health disparities and to ‘eliminate racism’ and advance equity and inclusion on its campuses.
According to the department, samples tested in recent days have shown elevated levels of E. coli in the water. Warning signs prohibiting in the lake have been posted since earlier this week.
Two businesses in Rochester’s downtown have announced they will shut their doors for good, after Covid-19 slowdowns, construction headaches, and a changing downtown economy combined for an economic hit they could not overcome.
Rochester Mayor Kim Norton was on the national stage Tuesday afternoon, updating the nation on the Med City’s response to Covid-19 and police reform efforts as part of the lunchtime version of ABC’s Good Morning America.
The Rochester campus also continued its streak by ranking first in more specialty areas — six in all, including gynecology and urology — than any other medical center in the 2020-21 rankings.
A dust-up between a local business and Rochester’s mayor made waves on social media over the weekend, sparking a broader discussion on the ethics of using a public platform to call out a private business over masking complaints — an ever-growing issue in a country divided over mask usage.
Enforcement had been temporarily suspended since mid-march as part of an effort to increase parking options for essential workers going to work. The Rochester City Council, however, voted earlier this month to resume regular enforcement on August 3.
As millions of dollars in public money earmarked for the Rochester area languishes in legislative limbo as part of a political skirmish over executive power, local representatives on both sides of the aisle say they do not support putting politics over high-priority infrastructure projects.
Though the criteria for eligibility is still being ironed out, the county says available funds will be targeted at organizations that have suffered most severely under the restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
The biggest program — representing about a fifth of the money set aside Monday — is one aimed at incentivizing customers to shop local, particularly at small businesses struggling to stay afloat.
Rochester’s tourism bureau has set up a new visitor information booth on the west end of Peace Plaza near the Gonda Building.
Monday marks the beginning of the end for a local, grassroots musical success story, as the ROCKchester music festival kicks off its fifth and final year with a series of live-streamed shows.
As the benefits of wearing a mask become more and more clear, local business owners and managers say they are relying on a partnership with customers to keep their employees healthy and their storefronts open.
