on facebook: facebook.com/rochesterinfo on twitter: twitter.com/rochesterinfo "This Week in Rochester" is produced weekly. It's purpose is to educate visitors and residents of what's going on each week. Rochester Minnesota is consistently named as one of the best cities to live in in America. We serve as host to over 2.7 million visitors each year. Many come for the Mayo Clinic. We want to make sure to make them feel welcome to our amazing city! There's always something going on in Rochester. This week we highlight The Rochester Honkers, The Skidox Ski Team, Thursdays on First and Third, and Movies on the Plaza. This feature will be updated weekly so please subscribe for updates. In addition we will promote local businesses and have trivia with giveaways!! For information on any event or to find out how to promote your event please email rochesterpodcast@gmail.com. Additional info about Rochester: Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, the city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 2012 population is 108,992. It is Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest city located outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2012, the Rochester metropolitan area has a population of 209,607. Rochester is in Olmsted County, one of only four counties in Minnesota without a natural lake. Artificial lakes exist in the area, including Silver Lake, a dammed portion of the South Fork Zumbro River just below the convergence with Silver Creek near the city center. The lake is used as a cooling pond by the coal-burning power plant operated by Rochester Public Utilities at Silver Lake. The heated water from the plant generally prevents the lake from freezing over during the winter. The open water attracts large numbers of migrating Giant Canada Geese. Rochester has many parks such as Silver Lake and Soldiers Field. A major flood in 1978 led the city to embark on an expensive flood-control project that involved altering many nearby rivers and streams. Rochester features a humid continental climate, with very warm summers and very cold winters. As of the 2005--2007 American Community Survey, the median household income was $57,957 and the median family income was $74,467. There were 43,025 households. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 35 years. The Mayo Clinic forms the core of Rochester's economy. It employs over 30,000 people in the city and every year draws over 2 million visitors to the city. The clinic's many facilities, along with hotels, restaurants and retail stores, comprise nearly all of the city's downtown. Excluding the state government, the Mayo Clinic is the largest employer in Minnesota. Other care providers, including the Rochester Federal Medical Center, are significant employers. Rochester's park system is large, with more than 100 sites covering 5 square miles (13 km2). The city maintains 85 miles (137 km) of paved trails. The south terminus of the Douglas State Trail, built on an abandoned railroad grade, is in Rochester. Rochester is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional district, represented by Mankato educator Tim Walz, a member of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party| (DFL]. The city includes parts of Minnesota state legislative districts 29 and 30. The mayor of Rochester is Ardell Brede. The city has an early defibrillation program; all marked city police cars carry defibrillators. Education Rochester Public Schools enroll 16,300 students in 23 public primary and secondary schools. The city had long been a fixture on Money magazine's "Best Places to Live" index, and was ranked number 67 on the 2006 list,and in the top 3, including number one multiple times, from 1993-1997. Rochester ranked second in Quality of Life by American City Business Journal. Rochester ranked sixth in Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's 10 Best Cities for the Next Decade. Golf Digest and Golf for Women both ranked Rochester as the fifth best golf market in the midwest in 2006. In 2009, US News and World Report ranked Rochester in the Top Ten Best Places to Grow Up and ninth for Best Cities for job seeking retirees. Rochester was ranked the 5th best city to retire in by the Milken Institute.

• published: 01 Jun 2013
• views: 2373