Rochester is changing in many ways. City blocks are filled with construction work zones. Streets are littered with detours. Cranes tower over the skyline as a massive makeover plays out.

Much of it is tied to a major medical expansion associated with the largest employer around — Mayo Clinic.  

There have also been political shifts. Rochester is one of the shrinking number of places outside of the Twin Cities-area where Democrats seem to have an upper hand. It wasn’t always that way.

On this special broadcast of Politics Friday, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst heads to Rochester, where he and his guests talk about what’s behind the spruce-up and where the city’s politics fit in the southeastern part of the state.

Politics Friday in Rochester, Minn.

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Plus, we’ll meet a candidate hoping to make his way to Congress from southern Minnesota. He’s an underdog out of the gate. 

Then, we’ll get to know more about Molly Castle Work, the newest MPR News reporter based in Rochester, and a special field production. Later, a politics panel with Dana Ferguson and Catharine Richert.

Politics Friday: Voices from Rochester, Minnesota




Matt Alvarez, Molly Castle Work, Lukas Levin, and Paton Whaley.

On Fridays, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst discusses Minnesota politics. The show often features a number of voices in a weekly audio postcard.

In this special feature, MPR News reporter Molly Castle Work and producer Matt Alvarez ventured out to gauge the economic temperature from Minnesotans in the southeastern part of the state.

Guests:

• Kim Norton is the Mayor of Rochester. She became the first woman to be elected Mayor of Rochester in 2018 after a prior stint in the Legislature. 
• Patrick Seeb is the Destination Medical Center (DMC) Economic Development Agency Executive Director. 
• Sen. Carla Nelson is a Republican representing the southeastern area of the state, now in her fifth term.  
• Jake Johnson is a Democrat running for election to the U.S. House of Representatives for Minnesota's 1st Congressional District. 
• Molly Castle Work is an MPR News reporter based in Rochester. She covers health care in southeast Minnesota. 
• Dana Ferguson is a political correspondent for MPR News. She has covered Minnesota politics and state government for Forum News Service.
• Catharine Richert is a correspondent based in Rochester, where she covers southeast Minnesota for MPR News. She also leads Talking Sense, a reporting project helping Minnesotans have hard conversations about politics, better.  

This discussion was recorded at 125 LIVE in Rochester, Minn. on Oct. 21.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation or subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.