City Beat: An art walk, storm clean-up, and new honorary officer

June 15, 2021

The Red Wing Water Park is open and the marinas are filled with boats. Summer is here and it's going to be busy! Consider sharing City Beat with a friend who's always on the go so they have the latest City news whenever, wherever!

Photo of a lamp post with flower basket and flag with City Hall in background

Storm Debris? Read This!

Friday brought quite a storm mid-day, and Public Works crews started clean-up immediately. The Waste Campus will continue running special disposal hours through Friday, July 2. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, you can drop off branches and downed trees at the Waste Campus free of charge. If you have any questions, call the Waste Campus at 651-385-3658 and they'll be able to help.

Car Wash Makes Room for Coffee

Finally - the old car wash building on Old West Main Street is getting a facelift. Longtime City Beat readers will remember learning about this project months ago, and now things are moving ahead! Remodeling work has started, and the building will house three tenants. One space to the east has already been claimed by--drumroll please--a coffee company called Scooters Coffee. Keep reading City Beat; we'll report back on other tenants and updates in future editions.

Budget Workshop: June 28

What's a CIP and why should you care? The CIP is the City's 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan, and if you live in Red Wing, this plan directs where some of your tax dollars go. City Council will be working on updating this plan during a budget workshop Monday, June 28, at 5 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Come learn about each department's requests and how Red Wing is planning for the future. For an example of what to expect, check out last year's 2021-2025 CIP. Questions? Email Marshall Hallock at marshall.hallock@ci.red-wing.mn.us.

Recall Update

City Council voted 6-1 Monday night not to hold a special recall election for Council members Brown and Buss under the grounds that Council had acted appropriately and upheld its obligations related to Open Meeting Law, which is the basis of the local recall effort. You can watch Monday's meeting segment and read the report. Documents & recordings, including a Q&A article on the process, are located on our City website page.

To Those Who Protect The River...

...Thank you! The Wakpa Awayankapi kick-off event on June 5 was an incredible success. Over 30 volunteers spent several hours on an extra-toasty Saturday afternoon collecting a whopping 120 pounds of trash from around Red Wing. We want to extend a big thank you to those hard-working volunteers and to Prairie Island Land & Environment for proposing the initiative and inviting the City as a partner. We look forward to more clean-up events soon!

Council to Vote Soon on Rental License Program

Council will likely vote on the proposed Rental License Program this July with a start date planned for January 1, 2022. Rental properties would undergo a health & safety inspection every three years, and landlords would pay an annual $40 fee per property. For details read this Q&A, the checklist, and visit the web page for all the documents and background. You can also read Monday's full report or watch the meeting segment. Questions? Contact Dan Rogness at dan.rogness@ci.red-wing.mn.us. To give your feedback to the Council and Mayor, email them at citycouncil@ci.red-wing.mn.us.

Walking the (Art) Walk

The Art in the Heart of Red Wing public art walk is nearly here! This fantastic collaborative project among Downtown Main Street, Red Wing Arts, and local philanthropic donors was approved by the Arts & Culture Commission and City Council, and soon public art will be installed throughout downtown with help from our Public Works Department. Save the date for Wednesday, June 30 at 6 p.m. in Central Park to join walking tours that will visit the seven temporary and two permanent sculptures around downtown. At 6:45 p.m., return to Central Park for the opening ceremony, then stay for live music by Salsa Del Soul at 7 p.m. as part of the summer Concert in the Park series, sponsored by Red Wing Arts.

RWPD Welcomes Officer Grayson

On June 3, 2021, the Red Wing Police Department proudly hosted a special swearing-in for their newest recruit. Seven-year old Grayson Johnson was officially made an Honorary Officer of the RWPD and welcomed to the team. Watch the video presented at Council to learn more about Grayson's story and see highlights from the ceremony.

Lake Pepin Legacy Presentation

The waters of Lake Pepin have been filling in with sediment, destroying critical fish and wildlife habitats, and making boating conditions shallow and unpredictable in some areas. Luckily for all of us, the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance has been diligently working with partners across two states to restore life and health back to the waters. The Alliance’s Executive Director, Rylee Hince, gave an update to the Council on the status of the project during Monday's City Council meeting. Major goals include restoring critical waterfowl habitat and a fishery, and recreating water access to and from Bay City. Hear the presentation and status of the project here. The Mississippi is the backdrop of our lives in Red Wing; check out the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance today and see how you can become a part of protecting it.

All in a Day's Work - Frank Peterson

Thinking of building a shed for the backyard, or maybe a pool to cool off this summer? Then sooner or later, you'll meet this guy right here. Frank Peterson has been the City's Building Official since 2004, which means he's the starting point of both residential and commercial projects in Red Wing. No two days are alike, which suits Frank just fine, as he enjoys the wide variety of things he gets to work on, especially overseeing a project from start to finish. So the next time you're ready to start some construction around the house, or need a housing inspection, you can rest easy that Frank is on the job!