YOU ASKED COLUMN Q:What's going to be built along Third Avenue Northwest just east of Hy-Vee North? A lot of timber has been cut down and brush cleared out all the way down to the river edge.

A:Gary and Mark Leitzen own about 10 acres there. They're doing the clearing, although no projects are planned as yet, said Gary Leitzen.

The Leitzen brothers got the OK to use the land for business from the Rochester City Council in March. Their proposal to re-zone it from residential to general commercial use was rejected, however. Neighbors oppose the re-zoning because it wouldn't place restrictions on business hours or lighting.

This month, Gary Leitzen said they hope to pick up some fill from the U.S. 52 project to level the land.

"We're clearing the trees so that if fill from the 52 project was available, we'd be able to use it," he said. "Then we'd try to get a grading permit."

The brothers are owners of Leitzen Concrete Products.

Q:Does homeowner's insurance typically cover belongings that are stored in a mini-warehouse? The fire at a Rochester mini-warehouse this month got me thinking.

A:Me, too. Generally speaking, homeowner's insurance does cover that kind of personal property loss, said Katie Horejsi, a Rochester agent for Farmers Insurance Group. But every policy is different. Better check it out if you're not sure about your coverage.

Q:A few weeks ago, you told us how many cars per day use U.S. 63 between Rochester and Stewartville. What's the volume of traffic on U.S. 14 between Byron and Rochester?

A:An average of 19,000 vehicles traveled U.S. 14 between Byron and Rochester daily last year, according to the Rochester office of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. That's up a bit from the year 2000, when the average daily count was 18,200.

MnDOT officials say the traffic volume count is done every two years.

Q:It seems like Rochester is on fire much of the time. What's the percentage of fire calls using sirens where there is an actual fire?

A:The vast majority of the calls Rochester firefighters respond to aren't for actual fires. Last year, city firefighters made a total of 5,623 runs. Of those, 682 involved fire and rescue calls. There were 127 structure fires, 59 vehicle fires, 231 calls about hazardous materials such as cut gas lines, and 50 calls to help rescue or extricate people from vehicles after accidents.

In addition, firefighters were called out 3,346 times on medical calls and public assist calls. Those may range from helping police to helping someone who has fallen at home.

There were 1,595 false alarms last year, which also leads to fire trucks being dispatched.

Got a great question and don't know where to turn? Send it to You Asked and we'll get you an answer. Send questions to Jay Furst, Managing Editor, Post-Bulletin, P.O. Box 6118, Rochester, MN 55903, or send e-mail to furst@postbulletin.com.