Gone but not forgotten — Barnes & Noble still provides reading material in downtown Rochester.
The name of the store, which closed Dec. 31 in the former Chateau Theatre, appears on dozens of maps and other wayfinding signs all over the city's skyway and subway systems.
The signs and maps will stay that way most likely until spring or early summer, says Terry Spaeth, development administrator at Rochester City Hall.
"We just got done doing that project (replacing maps and signs) five or six weeks ago," Spaeth said. "So we may wait another couple months yet."
No one has complained to him about the outdated maps, he said.
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First installed in 2012, the maps cost "a few hundred dollars" apiece to reproduce and replace, Spaeth said, so the city tends to wait until a number of elements are outdated before replacing them. Replacement costs are funded from the city's downtown tax abatement district fund.
One more reason to wait: By spring, maybe the building's next tenant or use will be known.
"It's nice if there's a specific destination there (to list on maps)," Spaeth said. "It's too nice of a building to stay vacant."
— Jeff Pieters
Moovin' on in
When visiting freshman Rep. Nels Pierson's legislative office, it's tough to miss the giant diagram detailing the parts of a dairy cow. Turns out, the poster is something the Rochester Republican has been hanging on to for a long time.
Pierson grew up on a dairy farm in Butterfield, Minn., and was active in FFA. He first acquired the technical drawing when he was a senior in high school.
"My FFA adviser was going to throw that out, and I said, "Can I have that?'" Pierson recalled.
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When he got to college, Pierson hung the poster in his college dorm room. "So you can imagine how popular this geeky guy was," he joked.
But for Pierson, the diagram is a reminder of where he came from and the importance of agriculture in Minnesota. It was among the first items he brought with him when he moved into his office in the State Office Building.
Given his fondness for farming, it's probably no surprise that Pierson was chosen to serve on the House Agriculture Finance Committee. It's an assignment that Pierson said will be especially important for the 14 townships his represents.
— Heather J. Carlson
Contest winner sends real get-well card
Rochester resident Julie Warner's second-place prize in the Post-Bulletin's Holiday Cookie Contest went to a good use.
Warner donated the $75 Hy-Vee gift card to a longtime family friend, Peter Moen, who was diagnosed 10 months ago with cancer.
"We've known him since he was probably in elementary or middle school, at a church we attended," Warner said. "He's my daughter's age, 32, so we've known him at least 20 years. I'm good friends with his grandmother as well."
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Moen, with his wife, Bethany, and daughters Kiley, 5, Hannah, 2, and Emma, 10 weeks, live with his parents, Steve and Grace Moen, in Rochester. He is a 2001 graduate of Mayo High School.
In all, Moen has undergone 10 cycles of chemotherapy for refractory lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He is awaiting results of the most recent course of treatment, a stem cell transplant on Dec. 1. "I've been recovering from that since," he said. He finds out in about a week if the procedure succeeded.
"Every day I have more energy," Moen said. "Yesterday (Thursday) I went out and shoveled for the first time. All my blood numbers are going up, so we're on a positive uptick right now."
Family and friends in the area have given support, and Crossroads College and the Booker Mini Band conducted fundraisers to help the family with living expenses. There's a fund established in Moen's name at Think Bank. The card from Warner, Moen said, was used to buy groceries and diapers for Emma, who was born on Oct. 30.
Moen attended seminary in Tennessee. He was back in Rochester looking for church work at the time of his diagnosis in March. He has a job lined up for after he gets better, he said.
"The hope is that this is winding down," he said. "The PET scan will be a big day for us."
— Jeff Pieters
