April 24, 2024- ROCHESTER, MN— Rochester Public Utilities, with partners Maier Tree & Lawn, Rochester Park & Recreation, and Sargent’s Gardens, will hold its 22nd Annual Arbor Day Celebration on Friday, April 26, 2024. Come join in the celebration at RCTC’s Field House located at 851 30th Ave SE in Rochester (due to weather), with live music, free trees, and free lunch! Smokey Bear, chainsaw carver, games, and many more family activities will be taking place.

The fun and free community event will feature a variety of activities, music, and displays that will include: A tree giveaway (while supplies last), a free lunch of hot dogs, corn on the cob, chips, cookies, and soda will be provided (while supplies last). Tree experts will also be on hand to answer questions on tree planting and care, along with many other vendor activities and information.

Children will be able to enjoy the apple toss game, tree cookie stacking, tree ring toss, tree medallion necklaces, and much more!

At noon, an awards ceremony will honor Rochester elementary school students who were selected as finalists of the 2024 Arbor Day poster contest, as well as this year’s overall winner, Shaarav Nawale, a 4th grader at Washington Elementary. Shaarav will receive a $100 Target gift card, his winning poster will be featured in RPU’s 2025 calendar, and a tree will be planted in his honor at Washington Elementary School. This year’s poster contest theme was “Trees Are Terrific…For Animals Too!”

RPU line crews will also be partnering with Rochester Parks & Recreation on a tree planting for The Right Tree in the Right Place program on Wednesday, May 1 in NW Rochester near John Adams Middle School. This is an annual event to plant the proper type of boulevard trees in different neighborhoods in Rochester.

Co-Sponsors of this year’s event include: ArborWise, Culligan of Greater Minnesota, Hy-Vee, Jim Whiting Nursery & Garden Center, Kemps, Minnesota Energy Resources, Pepsi, Sekapp Orchard, and Seneca Foods.

In the event of rain, the celebration will be moved to Rochester Community & Technical College’s Field House. This announcement will be made on the RPU Facebook (Rochester Public Utilities) and Twitter (@rpualerts) accounts.

About Rochester Public Utilities

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 58,000 customers. Water customers number more than 41,000.  RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive. Current initiatives include photovoltaic offerings, wind energy, energy and water efficient equipment, and electric vehicle charging.

###

Consideration of Standards for Demand-Response Practices and Electric Vehicle Charging Programs public hearing on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 beginning at 5:00 PM in the RPU Community Room.

https://www.rpu.org/about-rpu/purpa-standards.php

April, 27, 2022 – ROCHESTER, MN – Rochester Public Utilities (RPU), with partners Maier Tree & Lawn and Rochester Parks & Recreation, and Sargent’s Gardens will host the 20^th Annual Arbor Day Celebration on Friday, April 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Three Links-Silver Lake Park, located at 840 7th St NE in Rochester.

The fun and free community event will feature a variety of activities and displays that will include: A tree giveaway (while supplies last), a free lunch of hot dogs, corn on the cob, chips, cookies, and soda will be provided (while supplies last), and live music from PK Mayo Quartet. Tree experts will also be on hand to answer questions on tree planting and care, along with many other vendor activities and information.

Children will be able to enjoy Smokey Bear, tree medallion necklace, apple toss game, tree ring toss game, bean bag toss, and much more!

At noon, an awards ceremony will honor Rochester elementary school students who were selected as finalists of the Arbor Day poster contest, as well as this year’s overall winner, Jia-Xin Fan, a 4th grader at Gibbs Elementary. Jia-Xin will receive a $100 ABC & Toy Zone gift card, her winning poster will be featured in RPU’s 2023 calendar, and a tree will be planted in her honor at Gibbs Elementary School. This year’s poster contest theme was “Trees Are Terrific and They Keep Our Water Clean!”

RPU line crews will also collaborate with Rochester Parks & Recreation on a tree planting for The Right Tree in the Right Place program on May 5^th. This is an annual event to plant the proper type of boulevard trees in different neighborhoods in Rochester.

Co-Sponsors of this year’s event include: Hy-Vee, Jim Whiting Nursery & Garden Center, Minnesota Energy Resources, Pepsi, and Seneca Foods.

In the event of rain, the celebration will be moved to Rochester Community & Technical College’s Field House.

About Rochester Public Utilities

As the municipal utility of Rochester, MN, for more than 110 years, RPU provides high quality and reliable electricity to over 58,000 customers.  Water customers number more than 41,000.  RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive.  Current initiatives include photovoltaic offerings, wind energy, energy and water efficient equipment, and electric vehicle charging.

###

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU), along with partners Rochester Parks & Recreation, Sargent’s Gardens, Maier Tree & Lawn, and Jim Whiting Nursery & Garden Center will hold a free tree giveaway on Thursday, May 21 from 11am-2pm at Hy-Vee on 37^th Street NW.

RPU’s Annual Arbor Day Celebration, scheduled for the end of April, was cancelled due to safety concerns for RPU employees, event partners and sponsors, and the public. In preparation for the event, 1,700 Serviceberry trees were already on order and will require planting in the near future. RPU, along with partners Rochester Parks & Recreation, Sargent’s Gardens, Maier Tree & Lawn, and Jim Whiting Nursery & Garden Center are planning to give away all 1,700 Serviceberry trees at a drive through giveaway event.

The Rochester community is invited to come to the drive through tree giveaway to get a free tree to plant, while supplies last. The Serviceberry trees are small and will fit through a car window. One tree will be given away per vehicle.

RPU reminds customers to contact Gopher State One Call to do underground locates before starting any digging in their yard or property. Gopher State One Call can be contacted by visiting gopherstateonecall.org or by calling 811.

For more information regarding the tree giveaway and safe digging practices, visit www.rpu.org.

About Rochester Public Utilities

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers. Water customers number more than 40,000. RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive. Current initiatives include fuel cell research, wind power, and photovoltaic offerings.

###