Rochester City Council Welcomes Four New Members on Monday

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A "changing of the guard" in local government will officially begin Monday afternoon as four newly elected members of the Rochester City Council take the oath of office.

Brooke Carlson will be sworn in as the new City Council President, while Mark Bransford is the new representative for the city's 2nd Ward, Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick will represent the 4th Ward, and Molly Dennis is the new 6th Ward City Councilmember. They will be serving with the three members of the City Council who were not up for re-election in 2020. 1st Ward Councilmember Patrick Keane and 5th Ward Councilmember Shawn Palmer joined the City Council just 2 years ago and only 3rd Ward Councilmember Nick Campion has served more than one term in office after winning his first election in November 2013.

Rochester Mayor Kim Norton will also be delivering her annual State of the City address during Monday's meeting. The speech has traditionally been used to review recent accomplishments and outline the mayor's agenda for the new year.

The Rochester School Board will be welcoming two new members on Tuesday. Karen MacLaughlin and Jess Garcia defeated incumbents Debra Seelinger and Mark Schluesner in the November general election.

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