Dear Answer Man: Mayor Kim Norton recently went to South Korea on some sort of trip for the city of Rochester. I’m wondering if we, the taxpayers, are getting our bang for the buck for this trip. Also, what was the goal of her trip, and have other Rochester mayors traveled overseas on behalf of the city? — Too Much Travel and Leisure.
Dear Travel,
Well, have I got good news and better news for you.
First, Mayor Norton paid her own way to South Korea. She opened her wallet for the plane tickets. The host city paid for her meals and accommodations for three days and nights. So, according to Rachel Petersen, spokeswoman with the city of Rochester, local taxpayers are out zip, zero, nothing, nada.
That means, secondly, whatever “bang” we might get, no matter how big or small, it’ll be worth it for Rochester taxpayers.
As for the trip itself, a statement from the city noted that Norton joined “Winona State University Professor Joel Traver and a group of students during the final days of their educational visit” with the fine folks from our sister city in South Korea.
Sites on the mayor’s itinerary included Gyeongbokgung Palace, built in 1395, Bukchon Hanok Village and the National Museum of Korea. Norton also saw some more modern marvels, including a tour of the Siheung Global Bio Campus and the Tech University of Korea, where they observed hands-on training in robotics, virtual learning and clean lab environments, the city’s press release noted. Also, she saw the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant, a sustainable energy plant.
Not everything was history and industry. A meeting at Siheung City Hall included traditional Korean music and dance performances. And the WSU students enjoyed a wavepark — a tourism development — at Turtle Island. Sadly, Norton did not participate in the surfing experience.
In a conversation with the mayor, Answer Man discovered that her favorite part of the trip was that tidal power plant.
“The tidal pool was the highlight for me, to see energy made from the tides,” she said.
And while there are no tides in Rochester, Silver Lake and the Zumbro River do offer opportunities for producing sustainable energy.
Norton said medical education — Siheung’s university focuses on biosciences — was a big theme, and will certainly be on the agenda when Siheung’s Mayor Lim comes to Rochester next year.
For the record, Rochester has five sister cities — Tboung Khmum Province, Cambodia; Xianyang, China; Moosburg, Germany; Siheung, South Korea; and Kathmandu, Nepal, though this last one is listed as inactive — and two project cities — Muenster, Germany, (energy); and Akita, Japan, (peace).
If you want to see what happens on one of these visits, Norton is taking a tour to Hiroshima, Tokyo and Akita, Japan, Aug. 4-14, 2025, and there are still spaces available on this tour. Again, the city isn’t coughing up any money for the trip. About 20 folks from Rochester are joining her, including City Council member Nick Miller.
The visit to Korea wasn’t Norton’s first trip overseas. She’s also visited Muenster in 2019 to learn about energy issues. She also took trips to China and Israel previously.
The beauty of the sister cities program, she said, is not just cultural exchange, but learning from one another to improve our own city, and learning mistakes other cities have made so we don’t have to repeat them.
Of course, even Mayor Norton would admit the trip wasn’t without its drawbacks. She can’t recall any words she learned of the Korean language, and she was a bit leery of a dish she was served that came with baby squid.
“They do eat a lot of healthy food,” she added. “And they don’t have the obesity issues we have here. They eat a lot of vegetables and, of course, rice.”
Norton isn’t the first mayor to travel overseas. Former Mayor Ardell Brede made multiple overseas trips, including China and Germany.
“The relationships are phenomenal,” Norton said, pointing out she had an “entourage” that guided her from the time she got off the plane to when she flew back home. “And learning how other cultures live. We have so many similarities, but also there are differences.”
So, did Rochester get its money’s worth from Norton’s trip. Well, since the taxpayers paid nothing and the trip sounds like a success, I’d say, yes.
Where in the world is Answer Man? Right here, waiting for your questions at
Post Bulletin illustration