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People have been shouting from the rooftops, "Why haven't they cleaned up the bird poop in Downtown Rochester?!" It's a good question, so found the answer, and along the way, found out the bird poop will be washed away this week!

For me, it started when Jessica Williams, from Y-105FM's Early Morning Show, wrote a story about the stink...

...unfortunately, my enjoyable walk turned into a smorgasbord of crow poop at every turn. Places people are supposed to be walking, touching, and yes...even sitting were covered in the off-white and black nasty mixture. I even got photos to prove it. Read More and see the photos: To Whomever Makes Decisions About The Crow Poop in Rochester...

And then, I started seeing anger-balls talking about it all over Facebook!

Screen Capture - Click for lin.

That's when I dropped a note to Karli McElroy, the Senior Director of Placemaking at the Rochester Downtown Alliance.

JAMES RABE On almost every rant I've seen people ask about pressure washing and the Rochester Downtown Ambassadors...we're paying a ton for them why haven't they done it?

Karli McElroy The Ambassadors have found pressure washing to be effective, but it needs to be above 32 degrees in order to do this (and it'll be above 32, so cleaning is coming!).

JR Why can’t the Ambassadors pressure wash and put down salt?

KMc The City of Rochester has permits with the state as an eco-friendly city and salt would create polluting run-off into the stormwater. We are looking into other eco friendly options that might exist.

JR But it's never been this bad...just gross!

KMc - Another factor is that this year we haven’t seen much snowfall, which usually “washes” the crow poop away when snow is shoveled. This contributes to the perception that there is more poop this year.

JR This is why I reached out...I figured there was a reason things hadn't been cleaned up, yet.

KMc  Please know we are hearing everyone’s concerns and we using whatever resources available to us to help mitigate this issue. Tomorrow, the Ambassadors and I will be meeting with Mayo’s maintenance team to discuss how Ambassadors might disrupt the crow roosting downtown in ways that are not frightening (i.e. shooting air rifles downtown). After that, we are meeting as a whole with the City, Mayo, Parks, and Public Works to discuss clean-up options.

PERSONAL NOTE: I wanted to write this story because too many people assume the worst when something is wrong (see post from Spotted In Rochester above), instead of assuming something better, or even good.

There's almost always a reason for whatever it is, and boom...here it is, it's been too cold to clean. Nothing nefarious is going on.  There's no lack of concern, no nose in the air, just people working behind the scenes trying to get stuff done. xo James "Calmer Than You, Dude" Rabe.

If you have suggestions, questions, or comments, you can always call the Rochester Downtown Alliance 507-316-7511.

Does Rochester, Mn have a crow problem? This poop says 'yes'!



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