• Assist with election planning, outreach strategy, and voter communications to ensure a fair, transparent, and trusted voting process.
• Support recruitment and training efforts for election judges.
• Participate in polling place review and accessibility assessments.
• Review records and assist in cataloging of historical data.

Community Development: Code Enforcement

• Assist is administering the City’s first neighborhood sweep to be able to provide proactive code enforcement. This will include project management, coordination, event planning, guiding neighborhood communications, and tracking progress.
• Support heritage preservation work through historical property research and heritage commission meetings.
• Support analysis and mapping of attractions within our public parks to inform where development cannot occur.
• Conduct code enforcement around nuisance violations such as, trash/debris or inoperable vehicles on private property.

Communications & Engagement: We will have openings at the Rochester Public Library and City Communications. 

• Assist with developing and creating media releases, articles for internal communication, other flyers or graphics for events, and social media posts.
• Take photos and videos at various event.
• Represent the City at various community events, such as, Safe City Nights, Juneteenth, etc.
• Complete City website updates.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: 

• Assist with developing opportunities for stronger communities, civic participation, community asset mapping, and neighborhood empowerment.
• Participate in and help plan community events such as Pride, Juneteenth, Disability Summit, etc.
• Assist in the development of the Accessible Housing Registry
• Assist in planning and creating training.

Legislative Affairs: 

• Assist with legislator events (i.e. groundbreakings, information briefings, tours of city projects).
• Shadow the Legislative Affairs and Policy Director at meetings to discuss legislative priorities and at League of MN Cities meetings
• Provide research and other support for projects preparing for the next legislative session.

Office of the Mayor:

• Assist the Mayor with initiatives and activities, including, but not limited to, Move with the Mayor, International Relations Committee, White House Strategy on Health, etc.
• Participate in community events, such as, Safe City Nights, Thursday’s Downtown, Youth Council, etc.
• Shadow the Mayor in meetings and events.
• Provide input and research to the Mayor on City-related issues, programs, and initiatives.

Parks & Recreation: 

• Assist with park planning, forestry operations, tree planting, and enforcing ordinances.
• Attend community engagement events to gather feedback on upcoming Parks & Recreation projects.
• Working with the City Communications team to inform the community of the benefits of healthy parks and recreation systems.
• Assist in the reporting of grant funded activities, such as tree planting and pruning in underserved areas of the community.

Public Music:  

• Gain an understanding of how local government connects culture, community, and civic purpose.
• Assist in the planning, communications, reporting, and onsite logistics of Riverside Concerts, Passport Sessions, and FORWARD concerts.
• Help draft and update event communications, web content, social media posts, and emcee talking points.
• Participate in audience engagement efforts, such as surveys.

Rochester Public Utilities Safety: 

• Assist and participate in incident investigations or inspections. 
• Update safety documentation and procedures. 
• Help ensure compliance with health and safety regulations via safety audits. 
• Organize and plan training sessions or meetings. 

Transit & Parking:

• Assist with transit development plan research, document retention, and creation of standard operating procedures. 
• Participate in public events for the promotion of Transit projects, such as LINK
• Assist with contract management and transit planning utilizing various software (GIS, Remix, CAD). 
• Be a mystery rider on public transportation to document rider usage and behavior. 

• 18 years of age or older
• DEI Internship: 16 years of age or older.
• Enrolled as a high school junior or senior for the 2025-2026 academic year; OR Pursuing post-secondary education.
• Ability to travel to multiple locations within the City of Rochester, MN.

Desirable Qualifications: 

• Experience working with individuals from a variety of racial, geographic, and financial backgrounds.
• Proficiency in another language (Bilingual or Multilingual).
• Experience with Microsoft Office products.
• Enrollment in an undergraduate program related to the internship opportunities.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including being comfortable interacting directly with the public when given background information on topics
• Ability to work with a team and independently
• Enthusiasm for working outside, positive attitude, self-starter
• Willingness to learn new skills and cultural competencies

• Provide an opportunity for all people to see themselves in local government.
• Foster an inclusive environment where all interns feel valued and empowered to contribute.
• Develop relationships with City leaders to increase network.
• Showcase the benefits and various opportunities of working in local government.

Learning & Development

• Create an experience that focuses on developing the next generation of talent.
• Offer learning and development opportunities focused on workplace readiness.
• Mentor the next generation of workers; develop communication, problem-solving, and collaboration skills.
• Provide real world insight and career exploration.
• Encourage feedback and growth to ensure success.

Meaningful Work & Impact

• Assign work and projects that address community needs and City goals, which allows us to provide more services to the community and meet project goals.
• Align intern projects with community needs and City goals to empower interns to make a tangible impact while discovering their strengths.
• Expose interns to various local government departments, especially those with fewer career pathway options.
• Match interns with the work that they will be best at and select what work that aligns with their career goals.