(ABC 6 News) – Mayor Kim Norton, joined by City, County and School District leaders, commented on goals and ambitions for the new year.

Speakers included City Council President Randy Schubring, Olmsted County Commissioner David Senjem, Norton herself, and more.

The State of the City also included the City’s “2024 Year in Review” video, which highlights the organization’s accomplishments and significant moments over the past year.

Mayor Norton overall said she was very happy with how Rochester is heading into 2025.

“We have so much going on in this community, it continues to grow, it continues to become more diverse,” Norton said.

She outlined ways to help Rochester continue to improve.

“We’re also setting the stage, to position Rochester as America’s city for health, compassionate care, and innovation. We already have that, we’re just upping the ante here, we’re going to do even better,” said Norton.

One of the primary takeaways was the Mayor’s focus on youth. That was the number-one thing brought up in the education category of her Rochester Vision 2050 exercise.

“Supporting our children, having activities in our community for our children, just came up again and again and again. So we have community partners. They’re going to be part of the solution,” said Norton.

One of those partners is Cradle 2 Career, an organization that aims to improve educational outcomes for every child.

“We really do the work of convening many partners together to talk about where there are specific needs for children in that entire continuum from birth through workforce,” said Julie Ruzek, executive director of Cradle 2 Career.

Norton emphasizes that the state of a city includes everyone.

“State of the City is all of us. It’s not just the city, it’s not just one group, and so I hope that’s the message that people take home,” Norton said.