As the son of engineers, Todd Nickelski’s career took shape from watching the work his parents did. After years of working as an engineer in the private sector, Todd has now been with the City of River Falls for nearly five years as the City Engineer – and as a resident of the city, he gets to see firsthand the finished projects that he’s been involved with since joining the city.

On this episode of the Kinni Cast, Todd shares about the most memorable projects he’s worked on, discusses a few big upcoming projects for the City, and talks about how the engineering department plans for the growth of River Falls in the work that the city does. Hear why Todd describes himself as a “jack of all trades and a master of none” right now on the Kinni Cast.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Despite what the weather might tell us, summer will be here before we know it – and that means summer camps for kids, as well as summer activities for residents of all ages here in River Falls. Leading the recreation programming with the City of River Falls is recreation coordinator Kyle Mackey, who oversees everything from the recently released activity guide, the campground at Hoffman Park, the City’s various shelters available for rental, and plenty else.

On this episode of the Kinni Cast, Kyle talks about what drew him to a career in recreation, what makes the city’s rec programs unique, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board’s role within the city, and more.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Every March, the City of River Falls holds its annual State of the City Address, which provides an opportunity to look back at the past year and highlight the projects and accomplishments that took place in River Falls. The 2026 State of the City was held on Tuesday, March 3 at Tattersall Distilling and used LEGOs as the theme to tell the story.

The following is the audio from the event, which includes an introduction by Mayor Dan Toland, followed by the address from City Administrator Scot Simpson. Throughout the address, you’ll hear how City staff, councilmembers, our partners, and residents are all working together to build River Falls one brick at a time.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Elections are an important part of local government, and City Clerks are the people who make sure those elections run smoothly. In River Falls, that role belongs to Amy White, who has been the City Clerk for the past 9 years. But as you’ll hear in Amy’s episode of the Kinni Cast, she also wears many other hats in her role with the City.

Tune in to hear why she feels local elections are so important, what River Falls residents can expect in the upcoming April election, and much more.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

When Karen Bergstrom joined the City of River Falls nearly 14 years ago as the human resources director, she was able to build the City’s human resources department from scratch. Having worked in HR for another city as well as the private sector, she brought a wealth of experience as she helped establish the HR culture at River Falls.

On this episode of the Kinni Cast, Karen shares more about the workplace culture at the City, talks about the importance of promoting a work-life balance, and reveals what her favorite question to ask prospective employees in a job interview. All of that and more on a brand-new Kinni Cast.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Matt Walker didn’t grow up in River Falls – he’s an Indiana native – but after living here for 15 years, River Falls is now home for Matt and his family. Recently, Matt helped put River Falls on the national stage as the head coach of the UW-River Falls Falcons football team, which won its first-ever Division III national championship in early January. Being in the spotlight gave Matt the opportunity to showcase River Falls and the community that he’s a big part of.

On this special partner spotlight episode of the Kinni Cast, Matt shares more about his love of River Falls, talks about how the relationship between the university and the community has grown since he first arrived, and of course he recaps the excitement of his team’s national championship.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

When it snows, we often take for granted that the snow gets cleared from our city streets. But that job gets done thanks to the public works crew at the City of River Falls. Plowing the snow is one of just many things the public works team does. They stay busy year-round with tree removal, street sign maintenance, mowing the grass at city parks, and much more.

To learn more about the Public Works team, Erica Ellefson joins this episode of the Kinni Cast. As the public works manager, Erica oversees the operations of the public works crew and helps ensure that the city’s streets, parks, and other resources are well-maintained for the residents of River Falls. Settle into the first episode of the Kinni Cast in 2026 as we dive into all things public works.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

In River Falls, the parks and natural resources are something residents routinely say is an important part of the community. Helping maintain those aspects of the City is the job of Brooks Ostendorf, who joined the City staff earlier this year as the manager of the newly-created Conservation and Parks Department.

On this episode of the Kinni Cast, Brooks talks about how his background in landscape architecture translates to the work he does for the City, shares more about the City’s response to Emerald Ash Borer, discusses what he thinks makes our park system so unique, and much more. Tune in now to hear a conversation with Conservation and Parks Manager Brooks Ostendorf on the Kinni Cast.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.