There’s something for every creative spirit at Art Heads Studio in downtown Rochester.

As she walked around her art shop and studio, owner Leah Bee proudly pointed out her collections of crystals, seashells, thrifted goods and other oddities.

"We have things for making your own stamps, clay, sketchbooks, paint,” she said. That’s on top of the art classes taught here, too.

Bee recently doubled the size of the shop by moving next door, which she says she couldn't have done without a $55,000 Main Street grant from the Minnesota Department Of Employment and Economic Development. Hers is one of about 100 businesses in Rochester that received the grants, and the money was meant to help businesses stay afloat during the retail doldrums of the pandemic.

“We applied and put in a few bathrooms a

See Full Page