The next time you're on a Minneapolis city street, take a glance at the curb and gutter. That smooth, professional surface you're seeing is the work of one of the City of Minneapolis' Cement Finishers. Public Works currently employs 14 cement finishers who form, place and finish Portland concrete cement for curb and gutter, driveways, finished pavement and other unique structures made of concrete across the entire city.

This specialized position has been part of the Public Works Department for many years, as can be seen from the picture at right of cement finishers at work paving an alley in 1941. The City also has a apprentice finisher program to mentor and train city employees interested in learning this skill. Once the apprentices complete a 57-week program in the Paving Construction Division, they are then transferred to a variety of Public Works departments.