Home Page | Rotary Club of Decorah

Welcome to Our Rotary Club of Decorah!

Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Tuesdays at 12:00 PM

VFW

104 State St
Decorah, IA 52101
United States of America

In addition to Tuesday noon meetings, the Decorah Rotary After-Hours group meets at Pulpit Rock Brewing Company, 207 College Drive, every-other Thursday at 5:30 pm. See the drop-down menu items above for event dates and speakers.

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Our District

Venue Map

Rotary Roadside Cleanup Day - Spring 2026

Our Spring 2026 Roadside Cleanup Day volunteers (not pictured: Liang Chee Wee, Mike Huinker, Kent Klocke, Marla Klocke)

On Saturday, April 11 Decorah Rotary volunteers met for the Spring edition of the Rotary Roadside Clean-Up Day. Twice per year the club works on its sponsored portions of Highway 9 running through the Decorah city limits, extending from Kelly Real Estate to a point west of J.B. Holland.

Participants included Ward Budweg, Mike Cardinal, Liang Chee Wee, Bill Courtney, Melissa Fuhrmann, Larry Grimstad, Ivan Hackman, Tina Hall, Mike Huinker, Roger Huinker, Mark Jaehnig, Kent Klocke, Marla Klocke, Gary Mineart, John Moeller, Ron Moffet, Jim Morrow, Christy Teslow, and Bruce Ventura.

The club extends its sincere thanks to everyone who offered their time and energy in support of this event!

Photo credit: Mike Huinker

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Decorah Rotary Club Blood Drive

Decorah Rotarian Paul Pasche offering the gift of life at the club's recent blood drive

The Decorah Rotary Club, in collaboration with the American Red Cross and Decorah Lutheran Church, sponsored its annual blood drive at the church on Monday, March 23, 2026. Our club thanks the long list of blood donors, volunteer assistants, and snack suppliers who supported this event. The blood donors ended up giving 16 more units of blood than the original goal, and together the donated blood could help save up to 123 lives. Well done to all!

More photos may be found in the companion photo album at Decorah Rotary Club Blood Drive.

Photo credits: Melissa Fuhrmann

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DHS Robotic Club Visit to Decorah Rotary

Decorah High School Robotics Club students demonstrating the capabilties of their Robot 6252

The Decorah Rotary Club was honored to host Decorah High School (DHS) robotics coach Brett Wilker, along with many of the students from the DHS Robotics Club and their innovative robots, at our noon meeting on March 17th. Brett and the students offered a presentation and demonstration of their recent successful entries in the 2026 "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" (FIRST) Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics State of Iowa Competition held in Coralville on February 27-28. Both the freshman-sophomore and junior-senior robots placed high in several categories among the 72 teams in the competition. Included in the robotic tasks this year was the selective retrieval and launching of multi-colored balls into various targets in both operator controlled and autonomous operations. The students provided a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining presentation.

FTC is designed for head-to-head competition in engineering and technology. Teams of students design, build, and program robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Teams, including coaches, mentors, and volunteers are required to develop strategies and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as for well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments. Participating students perform real-world application of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) concepts and participate in an atmosphere that encourages team building, entrepreneurship and sportsmanship.

For more fun photos of the DHS Robotics Club visit to the Rotary meeting please see the companion photo album at DHS Robotics Club Visits Decorah Rotary.

Photo credit: G. Mineart

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Rotary Volunteer Fire Department Demonstration

Decorah Rotarian and current District 5970 Governor Ward Budweg getting suited up in firefighting regalia

At the Decorah Rotary Club's noon meeting on January 27, personnel from the Decorah and Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Departments provided an inside look into the work of a volunteer firefighter including the required training and the commitment it takes to serve the community in this role. They recapped some of their most noteworthy calls and showcased a broad assortment of their tools and equipment.

The Decorah and Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Departments provide rapid, high quality emergency services through teamwork and leadership, utilizing trained volunteers dedicated to the well being of the community twenty-four hours per day. We thank them for their extraordinary service!

Photo credit: Mike Huinker

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Decorah Rotary Supports Holiday Lights

Decorah Rotarians (L-R) Paul Mullen, Mark Jaehnig, Paul Pasche, and Ward Budweg braving the elements during the Holiday Light Walk-Thru Night

The Decorah Rotary Club provided several volunteer teams this year to assist Helping Services for Youth & Families and their annual Holiday Lights fundraiser. Our club supported the display during the popular Walk-Thru Night on November 26 and again on the club's traditional service day on Black Friday, November 28.

Holiday Lights, hosted at the Pulpit Rock Campground on the west side of Decorah, is Helping Services' biggest fundraiser of the year and enlists contributions from over 300 volunteers throughout the calendar year. The display continues daily and runs through its final day of operation on Christmas Day.

Photo Credit: Carson Eggland

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Decorah Rotary Dunning's Spring Trail Service Project

Decorah Rotary Club and Decorah Human Powered Trails Service Project volunteers in action on the new trail at Dunning's Spring

The Decorah Rotary Club is partnering with Decorah Human Powered Trails (DHPT) to complete construction of a new addition to Decorah's extensive trails system on the east approach to Dunning's Spring. In addition to the volunteer labor, Decorah Rotary's contribution included a $5,000 gift along with a matching $5,000 grant from Rotary District 5970.

For anyone who has hiked the trail on the right flank of the 200 ft waterfall, the ascending path is challenging but the hike down can be treacherous. This new trail will create a loop with a safer descent and an alternate option for hiking above the falls. Decorah Rotary and DHPT were supported by Pine Creek Trail Builders, runners from the Luther College Cross Country team, and other volunteers in completing technical preparation work to have the trail area ready for the Rotary and DHPT trail construction volunteers to complete the final phase of the project.

Dunning's Spring and its associated waterfall are listed on Tripadvisor as #1 on its list of “The 15 Best Things to Do in Decorah.” The park offers hiking trails, picnic space, and scenic views.

For more photos of the Rotary and DHPT volunteer team in action please see the companion photo album at Dunning's Spring Trail Service Project.

Photo credits: various

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Rotary at the 9th Annual Touch a Truck

Decorah Rotarians Kent Klocke and Brecka Putnam serving another satisfied customer at this year's Touch a Truck

The Decorah Rotary Club supported the recent Touch a Truck event organized by Decorah Parks and Recreation. Touch a Truck is a popular annual event where kids and families can get up close to some of Decorah’s coolest vehicles and the people who operate them. The Decorah Volunteer Fire Department donated hundreds of hot dogs, that our club's volunteers cooked up and served to many happy attendees. We extend our thanks to Decorah Parks and Recreation and all of the agencies and individuals who made the event possible.

For more photos from this year's Touch a Truck please see the photo album at this link: 9th Annual Touch a Truck.

Photo credits: various

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Trout Run Trail Tour Day 2025

Howard County Community Hospice patients and family members, along with Decorah Rotarian Brecka Putnam and Hospice Nurse Megan Norman, getting excited for their circumnavigation of the Trout Run Trail.

The Decorah Rotary Club hosted its 10th Annual Trout Run Trail (TRT) Tour Day on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. This annual event provides an opportunity for local senior citizens, those with physical limitations, and anyone with limited access to the TRT to experience the beauty of the entire 12-mile circuit. The weather was perfect and the scenery spectacular. Participants enjoyed coffee and rolls breakfast and tasty barbecue luncheon hosted at the Chuck Gipp Decorah Fish Hatchery pavilion. Over 100 guests enjoyed the scenic tour that stated and finished at the hatchery.

The club extends its sincere thanks to the machine owners and drivers who generously provided their time and equipment -- Paul Nichols, John Kerndt, Tade Kerndt, Tom Kuennen, Les Askelson, Greg Rude, Dacia Monson, and the Dyskra family, Larry Hauber, and Decorah Kawasaki. Other participating drivers included Bill Brenning, Mike Harman, Darrel Branhagen, Ron Snell, and Dacia Monson. Thanks also to Decorah Parks and Recreation for posting signage around the trail on that day, to the Chuck Gipp Decorah Fish Hatchery for offering the pavilion, and the many Decorah Rotary volunteers who teamed up to make the event such a success.

Check out the many photos of this wonderful event in the companion album at DRC Trout Run Trail Tour Day 2025.

Photo credits: various

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Decorah Rotary Supports Kids Lunch Club

The Kids Lunch Club kids lining up to receive their lunches and ice cream sundaes

The first week of August was Kids Lunch Club Week for the Decorah Rotary Club. Throughout the week our members collected and delivered ice cream toppings for a sundae bar to celebrate the last Kids Lunch Club event of the 2025 summer. On the evening of August 6 Rotary volunteers gathered to pack lunches. On August 7 our crew hosted the ice cream sundae bar for all the kids. In the end, our club helped make sure that 97 area kids ages 2-18 had nutritious meals, positive social interaction, and delicious ice cream.

For more photos of the project please visit the companion photo album at Kids Lunch Club Service Project 2025.

Photo credits: various

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