Events

DRC Sponsor: Kim Bonnet

Luther College Professor Emeritus, Decorah resident, and frequent Decorah Rotary raconteur Ed Epperly will speak to our club on the topic "World War II Through the Eyes of a Child."

Ed was six years old at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and has vivid memories of the event. The next few years of his childhood were dominated by the war. He plans to share his memories of those unique years in American history. 

Decorah Rotarians may recall Dr. Epperly's four-part presentation to the club in September 2024 on his book Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912 and his authoritative investigation over 60 years into one of America's greatest unsolved mysteries. He has written dozens of articles and blog entries, and appeared on CourtTV and other radio and television programs. He is a popular guest speaker at colleges, universities, historical societies, museums, libraries, and book stores.

Fiend Incarnate is a companion to the award-winning documentary feature film Villisca: Living With a Mystery.

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**Please complete your noon meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email.

DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

Richard Kyte is Director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He is an Endowed Professor of Ethics at Viterbo and a member of the Downtown Rotary Club of La Crosse. He has published and lectured widely on topics related to justice, forgiveness, virtue, and the meaning of life. His recently released book Finding Your Third Place looks at the essential gathering spaces in our society where friendships are formed, relationships are nurtured, and the tapestry of community is woven. Dr. Kyte recently presented a well-received talk at the Iowa Falls District Conference and will be speaking to our members about his book and the importance of community and local connection.

In his book, Dr. Kyte combines storytelling, social science, and philosophy to explore what it is that makes a third place; factors that create and support vibrant communities, the role of hospitality in creating belonging and social connection, how "third places" foster friendships and bind us to others in our community, and what it takes to find and create a third place of your own.

After growing up in Frazee, a small town in northwestern Minnesota, Dr. Kyte attended Hamline University where he earned a B.A. in philosophy. He then went on to graduate school, obtaining a Ph.D. in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University in 1994. Since then he has taught at several colleges and universities including Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. He serves on numerous boards, including the Editorial Board of the La Crosse Tribune, the La Crosse Community Foundation, and the Coulee Region Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Jim Iversen

In February 2026 career music educators, Decorah residents, and local philanthropists Jim and Liz Fritz presented a plan to the Decorah City Council for a privately funded, solar-powered performance pavilion and market plaza in downtown Decorah. Jim will be visiting the club to provide background information on the proposal and a status report on the progress of this initiative.

The proposal includes a central green space, an outdoor performance pavilion, a canopied farmers market area, public restrooms and adjacent playground areas. The proposed location is east of River Street between Day Spring Lane and Heivly Street. The project is described as being designed to complement the surrounding downtown architecture while maximizing use of what many characterize as underutilized space. A major component of the plan involves solar generation. Using waterproof solar arrays as canopy, the pavilion would generate up to 45,000 kilowatt-hours annually with the market canopy providing up to 250,000 kilowatt-hours per year. The energy production is envisioned as helping to offset long-term maintenance and management costs. Initial estimates of planning and construction costs range from $1.5 to $1.75 million.

The Decorah City Council and local committees have reviewed the proposal and discussed timelines, operational frameworks, and legal details. As of August 2026 the project remains in the planning and discussion phases.

Following retirement from their illustrious education careers, Jim and Liz founded Mission Green LLC, a local non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the local community’s transition to sustainable energy. More information about the pavilion proposal is available on the Mission Green website at https://missiongreen.llc/decorah-performance-pavilion/.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Jon Lund

Details TBA

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DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

Decorah Rotarian and past District 5970 Governor Ward Budweg and his spouse, Decorah Rotarian Jacky Budweg, traveled to Taiwan in June in conjunction with the annual Rotary International Convention being hosted in Taipei. As part of that journey, they represented our club and district in the End Polio Now Taiwan Cycling Tour. Ward and Jacky will reflect on and share their many amazing adventures and experiences while traveling in Taiwan.

The End Polio Now Taiwan Cycling Tour started from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan and finished at the Taipei Music Center. The tour spaned seven days and six nights along the scenic east coast, visiting some of the most beautiful sites of Taiwan. Participants raised funds and awareness to help Rotary's End Polio Now campaign.

The 2026 Rotary International Convention took place in Taipei from 13-17 June. It was hosted at the Taipei - Farglory Dome and the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, with over 38,000 attendees from 140 countries and regions.

Most Decorah Rotarians know Ward and Jacky in a variety of contexts. In addition to their Rotary leadership roles, their yard and driveway were an annually recurring construction zone for the Rotary Nordic Fest float. They are co-authors of the 2020 book The World at 10 MPH. The book provides a fascinating look at their global, 1,106 day, 33,523-mile joint bicycle journey across six continents from 2007-2010.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email.