Events

DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

Decorah City Manager Travis Goedken will be revisiting our club to share information on the various projects and plans being undertaken by the City of Decorah during the 2026 calendar year.

Mr. Goedken assumed the duties as Decorah City Manager in September, 2021. He previously served as City Administrator of Humboldt, where he served for nearly six years. Prior to that, he served in diverse roles as a Deputy City Clerk, underground utilities heavy equipment operator, and firefighter/EMT. He is a two-time graduate of the University of Iowa in Political Science and Economics and obtained his master’s degree in Public Administration from Drake University. He was born and raised in the Dyersville area. While in Humboldt, he oversaw several major projects including a five block downtown streetscape project, construction of a community daycare facility (of which he served as President), and the construction and donation of a 71,000 square foot recreation center.

Travis and his spouse Tara have four children. In his limited spare time he enjoys fly fishing or ice fishing depending on the season.

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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 advace to all members by email.

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

Lacy Brittenson is a Nursing Supervisior with the UCS Healthcare Clinic in Decorah. She will be discussing the many addiction treatment services offered by the clinic. She started her career with UCS Healthcare in 2018 as an RN working with Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) patients. MAT is the use of medications along with counseling and behavioral therapies. Combined, this method is effective in the treatment of opioid use disorders and assists people in sustaining their recoveries.

UCS Healthcare is a nonprofit agency with 13 locations around the state providing integrated care for substance use disorders as well as primary care, psychiatry, therapy and other services. The UCS Healthcare Clinic In Decorah works with Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health to provide medication assisted treatment for opiate and alcohol use disorders.

For more information about UCS Healthcare please visit https://www.ucsonline.org/.

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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 advace to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

Decorah native Christopher Edman will share lessons learned over four years working at a nonprofit hospital in equatorial Africa (Gabon). He will focus on features of global humanitarian aid work that has proven effective, as contrasted with features of efforts likely to fail or, potentially, to do even more harm than good.

Christopher holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Wheaton College and a Master of Science in Human Factors Psychology from Wright State University. He has held diverse professional roles across academic, military, and medical contexts, including a term as a Consortium Research Fellow with the Human Effectiveness Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory. His cross-cultural experience includes formal cross-cultural training and four months in China, eighteen months in France, and four years in Gabon.

Throughout his work, Christopher is passionate about facilitating understanding of complex domains by representing them in clear, accessible ways. He has become known for his blend of empathy and robust analytical thought in planning and problem-solving, and for his advocacy of strategically focused, mission-driven work.

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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 advace to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

John "JR" Ogden is the former sports editor for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. He will be visiting our club to speak about state of print journalism in a digital world from the perspective of his long career in the business.

John served for 48 years on the sports staff at The Gazette. In 1977, at the age of 17, he began serving as a part-time "sports reporter" and worked his way up the ladder to full-time "sports writer," to Assistant Sports Editor and ultimately the leadership position of Sports Editor in 1999. He was able to continue working through his two years at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and his subsequent time at the University of Iowa. Among his many memorable moments he particularly recalls Dan Gable's final NCAA wrestling tournament inside the UNI-Dome, where the line of autograph-seeking well-wishers lasted late into the evening.

John departed The Gazette this past December, one of several casualties associated with The Gazette being purchased by Minneapolis-based Adams Multimedia, a move that ended employee ownership of the paper dating back to 1883. He is currently working as a freelance columnist for the Corridor Business Journal, writing three columns a month on the "business of sports." He also is enjoying time with his wife, Lisa, his three children - April, Jack and Ben - and his six grandchildren.

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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 advace to all members by email.