Events

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

Jaime Trezona is a nurse with the UCS Healthcare Clinic in Decorah. She will be discussing the many addiction treatment services offered by the clinic, including  Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT).  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

Abigail Lofte is the Community Relations Manager for Mosaic in Northern Iowa, whose local office is located in Waukon. She will speak about the current activities of the organization in our local area and provide a first-hand account of the impact Mosaic is having on clients in our community.

Mosaic is a nonprofit that provides services to adults with disabilities to empower and equip them to live full, meaningful lives. Having begun in Omaha by two Lutheran pastors in 1913, Mosaic has grown to provide services in 12 states, serving more than 5,000 people in over 700 communities across the country. Now in their second century of care, Mosaic is a healthcare organization providing innovative care by transitioning away from group homes and into a host-home, shared living model.

Fellow Decorah Rotarian Brecka Putnam, Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW), will present at the Rotary After Hours meeting on a variety of topics related to Alzheimer’s and other dementia. This presentation is appropriate for all ages, as she will share the many things we can do to keep our brain healthy at any age, reducing our risk for dementia. Early detection of Alzheimer’s leads to better outcomes, so she will also discuss the ten major signs of Alzheimer’s and what to do if you see them in yourself or a loved one. There are more reason than ever to hope for a cure or preventative measures for Alzheimer’s, so Brecka will also share exciting research news. Finally, she will share ways you can help advance research and resources.

Brecka is a hospice social worker at Regional Health Services of Howard County, where she works with patients living with dementia and their families every day and provides community education on dementia and trainings for long-term care facility staff so they have better patient outcomes when working with people living with dementia and their families. She is also a volunteer community educator with the Alzheimer’s Association. Most importantly, she is Dale’s daughter, has witnessed the struggles of being diagnosed with dementia at a young age (57), and has lived experience as one of his caregivers.

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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. 

DRC Sponsor: Alan Lerstrom

Fellow Decorah Rotarian Ward Budweg recently completed a year as the governor of Rotary District 5970. At this meeting he will reflect on his varied experiences as district governor.

Most of us know Ward Budweg in a variety of contexts. He is a long-time member of Rotary and a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa who decided as a college student to become a Rotarian. As a member of the Decorah Rotary Club he has served in a variety of capacities including president and an extended period of service as a board member. His yard and driveway have been an annually recurring construction zone where he has generously provided tools, materials, and refreshments during the construction of the Rotary float for the Nordic Fest parade. Ward and his spouse Jacky are authors and in 2020 published The World at 10 MPH, describing their global, three-year, 33,523-mile bicycle adventure across six continents.

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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: Alan Lerstrom

Fellow Rotarian Alan Lerstrom will introduce and present the 23-minute film Urban Mining. The film was created by Eric Smidt and presented by the Oneota Film Festival.

Eric Smidt is a communications professional and documentary filmmaker from Ames, Iowa. Throughout his career, he has been able to take a creative approach to telling engaging stories through a variety of mediums. His film Urban Mining shows how Midwestern innovation is tackling a global challenge by transforming discarded electronics into a domestic source of rare earth elements at the Ames National Laboratory. By recovering critical materials from electronic waste, the film highlights efforts to strengthen our country's supply chain for strategically important technologies, energy systems, and national defense.

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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. 

Decorah Rotary Co-Presidents Phil Iverson and Mike Huinker will recap the 2025-2026 Rotary fiscal year, present the club status and provide an annual meeting update including election of officers.

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Details TBA

Decorah Rotary Co-Presidents Phil Iverson and Mike Huinker will recap the 2025-2026 Rotary fiscal year, present the club status and provide an annual meeting update including election of officers.

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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 After Hours Sponsor: Diana Morrow

Kerry Brennan, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Coordinator for Allamakee, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Deleware, Dubuque, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek Counties, will share information with the After Hours group about this important volunteer organization. Ms Brennan has served as the CASA Coordinator in northeast Iowa since December 2010.

The purpose of CASA is to amplfy the voices of children who have been judged as "children in need of assistance" by the state. CASA trains and supports community volunteers to advocate for a safe and permanent home for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, and works collaboratively to ensure their voices are heard.

Ms Brennan holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work from Luther College. Since 1993 she has worked in the child welfare field, representing the majority of her career. Prior to working with the Iowa Child Advocacy Board she served in the substance abuse prevention field with several years as a family team meeting facilitator in northeast Iowa.

For more information please visit the CASA of Iowa website at https://childadvocacy.iowa.gov/basic-page/you-are-casa.

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DRC Sponsor: Alan Lerstrom

Lori Rissman is a Clinical Pharmacist in Decorah. She will be presenting information on safe practices for medication use. She will be focusing on three primary areas associated with medication use: (1) being your own health advocate including straightforward tips for being an informed user of medications; (2) being safe with prescribed medications and important information about “safe medication practices for life;” and (3) knowing the risks of medication misuse incluuding facts about medication misuse in our country and what each person can do about it.

Ms Rissman is originally from West Union. She earned her Ph.D. of Pharmacy from The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 2004 and subsequntly completed a primary care residency at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charleston, SC. She has been working as a pharmacist in Decorah for 18 years. Her background in pharmacy includes community pharmacy, medication counseling, compounding, medication therapy management, vaccination administration, and diabetes education.

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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. 

The club will be providing soft-serve ice cream at this event.

Details TBA

DRC Sponsor: Shannon Duncan

Kristen Underwood will be offering her reflections on her experience directing walks at Decorah’s Phelps Cemetery in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2018, where local children and adults acted the parts of past Decorah residents while stationing themselves next to the associated gravesites. She will highlight selected histories of past residents whose names may be familiar to Decorah Rotarians.

Kristen developed scenes and monologues based on obituaries, newspaper articles, cemetery plot maps and other archived materials, and directed players to perform these in costume at the appropriate plots as groups were led from place to place through Phelps Cemetery. Last October she participated in the Porter House Museum’s After Dark lecture series where she provided a popular and theatrically inspired recapitulation of her cemetery walks.

In addition to her cemetery walks, Kristen produced walks at Luther College and along the Upper Iowa River. Her collaboration with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum resulted in 10 original theatre pieces inspired by museum exhibits. She also produced children’s theater adaptations of works by Carroll, Kipling, Dickens, Molière and Shakespeare, as well as solo performances including Lessons from Cancer College, Women and Fiction: Virginia Woolf Speaks and Natural Shocks.

Kristen has recently retired from Luther College after serving as Director of Campus Programming, and teaching in the theatre department intermittently for over 30 years.  Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she worked as an actor in regional theatre for several years before settling in Lanesboro, MN where she co-managed the Commonweal Theatre. Upon moving to Decorah, Kristen founded Upstart Crow Theatreworks and co-founded ArtHaus with Lea Lovelace. Kristen continues to mentor speech and drama students and co-direct the fall production at Decorah High School.

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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: John Moeller

Steve Vanden Brink is a critical care paramedic, Director of Ambulance for WinnMed, public information and education office volunteer with the Decorah Fire Department, and American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructor. He will give a on CPR and proper use of the automated external defibrillator (AED).

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming nearly one million lives annually. While dangerous, up to 80% of premature cardiovascular events are preventable through simple lifestyle modifications, routine screenings, and active risk management. 

Mr. Vanden Brink has over 35 years experience in fire and emergency medical services (EMS) coordination and response. He is also experienced in training emergency services staff.

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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. 

Details TBA

DRC After Hours Sponsor: Melissa Fuhrmann

Specific details TBA

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 advace to all members by email.