Stories

 

On September 26th the Decorah Rotary Club gathered at the Northeast Iowa Montessori School during the Thursday evening Rotary After-Hours meeting time. In addition to a tour of the facility for those at the meeting, a subset of our Rotarians participated in the re-shingling of a playhouse with shingles donated by the club. Ward Budweg and Bruce Ventura spearheaded the shingling project with valuable assistance provided by Jacky Budweg and Shannon Duncan.

 

Northeast Iowa Montessori School, now celebrating its 20th year, provides a student-centered learning environment that fosters independence, creativity, and critical thinking. The school offers individualized learning paths where students engage in hands-on, exploratory activities across core subjects.

 

For photos of the facility tour please visit Decorah Rotary Montessori Service Project.

 

 

Greetings from Edinburgh!

 

 

 

The Decorah Rotary Club, Rotary District 5970, and Rotary International are excited to recognize Hallie Johnson as the recipient of a $50,000 Rotary 2024-2025 Global Scholarship. Beginning in the fall of this year, Hallie will pursue her MSc degree in Comparative Education and International Development at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She is a Decorah native and a 2023 graduate of Luther College. She just returned to Decorah after spending her senior year at a classical voice conservatory in Kristiansand, Norway. At Luther, she majored in English and Nordic studies with a minor in International Studies. Hallie plans to apply her advanced degree and international experience in a career focused on Education Policy. In her free time, she loves oil and watercolor painting, cooking, singing, and reading crime novels.

 

The Rotary Global Grant Scholarship Program is competitive and supports exceptional students dedicated to pursuing a career in an area of great humanitarian need and who demonstrate a personal, long-term commitment to measurable, sustainable change. A Rotary global grant scholarship funds graduate-level coursework or research at a university outside of North America. The scholarship helps defray the costs of travel, tuition and fees, room and board, and educational supplies for one to four years of study. Rotary’s global scholars intend to pursue a career that aligns with one of Rotary’s Seven Areas of Humanitarian Focus. Global grant scholars' graduate-level educational goals support this career interest. Candidates are selected based on (1) excellent leadership skills and potential; (2) a proven record of success in their academic field or vocation; (3) a commitment to community service; (4) well-defined and realistic goals; (5) concrete ideas for advancing within their chosen field; and (6) sincerity about maintaining a lifelong relationship with Rotary after the scholarship period.

 

A key feature of global grant scholarships is the partnership between the district or club in the study location and the district or club in the scholar’s home country. For Hallie's tenure in Scotland, the Decorah Rotary Club is serving as her home club. The partner Rotary club hosting Hallie during her studies is the Portobello Rotary Club in Musselburgh, Scotland.

 

The University of Edinburgh has been influencing history since it opened the gates to its first students in 1583. Following the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th Century, the University found itself a world leader in rigorous, reasoned academia and critical thinking. As a result of the determination and courage of many Edinburgh intellectuals, established facts and superstitions about the world were boldly and consistently challenged. David Hume, philosopher, economist and essayist became widely known for his groundbreaking philosophical skepticism and empiricism. Joseph Black was recognized as the chemist behind the discovery of latent heat and carbon dioxide. James Hutton, a Scottish farmer and naturalist, became known as the ‘Father of Modern Geology’ during his association with the University. It was also at Edinburgh that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character Sherlock Holmes, and James Young Simpson pioneered anaesthetics through his discovery of the properties of chloroform. More recently, theoretical physicist and Professor Emeritus Peter Higgs was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his 1964 prediction of the Higgs Boson. Through the achievements of its staff and students, the University has continued to present cutting-edge research, inspirational teaching and innovative thinking as its central ethos, attracting some of the greatest minds from around the globe. 

 

See and enjoy Hallie's interview with Chris Lindell, District 5970 Chair of the Global Peace and Scholarship Committee HERE.

---

 

 

 

The Decorah Rotary Club hosted its Trout Run Trail (TRT) Tour Day this year on Tuesday, August 13th. 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. Nearly 125 local community members came out and filled the available seats for each of multiple scheduled trail loops. 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.
 
Our club extends its thanks for the leadership provided by these members: Mike Huinker (overall coordination, machine and driver coordinator, and TRT 28-E Committee liaison); Dacia Monson (tables and chairs); Bill Courtney (appointments and reservations coordination); and Shannon Duncan and Ward Budweg for delicious food preparation.
 
Our club also thanks all of our member volunteers who supported this event: John Anderson, Don Arendt, Lorraine Borowski, Darrel Branhagen, Ward Budweg, Brielle Buresh, Rachael Buresh, Bill Courtney, Shannon Duncan, Maureen Dunklee, Phil Iversen, Kent Klocke, Alan Lerstrom, John Moeller, Uwe Rudolf, Kelly Reagan, Kathleen Ritner, Roger Huinker, and J.T. Vogel. 
 
A special thanks to the following individuals who donated the use of their off-road vehicles and the time to drive: Decorah Kawasaki and Larry Hauber, Tom Kuennen, John Kerndt, Paul Nichols, Tade Kerndt, Greg Rude, Kevin Dykstra, and Les Askelson. Thanks also to additional drivers Mike Harman,  Harlan Satrom, Bill Brenning, Dacia Monson and Roger Huinker.

 

For more photos of the event see the companion photo album at DRC Trout Run Trail Tour Day 2024.

 

The Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) hosted its third annual Pork Chop Fundraiser at both the 2024 Winneshiek County Fair on July 9-13 and again during Decorah's 2024 Nordic Fest on July 26-28. By 9:45 pm on the final day of Nordic Fest every single chop had been sold to a happy customer. As in the past, the two combined events excelled at quantities served, funds raised, good fellowship shared, and satisfied customers. The club extends its heartfelt thanks to the DRC leadership who planned, coordinated, organized, and purchased, along with the multitude of Rotary volunteers manning the booths and the generous support of close friends and partner organization volunteers assisting with the grilling, providing cooler space, etc. The list of names is far too long to enumerate but our club thanks each and every one!
 
For a variety of candid photos of our volunteers in action, check out the companion photo album: Rotary Pork Chop Booth 2024 - County Fair and Nordic Fest.

 

 

The Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) is proud to be the first major donor to this new, completed phase of development at Carlson Park in Decorah--the Binzebo Trail Hub located just south of IA-9 near Pleasant Ave. The club succeeded in obtaining a $5,000 grant from Rotary District 5970 and contributed $7,000 of matching funds to cover the cost of the binzebo, which is the first element in the new phase of Carlson Park development. The Decorah Parks and Recreation Department has created an endowment fund with the Winneshiek County Community Foundation with a goal of raising $250,000 to complete the initial phases of development. This endowment fund accepts gifts from the entire Decorah community supporting the park's development and maintenance. DRC funds are raised through the dedicated volunteer efforts of its members at events such as pork chop sales at the Winneshiek County Fair and Nordic Fest and the annual DRC Chili Supper.

 

Our club extends its sincere thanks to Rotary District 5970 for their assistance and sponsorship, to Decorah Human Powered Trails for their extensive volunteer efforts and provision of tools and supplies, to the Decorah Parks and Recreation staff for their leadership and vision for Carlson Park, and to all of our members who have freely given their time, talent, and resources to bring this project to fruition.

 

For images of the construction please visit the companion photo album at Decorah Rotary Club Binzebo Trail Hub.

 

On Saturday, October 28 several of our Decorah Rotarians convened with Tree Board members from the City of Decorah to plant young trees in the boulevards around the town. The City maintains an active tree planting program that strives to establish a broad diversity of attractive tree species, replace those lost to wind damage and infestations like the emerald ash borer, and maintain the beauty of our community. Participating Rotarians included John Anderson, Mark Faldet, Larry Grimstad, Tina Hall, Gary Mineart, Uwe Rudolph, Ron Snell, and Bruce Ventura.

 

Additional photos may be found using this link: City of Decorah Fall 2023 Tree Planting Day

---

 

 

Twice per year Decorah Rotarians and guests from other like-minded groups come together to pick up trash along the club's designated section of Highway 9. Our crew for the Fall 2023 event, hosted on Saturday, October 21, ranged in age from 16-79 years old. Our team picked up litter from Kelly Real Estate to the roadside clean up sign located about a quarter-mile west of the intersection of Highways 9 and 52. Our club extends its thanks to everyone who participated, as well as Decorah Community School District for inviting high school students to participate, Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois Service Unit 616 for their multi-year partnership, and Thrivent Financial for providing coffee and breakfast for our members.

 

For more photos see the companion photo album at this link: Rotary Roadside Clean-Up Day - Fall 2023

---

 

The Decorah Rotary Club had a wonderful time at this year’s Touch a Truck event. Our crew of volunteers cooked and served over 400 hot dogs. The event gave kids and families the opportunity to get up close with vehicles from over ten different entities, like Decorah Volunteer Fire Department and Decorah Police Department. They had the opportunity to talk with the professionals that operate the vehicles and enjoy a free lunch. Our club extends its 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: 7th Annual Touch a Truck

 

The Decorah Rotary Club had the honor of welcoming Luther College President Dr. Jenifer K. Ward at the club's regular meeting on Tuesday, September 19. Dr. Ward presented a summary of the strategic framework guiding the next two years at Luther College with emphasis on its guiding principles of "Expand, Align, and Strengthen." She was joined at the meeting by Luther's Vice President of Development Mary Duvall, who briefly discussed the college self-assessment taking place during the current academic year as preparation for the next capital campaign. At the conclusion of the meeting the club renewed its commitment to seek further partnership opportunities with the college.

 

 

Decorah Rotarians and friends unloaded supplies and bagged snack items for Kids Lunch Club (KLC) on Thursday, May 25. The KLC Program helps up to 150 Decorah children who do not have adequate access to meals over the summer months by providing nutritious meal options every week day. KLC offers participants a main dish, fruit, veggie, and snack, and by providing meal choices food waste is reduced. The Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) has designated a $5,000 grant toward this important program with Rotary District 5970 providing a matching grant. DRC is also committed to providing volunteers to support program operations. Decorah Rotarians will be at the KLC distribution sites on June 16.

 

For more photos of this service project see the companion photo album: Kids Lunch Club Meal Packing

---

 

Decorah Middle School (DMS) Seventh Graders walked over three miles to the Upper Iowa River on Wednesday, May 17 to carry water back to the middle school on their annual "Water Walk" for the Water to Thrive Project. Prior to the walk, the students raised over $5,000 to support construction of their fifth Water to Thrive well after reading about how women and children must walk great distances in some parts of the world to acquire potable water. The Decorah Rotary Club had earlier received a presentation from several DMS students and Global Studies teacher Carrie Reed, prompting the club to contribute financially to the cause. In addition, several Rotarians were honored to participate in the walk alongside the students. Our club thanks the DMS students and staff for their inspiration and the shared experience!

---

 

 

Saturday, April 15 marked the Spring edition of the Decorah Rotary Club Roadside Clean-Up Day. Twice per year the club polices the portion of Highway 9 running through the Decorah city limits, from Kelly Real Estate to a point west of JB Holland. This year our members were joined by members of Luther College's Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity and Health Sciences Club. the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa. Western Illinois Service Unit 616 assisted with logistics and Kwik Star donated refreshments. Our club extends its sincere thanks everyone who made this event such a resounding success!

 

For more photos please see the companion photo album at DRC Spring 2023 Roadside Clean-up Day.

 

The Decorah Rotary Club was honored to welcome Rotarian pilots Peter Teahen and John Ockenfels at the special Decorah Municipal Airport meeting location on Tuesday, November 1. Peter and John flew their newly acquired Cessna 210 Centurion from Cedar Rapids, available for public viewing for the very first time. In May 2023, these courageous and philanthropic pilots will climb into their airplane and head east on an amazing 8-10 week, 20,000 mile around-the-world flight to raise awareness for Rotary International's polio eradication campaign. Less than 700 pilots in history have successfully circumnavigated the globe in a single engine aircraft.

 

The two pilots have a goal to raise $1 million with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Rotary International’s “Polio Plus” program. All flight expenses are being paid by Peter and John. When the two-man crew departs Cedar Rapids, it will become the “Flight to End Polio.” At each stop around the globe, the pilots will raise awareness by meeting with other Rotary members, humanitarian workers, and government officials to discuss the progress of polio eradication and the ongoing need for assistance for families still affected by the devastating disease.

 

Our club extends its sincere thanks to Peter and John for flying up to Decorah to talk about their upcoming adventure and show off their airplane. We also thank the Decorah Municipal Airport and Manager Mike Connell for hosting our lunch and meeting in the airport hanger.

 

More information including details of the flight, sponsorship opportunities, and ways to donate directly to Rotary International's "Polio Plus" campaign, is available on the associated "Flight to End Polio" website at https://www.flighttoendpolio.com/.

 

Additional photos from the meeting are in the companion photo album: Flight to End Polio Visits Decorah Rotary.

---

 

The 6th Annual Touch A Truck held on Saturday, October 15, 2022 was a huge success. The event is hosted by the Decorah Fire Department in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week. It allows kids the opportunity to explore their favorite vehicles including police, fire and emergency vehicles, farm equipment, construction equipment, aircraft, and city maintenance vehicles.Decorah Rotary members served 360 hot dogs with chips and lemonade to attendees. Our club extends its sincere thanks to Rotary After Hours member and volunteer fireman Jesse Reyerson for connecting our club with this event.

 

For more photos of the amazing vehicles on display and our Rotarians in action, please see: 6th Annual Touch a Truck

---

 

Decorah Rotarians had a busy Saturday morning on October 15th as the members participated in roadside cleanup along the designated two-mile segment of Iowa Highway 9 from Kelly Real Estate to beyond the Highway 9 and 52 intersection west of town. We extend a huge thank you to all participating Rotarians that and to partner organizations, the Girl Scouts and the Decorah High School Community Club, for helping make this event fun and successful!

 

For more photos please visit the companion photo album: Rotary Roadside Clean-Up Day - Fall 2022

---

 

 

By all accounts the inaugural Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) Pork Chop Fundraiser was a smashing success. Held at both the 2022 Winneshiek County Fair on July 12-16 and again during Decorah's 2022 Nordic Fest on 28-30 July, the two events exceeded expectations for quantities served, funds raised, good fellowship shared, and customers made happy. Of course, none of it would have been possible without the DRC leadership planning, organizing, coordinating, and purchasing, along with the multitude of Rotary volunteers manning the booths and the generous support of partner organization volunteers assisting with the grilling, providing cooler space, etc. The list of names is far too long to enumerate but our club extends its sincerest thanks to each and every one!

 

For a variety of candid photos of our volunteers in action, check out the companion photo album: Rotary Pork Chop Booth 2022.

---

 

The Decorah Rotary Club thanks all of its members who worked on the design, construction, and operation of the superb 2022 Nordic Fest float. Those members include Jacky Budweg, Ward Budweg, Shannon Duncan, Stephanie Folkedahl, Ivan Hackman, Alan Lerstrom, Paul Pasche, Brecka Putnam, Uwe Rudolph, and Jeff Tomlinson.

 

For more float photos please see the companion photo album at Rotary Nordic Fest Float 2022.

---

 

 

Many thanks to the Decorah Rotarians who helped rake the soil, collect stones and debris, and haul dirt at the Winneshiek Veterans Memorial Association’s Winneshiek County Veterans Memorial on Thursday, June 16th. Rotary is proud to honor our veterans and support this important project, both through our District 5970 grant process and our direct service contributions. The memorial is rapidly progressing toward its completion and our club is excited to be a part of the initiative!

 

For more photos see the companion photo album here: Veterans Memorial Park Service Project

---

 

On Tuesday, May 24th the Decorah Rotary Club and Decorah Lutheran Church worked together to host our first collaborative American Red Cross blood drive at the church. Thirty-three donors (six more than our goal) gave enough blood to help save 100 lives! We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who donated blood, volunteered, and provided snacks and beverages. Special thanks to the Decorah Rotary After Hours members for their overall coordination and leadership of the event.

 

For more photos please visit the companion photo album at Decorah Rotary Blood Drive.

---

 

 

The Decorah Rotary Loop de Loop Team extends its sincere thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s event! We especially sent out our appreciation to the many volunteers who made this 2021 Loop de Loop possible. If you were a visitor to town, we trust you enjoyed your time in Decorah. 

 

We also hope you enjoyed the new, improved race routes and the stunningly beautiful Decorah Community Prairie and Butterfly Garden as the start/stop location and base of operations. The weather could not have been more perfect for this ninth iteration of the race. 

 

Every year the Decorah Rotary Club uses a portion of the proceeds of the race to benefit the Trout Run Trail system in some way. Additional proceeds are used for local and international Rotary programs and activities such as scholarships to graduating high school seniors, grants to fund community needs, and international goodwill projects. This year's non-profit recipients included the Winneshiek County Memorial Association to support construction of the planned Winneshiek County Veterans Memorial in Decorah. Thank you for supporting these efforts.

 

The 2021 complete race results and finisher's videos may be found on this link: https://tinyurl.com/wmt4nj

 

A Loop de Loop Participant’s Survey may be found HERE. Please take a moment to let us know what you thought about the race and your time in Decorah. Your feedback is very important to us as we look ahead to 2022.

 

Thank you very much for supporting Loop de Loop and the Decorah Rotary Club!

---

 

On Saturday, October 9th member volunteers from the Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) gathered together for the Fall 2021 instantiation of the Rotary Roadside Clean-up Day. DRC provides services for the portion of Highway 9 between the Kelly Real Estate building and a point up the hill to the west of the Decorah Auto Center. The group was greeted with superb weather and enjoyed the opportunity for community service and camaraderie. Special thanks to Ward Budweg for his superb coordination and leadership of the effort.

---

 

Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) members members volunteered to serve food at the Touch A Truck event on Saturday, October 9th. This event provided an opportunity for families to explore their favorite service vehicles including police, fire and emergency vehicles, construction equipment, farm equipment, tow trucks, and city maintenance equipment. DRC extends its thanks to Decorah Parks and Recreation, the Decorah Police Department, the Decorah Volunteer Fire Department, and everyone else who helped make this great community event possible.

 

Decorah Rotary Club members were treated to a splendid tour of the new Heritage Park expansion of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah on Tuesday, October 5th. Vesterheim President/CEO Chris Johnson led the tour and shared his intimate knowledge of the planning and construction of Heritage Park as well as its buildings, structures, and landscape architecture. The tour was capped off by a great picnic lunch provided by Rubaiyat Restaurant. The club extends its sincere thanks to Chris and the Vesterheim staff for hosting us on such a beautiful autumn day!

 

Learn more about Vesterheim's new Heritage Park at Vesterheim.org - Exhibits

 

 

After a long year+ of social distancing the Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) enjoyed our annual club picnic at Whalen Cabin in Phelps Park, Decorah on Tuesday, June 15. Our members had the opportunity to personally bid farewell to outgoing DRC President Kurt DeVore and warmly welcome Samantha Scholtes, incoming DRC President. The barbecue, libations, and cameraderie were excellent. Our sincere thanks to DRC member Alan Lerstrom for organizing this event.

 

Thanks to the leadership and energy of Decorah Rotary Club (DRC) Rotarian Tina Hall, our club engaged in its first endeavor supporting the Rotary District 5970 Operation Pollination, a broad initiative aligning with Rotary International's 7th focus area (i.e., support of the environment). On May 15th our members met at the Monona Butterfly Garden to assist in the maintenance of existing plantings and to procure transplants for transporting back to Decorah, where they will be integrated into the landscaping surrounding the "Welcome to Decorah" sign at the intersection of IA-9 and Montgomery Street. Jim Langhus from Monona provided a brief history of the 20 years old garden and helped coordinate the mulching, hoeing, weeding, and separating of plants.

 

Participating DRC Rotarians included Shannon Duncan, Tina Hall, Phil Iverson, John Moeller, Uwe Rudolph, and Samantha Scholtes. Our club extends its thanks to all of the participants and to Tina for spearheading the project.

 

For more photos of this event please check out the photo album DRC Pollinator Project in Monona.

---

 

We are pleased to announce the opening of registration for the 2021 Loop de Loop Half-Marathon / 10K / 5K on the Trout Run Trail, to be hosted on Saturday, September 18! Please see the drop-down menu at the upper-right of this home page for links to the registration form and other information.

 

This ninth iteration of Loop de Loop comes with several exciting new developments. The start/finish line, as well as portions of all three routes, will be located in the vicinity of the Butterfly Garden on the beautiful Decorah Community Prairie. Also for the first time, the 5K Fun Run will join the Half-Marathon and 10K in taking advantage of scenic portions of the Trout Run Trail. All of the other traditional accoutrements associated with Loop de Loop will be available as well.

 

This ninth iteration of the event will once again be conducted in conjunction with the planned Luther College Family Weekend. We hope the 2021 Loop de Loop is an added, fun Decorah-area activity for our students and their families.

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

---

 

---

 

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-------

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For additional photos of Chuck Long's visit, please see the photo gallery at this link: Iowa Quarterback Chuck Long Visit

---

 

---

 

---

 

Our club was blessed with superb spring weather for the first Rotary Roadside Clean-Up Day of 2018. Thanks to all of the volunteers who dedicated their time to help keep Decorah beautiful: Ward Budweg, Kent Klocke, Maury Lenz, Gary Mineart, Jim Morrow, Uwe Rudolph, and Paul Scott. Special thanks to Ward for organizing our participation.

---

 

The average University of Northern Iowa (UNI) student now leaves college with just over $22,000 in debt.  While that's still a large sum of money, it's $4,000 lower than the figure from ten years ago and $10,000 lower than the national average.

UNI President Mark Nook spoke Tuesday, April 3rd, to a meeting of the Decorah Rotary Club.  He gave much of the credit for the lower student debt among UNI graduates to a program at UNI called "Live Like a Student."  UNI students are given a free, three-week non-credit course that includes financial planning that helps them examine their spending habits.  The school also requires students who take out a private loan to meet one-on-one with a financial counselor about their expenses and financial aid package.

Nook says financial literacy is an important skill for college students to have.  He calls "Live Like a Student" a "remarkable program" that is now drawing national attention.

---

 

 

The Decorah Community School District Foundation has announced the names of students awarded scholarships sponsored by the Decorah Rotary Club. Our scholarship awardees for 2018 are Rachel Hines, Maggy Hovden, Sarah Mikkelson, and Kaitlyn Nimrod. Congratulations to our students!

 

The formal awards presentation will be held on Wednesday, May 9th at 7:00 pm in the Decorah High School Auditorium.

---

 

Our club recently collaborated with Mabe's Pizza in a local fundraiser, serving pizza at a major release event being hosted by Toppling Goliath Brewery at their new facility in Decorah. The event attracted more than two-thousand "beer tourists" from the upper Midwest, across the country, and around the world.

 

Our thanks to DRC pizza service volunteers Don Arendt, John Baker, Chad Bird, Lorraine Borowski, Collyn Bridges, Robert Dahl, Shannon Duncan, Roger Huinker, Gary Mineart, John Moeller, Uwe Rudolph, Ron Taylor, and Jeff & Christy Tomlinson. Special thanks to DRC member Kelly Reagan and Mabe's Pizza owner Steve White for all of their planning and logistical support.

---

 

The Decorah Community Food Pantry has procured a new freezer, facilitated by a $500 grant from the Decorah Rotary Club.

 

A faith-based ministry serving northeast Iowa since 1996, the Decorah Community Food Pantry provides food, personal care, and household supplies to individuals and families in need. It has recently transitioned from a committee-based effort to an independent 501(c)3 organization with a governing board comprised of representatives from 16 congregations in the Decorah area.

 

For more information and service opportunities please visit the following page: Decorah Community Food Pantry

---

 

Both on-line and mail-in registration forms are now available for the 2018 Loop de Loop on the Trout Run Trail!

 

Please see the drop-down menu at the top-right of this page. Links to Trout Run Trail maps are also provided. Maps of the precise race routes are under development and will be added when available.

 

There are sizable discounts for early registration. Hope to see you on September 29th!

---

 

The Rotary Foundation Grant Subcommittee Chair from Rotary District 5970, Mr. Donald Meyer, paid a visit to the Decorah Rotary Club during its February 27 regular meeting. Mr. Meyer used the occasion to recognize DRC member Kelly Reagan as our most recent inductee into the Paul Harris Society. The Paul Harris Society is comprised of Rotarians who have made a commitment to long-term financial support of the Rotary Foundation on an annually recurring basis.

---

 

 

The Decorah Rotary Club hosted our annual Chili Supper Fundraiser on Friday, January 12th in the Decorah High School cafeteria. For the first time tickets were based on free-will donations rather than a fixed price. Through the generosity of all of the participants, approximately $1,500 in proceeds will be made available to supplement funding for our Club's Scholarship Program. Our sincere thanks to all of the volunteers for their commitments of time and service, and to all of the chili consumers for their appetites!

 

See more photos of this event in this photo album: 2018 Decorah Rotary Club Chili Supper

---

 

The following is a message received from Wilson Dalto, the Rotarian contact in Brazil for their Adult Literacy Project that the Decorah Rotary Club has helped support for the last three years:

 

 

As recently reported in decorahnews.com, Rubaiyat Restaurant owners Kim and Andy Bonnet presented the Decorah Rotary Club with a check for $12,200. The funds represent proceeds from this year's annual Rubaiyat beer and wine sampling fundraiser that also includes heavy hors d'oeuvres and a live auction. The funds raised during each annual event are donated to a local, non-profit organization. The funds raised this year will be used for a variety of Decorah Rotary Club projects, including support for annual scholarships awarded to graduating Decorah High School students. Our club extends its most sincere appreciation to Kim and Andy for their generous support.

---

 

This is your opportunity to help Rotary International continue its fight against polio eradication. With just 11 confirmed cases so far in 2017, the world is on the brink of eradicating polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year. Please consider participating in the Decorah Rotary Club's “Dine Out for Polio” event on World Polio Day, designated as next Tuesday October 24. Dine at one of the local participating restaurants that day (Pizza Hut, Pizza Ranch, La Rana, Don Jose, and Magpie) and let them know you are doing it for World Polio Day. Those restaurants have graciously offered to donate towards the cause.

 

 

The 2017 Loop de Loop is in the books, the hard work paid off and it's time to rest and recover.

 

On behalf of the Decorah Rotary Loop de Loop team, thank you for participating in this year’s 6^th annual event. We hope you enjoyed your time in Decorah on September 30th. It turned out to be a beautiful day for being out on the trail.

 

Every year the Decorah Rotary Club uses a portion of the proceeds of the race to benefit the Trout Run Trail system in some way. It may be needed repairs, new benches, landscaping or other amenities. The remaining proceeds are used for local and international Rotary programs and activities such as local scholarships and internationally fighting Polio. Thank you for supporting these efforts.

 

The 2017 complete race results are available at this link:  https://jmsresults.com/results/2017/loop17.html

 

New this year is a finishers video. The video was set up at the finish line and captures each runner as they cross the finish line. Visit www.JMSresults.com for more details. On this website you can also share your finish information via Facebook and Twitter.

 

A year-end participant’s survey may be found on this link. Please take a moment to let us know what you thought about the race and your time in Decorah:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/52Q5WRB

 

Thank you very much for supporting our event and here’s to 2018 - see you on the trail.  Mange Tusen Takk!

---

 

The Decorah Rotary Club hosted the 4th motorized Trout Run Trail Tour Day on Tuesday, August 22nd. Our club sponsors this event in order to provide guided motorized tours of the Trout Run Trail for the elderly and those with disabilities and physical limitations who are otherwise unable to access the trail. This year, 135 people were able to participate in the motorized trail tours.

 

DRC sincerely thanks all of the volunteers and equipment suppliers who made this event possible. Special thanks to DRC members Mike Huinker and Harlan Satrom for coordinating the motorized vehicles and drivers for the day, and to Francis and Marilyn Peterson for taking all the reservations for the trail tours. Extra special thanks to DRC member Jennifer Gipp, whose vision and energy were integral to making this year's tours such a success.

 

Additional photos of the tours may be found in this photo album: DRC Trout Run Trail Tour Day 2017

---

 

The Decorah Rotary Club has entered the realm of social media. Click on the image above to jump to our new, dedicated Decorah Rotary Club Facebook Page. Make sure you "like" our page so you can keep track of real-time Decorah Rotary news and information. Note we have added a permanent link to the top menu of the home page above for easy access.

 

Thanks to DRC Secretary/Treasurer Kelly Reagan for his efforts in establishing and maintaining our new Facebook Page.

---

 

Photos from this year's Fourth of July Event conducted at Phelps Park are available in the Photo Albums.  Special thanks to DRC member Lorraine Borowski for her planning efforts and serving as master of ceremonies at the event.

---

 

The 2017 Decorah Rotary Club Trout Run Trail Tours are scheduled for Tuesday, August 22nd. The motorized tours of the trail will once again be accompanied by a Community Picnic Luncheon at the Decorah Trout Hatchery Pavilion from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. We will be doing 4 laps and hope to accommodate 35 people per lap.  Our goal is to allow 140 people to participate. The laps will be at 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, and 1:00 PM.

 

Reservations will start being accepted on August 8th. Please see the DRC Event Calendar Entry for additional information on the event and directions for making your reservations.

---

 

Our Club was honored and privileged to welcome Leboy Oltimbau and Musa Kamaika from Tanzania during our regular meeting on April 18th. The association between Leboy, Musa, and Luther College students and faculty, initiated several years ago, was further cultivated during a recent January Term Paideia trip led by Luther College professor and DRC member John Moeller. We extend our sincere thanks to Leboy and Musa for sharing their personal experiences and for their fascinating and informative insights into the Maasai culture.

 

The Decorah Rotary Club held its Spring Roadside Clean-Up Day on Saturday, April 15th. Thankfully the weather stayed warm and dry throughout the morning facilitating a very successful event with a large volume of litter along IA-9, leftover from the winter months, picked up and bagged. The Club thanks members Cal Anderson, Jim Beghly, Chad Bird, Lorraine Borowski, Ward Budweg, Elliot Christen, Phil Iverson, Gary Mineart, Jim Morrow, and Paul Scott for their volunteer service. A special thanks to Ward for his organization and leadership.

 

The Decorah Rotary Club met for its traditional "Fifth Tuesday" evening meeting, supper, and service project at T-Bock's Upstairs on November 29, 2016. The service project for this meeting, expertly organized by DRC member Shannon Duncan, was called "Operation Give Back." The members in attendance assembled care packages containing a variety of comfort foods and items supplied by the members or acquired through dedicated member donations for shipment to enlisted military personnel from the local area who are currently stationed overseas. John Budweg, son of DRC member Ward Budweg and and former active duty U.S. Marine and veteran of two deployments to Iraq comprising over 14 months of duty, delivered a moving personal testimony of the deep gratitude and sense of connection experienced when care packages such as these are received by our deployed soldiers and sailors. We extend our sincere thanks to John and to all of the DRC members who contributed to this project.

 

See additional photos of this event using this link: DRC Fifth Tuesday Service Project - "Operation Give Back"

 

DRC members Ward Budweg and Darrell Branhagen, assisted by the planning efforts of DRC member Jeff Tomlinson, traveled to Msaranga in Moshi Urban, District of Kilimanjaro in the country of Tanzania, Africa in late August. Their trip was the culmination of the DRC service project to deliver expandable sandals and school supplies to the Msaranga Primary School for further distribution to children at several schools in the area. Over 120 pairs of sandals and 100+ pen/pencil sets were delivered to the Headmaster of the Msaranga Primary School, to the deep gratitude of the communities reached in the Moshi area.

 

Read the Rotary District 5970 news coverage of this project using this link: Shoe Project Pairs Decorah, Moshi Clubs

 

You may access the photo album associated with this story using this link: Rotary Service Trip to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Earlier this year the Decorah Rotary Club executed a service project consisting of the planting of seeds and initial cultivating of the seedlings for delivery to several of the local area assisted living facilities.

 

The following message was recently received from Andrea Hexom, Activity Services Director at Aase Haugen Senior Services:  "Thanks again for the flowers and plants you dropped off this spring.  I would like you to know how much everyone enjoyed watching them grow.  Our residents ate the squash for dinner today!  We had a ton of squash from just a couple of plants!"

 

Thanks again to everyone involved in the project, and especially fellow Rotarians Shannon Duncan and Ward Budweg for their leadership efforts.

 

 

Thanks to all of the Decorah Rotarians who volunteered their time and talents at the Bratwurst Cookout on Saturday, October 15. This was the inaugural hosting by Pulpit Rock Brewery for this recurring fundraiser, with many new happy patrons served by our group. Thanks again!

 

See photos of the Rotary Foundation 100th Birthday Celebration and the visit of District 5970 Governor Jim Coloff, which took place at the Decorah Rotary Club's regular meeting on October 4, 2016. You can access the photo album using this link: 100th Birthday of the Rotary Foundation

 

 

Rotary District 5970 has awarded the Decorah Rotary Club with a $2,500 grant to match the Club's commitment of financial support to the Trout Run Trail...

 

What is it like taking a large team to Africa?  It has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. In mid February, I began leading Rotary members from all over the East Coast of the United States through Ghana. I’ve tried to give the team a warm Ghanaian welcome like I’ve received on my earlier trips. A large trip is a real blessing because each person sees Ghana and our work in a different way.

For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.

Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."