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Russell Hampton
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS 

10/7/2021 - Dan Weber - Nicole Ruhoff, Public Health

10/14/ 2021 - Tove Lichy - Lee Scheumann - Isanti Rotary Club

10/21/2021 - Club Assembly

10/28/2021 - Molly Hanson - TBD

11/4/2021 - Adam Stumme - TBD

 

 

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Inspiring leaders with passion to serve humanity; strengthening youth for tomorrow's leadership and enhancing lives in our world.

Regular and Zoom Meeting -
For October 7, 2021
Zoom Meeting has returned. Link below. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86945958822

Meeting ID: 869 4595 8822
 
Regular and Zoom Meeting -
September 30, 2021
Our meeting today was led by President Tove Lichty.  John Osterman led our song and Mason Schwartz shared a quote from Albert Einstein.

A very small crowd attended today.  They were - Julie Fish, Brandon Hanson, Heather Kliewer, Tove Lichty, John Osterman, Pete Reiner, Mason Schwartz, Adam Stumne and honorary Dave Anderson and Bob Maxwell

Our Program Today
Mason Schwartz introduced us to Chris Hanson with a non profit group called Time on the Water. 
They provide 5 day guided fishing tours to Lake of the Woods, Sioux Narrows, Ontario, at no cost to military service members, veterans, teachers, first responders and health professionals. They do this to thank these folks for their service and sacrifice. They take care of it all!  They arrange the lodging, meals, fishing equipment and even guide them to the spots where they know the fish are biting!  Chris is an expert fisherman and joins in on the trips to make sure they have a great time and catch some fish.  There are no hardship requirements that the heroes must meet in order to participate.  They try to serve as many heroes as they can.  How can we help?  They are always looking for volunteers to help them raise money at their fundraising events, find heroes who might like to participate and even help them out on a fishing trip.  Contact them if you’d like to donate your time and skills to this cause. They would also like us to consider giving a donation or sponsoring a trip.  Contact them to learn more about donations and sponsorships.  They are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and they exist because of the generosity of those who are thankful for the heroic service of our Military and First Responders. Chris Hanson - 763-286-5526 or timeonthewatermn.com   Below is a link to the recording of our meeting above. Please take the  time to watch this if you were not there. An exceptional organization that support those who help and protect us. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/d87lgTeRKv5h6j50C18AV94taJB4spfv0ejy8nQstwNwJibfNUwE6EEor2BlGSzB.-FfLuWeuPzMWxUUs?startTime=1633021774000

Rotary Moment by Adam Stumne
Today Adam told us about Rotary helping with disaster relief and the three ways they can assist.  Immediate response is done on a local level.  Short term assistance is a two to three month assist and a long term rebuild is to help with rebuilding a community after a disaster.  Check out 
rotary.org for more information!

Announcements
- Tuesday, November 2 from 5 to 9 pm at
Sherburne County Government Center, a visioning session will be held for Elk River Rotary.  President Tove Lichty would like to see 12 to 15 Rotarians participate in this event.  If you are interested, please let her know so she can put you on the list of participants.
 

- October 24th is World Polio Day.  The District is Image result for world polio day 2021hosting a bowling tournament in Mankato and are encouraging each club to raise money and are looking for bowlers!  Tove encourages each of us to give to either Polio Plus or the General Fund and our Elk River Rotary Club will match your gift in points, up to 500.  Example, if you give $500, you get 500 points, Elk River Rotary matches your 500 and you now have 1000 and are eligible to become a Paul Harris Fellow, which is the most prestigious level in Rotary. Any amount given will be beneficial to all concerned.

- Next week we will have a New Member Induction Ceremony!  New members, please be sure to attend!
 
 
 

- Card Game - a 5 of spades was pulled and no one had the match!
 
 

Happy $$
- Pete Reiner was happy for time spent in Green Bay, WI last week.  He attended a Packer game but he is not a fan of the Packers!
- Heather Kliewer was proud of her son in law for receiving a job offer in Montana and was happy that he turned it down and is staying in Minnesota so her grandsons will remain close to her!
- Tove Lichty was happy for trip to Cape Cod/Boston last week.  She shared a week with her sister and it was successful!  She shared some of her highlights and rotary connections while visiting there!

President Tove thanked us for being here today and together we recited the 4 Way Test of the things we Think, Say and Do!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Heather sent a reminder to bring new or gently used coats and boots for all ages this week for the Community Connect Event or bring them to CAER. Last day to donate is October 7th.
Info@sherburneunitedway.org
 
Regular and Zoom Meeting -
September 23, 2021
 
Our meeting today was ran by past president, Nicole Rasmussen. Nicole also led our song and Robin Skinner shared a favorite quote since retirement.

Our newest member, Curt Boysen was with us today! 
Attending:      Audra Anderson, Dirk Barrett, Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Molly Hanson, Heather Kliewer, Jessica Lacher, Amanda Larson, Janet McCarty, Cal Portner, Nicole Rasmussen, Kat Sarg, Robin Skinner, Theresa Slominski and honorary Glen Ertel and Bob Maxwell


Program

Main Street Family ServicesRobin Skinner introduced us to Julie Schultz with Main Street Family Services.  They have been in Elk River since March 2016 and work in collaboration with Sherburne County Health and Human Services for supervised visitation and child parenting skills.  They are there to support families in challenges and they deal with all kinds of things.  They have a parent support outreach program that people can be referred to.  They also offer therapy and refuse no one. They do not take insurance but offer many ways to finance.  They work with families with high level needs with children with mental health with a program called Wrap Around Connects.  It is support team to help families.  They also have other support groups of many levels.  Their goal is to be responsive to the community.  They are located in the Paul Ostmoe American Family Insurance building off Jackson and they have recently purchased the building from past Rotarian - Cliff Lundberg.  They staff around 25 people and are a non-profit.  She thanked us for letting her share.

Announcements

- Dirk Barrett, Taste of Elk River Chair called up Heather Kliewer from CAER and asked all of us to join him for a photo moment as he presented the check for $10,000 to CAER for being our significant donation recipient for the Taste of Elk River 2021.  Heather shared that he funds will come in handy for their new walk in cooler!
- September 21 was Social time at Aegir and Nicole Rasmussen reported that the Loons band played and they had a nice crowd. She will organize something for October.
- Reminder - winter coat and boat drive is going on - bring your items next week!

 
- STRIVE - Molly Hanson went up front and told everyone about STRIVE and the need for 6 more mentors for the program.  If you are interested, please let her know.
 
- Happy Belated 40th Birthday to Amanda Larson!
 
 
 
 
- Card Game - a 3 of spades was pulled and no winner!

 
 
 
Happy Bucks:
- Julie Fish was happy about Rotarian David Vinje who participated in Take a Vet Fishing Program and was also happy for the upcoming celebration for her parent’s 70th Wedding Anniversary!
- Terry Bizal was happy that Rotarian John Osterman did a fabulous job announcing the football game in Zimmerman and reported that you can teach an old dog new tricks!
- Robin Skinner was happy to be going camping in Door County Wisconsin for a week!
- Heather Kliewer was happy for the social on Tuesday with The Loons and reported that it was fantastic!  She was also happy to receive the check for $10,000 on behalf of CAER!
- Molly Hanson was happy to be here and also happy to tell us to Save the Date - November 5 for Comedy for a Cause at Rockwoods.  This is a fund raiser for the YMCA!
- Jessica Lacher was happy that her daughter turned 13 years old, happy to be traveling to the east coast for a wedding, happy for Bridges who are assisting a couple being reunited after 10 years of being apart!
- Nicole Rasmussen was happy to have survived another camping adventure and stomped grapes and attended a rescheduled concert!

Together we recited the 4 Way Test and off we went!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You may be unable to access the public website & members area between 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM North American Eastern Time.
 
Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve our services.
 
Regular and Zoom Meeting -
For September 23, 2021
Zoom Meeting has returned. Link below. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86945958822

Meeting ID: 869 4595 8822
 
Regular and Zoom Meeting -
September 16, 2021
 
Our meeting today was led by President Tove Lichty.  She welcomed a couple of our newest members - Audra Anderson and Jessica Lacher!
 
Attending:
Audra Anderson, Dirk Barrett, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Molly Hanson, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Jessica Lacher, Tove Lichty, Casey Mahon, John Osterman, Nicole Rasmussen, Pete Reiner, Kat Sarff, Mason Schwartz, Theresa Slominski, Dan Weber, Honorary Dave Anderson and Bob Maxwell.
 
Guests:  Tracy Pierce, Sandy and Gary Campbell from Anoka Rotary

They came to speak to us about a project they have been working on that we gave a $250 donation to.  It is to improve the fitness/wellness center for the Anoka, Champlin firefighters and police.   They also brought us a check to go towards the Magnus Veterans Foundation fund for wheels to get folks around.
 

 
 
 
Program
Our program today was introduced by Casey Mahon.  He introduced us to our long time Elk River Mayor - John Dietz.  John gave us a city update on a lot of projects!  He spoke
about the Memorial Day program in the park; the new Elk River Municipal Utilities building going up at Main and Main; spoke about the open house that was held at the new FAT Community Center; property taxes - working on the budget and that property values are on the rise; fire station #3 is in the works; fire station #2 is being remodeled; City Hall is now totally open to residents to come in; Miske Meadows housing development is going strong; the city goal for population is 35,000 people; they are working on a deal with Cargil for city water and sewer; there is a new Economic Development person - Brent O’Neil; Johnny Pops is coming to town; Elk River Meats building is being discussed by the housing and redevelopment authority; there are a few new apartment buildings in town; moving forward - not many issues.  Staff is very professional and we are now at 25,000 residents.
 
Announcements
- Tuesday, September 27 at 5 pm, Happy Hour at
Aegir, Loons play tunes at 6.
- Committee sign up sheets were sent around.  Tove asked that the committee chairs have a meeting of their committees to get them engaged.
- STRIVE is coming . . . please get your name on the sign up sheet to be a mentor.
- Community Connect event is coming up on October 21 at ERHS.  They are hosting a coat and boot drive.  if you have any, please bring them to rotary and get them to either Heather Kliewer or Kat Sarff.
 
 
- Happy Birthday to Mason Schwartz, who chose the $10 version!
 
 
 
 
Image result for anniversary
 
- Happy Anniversary to Bob Maxwell, Kat Sarff and Neil Gagnon
 
 
 
 
 
- Card Game - queen of spades pulled and there was not a winner.
 
 
 

Happy Bucks
- John Osterman
was happy for a meeting with the
marketing crew on Monday with Lupulin where he will present their award from the Taste of Elk River!
- Dirk Barrett is happy to see John Dietz!  John’s dad gave Dirk his first job in 1972!
- Casey Mahon was happy for the Anoka club support.  He and his wife traveled to Michigan.  He is having major surgery in two weeks and he is happy for robotic surgery for cancer!
- Heather Kliewer was happy to wish Casey Mahon best wishes on his surgery!
- Nicole Rasmussen was happy to have survived the rugged maniac run; camping in Alexandria; grape festival; and shared a story about her mom and her dad who has passed away and the wonderful benefits her mom received from the veterans administration!
- John Osterman was happy for ERHS football vs. Coon Rapids in Zimmerman!
- Kat Sarff was happy for her anniversary tomorrow and for her mom coming to babysit while they go shop for furniture! She had a sad buck too as she has lost a friend and it reminded her the life is short and she is blessed to be here!  We are blessed to have you!
- Tove Lichty was happy because of an upcoming trip next week to the east coast!
 
Together we recited the 4 way test and Tove rang the dismissal bell.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regular and Zoom Meeting -
For September 9 , 2021
Today our meeting was ran by President Tove Lichty.  John Osterman led our pitch for the song and Terry Bizal had a great prayer for us today!

Attending: Dirk Barrett, Terry Bizal, Linda Christian, Julie Fish, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Tove Lichty, John Osterman, Nicole Rasmussen, Pete Reiner, Robin Skinner, Theresa Slominski, David Vinje, Dan Weber, Honorary Bob Maxwell and Stewart Wilson


Image result for boy scouts of americaGuest:  Jim Acres with the Boy Scouts was visiting today to remind us of the upcoming 18th Annual Boy Scout Leadership Breakfast, which will be held on September 23 at 7 am.  He thanked us for our many years of support!

Program
Today Terry Bizal
arranged for Dr. Dan Bittman, Superintendent of Schools for ISD 728 to be our speaker!  Dr. Bittman thanked us for our continued
support to the schools in Elk River.  He has two daughters in college this year and is open for advise!  It is the start of the new school year and their are kids attending the schools and he is grateful or that as last year the District lost a lot of money due to enrollment.  Schools are financed on the number of students enrolled and last year ISD 728 lost 300 to 500 students which created a $3.1 million deficit. Because of union rules, they could not adjust staff and it was very difficult to handle.  Recent legislation has helped.  At the end of last year, they were able to notify some staff that they may not be back to work if the kids didn’t come back to school.  They lost 115 kindergarten students and of those, 75% of them didn’t come because they wouldn’t wear masks.  Enrollment now is higher and up from the pandemic.  There has been a huge growth in the southern area of ISD 728.  Dr. Bittman tells us “covid is real”.  All school districts are handling things differently.  He received 4,200 emails from people with their opinions as to how ISD 728 should handle things. This is health related decisions and they are made with the Department of Health.  ISD 728 is surrounded with great people to help make the decisions and will recommend the safest, which is to vaccinate and wear masks.  It is not a mandate, but a suggestion.  There is no data to recommend further rules at this time.  There have been only 2 cases in the last two weeks with 14,000 students.  He and the School Board listen to the community to help with their decisions.  They want to keep students to keep funding.   Dr. Bittman shared that Facebook causes a lot of distractions and asked us to not believe it all and suggested that we check with other sources.  Be thoughtful with where you receive information and feel free to contact him for the truth!  Construction is well on its way with the referendum funds.  They are on budget and on time for the most part.  Labor and supplies hold things up a bit and the pandemic actually helped as construction was being done when there weren’t any students in the buildings.   He spoke briefly about the new Elk River stadium project and the delays but shared that they are hopeful to have two home games and sections and state tournaments in the new facility.  He discussed the critical race theory issue briefly but it is not happening in Elk River and can also cause financial distractions.  Communication with the community is important to Dr. Bittman and the School Board and he feels that they do it very well.  School Board actions take months to make things happen as there is a lot of communicating.  He then opened things up for questions/answer time.

Rotary Moment
President Elect, Adam Stumne
was not with us today so President Tove Lichty asked us if we took Adam’s advise last week and went to 
rotary.org to check out a virtual tour of somewhere.  This is our reminder!  Go to:  rotary.org/en/virtual-reality and have some fun!

Announcements

- Taste of Elk River preliminary numbers were shared with us by Treasurer Neil Gagnon.  He reports that our gross is about $55,000 and our net at $47,000.  He is still auditing ticket sales for the sales winners so stay tuned!  Chair Dirk Barrett has received the People’s Choice Awards and will be notifying and awarding the winners.
- Sign up sheets for committees are on the front table.  Please sign up and engage!
- Forms for requests for donations are on the front table.  Please grab a few and share them with your non-profit friends. Application time will go until October 15th when the donations committee will gather and create their slate of award winners!
- Rotary Membership Applications are also on the front table.  Please invite someone to fill one out and join us!
- Copies of the Board of Directors and President goals are on the table for grabs as well!
- Pete Reiner, Service Chair, reported that the dictionaries for third graders program has been fired up!  He is working on gathering the number of third graders and will order the dictionaries so we can gather, label them and distribute them!  Our dictionary program was started 25 years ago.  Throughout the country 33,700,000 have been handed out. September is Rotary Literacy Month, so this program works great!
- Nicole Rasmussen is working on a SOCIAL!       and a date/time/location has been determined!  Please join the fun at the new Aegir location on Tuesday, September 21 starting at 5 pm.  There is music entertainment that evening by The Loons, which include Rotarian Dirk Barrett and Rotarian Robin Skinner’s husband Ben.  Plan to come and join in on the fun and fellowship!
- Next weekend, Saturday, September 18, is the local Thumbs Up 5K event.  President Tove suggested that we go find their website and sign up to volunteer.  This is one of the non-profit groups that we gave a donation to last year.
- President Tove Lichty reminded us that next week, following the regular meeting, there is a Board of Directors meeting.

- Card Game - Dr. Bittman pulled out the 8 of hearts and there was not a match/winner.

Happy Birthday! To Neil Gagnon who chose a $10 version where we sang loud, stared and pointed. 
Happy Birthday! To Bonnie Koste who also chose the stand up version with a $20 I.O.U.
The Rotary Foundation thanks you both!

Happy $$
-
Linda Christian had happy buck for taking her mom to see The Music Man at the Chanhassen Theatre!
- Terry Bizal was happy his grandkids are in elementary school!
- Robin Skinner was happy to celebrate her 37th wedding anniversary!
- Julie Fish was happy for Linda Christian who was #1 in Sales for the Keller Williams Otsego Team!
- Nicole Rasmussen had a $5 I.O.U. as she was happy for a successful start for her daughter in high school! A crazy start to the school year with her job, but grateful for a great team!  Also happy for an upcoming mud run and some camper time!
- Stewart Wilson was happy to share a memory about when he was back in high school and the Elk River football team could never beat Cambridge for about 30 years so he was very happy that this year, the Elk River football team kicked Cambridge’s butts!
- Bob Maxwell had a happy buck for his upcoming 45th wedding anniversary on Saturday!
- Theresa Slominski was happy that this last week, she celebrated 10 years having their cabin and had a nice gathering!
- Robin Skinner had a kind of sad buck.  She went into her facebook account to change her birthday so no one could know and she put the date of 1-1-2021 and that made her too young for a facebook account and she was hut down so she is sad because she is now uninformed!

Together we recited the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say and do and Tove rang the dismissal bell.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regular and Zoom Meeting -
For September 2, 2021
Zoom Meeting has returned. Link below. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86945958822

Meeting ID: 869 4595 8822

Regular Meeting - August 26, 2021 
 
Today, President Tove Lichty led our meeting which was her first Club Assembly!  John Osterman led us in song!

Attending: Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Tove Lichty, Casey Mahon, John Osterman, Nicole Rasmussen, Pete Reiner, Mason Schwartz, Robin Skinner, Dan Weber and Honorary members Glen Ertel and Bob Maxwell

Tove got right into the Club Assembly as there were a
lot of items to cover!  She started with sharing the items that she wants to see happen during her year as Club President.  She and the board made goals and commitments and would like to see each member involved in at least one committee. She asked the group for their ideas.  Topics discussed were growing membership, meeting place/time.  Tove shared that she know of different clubs who meet two times a month and the other two times, they do a service project or have a social gathering for fellowship.  She shared about a visioning session that is available from the District that is to help us with goals and how to change and move forward.  How do we make an impact to grow our membership? She shared her personal goals with us and then shared her ask to the board of director members.  The board had a retreat and came up with the goals listed on a print out that Tove passed out to us.  There was discussion in the room about how to keep our past leaders involved.  One past president shared that she lost interest in attendance.  She felt that she wouldn’t miss anything if she didn’t come.  If we had a visioning session how do we keep it alive from year to year asked another member.  Visioning would help make future plans.  Tove shared that she is a type A planner so this conversation gives her enthusiasm! Foundation Giving is hot on the top of the goals list and Tove would like to see us increase our giving as it opens grant opportunities to us.  The more we give, the more we can ask for.  Whether it be $10 or $1000, it all adds up to our giving column! Tove challenges each of us to give something to the Rotary Foundation.  Check out Rotary.org.  Tove gave special thanks to Heather Kliewer and Casey Mahon for their work in getting a grant for the Magnus Veterans Foundation in Dayton.  Service Projects, goal set at six meaningful events this year.  We have a new Public Image Committee which currently includes Casey Mahon and staff at Bonnie Koste’s office.  With Casey’s assistance, we have been shared in the Elk River Star News in four news articles including a front page hit!  The Public Image Committee is working on their strategic plan.  Tove passed around Committee Sign Up Sheets and asked to each sign up for at least one.  It takes a lot of hands to make a club meaningful.  Membership is growing!  Dan Weber, Membership Chair, shared that at the board meeting today, two new applications will be reviewed!  These two new members were generated through recent speakers!  From the floor, a few suggestions for membership were made:  Tim Jones, Aegir; Michelle with Lupelin; City of Elk River person who is replacing Amanda Othoudt in Economic Development; Guardian Angels representative; Elk River Senior Living representative; First Bank Elk River representative.

The needs to have their follow up meeting and ticket sales need to be turned in and tallied by Treasurer Neil Gagnon.  It was suggested that the food and beverage vendors be polled as to whether they would like the Taste to be held in May or again in August. 

Card Draw . . . Today we drew until their was a
winner!  It took a couple of tries, but we had a winner in the 2 of spades which was in the hands of Mason Schwartz!  The Rotary Foundation thanks everyone for playing!

Happy Bucks

- Bob Maxwell was happy for a fun time spent helping out friends at Winstock, who happen to be going back to their original event date in 2022.
- Casey Mahon was happy to tell us that he went to the Woodstock location and actually saw two hippies there.  It was not a concert event.  His second happy buck was for his #2 son paying them a visit from the Air-Force!
- Julie Fish was happy for a successful River Clean Up with many participants; for Mason Schwartz scoring the biggest thing out of the river in a roll of orange fencing he drug up; and for Bonnie Koste being the hostess for the social that followed and for Neil Gagnon taking two for the team in the form of bee stings!
- Pete Reiner was also happy for the successful River Clean Up! Those attending were Pete, Mason Schwartz, Julie Fish, Bob Maxwell, Stewart Wilson, Tove Lichty, Bonnie Koste, Debbi Rydberg, Neil Gagnon, and prospective member Curt!
- Nicole Rasmussen was happy that her daughter is back to volleyball games!  Nicole is the proud new owner of an air conditioning unit and she is going to Lanesboro this weekend to go camping . . . In the rain!

Together we recited the 4 Way Test of the tings we think, say and do!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regular Meeting - August 19, 2021
NO ZOOM MEETING TODAY OR UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Today, August 19, 2021, our meeting was led by a very past president, John Osterman!  John also led our song and Bob Maxwell had a very solid prayer for us!

Guest:  Hailey Rasmussen, daughter of Nicole Rasmussen

John also acknowledged honorary member, Dave Anderson, who hasn’t been with us for a bit!  Welcome Dave!  Great to see you!

Attending:  Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, John Osterman, Nicole Rasmussen, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Dan Weber and Honorary members Dave Anderson, Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell and Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba

John started us out with a little blast from the past with a couple of fines!  Pete Reiner received a $1 fine because he was on a fancy golf course in Florida but didn’t play golf!  John then fined Neil Gagnon $5 for being our media darling and having a commercial on TV!


Program
Our program today was a super special one!  Bob Maxwell put together a historical video presentation of the highlights of Elk River Rotary since he joined and started taking photos!    He tearfully read us some words he had written.  Elk River Rotary is 61 and Bob has been a member for 37 of those years!  It began in 1983, when he began working in Elk River for Security Federal Bank.  That building is long gone!  He immediately got involved and joined the Chamber of Commerce, the Builders Association and most importantly, Elk River Rotary.  He is a past member and president of the Monticello Lions club, referred to as the “animal club”!  Over the years he had several jobs in the banking, mortgage and website industry.  This club is his second family.  In 2001, Bob had a massive heart attack, a “widow maker”.  His wife was told by the doctor that they were unsure if Bob was going to make it.  Thankfully, he did!  God is not done with him yet!  Bob thanked us for our support and that he loves us all.  Then he started the amazing video program that he had put together of endless hours of thousands and thousands of photos over the years!  The video started with photos of those Rotarians who have gone before us and it then went on to projects.  Handke Stadium Restoration Project was up first with footage from WCCO reporter, Bill Hudson, who grew up in Elk River.  What a great video treasure of the days of old!  Bob’s video also included photos from corn sales, pancake breakfasts and the amazing Vienermeisters (John Osterman, Leon Barthel and Julie Fish), golf tournament, our sister-city Nuevo Gualcho project, baseball in Benin Africa fund raiser, a few river clean up groups, many gavel passings and board of director groups, and of course, a ton of Taste of Elk River historical photos, showing a lot of past Rotarians who have come and gone or come and stayed, the beginning days with our gold colored vests!  Uff da!  We’ve come a long way in 15 years of Taste of Elk River’s!  Bob has thousands of photos and what he shared was a taste of them!  Bob reminisced about past meeting locations that he remembered starting with the Kemmethese Motel, over to Broadway Pizza basement location, then to Bridgeman’s and on to LaRoses’s Pizza.  Next to Time Out Restaurant, to Pizza Ranch and now here at Chow Mixed Grill!  Honorary Rotarian, Glen Ertel thanked Bob for our fortune that he preserved our history as he did.  There are many hours invested and thanked Bob for a job well done! The crowd agreed with a standing ovation for Bob, and our love for him and all he does for Elk River Rotary!  Bob, you are a true treasure to us and we can’t thank you enough!
I have a link here if you choose to watch it. 
I trust it will work but am uncertain once it leaves my computer. It may take a short time to load but give it a try. The first part has no sound......and last about a half hour.  Thanks
2021 Rotary History.mp4 - OneDrive (live.com)

More fun was had . . .
-
 Card Game - a 6 of spades was pulled and there was not a winner . . .

-Happy Birthday to Theresa Slominski who asked us to sing to her and do ballet dancing, and so we did!
-Happy Birthday also to Terry Bizal who chose our $10 stand up version!
The Rotary Foundation thanks you both!


- President of the day, John Osterman led us in a discussion about having future Taste of Elk River events in May or August.  A lot of pros and cons were shared.


- Pete Reiner reminded everyone of RIVER CLEAN UP that will be held next week WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25 @ 5 pm and asked us to meet at the William H. Houlton parking lot.   We will clean up on both sides of the dam.  This will be followed by food, fun and fellowship at the home of Bonnie Koste.

Happy $$ -

- Julie Fish was $3 happy!  One for each chipmunk she has successfully trapped and killed!Bonnie Koste was happy to get trapping advise from Julie!
- Nicole Rasmussen was $3 happy!  Her daughter Hailey being with us today, a volleyball scrimmage on the B-squad team and that the Taste of Elk River was awesome!
- Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba was happy that her dog catches chipmunks and squirrels and last year, caught over 35 of them!  She was also happy to be traveling to Lake Kabetogoma for a week of relaxation!

John Osterman led us in the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say and do!  The dismissal bell was rang!    Thank you John Osterman for spicing up the meeting with your leadership!   A fun time was had!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regular Meeting - August 12, 2021
NO ZOOM MEETING TODAY OR UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
President Tove Lichty led our meeting today.  She started by giving us her Rotary elevator speech so our speakers could know more about rotary.  John Osterman led us in song and Bonnie Koste led our prayer.

Program
Our program today was arranged by Bonnie Koste.  She introduced us to Jessica and Audra with Bridges Foundation.  They are new to our area as they have just begun work in Wright and Sherburne Counties.  Bonnie Koste’s brother Tommy is one of their clients. They have been providing services in Minnesota since 2015, starting with one client and now serve 350 people with disabilities.  They have over 1000 employees who help people with disabilities so that they may have a choice in where they live.  The disabilities range and each person has different needs helping to live day to day.  They shared the history of disabled people who were in lockdown and then in the 70’s/80’s, group homes came to be.  While they are great for most, they are not 100% for everyone.  Minnesota wanted to do better and now offer people their own home setting with or without a roommate.  Bridges staff work one on one with the client to provide them the ability to live in a community.  They also offer employment opportunities.  Bridges currently serves 8 regions and are growing quickly.  They are funded 100% by the government with state and federal funds through Medicare/Medicaid.  They are always recruiting employees and are do interviews to match with clients. They are working with Health and Human Services at the county level and are building relationships.  Dan Weber said he can connect them with the right people at Sherburne County!  They also shared information about a sister organization called Rumi where they match people up for roommate/house share with a disabled person and others who want a roommate.  The roommate gets a tax break for sharing their living space.  College students, those who need a change or something new are good candidates for this program.  They also have a behavioral health facility that can house up to 150 people with inpatient and outpatient facilities. Their newest facility is in Fergus Falls, MN.  Tove thanked them for joining us today!   (The inside scoop . . . We have received membership applications from both of them!)

Announcements

- River Clean Up will be held Wednesday, August 25th, starting at 5 pm and meeting at the William H. Houlton Conservation Area parking lot.  Bonnie Koste has offered her beautiful home to host the after river clean up gathering!  Food and beverages will be provided.
- Thursday, August 26th will be Tove’s first Club Assembly.  She asks that you all plan to attend to her about upcoming plans for our 2021-22 year!
- Board of Directors meeting will also be held on August 26th following our regular meeting.
- Charitable Donation Contribution Forms are up front.  Please take some and share with your friends in non-profits who could use a donation.  The application period is from July 1 to September 30.
- Taste of Elk River Update- Chair Dirk Barrett
reported a few preliminary numbers!  $1,000 was taken in at the Wall of Wine; $3600 was taken in from tickets at the gate (that’s about 90 tickets); $1040 was taken in from the Wheelbarrow of Booze raffle!  Tickets collected at the gate were counted and tallied in at 946!  Bob Maxwell reported that through online sales, 231 Taste tickets and 61 Private Tasting Tent tickets were sold and there were 25 purchased and no shows and a donation from his aunt for a total of $9015 through online sales!  Neil reported that the Silent Auction is coming in at about $3100!   More information to come as ticket monies get turned into the team managers. Dirk shared the different People’s Choice Award categories and together we named the following:
- Best Deli - Coborn’s
- Best Craft Beer - Lupelin
- Best of the Taste of Elk River - Drake O’Neils/Pour
- Fan Favorite Beverage - Cancion
- Fan Favorite Restaurant - Chow
- Best of Rotary - Aegir
Special thanks to David Vince for securing a wheelbarrow for the raffle.
Tove suggested to Dirk that he call and end of event meeting to gather notes and make plans for the 2022 Taste of Elk River!

Happy Birthday to David Vinje!  The Rotary Foundation thanks you for the $10 fee to have us sing to you!


Card Draw was a jack of spades and there was not a winner!


Happy Bucks
- Neil Gagnon was happy to have completed grad school for banking.  It was a three year program and two years in person, last year was cancelled and this year was done virtually.  He feels relieved to be done and is going to Wisconsin to celebrate with three classmates!
- Cal Portner was happy that his daughter came home for a surprise visit and was happy she was going home on Monday!
- Adam Stumne was happy to tell us that he is now a married man!  He also had a very sad buck to share about attending a funeral because a good friend from Albertville lost his baby daughter at one month.  They learned at 16 weeks that the baby was going to have some birth issues and she didn’t make it in our world.  RIP!
- Tove Lichty had a happy buck for vacation last week and up north to the cabin with the in-laws for the weekend.  She was also happy that her sister is pregnant with her third child/first nephew!
- Dirk Barrett was happy that the Taste of Elk River is over!
- Bob Maxwell doubled Dirk’s money as he is happy for that too!

Tove led us in reciting the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say and do!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regular and Virtual Meeting - August 5, 2021 -NO ZOOM MEETING TODAY 
Today is the day!  The Taste of Elk River day has arrived!****
Our meeting was led by club president Tove Lichty.

Guest/Prospective Member - Kurt was with us again today!

Attending: Dirk Barrett, Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Tove Lichty, Casey Mahon, Janet McCarty, John Osterman, Cal Portner, Nicole Rasmussen, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Mason Schwartz, Theresa Slominski, Honorary Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell and Stewart Wilson

Commissioner Cal Portner had more baseball terminology for us today and I think we are all prepared and ready for the big game!  Tonight is the night!  Debbi Rydberg reviewed the roster and a few empty spots were filled.  It is all hands on deck and if you can, please stay after 9 pm for clean up.

Announcements

Tove Lichty reminded the board of directors that the meeting date has changed and will be held on Thursday, August 26th, following the regular weekly meeting.
- River Clean Up is coming soon!  Mark your calendars for Wednesday, August 25th at 5 pm.   Please park and meet at the parking lot by William H. Houlton Conservation Area, 1825 Main Street NW.   Gloves, garbage bags, and a good time will be supplied!  Please let Pete Reiner know if you can attend.  Further details will follow but Save The Date!
- Treasurer Neil Gagnon asked that the team mangers have their spreadsheets filled in and money collected and turned in to him next Thursday, August 12th, if at all possible.
- President Tove told us to check for an email from the district about a training session being held on September 23rd in St. Paul.  She also told us about a couple of new clubs being established which include one for veterans and one for the LGBTQIA community.

- Card Game - a 9 of clubs was pulled and again, no winner!  Ooo la la, the kitty is getting bigger . . .

Happy $$

- Pete Reiner is happy to thank Dirk Barrett, Taste of Elk River Chair, for all of his efforts!
- Julie Fish was happy to tell a fish tale about fishing with her dad last night!
- Bob Maxwell was happy that the online sales are working!
- Nicole Rasmussen was thrilled for the Taste of Elk River to be here!  She also had a good luck buck for their upcoming garage sale that will take place Friday and Saturday!
- Bob Maxwell had another happy buck for a trip to historical home in Battle Lake, Minnesota!
- Debbi Rydberg was happy to have gone to a St. Paul Saints baseball game with some friends!  She was happy for Bonnie and Theresa who assisted her with washing our 1000 glasses for the Taste of Elk River!  She was happy her daughter was back into India after 3 hours with a customs agent!
- Tove Lichty was $10 happy for a great trip to Colorado.  The concert was awesome and they did some hiking and went on ATV’s in the mountains!

Tove thanked us for coming and together we recited the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say and do!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
**** A few photos from the TASTE......
 
 

 
 
Regular and Virtual Meeting - July 26, 2021
NO ZOOM MEETING TODAY - TASTE of Elk River Day. THERE IS A REGULAR MEETING FOR FINAL PREP. HELP IS ALWAYS NEEDED AT THE SITE. 
Skipping the fun graphics in this edition.
Been processing online ticket requests. 
It has been unbelievable. Will share later. 
 
Our meeting today was led by our President Tove Lichty. 

Guests  John Houlton with First Bank Elk River
Kurt, met rotarians through the Community Table on Sunday. 
This is his “test run”!

Attending:      Dirk Barrett, Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Molly Hanson, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Tove Lichty, Casey Mahon, Janet McCarty, John Osterman, Cal Portner, Nicole Rasmussen, Theresa Slominski, Dan Weber, Honorary Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell, Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba and Stewart Wilson

Program:
John Houlton
from First Bank Elk River kicked off our program!  He took a quick show of hands survey to see how many tickets have been sold.  Bob Maxwell had 22 sold on line and won a $100 gift card to Pittsburgh Blue steak house!  John had a couple of trivia questions and winners Tove Lichty and Nicole Rasmussen both won bottles of wine!  John told all of us that if we are working at the Taste of Elk River, that we are welcome to join them at the First Bank Elk River Private Tasting Tent to come in and relax for a bit!  Pour Wine Bar & Bistro will be handling their food and they will feature wine and scotch this year. John thanked us and we thanked him!   Next up was Commissioner Cal.  Cal asked if anyone got a chance to catch him on the BOB FM radio on Wednesday morning at 8:30?  We didn’t have our Drug Czar, Brandon Hanson again today so Cal shared more baseball terms to try to educate us in baseball.  Team captains - Terry Bizal, Nicole Rasmussen and John Osterman all shared their usual lines of BS with us about ticket sales.   Event Chair Dirk Barrett was up next to give us updates.  Silent Auction is in need of more items.  Heather Kliewer is leading the drive for more items!  If you can come up with some, please drop they off at the CAER center.  John Osterman and David Vinje have the Wheelbarrow of booze all lined up and ready to go!  Dirk shared the line up of events leading up to the Taste.  Tuesday the tents come, Wednesday is electrical day and Thursday morning is set up.  If you are able to come on Thursday morning, please do.  This is different than in the past so the more that can help, the better.  STS folks from Sherburne County will be there Wednesday morning to assist with set up also.  The Wall of Wine and supplies at ERMU will be delivered Thursday morning.   Glasses are arriving to ERMU today and a plan will be made as to how to get them washed before the event.  Bonnie Koste reports that most have received vests.  If you have not put your name on the sign up sheet, contact Debbi Rydberg to do so.

Announcements
- Dan Weber
announced that we will not have a hybrid meeting for a couple of weeks.
- Last Sunday, Tove Lichty, Heather Kliewer and Debbi Rydberg volunteered for the Community Table dinner, which Elk River Rotary was a sponsor of.  These events have been held at the Sherburne County Fair Grounds this summer and in September will change location and will be held at the Elk River American Legion club.
- President Tove reminded Dirk Barrett of his upcoming Wedding Anniversary - #44!
- He wasn’t present, but someone told us that President-Elect Adam Stumne got married last weekend!  Congratulations Mr. and Mrs!
- Card Game - a 9 of diamonds was pulled and there was not a winner!

Happy Bucks
- Dirk Barrett
had a buck because the CAER Classic golf tourney looks to be successful!
- Molly Hanson was $10 happy to tell us that she is going to be a grandma!  Her stepdaughter is 20 weeks along and they are having a boy!  Due date is 12/12/21.
- Bob Maxwell was happy to tell us that his Taste of Elk River vest fits loosely this year!
- Nicole Rasmussen was happy to have attending a live concert and will be in a golf tourney this weekend!
- John Osterman was happy to have received a call this morning from Mike Cunningham with ER Football, asking him to be the announcer for their season, which will kick off using the Rogers stadium before the Elk River stadium is completed!
- IOU - Glen Ertel had an IOU and was happy for an 11 day motorcycle trip with his grandson in Colorado.  They put on 1100 miles in the mountains!
- Tove Lichty was $20 happy to be leaving on a short trip tomorrow to Colorado for a concert! 
The Foundation thanks you!  These happy buck funds will be used to fund our Paul Harris Fellow program amongst other things!

Tove asked us to recite the 4 Way Test of the things we think say and do!

Final Note:  Special thanks to the fine folks who set up for our meetings!  It always looks so professional!
 
Regular and Virtual Meeting - July 22, 2021
 
President Tove Lichty led our meeting today!

Attending:      Dirk Barrett, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Tove Lichty, Casey Mahon, Janet McCarty, John Osterman, Cal Portner, Nicole Rasmussen, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Mason Schwartz, Theresa Slominski, honorary Bob Maxwell and Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba.


Guest - John Houlton with First Bank Elk River

Taste of Elk River Updates
- Heather Kliewer has visited Rogers Rotary for ticket sales.
- BOB FM had information ready to blast for commercials.
- Dirk will be getting out the Sponsors’ tickets very soon.
- Casey Mahon has arranged a press release at the Star News and next week we will have a feature story.
- Wheelbarrow of Booze raffle is in the works.
- First Bank Elk River people need to get their tickets to sell.
- Beverage vendors are ready to go!
- Cal Portner, Commissioner of the ticket sales teams shared some baseball trivia and terminology fun!  Reports from the team managers in attendance were given.
- John Houlton spoke next and shared with us that
First Bank of Elk RiverFirst Bank Elk River will again this year, be sponsoring the Private Tasting Tent.  It will include premium wines, hors’ deoeuvres, and live music.  it is a fancy set up and they are featuring wine maker Orin Swift this year.  He encouraged us to get pre-sale tickets sold as they are the way this works!  They count on the army of Rotarians.  John announced that there will be three top seller prizes this year.  He then went into a trivia game and gave away three bottles of wine and cheese boards.  Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba won two out of the three and Bonnie Koste won once.

Program
President Tove Lichty
introduced Julie Fish’s program for her.  Rotarians Casey Mahon and Heather Kliewer were our program today.  They came to share with us, what they went through to get a grant through the District.  Heather spoke first and and told us that the project started with a visit to the Magnus Veterans Foundation in Dayton and found out some
magnus veterans foundation web blue logoof their needs.  A form of transportation to be used on grounds was a big need that they had and it needed to be all weather and all terrain.   To qualify for a grant a Rotarian needs to attend the grants management seminar, which they attended.  Heather shared that she recently rewatched the video and realized the great benefit of attending was to be connected to people at the District level.  They are super helpful and they reply quickly!  Heather shared a presentation with us showing us how the Rotary Foundation works and then explained that a District Grant is used any where local and can be matched from $3,000 up to $12,000.  Heather and Casey did a Shark Tank event where they presented to other clubs to sponsor this project and they are currently at $5,100 with a District match!  In 2021, the District projects giving out $73,000 in grants and in 2021, giving out $90,000 in grants.  They look at many things to award grants to.  They want to give new clubs priority, which is where we come in! Heather shared that there is importance of giving to the Annual fund as we give more, we get more.  Casey did the presentations to the other clubs and the Shark Tank presentation.  There has been a history of technical difficulties and it held true today and would not play for us.  They will email us the presentation and news clip.   Tove thanked them for presenting!

A card was drawn for the game and there was not a winner!   Reminder - next week, you should all buy a card!

Happy Birthday, the $4 version was sung to Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba!  It wasn’t pretty, but that’s what you get for $5!

Happy Bucks!

- Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba was happy to be a wine winner and was happy to tell us that she is a 5 year breast cancer survivor!
- Debbi Rydberg was happy to have hosted a successful golf tournament for the Chamber of Commerce; she was happy that her husband took their cat to the vet and came out of it with only one scratch; going to spend the weekend in Alexandria; son, Boomer got engaged!
- Nicole Rasmussen was happy for an awesome weekend spent in Iowa and is excited that she, her daughter and her daughter’s friend are going to an outdoor concert tomorrow at Canterbury!
- Theresa Slominski was happy to be getting over a cold and was happy to have met a two week old baby!

President Tove asked us to join her in reciting the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say and do.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regular and Virtual Meeting - July 15, 2021
Today our new President Tove Lichty led our meeting. 
 
Attending: Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Tove Lichty, Casey Mahon, Nicole Rasmussen, Mason Schwartz, Theresa Slominski, Adam Stumne, Honorary Dave Anderson, Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell and Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba
 
New Member Kat Sarff was with us today also!
 
Guest - Alan Sakry - Past Rotarian
 
Program
Our program today was arranged by Theresa Slominski.  She introduced us to Joy Nadeau whom she has known for 15 plus years.  Joy is past leader of the Sherburne County United Way and that is how Theresa met her.  Joy has a new company called Inlet.  She has beautiful wooden boxes built and engraved on the front is “I am who I am” and the box includes many pages of affirmations with photos.  She has given five of her boxes to Onamia schools as the principal loved the affirmations.  She has given five to an LGBTQ groups, five boxes to Open Doors for Youth and has given five boxes to Saint Labor, Montana which is a community with a school in much need of help for school supplies and food.  She sent the boxes around for us to check out.  We can purchase boxes for $20 each.  She was inspired to start this project a number of years ago and enjoys positive affirmations.  She assembles them and distributes them.  They fit her name - JOY!  After her presentation, Honorary Rotarian Glen Ertel devised a raffle for $5/ticket.  The funds raised will go to Inlet and $100 was raised!  Glen Ertel actually won the box!
 
Rotary Moment -
Glen Ertel
shared a story about a raffle once held back in the 80’s and a large bag of potatoes was raffled off.  The winner of the bag, said that was too many so they split it in half and held another raffle!  Now that is the way to raise funds for the foundation!
 
Announcements

- Happy Birthday was sung to Casey Mahon who is also celebrating 40 years of marriage real soon!  Casey is an I.O.U. @ $20.
- Happy Birthday was sung to Glen Ertel! Glen is an I.O.U. @ $10.

- Card Game - a 6 of hearts was pulled and there was not a winner.
- Sunday, July 25 is the day we are sponsoring Community Table for a meal.  Volunteers are welcomed.  Bob Maxwell emailed the link to sign up.

 
- Taste of Elk River Updates:
                - Tove Lichty shared that she has two vests that were dropped off.
                - Health Department license has arrived and Tove gave it to Dirk Barrett.
                - Sign Up sheet was sent around.  Everyone is asked to work a minimum of one shift, preferably two if possible.  First come, first serve on the list.  We will need all hands on deck!
                - Bonnie has also secured a couple of vests.  We will not be able to order more as it is too late in the game to do so.
                - Heather Kliewer announced that she emailed everyone for silent auction prizes.  Please try to secure at least one item.
                - Tove Lichty suggested a silent auction item of a year long free Rotary membership!
                - Heather can also take donations in cash and can purchase silent auction items.
                - Food vendors are coming in slowly but coming!  Feel free to contact those folks you know!
                - Beverage vendors are looking good!
                - Bob Maxwell is working on website so if you see anything odd or needed, please let him know.
                - Cal Portner will reach out to Neal at BOB FM re: commercials on the radio
                - Casey Mahon got a press release out to the Star News!
                - Advertising signs are up.  In kind donation from Franklin Outdoor Advertising.  Thanks to Debbi Rydberg for organizing!
                - Dirk Barrett and Heather Kliewer are going to Rogers Rotary to sell tickets.
                - Glen Ertel will drive a shuttle by way of tractor/wagon!
                - Bob Maxwell has struggled over the past few weeks to get online ticket sales going and has mastered the task!
 
Cal Portner, Commissioner 2021, gave a few trivia bits and called on the team managers for updates.
 
Happy Bucks:

- Nicole Ramsusen was happy to have completed the Tough Mudder event.  It is not for the faint of heart but she got to check it off her bucket list!  She also had an awesome day Monday and found that she has received a grant for work!
- Theresa Slominski was happy because she threw her back out and Adam Stumne was able to assist!  She is thankful.
- Katt Sarff was happy that her daughter is not crying at day care when she leaves and was happy to have their driveway poured at their new house!
- Cal Portner was happy to be traveling to New Ulm to see his parents and enjoy the town festival!
- Heather Kliewer was happy for her grandfather’s 95th birthday celebration!
- Bob Maxwell was happy to be plugged in to PayPal!
- Tove Lichty was happy to have moved her office - 2 miles into Otsego!
 
Together we recited the 4 Way Test of the things we think say and do!