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Welcome to Our Rotary Club of Decorah!

Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Tuesdays at 12:00 PM

VFW

104 State St
Decorah, IA 52101
United States of America

In addition to Tuesday noon meetings, the Decorah Rotary After-Hours group meets at Pulpit Rock Brewing Company, 207 College Drive, every-other Thursday at 5:30 pm. See the drop-down menu items above for event dates and speakers.

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An Update From Rotary Global Scholar Hallie Johnson

A recently received communication from our Global Scholar Hallie Johnson from Scotland. As you may recall, she is the 2024-2025 Rotary Global Scholarship Grant recipient sponsored by our club. She recently moved to Edinburgh, Scotland to study for her master's degree in Comparative Education and International Development at the University of Edinburgh:

Greetings from Edinburgh!

I travelled to Scotland in August with my mom to do some touring around Glasgow, Inverness, and the Highlands for the first week, and then she spent a week with me in Edinburgh helping me settle into my new flat. I am so grateful to have had this time with her touring around and for all her help setting up my new flat. Since then, I have been here in Edinburgh getting to know the city and meeting the demands of a full-time master’s program!

I have loved these first weeks in Edinburgh and have been thoroughly enjoying my master’s coursework. Attached are photos [see the companion photo album using the link below] from my favorite experiences in Scotland so far, including visiting Loch Ness and the Highlands, seeing shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and International Festival, attending the annual conference of the Scottish International Development Alliance with faculty and members of my master’s cohort, seeing my first football match, and exploring all the incredible museums, neighborhoods, and cafes in Edinburgh with new friends. I have also enjoyed connecting with my host Rotary Club in Portobello and am so grateful for the warm welcome they have extended to me!

This opportunity granted to me by the Rotary Global Scholarship has already challenged and changed me in invaluable ways, and I can’t wait to see where the rest of this year takes me. I will be sharing highlights from my time in Scotland on the Decorah Rotary Facebook page, so feel free to follow along on my adventure!

Slàinte! (Cheers!) - Hallie

To view Hallie's photos visit the associated photo album at Hallie Johnson Update #1.

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Rotary Sunflower Discovery Center Project Dedication

(L-R) Lorraine Borowski, Decorah Rotarian and Mayor, City of Decorah; Phil Iversen and Mike Huinker, Co-Presidents, Decorah Rotary Club; John Schroeher, Sunflower Board Member and Fundraising/Building Project Committee; Stephanie Fromm, Executive Director, Winneshiek County Development and Tourism and President, Sunflower Board of Directors; Holly Benda, Sunflower Executive Director

Representatives from the Decorah Rotary Club and the Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center convened on Thursday, September 5 at 4 pm to celebrate the culmination of the 2024 Rotary project supporting the new Discovery Center facility. The Rotary Club’s additions to the Discovery Center include a large playhouse with balcony, a smaller “drive-through” playhouse, indoor safety perimeter fencing to delineate the toddler play area, and a K’nex^TM Building Station incorporating a six-foot-tall Ferris wheel inherited by Sunflower from the former Donlon’s toy store in Decorah.

To bring the project to fruition the Decorah Rotary Club secured a grant from Rotary District 5970 and contributed its own matching funds to achieve the $10,000 needed for the project. This contribution was featured at the Thursday event in the presentation of a ceremonial check from the club. Rotary Club members also contributed nearly 250 hours of labor and all of the detailed design and construction expertise required for the project. Spahn and Rose Lumber in Decorah assisted Rotary by providing discounted raw materials.

The Sunflower Discovery Center, slated to open in October, will be an interactive children’s museum. It aligns with Goal #5 in the City of Decorah’s Iowa Great Places Vision Plan by creating a “Quality Gathering Space” for children and families, especially important given there are currently no such indoor play spaces in Decorah or Winneshiek County. The Discovery Center will have at least six themed Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Music, and Math (STEAM) learning centers. It will prioritize active learning through movement, exploration, and play, with indoor-age-appropriate playgrounds and active learning and exploration areas.

Our club extends its sincere thanks to the following organizations and individuals: Rotary District 5970 for supporting the club's district grant proposal; construction lead Rotarians Kent Klocke and Bruce Ventura without whom the success of the project would not have been possible; Rotary Sunflower Project committee members Larry Grimstad, Mike Huinker, Gary Mineart, Paul Mullen, Kathleen Ritner, Kelsey Vanney, and Bruce Ventura; Kelsey Vanney and her associate Rolf Peterson for the design inspiration behind the large playhouse; Rotarians Tina Hall, Phil Iversen, John Moeller, Diana Morrow, Jim Morrow, Paul Mullen, Uwe Rudolf, and Mark Swanson for their materials transportation and painting energy and expertise; and Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center Board of Directors and staff members Stephanie Fromm, John Schroeher, Holly Benda, Daiton Johnson, and Amy Winter for their spirit of cooperation, guidance, creativity, and willingness to share their valuable time with our team.

Photos of the entire "soup-to-nuts" construction process and dedication may be found in the companion album Rotary Sunflower Discovery Center Project.

Photo credit: Gary Mineart

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Decorah Native Hallie Johnson Awarded $50,000 Rotary Global Scholarship

(L-R) Rotary District 5970 Governor Shannon Duncan, Hallie Johnson, brother Erik Johnson, and parents Bonnie and Chris Johnson

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.

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2024 Decorah Rotary Trout Run Trail Tour Day

Decorah Rotarian Brecka Putnam (left) gives her best wishes to trail riders (L-R) Laurie Burke, Kelsey Hagen, Marshall Rogne, and Janet Daley

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.

Photo Credit: Gary Mineart

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2024 Decorah Rotary Pork Chop Fundraiser

(L-R) Decorah Rotarians Tina Hall and Kim Bonnet serving two of the many happy Rotary pork chop customers during Nordic Fest 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.

Photo credits: various

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2024 Decorah Rotary Club Scholars

Each year the Decorah Rotary Club sponsors scholarships for local graduating seniors. At this year's ceremony held at the Decorah High School our club awarded two scholarships of $2500 each and extends its sincere congratulations to recipients Brynn Storhoff and Corina Timm.

If you know these students or their families please reach out to them and offer your congratulations. We hope to have them join us during a future meeting and allow them to share their plans and aspirations with us.

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Completion of the DRC Binzebo Trail Hub at Carlson Park

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.

Photo credits: various

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Decorah City Tree Planting Day

Decorah Rotarians (L-R) Ron Snell, Bruce Ventura, Tina Hall, and Mark Faldet prepare to plant an Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry

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

Photo credit: Gary Mineart

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Rotary Roadside Clean-Up Day - Fall 2023

The Fall 2023 Decorah Rotary Roadside Clean-Up crew, getting ready for action (not pictured: Roger Huinker, Jim Morrow, and Brecka Putnam)

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

Photo credit: Brecka Putnam

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