Events

Our annual Spring Roadside Cleanup event is scheduled for Saturday, April 11. Please meet at Putnam Law Office at 8AM to pick up safety vests and bags.  We will also take a photo of volunteers present at that time.

If you would like to assist with the project but are unable to participate on the 11th, please reach out to Ward Budweg to make alternative arrangements.

DRC Sponsor: Jon Lund

Victoria Christman, Director of the Center for Global Learning at Luther College and Stacy Soderstrom, Director of International and Transfer Admissions at Luther, will be speaking about Luther's recent award of the prestigeous 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.

For its long-standing commitment to making global learning opportunities accessible and impactful to students, Luther College was awarded the 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization from NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Named after the late Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, the award recognizes excellence in integrating international education throughout all facets of a college campus. Luther College is the first private college in the state of Iowa to receive the Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. The presentation will provide an overview of Luther’s work in terms of study-away opportunities for Luther students and Luther’s international admissions efforts.

Victoria Christman has served as Director of the Center for Global Learning since 2022. She joined the faculty in 2005 as a professor of history, and also teaches courses in international studies. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in early modern European History from the University of Arizona, and a B.A. in modern European History and the Comparative Study of Religion from Harvard University.

Stacy Soderstrom joined Luther in November 2023. Prior to joining Luther, she served as the Director of International Student and Scholar Services at Central Washington University. She holds an M.A. in International Relations from the University of East London and a B.A in German Studies and Global Studies from the University of Minnesota.

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**Please complete your noon meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.

DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx will once again visit our club to update our members on recent county law enforcement actions and priorities.

Sheriff Marx has resided in Decorah since he was of preschool age. His calling to public service began as an Emergeny Medical Technician prior to graduating from high school. In his role as Sheriff, he serves as the chief law enforcement officer in Winneshiek County. In addition to his leadership responsibilities, his functions include patrols, investigations, jail operations, civil processes, court orders, court functions and community/public relations. Sheriff Marx has been involved with county law enforcement for the past 27 years. He was appointed to the position of Sheriff in 2015, was elected to that position in 2016, and has been reelected to three subsequent consecutive terms. He holds a degree in police science and criminal justice and is a member of Iowa State Sheriffs' and Deputies' Association.

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**Please complete your noon meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.

DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

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

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

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

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

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

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

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

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

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

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

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

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

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

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

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

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Shannon Duncan

Kristen Underwood, Director of Campus Programming at Luther College, co-founder of the Upstart Crow Theatreworks Company, and co-founder of ArtHaus in Decorah, will be offering her reflections on her experience directing walks at Decorah’s Phelps Cemetery in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2018, where local children and adults acted the parts of past Decorah residents while stationing themselves next to the associated gravesites. She will highlight selected histories of past residents whose names may be familiar to Decorah Rotarians.

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

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

Kristen came to the Upper Midwest from the San Francisco Bay area. A serendipitous performance with the actor and Commonweal Theatre founder Eric Bunge led her to Lanesboro, MN, where Kristen spent a decade acting professionally. A relationship with Luther College cultivated over this period eventually culminated in her appointment as Director of Luther College Campus Programming and the Luther College Center Stage Series.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.