Erin Kerber energized the group to sell raffle tickets. She asked for us to put a completed book of ticket stubs, along with the proceeds in an envelope and turn it in to her. We need to record the date of a Venmo purchase on the ticket stub that we retain. This is a Gaming Department requirement. After the buyer scans the VENMO QR code and makes the necessary entries, Erin advised us to view the completed Venmo purchase on the buyer’s phone before we issue the tickets and record their details on the stub. Raffle ticket buyers must be 18+ years old.
Cindy Anderson was thanked for her 29 years of Rotary membership.
John Roebke announced that he has ended his tenure as our chief executive in charge of Invocations. It is hard to fully thank someone who has devoted decades of service to organize this part of our meetings. But each of us should try to express our personal appreciation to John.
HAPPY DOLLARS
Happy people this morning: Bob Roepke, Greg Anderson.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
Ken Hiller showed us the flag from Brande, Norway that was given to us by exchange student Natasha Palmellund in September 2022. Her sponsoring club meets every two weeks and appears active in many Rotary programs. LINK.
PRESENTATION: Reconstruction of 82nd Street - Darin Mielke, Deputy County Engineer; and Andrew Gunnink, PE Services
Bob Lindall introduced Darin Mielke, Deputy County Engineer in Carver County Public Works (LINK) and Andrew Gunnink, Professional Engineer with PE Services MN, a partner providing engineering design and construction support services (LINK).
With the magic of computer-generated images at his fingertips, Darin Mielke showed a video representation of Highway 5 starting at the gas station in Victoria and travelling eastward past the Arboretum and toward the intersection with highway 41. With slides and narrative, Darin and Andrew explained the scope of changes to Hwy 5 and all the adjacent roads that will be closed, mucked out, upgraded, regraded, bypassed, underpassed, overpassed and re-routed over the next 3 years. No references were given to the services needed by us for Carver County Mental Health treatments.
Specific locations and anticipated engineering methods were shown and many of us longingly reminisced about playing with our Tonka Trucks in the days when moving dirt seemed simpler. We learned about filling steel pipes with concrete, driving pilings until they hit bedrock, or sometimes, just rocks. Diagrams showed how trail intersections will be built that continue our great commitment to access throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Three roundabouts will have been added by the end of 2025, and hopefully by then we will have more confidence in the skill of fellow drivers to adjust to this method of improved traffic flow. LINK to Defensive Driving resources.
Throughout the presentation, Bob Lindall must have been smiling and proud that his passion to work through all the challenges of building Highways 5 and 212 resulted in the growth of communities and jobs that have pushed us towards needing all these improvements. In the big scheme of things, these are just details.
Invocations can be a faith traditional prayer, or a meditation, or inspirational verse or quote. Brief 20 – 30 seconds. Light-hearted is okay. Option: focus on our Mission of Service Above Self. Need an idea – Google Rotary Invocations.
