Nov 14 – Celebrate India, Chaska Event Center, 5:30 to 8:30 PM LINK
Nov 23 – Chaska Tree Lighting, Firemen's Park, 6 to 7:30 PM LINK
Dec 5 – Board Meeting via Zoom
Link to District 5950 Calendar of Events This includes activities and meetings related to Rotary Foundation, Polio Plus, President-elect Education, Camp Enterprise for high school juniors + seniors, Rotary Women happy hour, and Veterans Day.
Link to Carver County Local News Community Events This includes events and activities such as the Landscape Arboretum, Communities of Belonging, school activities, church events and the cities’ winter events.
Link to Southwest Chamber of Commerce Events Calendar This includes business ribbon-cuttings, Carver County Family Resource Center opening, Southwest Christian High School Theatre, group coffee meetings and holiday events and markets.
INVOCATION: Club President
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Gretchen Oppriecht asked for more volunteers to staff the Rotary table at the Sun Meadow Farm Holiday Market on Nov. 8 + 9. Spiced wine is the treat that will be sold. Expect an email to help you remember to help. SATURDAY: 10:30 - 12:00 one slot; 5:30 - 7:00 PM two slots; 7:00 - 8:30 PM two slots; SUNDAY: 1:30 - 3:00 PM one slot; 3:00 - 4:30 PM one slot. Gretchen’s email gretchen_opp@hotmail.com or text to 952-594-5937. LINK
Dan Keyport offered membership in the Chaska 100 group to those who want to support the city’s holiday decorations and tree lighting on November 23. A $200 ticket will provide the opportunity to see the smiling faces of our community’s children and snacks for the sponsors.
Celi Haga reminded us to Vote on Nov. 4 at the Chaska Event Center or earlier through Absentee voting at the Carver County government office in Chaska.
Celi also stressed the increased need for support at the Bountiful Basket Food Shelf. If you want to help, please review their website LINK. At Cub Foods Chaska, you can give the gift of a holiday meal. Simply purchase a pre-packaged Thanksgiving bag, filled with holiday sides and $5 donation towards the purchase of a turkey. After you purchase the bag, Cub will donate it directly to Bountiful Basket, where it will be shared with local families in need. Mackenthun’s Minnetrista store is also helping fight food insecurity. On its website, you can Make a Cash Gift to go even further to help provide Thanksgiving meals for families. We collected $275 from our members today.
HAPPY DOLLARS
Donating on this foggy morning came easier than last week’s gloomy results. Today’s happy folks included Gary Hardel, Kevin Eide, Dan Keyport, Phil Solseng, Erin Kerber, and Matt Podhradsky.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL Flag Presentation
Continuing our Nordic theme, Phil Solseng provided the flag and his research about the Trelleborg Rotary club in southern Sweden. LINK Phil supposed the inter0club connection could have come from Lars Akerberg (1938-2020), our club’s trans-Atlantic sailor (pictured below).
STUDENT INTERN – Gonzalo Romero – having fun with a school exam!
YOUTH EXCHANGE STUDENT – Ane Otsby
Ane experienced Sever’s Fall Festival and spent time with friends and other exchange students from Norway, India and Asia.
PRESENTATION: Erik Hansen, SouthWest Transit
Wayne Ward introduced Erik Hansen, the Chief Executive Officer of SouthWest Transit – the agency serving Chaska and nearby suburbs with fixed bus routes, Prime microtransit vehicles and special event transportation. Erik focused his presentation on the impacts of the pandemic, commuting options, technology and artificial intelligence.
Transit vehicles can be connected to monitoring systems, automated vehicles are in use, payment systems have been developed to optimize speed and efficiency, alternate fuel technologies are available, and all these conditions are helping to make transit easier for the public to use. One of SouthWest Transit’s goals is to minimize friction and maximize convenience for the rider, from booking to arrival. Another goal is to work in concert with other transit agencies and to accommodate multiple modes of transportation.
Erik also described initial experiences with implementing autonomous vehicles into the microtransit market that accommodates single or just a few passengers and short ride distances. He previewed an upcoming phone app that will handle payments and integrate with other transit systems.
If we want to experience some of these changes before they become reality in Chaska, Erik noted that the transit systems in Europe are farther up this path than the United States.
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.
