Learn about upcoming speakers, events, last meeting's presentation, and other club updates. NEW: Click on the LINK by the speaker's topic, Announcements, Youth Exchange Student, and Club Flags to read in more depth.
Upcoming Speakers
Meetings will be at Crown of Glory church, unless noted
October 2026
Oct 15 – Tim Mulcrone - District 5950 Polio Plus Chair (Sarah Carlson) LINK
Oct 22 – Africa Queen (Gretchen Oppriecht)
Oct 29 – Carver County Drug Treatment Court (Mike Wentzel) LINK
November 2026
Nov 5 – To Be Determined (Kevin Hegland)
Nov 12 – Mark Labine - Little Rapids Fur Trade Post (Mike Drazen) LINK
Nov 19 – Dr. Erin Rathke, ISD 112 (Nate Manaen) LINK
Nov 26 – No meeting Thanksgiving
December 2026
Dec 3 – To Be Determined (John Roebke)
Dec 10 – Dominic Papatola, Community Giving (Vic Benetti) LINK
Dec 17 – Holiday Auction (Sheryl Hough + Helpers)
Dec 24 – No Meeting
Dec 31- No Meeting
Upcoming Events
Oct 14 – District 5950 Art Pop-up at Solseng’s Sun Meadow Farm, 5 PM
Oct 22 – Rotary Dining at El Guanaco on Lake Street LINK
Oct 24 – End Polio Now Walk, Mall of America – Macy’s Court, 7:30 AM LINK
Oct 31-Nov 15 – Nepal International Service Project – trip is not directly affected by the flooding disaster. There are still openings for more participants. Email: mariepress@hotmail.com or talk with Ken Hiller.
Nov 13, 14, 15 – Rotary Holiday Market at Solseng’s SunMeadow Farm
Nov 22 – Chaska Tree Lighting, 6 PM Firemen’s Park
Dec 17 - Club Holiday Auction
Jan 23, 2027 – District 5950 Mid-Term Assembly, Plymouth Community Ctr LINK
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May 26-30, 2027 Rotary International Convention in Barcelona, Spain LINK
May 27-31, 2028 Rotary International Convention in Minneapolis (tentative) LINK
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Link to District 5950 Calendar of EventsThis includes October - March District activities like Goal Achievement Roundtables, club fundraising and special events like the Art Pop-up, the End Polio Walk at Mall of America 10/24, Veterans Lunch in Eden Prairie on 11/10/26 and Mid-term Assembly on Jan. 23.
Link to Carver County Local News Community EventsThis includes events and activities and the new Carver County2026 Election and Voter Guide.It also includes Chaska City Parks + Rec events, County Parks events, Arboretum events, Historical Society events, and County Family Resource Center events.
INVOCATION: Erika Kennedy
Announcements
Cindy Anderson invited us back to the Solseng Sun Meadow Farm for a Rotary District 5950 Art Pop-up on October 14, starting at 5 PM. District Governor Leif Hagen is the organizer for the event that brings members from other clubs to see Cindy Anderson’s studio and to meet our members. Look for the email sent on Oct. 6 from Alexa Runquist District 5950. LINK
Bob Chinnock will be leading a STRIVE meeting today. He asked for Gift Cards that he uses to reward the students when they do well.
The venue we use – the Crown of Glory Church – has set up an easy way for us to give donations to help them support the Bountiful Basket food shelf and others. Look against the wall next to our sign-in table where Kevin Hegland greets us each morning.
HAPPY DOLLARS
Celi Haga, Gary Hardel, Greg Anderson and Matt Podhradsky described their reasons for being happy today.
Rotary Bench Moment
The camera installed near the Rotary Bench captured someone who was definitely NOT HAPPY with the publicity of their presence. Although sharing the attitude, the camera did not capture the ghost of the late Dave Kraus.
Emma showed more photos from the Chanhassen High School homecoming and events that weekend. She included teaching mini-cheerleaders in the routines and motions critical to the morale of the students attending the Chanhassen football game.
Phil Solseng took us sailing across the Atlantic to the shores of Sweden with the flag from the Helsingborg club. He guessed that it was delivered to us by the late Lars Akerberg. Phil pointed out similar activities as ours.
Jim Halloran introduced Mark Pahl, the 3rd generation managing partner of Dem-Con Companies. Jim’s appliance business has been a 40-year neighbor to Dem-Con in Shakopee, across the Highway 41 bridge.
Mark gave us an expertly crafted presentation about Dem-Con specifically, and the recycling business in general. He illustrated the current processes and practices that are more supportive of an environment that is undamaged by the construction and demolition of our society. The Clean Air Act of 1971 was instrumental in providing the framework for regulations and making the business of waste disposal and recycling a more welcome presence. Mark noted that until a material has regulation or an obvious market, it probably won’t be recycled, reused or repurposed.
The photo below of the Dem-Con Environmental Campus shows the current parts of its enterprise. Mark went through each of them and was able to illustrate some with video action. It was fascinating to learn about the next chapter in the life of materials we have used, buildings we have worked in, and houses that have become superfluous. Recycling processes for shingles, wood, and metal have a high capital basis, so there doesn’t appear to be many competitors for Dem-Con. Public perceptions of landfills and dumps are being updated by Mark and others making presentations to schools and organizations like ours.
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. Schedule Changes? – Arrange a switch and then contact Neil.
