Erin Kerber excited us all with the news of a Danish Exchange Student joining us in 5 weeks. The first and third Host families have been arranged, but the second period stills needs to be arranged. Please send out the search notices to your friends and acquaintances. “TAK!” (Thank you).
Matt Podhradsky asked businesses and members to consider sponsoring the Chaska Cares Golf Tournament, which will endow the Miracle Field with its profits.
Matt also introduced our new Intern – Sienna White, a senior at Chaska High School. Sienna is living the Rotary belief of “Service Above Self” – as a student representative on Chaska’s Human Rights Council, volunteering at the Chaska Historical Center, and leading a student organization aimed at helping District 112 students with school supplies and support. The group is appropriately named “Kindness 112.”
Finemaster and Happy Dollars
Dan Keyport demonstrated his worldly knowledge and international goodwill by acknowledging July 14 as Bastille Day, a holid
ay for the French. Testing our level of knowledge about “La Fete Nationale”, Dan asked questions of each table. A few of us were able to get him to agree “OUI” but most of our answers resulted in “NON!” and the pig was fed with dollars, not francs.
Nonetheless, John Roebke, Gary Cooper, and Matt Podhradsky expressed their happiness about recent events by donating even more!
PRESENTATION
SouthWest Transit
Three speakers represented the SouthWest Transit organization to us – Matt Fyten, its interim CEO and COO; McKayla Hatfield, a member of its Commission and of the Chaska City Council; and Mike Huang, the Chair of the Commission and also on our City Council.
McKayla and Matt provided some history of SouthWest Transit which has provided services since 1986. She compared ridership data for periods before and since COVID swept the land and changed our methods of working, commuting, and many other aspects of our lives. Improvements are still being made to their valuable services – such as electric vehicles used for “micro-transit” purposes, low-cost airport transportation, PRIME vans used to provide access to medical treatment, and high-quality large buses used for State Fair, professional sports, and concerts.
Mike Huang talked about ongoing and current challenges affecting SouthWest Transit. Oversight by the Metropolitan Council appears to have as many drawbacks as benefits, and the future impact of the light rail Green Line creeping its way towards Eden Prairie. Near the end of the presentation, we learned that rider fares only cover 22% of the transit costs.
For our part, we were asked for our help to:
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Spread the word to encourage residents to learn about and use SouthWest Transit services.
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Talk to elected and community leaders and stress the importance of Transit services.
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Communicate our transit ideas, concerns, and needs within Chaska.
More information about SouthWest Transit: https://swtransit.org, 952-949-2287
To contact our speakers:
Matt Fyten: mfyten@swtransit.org; 952-949-2287
McKayla Hatfield: Chaska City Council Ward 3; 952-448-9200
Mike Huang: Chaska City Council Ward 4; 952-393-3723
Note: Rotarian Bob Roepke is also the At-Large Commissioner for SouthWest Transit.
The water safety camp is a partnership between the Chaska Rotary Club and the City of Chaska's Parks and Recreation Department. It is funded by a $5,000 Rotary Grant developed by Gretchen Oppriecht and administered through Marshall Grange and his team.
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