Alexandria Rotary Club

Mary Risner, Alexandria Area Arts Association

2010-03-11T14:19:54-06:00

At the March 11th Alexandria Rotary Club meeting, Rotarian Reed Becker introduced Mary Risner, manager of the Alexandria Area Arts Association theatre. She spoke on the history of the association, known as the Quad A, as well as current and upcoming programs and opportunities.

Also at today's meeting, the Alexandria Rotary Club inducted four new members . They were Kim Collins (Soderholm Insurance), Bill Bolm (retired), Keith Meyer (Billmark's Insurance) and Brad Nyberg (Nyberg Surveying).

TRAM (The Ride Across Minnesota)

2010-03-04T15:22:51-06:00

Biking for a good cause was the topic of the Alexandria Rotary Club’s March 4th program. Rotarian Coni McCay introduced Jake Capistrant, owner of Jake’s Bikes in Alexandria. He spoke about the TRAM (The Ride Across Minnesota) five-day bike tour to benefit the National MS Society.

This year’s event, which should draw 800-1,000 bikers, will begin and end in Alexandria during the last week of July. Capistrant has been involved with the ride as a volunteer mechanic for 15 years. He noted that the event typically raises close to a million dollars for the charity, and participants typically spend around $50,000 in the host communities.

Curling

2010-02-25T21:33:48-06:00

At our February 25th meeting, members of the Alexandria Rotary Club learned that Vancouver isn’t the only place to see hot curling action! Nancy Hagenmiller, president of the Alexandria Curling Association, and two members of the association’s board shared information and history of their sport.

The Alexandria club, in existence for five years, has experienced a boost in interest in the sport in conjunction with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Dr. Nancy Haack

2010-02-18T14:49:31-06:00

Dr. Nancy Haack visited the Alexandria Rotary Club to talk about audiology. From the Latin audīre, "to hear", audiology is the branch of science that studies hearing, balance and related disorders. Dr. Haack, wife of Alexandria Rotarian Dr. Joe Haack, has been employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for 20 years and spoke and spoke about the joy she finds in helping the men and women that have served in the military such as 92 year old Harold Kurvers.

Nancy also talked about how audiology has expanded over the years with changes in technology, cochlear implants, intraoperative monitoring, central auditory processing issues, otoacoustic emissions, vestibular testing, pediatrics and more.

WCCO to Honor Rotary

2010-02-17T14:36:05-06:00

WCCO Radio (830 AM) will honor Rotary this coming Friday, February 19th, in connection with the 100th anniversary of Minneapolis Club 9 and Saint Paul Club 10.

The station's 'WCCO Radio/Popp Telecomm Good Neighbor Award' honoring Rotary will air at 7:52 a.m., 12:40 p.m., and 5:50 p.m.

Douglas Scientific

2010-02-11T17:42:31-06:00

The Alexandria Rotary Club had a field trip for their February 11 meeting. The group met at Douglas Scientific, a new subsidiary of Douglas Machines. Rotarian Rick Paulsen introduced Craig McClain, head of client relations at the company. He provided a brief overview of the operation, which manufactures array tape and instrumentation to process and scan the tape. The company’s market niche is in AgBio, supporting research through more cost-effective and efficient processes than traditional technology provides.

Learn more about Douglas Scientific at douglasscientific.com

Zebra Mussels

2010-02-05T10:48:26-06:00

John Esbjornsson and two students, Jade Guenther and Lucas Anderson, from his environmental science class at Jefferson High School visited the weekly Alexandria Rotary Club meeting at the Broadway Ballroom to talk about zebra mussels.

The students want to spread the word and stop the infestation of the exotic species that has now found its way into the Lake L’Homme Dieu, Lake Carlos and Lake Geneva in Alexandria.

Zebra mussels are an invasive species that attach to anything hard.
They are small, about the size of your fingernail.
Zebra mussels filter lake water producing more weeds and less plankton for fish to eat, decreasing fish populations and size.

Esbjornsson has been a teacher at JHS for 33 years and he said he has discussed zebra mussels in his classes since they invaded the Great Lakes 20 years ago but not this extensively. “We would spend a day on invasive species but last year we decided to spend much more time,” said Esbjornsson. “The students felt it was an important local issue.” The students have taken many steps to educate the public such as speaking to elementary schools and producing literature.