About the Presentation: Hudson Rotarian Chris Kost started his talk with a review of the Hudson Y’s history. It was started in1991; the building opened 1995, and it was expanded in 2003. The Y currently has 1937 membership units, 1200 contract members (Silver Sneakers, for example), 84 fitness classes, 1223 new members in 2025. The regional Y organization in Minneapolis, which provides overall governance to all Y’s in the region, is one of the largest Y organizations in the US In world. The geographic span of the Hudson Y includes Woodbury, Hudson, River Falls, Prescott, New Richmond, a wide geographic span.
In terms of youth focus, the Hudson Y had 1900+ kids and teens participating in programs in 2025. Recently the Hudson Y absorbed the debt of Youth Action Hudson program. One specific action Chris cited was that City came to Y and Rotary in 90’s about a skate park. The Skate Park is still operating 27 years later. The facility was renovated in 2024. Click READ MORE for the rest of the summary and to read about Chris Kost, and for a look at Chris's slides, click DOWNLOAD FILES at the bottom of this newsletter.
High School Scholarships Awarded: Belatedly, here is an announcement and a photo of this year's River Falls Rotary High School scholarships. The winners are Johanna Barbey and Allie Larsen. George is the one on the left!
Meeting Schedule Note: Here's the summer meeting schedule. Be sure to check the Tidings to make sure you have the correct time!
July -- 7/7 at 7 AM, 7/21 at Noon; August -- 8/4 at 7 AM, 8/18 at Noon.
UWRF's University Business Collaboration Center: An Invitation to Collaborate -- Blane Huppert explained that the UBCC is a new concept at UWRF. Its purpose is to provide a single point of contact for businesses and the community to get access to the University's resources. Blane provided many examples of both short- and longer-term collaborations with various companies that are able to partner with faculty and students to provide assistance to the companies and opportunities for the students. Blane shared some of his slides, which you can see by clicking "download files" below.
About the Speaker: Blane Huppert is a Wildcat and Falcon alum who spent 25 years working at 3M before returning home to UWRF. He's worked in journalism, politics, and marketing, so you know you can trust what he says. When asked for personal details, Blane responded: Blane and his wife Sandy live in Woodbury with their three grown sons, two of whom are looking for work. (Be sure to let him know if you need a mechanical engineer or archeologist - the supply chain professional is doing fine.) Blane and his aging hound dog have hiked every inch of Kinnickinnic, Willow River, Interstate and Straight Lake State Parks, signing the logs on several hundred geocaches hidden there.
About the Presentation: Ken Giske of Walk ON Therapeutic Riding reviewd the history and mission of Walk ON, and he provided information about how Walk ON operates during its program year. Walk ON and other therapeutic riding organizations provide well known, documented benefits to people with various types of limitations and disabilities. Ken shared stories about how therapeutic riding benefits current riders. Ken also shared his slides, which you can see by clicking the link at the bottom of this Tidings.
About the Presentation: Alison Page spoke to the club about research by National Geographic Society to identify areas where people lived especially long, healthy lives. The investigation identified five regions globally that the team marked with blue circles -- hence they became known as "blue zones". The areas were Sardinia in Italy; Okinawa, Japanese; an Adventist community in Loma Linda, CA; the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece. The research then focused on characteristics that the communities shared. In an oversimplification, the traits are: physical activity, wise eating, positive outlook, and strong social connections.
Alison showed us slides highlighting US health care issues that affect all of us, cost compared to other developed countries being a major factor. Despite paying far more per capita than the average, health outcomes are not in line with the costs to individuals, companies, and the government (i.e. our taxes).
The slides in pdf form are available by clicking "DOWNLOAD FILES" at the bottom of the Tidings.
Meeting Responsibilities
March Meeting Schedule
3/3 -- State of the City at Tattersall
3/10 - Noon Meeting
3/17 - 7 AM Meeting
3/19 - 5:01 at Mariachi Loco
3/24 - Noon Meeting
3/31 - 5th Tuesday Noon
Join us
Service Above Self
Tuesdays at 7:00 AM
202 S. 2nd St.
River Falls, WI 54022 United States of America
