Final Reminder:  At the recent board meeting, we voted to commit $200 of club funds towards a memorial bench honoring Judie Babcock.  KRLT is raising funds for the bench, and Rotary will add its donation.  The Kinni was very important to Judie, who was a board member of the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust as well as an avid supporter and activist for all things River Falls.  We have already received another $100 in Rotarian donations to add to the club funds, and we are asking members add to that amount if they want to do so.  Let Rick know at rkerfwilson@gmail.com or bring a check or cash to this week's meeting.

 Melissa Meschke replaced Bill Rubin in January 2024 as director of the St Croix County Economic Development Corp.  The EDC is a 502(c)6 org that spans 35 towns, cities, and villages in the county.  As a 501(c)6, SCEDC is allowed to lobby.  Meschke noted that she works closely with neighboring counties.  The EDC does programming for municipalities as well as businesses.  Her responsibilities include attending events, heading up local initiatives, and growing membership in the EDC.  As housing is a very important issue affecting local economic development , a housing study underway will gather data with a target of completion in Q2 2025.

 

Melissa presented some key data:  a county population of 96,763,  a 7.8% increase since 2018.  An additional growth of about 6% is expected between 2023 and 28.  Regional employment is 40,972, which is a growth of 6.3% from 2018-23.  Median household income is about $98k, $22.8k above the national average.  Pierce & St Croix are among the highest income counties in WI.  Job growth in St Croix is above average and unemployment % is very low, which is not always a good thing for economic development.  Business statistics show a fairly even distribution among services, retail, construction, heath care, and other.  A final slide showed the effect of the pandemic on SCC with job growth and # of establishments growing sharply up to 2019, dropping sharply, and then recovering.   Click  on Download Files to see the slides and click READ MORE  to read about Melissa Meschke.

River Falls Rotarian and retired educator Dr. Carole Mottaz started the meeting with a review of both the 25-year history of the Renaissance Academy and some of the principles around its approach to education.  She noted that the Renaissance Academy is part of the River Falls School District, which is not always the case for charter schools.  In presenting the history, Carole talked about details involved in a charter from the US Department of Education.  Mottaz also talked about how the school started in its first location, how the program grew and moved over time, and how the RA is now located in a very basic, practical structure.  Head Teacher Peggy Skogen took us on a tour of the classrooms including the shop where students get hands-on experience with woodworking equipment.  Classes for science, language arts, and other parts of the RA curriculum occur in other parts of the facility.  At several points in the tour, Peggy pointed out student-built shelving that saved RA and the District significant money over commercially bought equivalents.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT -- STATE OF THE CITY ON MARCH 4TH:  We won't have a regular meeting on that date because we're encouraging every Rotarian interested in an update about our city to attend.  The meeting is again at Tattersall at 7:30 AM.   If you want breakfast, you'll need to register and pay (note that there is no discount for us as Chamber members).  

 

5:01 Restaurant for February:  For those of you planning your Burger Battle ticket use strategy, the February venue for 5:01 will be Broz on Thursday February 20th.

 

A Reminder About 5:01:  What is 5:01, you might ask?  It's simply a social gathering once a month of Rotarians, spouses, and occasionally visiting friends or family at a River Falls restaurant for a couple of hours of conversation, food and drinks of choice, and an opportunity to get to know one another better.

 

Some Upcoming Events and Dates:
February 1st --Green Skills Sampler 9:30 AM - 3 PM at River Falls High School sponsored by multiple local org's.
February 6th -- Annual River Falls Chamber Awards Banquet.  As Chamber members we are invited to attend.

March 4th -- State of the City at Tattersall 7:30 AM (see above)
April 11th -- Pierce County Relay for Life
April 26th -- Earth Fest 2025 at the UWRF University Center
 

About the Presentation:  Crutches 4 Africa is a Rotary District 5960 grant project to collect, store, and distribute mobility devices (e.g., crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, etc.) to enable people in Africa who cannot afford a device to live a fuller life.  Lonny Stormo of Stillwater Sunrise Rotary described the project, and then we asked questions and discussed how our club might participate in this project.  Several good ideas were generated, and there was a positive reaction to the idea.  This project is unusual in that there is minimal financial commitment from the club while providing a lot of benefit to people in need.  The board will review the Stillwater Sunrise proposal at the November board meeting.  Member comments are encouraged.  Click READ MORE to read about the speaker.