About the Presentation: Interim Chancellor John Chenoweth reviewed connections between UWRF and the River Falls community, and he will offered a perspective on strategic priorities and student success. A pdf of the slides containing lots of facts and figures is available but was beyond your newsletter writer's ability to paste into ClubRunner. If you'd like to see a copy, email rkerfwilson@gmail.com and we'll see if we can make it work. Click READ MORE for a brief bio of Interim Chancellor Chenoweth.
About the Presentation: Retired physician and White Bear Lake Rotary member Dr. Carol Nelson spoke to our club about their effort to seek a global grant as part of Rotary's fight against malaria. Carol went through basics about malaria, an endemic disease in much of the world that is caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquito bites. She pointed out that, while many people survive infiections, the disease can have chronic and long-lasting effects and it can be extremely harmful and even fatal to infants. The number of people affected by malaria is very large, and the cost of treatment is also a major factor. Dr. Nelson described how Rotary is fighting malaria, and then she reviewed the components of the "Rotary Fights Malaria" Grant that is originating with the White Bear Lake Rotary Club in partnership with the Bo, Sierra Leone Rotary Club as the host club. Click READ MORE to read about Carol Nelson.
--MEETING CANCELLATION POLICY: the board decided to implement a policy to cancel meetings when the River Falls School District cancels school due to bad weather and poor road conditions. This resulted from the recent meeting where a speaker came from Roseville MN to speak to a small group of Rotarians because many stayed home. We can watch the news and RFSD website when weather conditions warrant, and we have made sure that we have ways to contact speakers and inform them and the Ezekiel food preparation team.
--RIVER FALLS ROTARY IS ON INSTAGRAM: Karla has established an account for our club on Instagram. The link is here; feel free to share it with (younger, we hope) friends and familiy who are on Instagram.
About the Presentation: Steve Leonard opened his talk by reminding us that the mission of KRLT is to protect the Kinni and its watershed. There are many stakeholders in the span of the river, with the current focus being the agricultural community to minimize the impact of agricultural activity as well as development on the Kinni watershed. KRLT has over 2000 acres of protected land through conservation easements. There are 40 in total, with about 1 added per year. Easements can include set-asides for development in the future. KRLT has 4 nature preserves open to the public: the Community Forest, Headwaters, Kelly Creek, and Drewiske Family Preserves.
Turning the focus to educational programs, Steve started by saying that watershed tours are a way that the KRLT provides the community with detailed education. KRLT has a part-time coordinator for watershed tour education. KRLT has also added senior programming, which KRLT runs with help from the Inclusa Foundation. Steve pointed out that many seniors at Bay Harbor grew up on farms, and they have continuing interest in the natural world including the Kinni. Click READ MORE for the rest of the summary and to read about Steve.
