Home Page | Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls

Posted on Jul 30, 2019

Downtown Rotary hosted two of the 2019 South Dakota Hall of Fame inductees for a panel discussion on Monday, July 29th. Fellow Rotarian Dick Brown and Clyde Fredrickson participated in a panel moderated by Past President Michelle Lavallee. Not surprisingly, many members of the Hall are also members of Downtown Rotary and many of them were on hand to welcome these new inductees.

Rod Carlson Named Ritz Rotarian of the Year

Posted on Jun 28, 2019

Rod Carlson was honored at the Annual General Meeting as the Ritz Rotarian of the Year. The recipient should exhibit the award principles: "Emanates integrity, decency, and humility; is a servant leader; guides with dedication, outstanding leadership and tremendous motivation." Mr. Carlson's nominators said, "Rod has been a positive force for Sioux Falls as a resident since 1973. He is married (49 years) and together have raised 3 children and 8 grandchildren. Rod served our nation with his commitment to the US Air Force (1967-71) and was awarded Bronze Star with Valor (Vietnam). In the business community, Rod worked 31 years at Midcontinent Communications/Sioux Falls Cable. In his tenure, he displayed his leadership for 25 years as a GM of Operations and 6 years in a Vice President role for Government Affairs and Community Relations. His assertiveness, professionalism and charisma were successfully channeled for lobbying efforts in South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota. Rod also worked as Vice President Business Development at First Premier Bank and was Sanford Health Director of Public Relations from 2007 - 2014. Rod's calm demeanor, sense of humor and tenacity to do what right continue to open doors for him and he continues to stay busy as the current Director Public Relations/Marketing at Active Generations. Staying busy has never been a problem for Rod. He has been active in the Sioux Falls community for 45 years through numerous organizations. This impressive resume is why I nominate Rod Carlson as Rotarian of the year. Rod exemplifies the Four Way Test: being true and fair, building goodwill and friendships and benefiting the community." Congratulations Rod!

One Relevant It Announced

During the past couple of months, we have completed eight focus groups plus an online survey. Forty-one percent of our club participated in a focus group or survey. We also heard from experts on each topic to help us choose our One Relevant It, a long-term project that Downtown Rotary will be known for. We thank you for all your engagement and especially your thoughtful comments.

Many of you mentioned that you felt both projects – cleaning up the Big Sioux and mentoring – were worthy and deserving of our attentions. The final vote had 153 of 296 members voting and the tally was 59% choosing mentoring and 41% selecting the Big Sioux.

So the official One Relevant It will indeed be mentoring, the details of which will be worked out beginning at the first planning session in July. Who will we partner with? How many groups already mentor? We want to offer mentoring for multiple populations so we need to do this research. Kids, recently released offenders, start-up businesses, etc. are all on the table. Please let us know if you are willing and interested in helping to establish our approach.

Many of you may know that mentoring is a great fit in Mayor TenHaken’s One Sioux Falls. We have also spoken with the Mayor about his plans for the Big Sioux. He feels this is definitely a long-term play and requires state officials, and other agency involvement. That said, there were such passionate comments about Rotary involvement with clean water, we feel we should form an ad hoc committee to at least study the issue and gain more information. If anyone would like to be a part of this, please let us know.

So while this year may be spent in planning rather than doing, we think the outcomes will be well worth our efforts. Jessie Schmidt, our incoming President on July 1, 2019 will spearhead the planning process. Then in 2020, under Jason Herrboldt’s leadership, we will begin to execute the plan.

Long-Time Rotarian Rich Cutler Passes Away

Posted on May 10, 2019

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We regret to announce the passing of 45 year Rotarian Rich Cutler. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. You can read his full obituary online.

Club Assembly on Monday, May 13th

Posted on May 09, 2019

The membership engagement conversations have embraced over 40% of the members voices!! Truly inspirational to hear from so many Rotarians who have a strong belief the Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls should embark on one focused, transforming initiative. Two key community drivers have surfaced: Mentoring and the Big Sioux River. These topics will be the focal point of the Club Assembly meeting next Monday, May 13. This will be a Club Members only meeting to converse more deeply on the topics. We will have a facilitated discussion, with presenters who are subject matter experts in those focus areas. At the completion of the meeting, a survey will be sent out to members to cast their vote on their preferred One Relevant It project. Each member will cast one vote and the voting will be open for 72 hours. Please make every effort to attend and then vote! This is a decision that will chart the direction of the Club for many years.

Happy Birthday Rotary International

Posted on Feb 22, 2019

February 23rd marks the 114th Birthday for Rotary International!

Join us for birthday cake at the meeting on

Monday, February 25th to celebrate!

New Paul Harris Fellows Recognized During Rotary Foundation Month

Posted on Nov 20, 2018

Did you know that in November Rotarians around the world celebrate the great work of The Rotary Foundation? As part of Foundation Month, Downtown Rotary has recognized eighteen new Paul Harris Fellows. The new fellows are:

Ryan Boschee, Eric Erickson, Mick Gibbs, J. Tyler Haahr, Paul Hanson, John Hantla, Rob Howe, Dan Kippley, Jennifer Kirby, Tim Kromminga, Andy Patterson, Matt Paulson, Cindy Peterson, Jay Powell, Jeff Pray, Loren Tschetter, Darla VanRosendale, Tom Welk

Thank you to each of these Rotarians for their contributions, along with all of the Paul Harris Fellows in our club.

What is the Rotary Foundation and why should you get involved?

The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world.

You can give to the cause that means most to you.

Watch the Area of Focus Videos to learn more about the different initiatives that the foundation supports.

During the past 100 years, the Foundation has spent $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.

With your help, we can make lives better in your community and around the world.

Our mission

The mission of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

Why should I donate to The Rotary Foundation?

Your donation makes a difference to those who need our help most. More than 90 percent of donations go directly to supporting our service projects around the world.

How does The Rotary Foundation use donations?

Our 35,000 clubs carry out sustainable service projects that support our six causes. With donations like yours, we’ve wiped out 99.9 percent of all polio cases. Your donation also trains future peacemakers, supports clean water, and strengthens local economies.

What impact can one donation have?

It can save a life. A child can be protected from polio with as little as 60 cents. Our partners make your donation go even further. For every $1 Rotary commits to polio eradication, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $2.

If you are interested in supporting the Rotary Foundation, or learning more about their work, please visit: https://www.rotary.org/en/donate.

Gubernatorial Debate Makes History for Downtown Rotary

Posted on Oct 31, 2018

The Downtown Rotary Club had a historic day on Monday, October 29th. For the first time in club history, a meeting was broadcasted live on television. There was also record attendance at the meeting, where 330 people were present to witness the debate between South Dakota gubernatorial candidates Kristi Noem and Billie Sutton. The event was the only debate of this campaign that had a live audience.

KSFY-TV broadcasted the debate live on their CW station and will re-air the event on KSFY at 4:00 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2018. You can watch the online stream of the event here.

KDLT-TV also live-streamed the debate on their website. Their coverage can be found here.

Governor Daugaard on What's Next for SD vs. Wayfair Case

Posted on Aug 08, 2018

We were honored to have Governor Dennis Daugaard speak to the club about the landmark South Dakota vs. Wayfair Supreme Court case on Monday, August 6th. He discussed the implications it will have on the state and nation moving forward. He also addressed the next steps for finalizing the case and implementing the changes into law.

If you missed the meeting, you can watch Governor Daugaard's full presentation on the Facebook archive and the slides he shared are available to members on the Past Speaker Presentations Page.

Milt Husby Honored as Rotarian of the Year

Posted on Jun 26, 2018

Milt Husby was honored as the Larry Ritz Rotarian of the Year during the Annual General Meeting held June 25th.