Notes from the Meeting February 8, 2018

On the second Thursday of February, Club 25 Rotarians, joined by our February Junior Rotarians, assembled in the Lyric Conference Room at the Holiday Inn.  President Tricia Bunten, fresh from her sojourn to Florida, rang the Rotary Bell calling us to order.  All were in good voice as we sang America the Beautiful with accompaniment by Past President John Baumgarten. Assistant District Governor and Superior City Counselor Warren Bender,  guest of Dick Pelinka, delivered the invocation with a call to remember Rotarians who have recently passed: Mark Eckman of our Club and Rod Campbell of Superior Rotary, of whom Past District Governor Earl Rogers was called upon to share a heartfelt reminiscence. Invocator Warren Bender reminded us what we are called to believe and remain true to – Faith, Hope and Love.

The Fellowship Report was delivered by Past President Bob Bennett who brought in a few dollars to the Golden Can. Jon Ohman’s 11 year-old grandson, Grady, won his age and weight class last Saturday to become the Arkansas State Wrestling Champion! Past President Elaine Hansen was quoted throughout a DNT article about the end of the Labovitz Award at UMD. New father (for a second time) Ryan Johnson self-reported the birth of daughter Kennedy Lee. Jay Ott also self-reported, giving a nod to our program speaker and shamelessly promoted his firm’s publication – Positively Superior. Completing the Fellowship Report, President Tricia Bunten reminded us all that the Winter Olympics will begin soon. She thanked Club 25 for the privilege of attending the International Rotary Convention in Seoul, South Korea as President-Elect in 2017.

Chairperson of the Day Steve Yorde introduced our guest speaker, Superior Mayor Jim Paine, with some background of his service to the community and our country. Jim served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Japan immediately following high school in Superior. Then he earned degrees from UWS and UMD where he received a Master’s Degree in Advocacy and Political Leadership. Later he was vice chair of the Douglas County Board of Supervisors. This background set the stage for a lively presentation by Mayor Paine: Vision of Superior’s Future.  Mayor Paine’s theme was “a city that works for everyone.” It was a comprehensive vision for Superior’s future, encompassing a balanced budget and a focus to make Superior a vibrant city. Under his leadership, Superior has retired the city’s half-million dollar deficit while providing meaningful tax cuts to Superior residents. Even with these tax cuts, Superior is funding investments in the police and fire departments to help keep residents safe. Housing is an ongoing challenge for the city. If affordable housing is not available, many working families have no opportunity to prosper. To address this issue, Mayor Paine’s administration established a Task Force that includes experts from Minneapolis who are taking stock of what properties may be “recycled” for a better use. Mayor Paine believes that reinvesting in housing stock by providing incentives to families and developers will increase property values within Superior that, in turn, will improve Superior’s quality of life. Superior intends to make $250,000 available for this effort and provide families with working capital to improve their futures. One of the great qualities of the City of Superior is access to the outdoors. With Lake Superior, the St. Louis River and municipal forests and trails, residents and visitors have many opportunities to embrace nature’s abundance. Improvements are planned to create even more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. More access to beaches, an improved trail system for hiking and all-terrain vehicles, and an archery range are in the works. Transportation improvements in all forms are also in the works for Superior. Mayor Paine shared that $18 million will be invested in roads, sidewalks and bike paths. He said he hopes to make Superior a “Walkable City.” Leading by example, Mayor Paine walks to as many meetings as possible. Business development is also a key to Superior’s success. Mayor Paine shared that the recent announcement of the closing of the Younkers store is not of concern, as he sees this as an opportunity to grow the number of passionate, locally owned businesses. Local businesses are a better fit for Superior as they rely on local vendors for their supplies and local residents as employees. Big-box stores pay among the lowest taxes of any business and are constantly seeking even lower taxes. Local business owners live, work and invest in their communities. The fact that more locally operated retail businesses are filling storefronts in downtown Superior is a great source of pride to Mayor Paine. Retail alone does not make for a healthy economy for Superior. Mayor Paine shared that new developments in industry and manufacturing will increase wages and create a more robust tax base. Even though employment is the highest on record, there is room for improvement. The anticipated Nemadji Trail Energy Center project represents one example with a $1 billion investment. Mayor Paine mentioned there are other projects in the works that he will speak of in the future. If there is any legacy that Mayor Paine wishes to leave, it’s that Superior is “a city worth talking about.”