We Meet at Noon on Thursday

March 25, 2021

IN PERSON & ZOOM

For Those Attending in Person

Plated Meal

Count Needed

(Zoom Meeting Opens at 11:45 a.m.)

(Link Sent Thursday Morning)

 

 

For many years, the EPA has conducted environmental research on the Great Lakes at the Duluth EPA facility. In today’s presentation, we will learn how that work has positively influenced people and their environment, here in the Twin Ports and beyond.
 

 

By Traci Marciniak

 

President Dean Casperson rang the bell and called the meeting to order. A large number of Club #25 members along with a few more via ZOOM recited the Pledge of Allegiance and the Rotary 4-Way Test.

 

Darlene Anderson provided the reflection and asked Rotarians to imagine what an incredible experience it would be to soar high above as birds and eagles do. She noted that each of the workers in the seven construction cranes towering above Duluth experience it every day and are lucky enough to have a bird’s eye view of the city and the lake.

 

Rotarian self-reports with a swift “kick” in the “Golden Can” came from Allen Anway, Geiger Yount, and Darlene Anderson. Those attending via Zoom, including this Gimlet reporter, were not able to hear the reports due to poor sound quality but were certain all three Rotarians deserved a hearty round of applause. Editor’s Note to all Rotarians at the hotel: Please speak directly into the microphone so all can hear.

 

Wish to be a “snappily” attired Rotarian?  Club #25 has what you need! President Dean Casperson made an announcement that there are 120 pairs of sunglasses that are available for members to take—whether for themselves or to distribute to organizations or others they work with.

 

Chair of the Day Jerry Pelofske introduced speaker Tim Eaton, who is the general manager of Viant Crane, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnhart. Mr. Eaton has been in the field of construction since the 1980’s, first building nuclear power plants then moving on to various industries including steel, paper mills, food and coal-fired power plants to name a few. Mr. Eaton moved to Duluth and joined Viant Crane in June 2020.

 

Viant Crane began in 2007 as part of RJS Construction and became its own independent business in 2001. In 2019, it became a part of Barnhart, a company well known and regarded as heavy haulers. Barnhart serves diverse industries such as:

 

 

Barnhart has offices across the United States, including Superior, Wisconsin.

 

In November 2020, Barnhart was engaged to provide heavy transport services of a de-isobutanizer from Kansas to the Husky Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin. The equipment, designed to separate propane from butane and separate butane from gasoline, was 200’ in length, 11’ in diameter and weighed 226,000 pounds. The transport took 16 days and required a 15-person crew.

 

 

 

Due to the sheer size of the equipment, a special bolstered trailer was created that pushes and pulls, has lower clearance to pass under power lines and bridges, and can be steered by drivers in the front and back of the trailer.

 

 

Hauling in Superior, Wisconsin

 

Transporting such large equipment required detailed planning of the route from pick-up to drop-off. First, a team drives the proposed route to record barriers, clearance issues, pinch points or other interferences that will impact the movement of the trailer and equipment. Once those issues are determined, significant prep work is done with others such as states’ departments of transportation, to make temporary adjustments to intersections and routes to ensure safe passage.

 

L to R: Chair of the Day Jerry Pelofske, Speaker Tim Eaton, President Dean Casperson