Lunch Buffet

Doors Open 11:30AM

At

 

 

2302 Commonwealth Avenue

Duluth, MN 55808

 January 14, 2026, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

We have an opportunity to help fight hunger in our area! Our Rotary Club has partnered with Second Harvest Northland to assist them in their mission to create a hunger-free Northland at their new facility in West Duluth.  

For more information about Second Harvest Northland visit: https://secondharvestnorthland.org/

Or Contact :Daniel Maki

 

By Patra Sevastiades

 

The only American flag in the room was on the podium sign! President Zach Walters led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, then the Rotary 4-Way Test.

President Zach Walters welcomes members to the meeting.

 

Rob Hofmann delivered the Reflection, recalling nostalgically the sense of freedom he experienced riding a bicycle as a kid. Members of the Cyclists of the Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS) enjoy biking in nature, he noted, and they protect nature, too.

 

Rob Hofmann delivers the Reflection, recalling his childhood days on his bicycle.

 

President Zach introduced two guests: Judy Sage, wife of Allen Anway, and Michelle Miller of the Duluth Armory. Then three people gave announcements. Jerry Pelofske reminded bell-ringing volunteers for the Salvation Army that tomorrow is the day. Jeff Fifield read a charming letter from exchange student Bergen Hubley in Brazil, whom our club is supporting with a $200/month stipend. She thanked the Club for its support and is evidently having a fantastic time.

 

Jerry Pelofske summons bell ringers to service!

 

Jeff Fifield reads a letter of gratitude from the exchange student our Club supports.

 

On a more sober note, President Zach announced that a problem has been growing, and consequently, the Club was recently $20,000 short of funds. (It borrowed it from the Club reserve.) The cause: Some members are not current in paying their dues and lunch fees.

 

The problem started, he said, as the result of a change of policy brought on by Covid: At the time, we weren’t meeting for lunch, so it didn’t make sense to bill members for lunch. Later, when lunches began again, the Club only billed for lunches that people attended. But it has been hard to keep track. Simultaneously, billing has become less consistent. As a result, sometimes people haven’t known how much they owe. The upshot: Some members have not paid their Club bills, in whole or part, in 2025, leaving the Club $20,000 short.

 

This morning, President Zach continued, the Board wrestled with how to solve this problem. After much discussion, an idea emerged: to return to the Rotary model we followed before Covid, billing members a flat monthly fee for the cost of dues and lunches.

 

What would that look like?

Reduced cost. For most members, it would mean a reduction in costs! Members would pay only $130 per month, which includes the cost of meals (versus paying $150/month = $50 for monthly dues + $25 per meal).

 

Consistency. By having a consistent monthly cost, it would allow members to know their costs, making budgeting easier.

 

Financial soundness. It would allow our Club to stay financially sound.

 

Hearing this idea, members applauded.

 

Past President Bill Gravelle stood and said, “That is a good solution! That said, is a leave of absence possible?” President Zach responded that something can be sorted out. [See nearby article for what our Bylaws say!]

 

Greg Hansen celebrates the birthday of his twin grandchildren.

 

Next it was time for self-reporting. Greg Hansen put a donation in the Golden Can and said that today is the birthday of his twin grandchildren—and it is also National Twins Day! He added that someone in the room is getting married soon . . .

. . . and President Zach smiled and acknowledged that he will be married on December 31, 2025! People cheered.

 

Rob Hofmann put money in the Golden Can and apologized for being absent last week despite being chair of the day. He was in Minneapolis at a Rotary Club #9 meeting, the guest of club president and past Club #25 Junior Rotarian Jireh Mabamba and was dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge for a rather silly holiday skit.

Chair of the day President Elect Dan Maki introduced our speaker, Ansel Schimpff, executive director of Cyclists of the Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS).

 

President Elect Dan Maki introduces Ansel Schimpff of COGGS.

 

Ansel Schimpff of COGGS shares the vision of his organization.

 

Ansel Schimpff noted that COGGS started in 1994 as a biking association. During the Don Ness Administration, the St. Louis Corridor Project began, and COGGS piggybacked onto it. They worked to build the Duluth Traverse, a 44-mile-long biking trail that connects the east end of Duluth—Lester Park—and the west end of the city—Chambers Grove. It is the backbone of the trail system in Duluth. Other biking trails, which can also be used by runners and walkers, are in Hartley, Piedmont, Brewer Park, and Mission Creek.

 

$1.5 million in private donations have been leveraged to secure state and federal grants for Duluth area trails. COGGS has one paid employee, the executive director. Volunteer crews log 2,000-3,000 hours each year.

 

Their work promotes tourism to Duluth. Trails bring visitors, who fill our hotels and rentals, visit our restaurants and breweries.

 

Some fascinating facts:

Approximately 40,000 out-of-town riders come to Duluth each summer, bringing tourist dollars.

Biking trails in Duluth are so good that our city is one of only six locations in the world ranked as having a Gold Level riding center!

To find a map that shows trails and real-time trail conditions, visit www.coggs.com or download the app Trailforks (you must pay for it).

Multi-use, two-way trails are the norm. Creating one-way trails is very demanding.

In Duluth, one can use ski trails for biking competitions but not for day-to-day biking.

E-bikes (which have functional pedals and don’t exceed 28 mph) can be used on bike trails, but electric dirt bikes cannot.

On the trails, pedestrians and runners have the right of way.

A new Lester Park bicycle playground is coming, which is just what it sounds like: a place for beginners to practice trail-riding skills.

 

President Zach invited Ansel to draw the 50/50 raffle ticket, and David Fulda was the winner!

 

 

Thank you to The Life House of Duluth and Rotary Club of Duluth #25 Dan Dock for organizing the annual Life House Rotary Christmas Dinner, and to everyone who baked more than 1,000 cookies, donated gifts and supplies, and volunteered their time to make this annual event possible.

 

 

 

Thank you to these Rotarians and friends who made the dinner possible: Darlene Anderson, Renee Burns, Judy Harrison- Skyline Rotary, Deb Almirall- Skyline Rotary, Greg Kaake- Skyline Rotary, Bill Gravelle, Dan Dock and his wife Karen, Mary and Tom Young, Jerry Pelofske, Jim Schwartz, Mark Leutgeb- Skyline Rotary, Vinod Gupta, Patra Sevastiades, Allison Hanig-Landrus,  Jerry Thoreson, Dick Pelinka, Jim Landwehr, Branden Robinson, Pat Phahl, Dean Casperson, Sheryl and Tom Homan, Tim Mowbray.  A special thank you to Gary Schneider for cooking the food, and First Lutheran Church’s help with the kitchen.

 

Thank you, Jerry Pelofske, for organizing the annual Salvation Army Bell Ringing volunteers for five Super One Foods. These are the volunteers from last Friday (excluding the Miller Hill location). Photos by Al Makynen.