Fort Dodge Rotary Club
Randy Kuhlman appeared in the "Messenger's Fort Dodge Business Connection" insert as he provided the monthly update for the Community Foundation. Specifically significant tax credits are available to those donors that desire to contribute to the Foundation. Please contact Randy for further information how you can maximize your donation by receiving tax credits for a significant portion of your contribution.
Three Rotarians appeared in the weekend "Messenger" because they were appointed to the First Interstate Bank Board of Directors. They are Todd McCubbin, Don Woodruff, and Casey Johnson.
Rotarian Meyer appeared o the front page of Wednesday's "Messenger" which introduced readers to the now open Legislative Session. Ann outlined her committees and discussed expected committee goals.
Rotarian David Fierke appeared in the Tuesday "Messenger" as an article outlined some of the initial challenges for the city to finalize its annual budget. Monies are tight and do not match inflation so the process will need to either find more revenues or find reductions (an estimated shortfall of $400,000). This same scenario plays out each year, but this year neither of the options will be easy.
Mary Kay Daniel appeared in picture in a recent edition of the "Messenger" presenting a check to the Director of the Lord's Cupboard in the amount of $359. The fuds were raised during the Club's annual Christmas party at the Smeltzer House. This time of year contributions to the Lord's Cupboard are very critical to the community.
President Knight announced that the Club has been awarded additional tree planting funds from Rotary District 5970 that we will use to purchase trees to then be planted by Rotarians and City staff this summer in locations chosen by the City Forester where the best impact for our efforts can be seen. The city will auger the holes and Rotarians will then place the tree and fill-in the dirt. Some light watering follows. Spades and rakes will be used.
Aaron Steburg, City Forester
A town without trees is like a body without a heart; they provide the lifeblood of our community, offering shade, clean air, and a sense of tranquility.
As the Forester for the City of Fort Dodge, Aaron Steburg surely believes this. As the City’s Forester, his job is to pay attention to trees in the City’s rights of way and parks. Steburg is our club’s contact for our tree donations.
Steburg spent time talking about the Emerald Ash Borer in his presentation to Rotary. The City began removing ash trees around 2014 due to this pest; the way to get rid of the Emerald Ash Borer is to eliminate their food. Thousands of ash trees have been removed, and an estimated 10,000 remain on private property. Although introducing a natural predator may decrease the number of ash borers, Steburg said he doesn’t believe it will eliminate them. Sadly, more trees are dying or having to be removed faster than trees can be replaced.
Steburg spoke a little about neighbor complaints. If a property owner has a dead tree and a neighbor complains to the City, what can be done? The City can start a process to remove a tree, which takes a while. Tree removal is expensive, may not be easy, and the property owner may struggle with it. The City can bid the work out and then add the cost to the property’s assessment. There is no real average cost for tree removal since there are a lot of variables. How big is the tree? What is underneath the tree? Is the tree very accessible?
To learn more about forestry within the city limits, one can find information on the City of Fort Dodge website: https://www.fortdodgeiowa.org/department/division.php?structureid=137
Nathan Montgomery—A New Face on the Webster County Board of Supervisors
Nathan was born raised in Webster County by the fairgrounds, went to Southeast Valley until his Sophomore year, when he transferred to St. Edmond and graduated in 2019. Nathan owns Montgomery Lawn Service, which he has done since high school. His business has grown from having 60 accounts to the 130 he presently has. Montgomery went to Drake after graduating. After COVID and its fallout hit, he decided to grow the business he started in high school instead of finishing his degree. Nathan has leadership experience with DECA as well as the sister-state project in Kosovo. He even started a DECA chapter in Kosovo, which continues to this day.
In November 2023, Nathan announced his candidacy on the Webster County Board of Supervisors for District 2. He knocked on doors, worked on the campaign, won the primary, and then won the election. District 2 is the largest one geographically, and has towns such as Harcourt, Gowrie, and Dayton. He understands many in those towns feel forgotten. He wants to be engaged with them so they feel remembered. He described how Dayton and Harcourt each have one employee and shed who each take care of about 300 miles of roads. One of his constituents complained that their road was not touched for three days after the snow storm. How can the County help, so roads are cleared in a more timely manner? Could resources, for example, be pooled to create more efficiencies? Could another person be hired?
Montgomery and his fellow Supervisors have been assigned to various Boards and Commissions. He has been appointed to the Public Health Board, the Insurance Committee, and the GFDGA Board among others.
While at the Rotary Club meeting, Montgomery addressed several questions, such as emergency services in outlying parts of the county and his position on the Webster County jail. He encouraged anyone to reach out to him if they have questions.
January 20th 2025 - John Daniel
January 27th 2025 - Steve Hoesel
February 3rd 2025 - Teresa Naughton
February 10th 2025 - Mel Schroeder
February 17th 2025 - John Garton
February 24th 2025 - Rene McDonald
Secretary Teresa Naughton has been uploading Minutes and Financial Reports for the 2022-2023 Rotary Year to the members only section of the Website (Found under Folder Organization and then Subfolder Documents) and are available for viewing by accessing the Members Only Section. Please contact Steve if you need to refresh your password.
Your Rotary Club provides an easy way for you to contribute to the Rotary Foundation, the major financial arm of Rotary that does Polio Plus and Foundation Grants. The program permits you to ask the Treasurer (Elizabeth Stanek) to add an amount each quarter to your quarterly dues statement as a contribution to the R.I. Foundation. The Treasurer then collects these amounts and writes a joint check to the Foundation for all funds contributed by members. If you are interested, please contact Treasurer Elizabeth Stanek or Foundation Chair Bill Kent.
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