Today’s guests were: Assistant District Governor and Anoka Rotarian, Sandy Campbell and prospective member Bob Gephardt.
ADG Campbell was here to promote Anoka Rotary’s 40
th Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, October 24
th, starting at 6PM. There will be free appetizers, dessert and coffee bar as well as a cash bar. Join them for games and a raffle to benefit End Polio Now. The event will be held at Green Haven Golf and Event Center, 2800 Greenhaven Rd, Anoka. To RSVP or ask questions, email Sandy at
SCampbell.AnokaRotary40@yahoo.com.
The Edina Rotary Club is holding a workshop on
“Taking Action to Prevent Human Sex Trafficking” on Thursday, September 19, 2019 (11:30 – 1:30PM). Registration for the workshop is done through your home Rotary Club and the club will be invoiced for the $20 cost. Registration closes on September 14, so contact Dennis ASAP if you want to attend. Check-in starts at 11:30 and lunch is served at 12. The workshop ends at 1:30.
If you’d like to learn more about Rotary,
One Rotary Summit is just the ticket. The Summit will be presented twice; once in Northfield on September 21
st and once in Stillwater on October 26
th.
The Spring Lake Park, Blaine Mounds View (SBM) Fire Department will celebrate its 75
th Anniversary on Saturday, September 14
th. Come experience a full day of food, history, demonstrations, music, auctions, and professional fireworks. Come to the National Sports Center in Blaine to join in the fun. Admission is free for the day but some activities require purchase. Click
here for more information.
$4,000 has been earmarked from the John Marg-Patton memorial fund for another Harvest Pack Event at Irondale on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 10, 2019.
Membership Director Cindy Carlson had the pleasure of inducting John Johnson into the club. Many of you already know that John and his wife hosted our exchange student, Maria Klakegg, last year. Please take a moment to welcome John to the club. John and Cindy are pictured below.
John Ordway is organizing an outing at the Ordway to see a hilarious one man comedy show about parenting by Mike Birbiglia. The group will be going to the October 19th show and the tickets (approx $70 ea) are in high demand so contact John ASAP so he can arrange for good seats.
Our presenter today was Dr. Nicholas Phelps, Director of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) at the University of Minnesota. Nick is also a former president of the Blaine Ham Lake Rotary Club. Nick’s presentation was “From the Lab to the Lake: Minnesota’s Fight Against Aquatic Invasive Species”. Minnesota is known worldwide for our beautiful lakes and streams but that beauty, and even the health, of these precious resources is under threat from aquatic invasive species (AIS). These threats take many forms, including non-native plants, fish, invertebrates and even the toxins and pathogens carried by these invasive species. Since its inception nearly 7 years ago, the MAISRC has been fighting these invasive species by scientifically studying the efficacy of existing control measures and researching and applying new methods. MAISRC has 60 researchers and 14 grad students engaged in the fight to save lakes and streams all across Minnesota.
Invasive plants include, among others, eurasian watermilfoil, curly leaf pondweed, starry stonewort and non-native phragmites. Control of these species is complicated by boats inadvertently transferring invasive species from lake to lake and the ability of the invasive plants to form hybrids with native species. Despite these challenges, boater education, as well as chemical and mechanical methods are eliminating or at least halting the spread of invasive plants and new methods are being investigated.
Invasive invertebrates include spiny waterflea and zebra mussels. In addition to their better known effects on Minnesota’s lakes, these species have also been shown to inhibit the growth of walleyes. Like invasive plants, these invertebrates spread from lake to lake on boats and trailers, so boater education and watercraft design and decontamination are important. The genome of zebra mussels has recently been mapped and researchers are hopeful that gene targeting may one day play a role in control of this destructive pest.
Invasive fish include the common carp and the asian (or big head) carp. Control methods include sonic deterrents, toxic bait, bubble barriers and the oddly named “fish cannon” which essentially sucks carp out of narrow waterways.
Invasive pathogens, parasites and toxins which are carried by the three categories already mentioned are also creating control challenges, but progress is being made.
You can help in several ways:
- Be aware of AIS threats and report new finds
- Clean, drain and dry boats and trailers
- Become an AIS detector
- Sign up for MAISRC’s newsletter
- Support MAISRC with a financial gift
Dennis and Nick are shown below.
