Kiwanis Club of Detroit Lakes

10/26/2026

Remember that we are NOT meeting at noon at the VFW tomorrow.

We are socializing at Tito's Shorewood Pub at 5:00 instead!!

10/14/2026

Kiwanis members checked out one of the recipients of their donations this week. It is the greatly expanded Minnesota Flyers Gymnastics and Fitness Center adjacent to the county fairgrounds in Detroit Lakes. DL girls have a history of winning state championships but this facility also makes play available for all abilities. During our tour with executive director, Leesa Lindgaard we saw special needs gymnasts working out. Earlier in the day, home school groups filled the two gyms. If your child wants to host a birthday party in the room over-looking the $3.75m facility and enjoy the wiggle worm, see the website. Bristlin Construction of DL completed the expansion a season ahead of time and $.27m under budget!
Leesa and her staff are extremely thankful to all the individuals, organizations and companies who contributed. $1m is still needed to wrap up the campaign but now you can see what your donations are buying…competition excellence for some and just a whole lot of fun for others. Leesa is the mother of six daughters and all love gymnastics!

10/08/2026

From Karen…
To ensure that you get a lunch when we head to the Minnesota Flyers gym, PLEASE let me know if you are planning to attend Tuesday's meeting.

Can you please let me know your current phone number, address, and email address so that I can update the information in our roster?

Thank you - and see you Tuesday!

Skoyles

10/08/2026

https://www.dl-online.com/news/local/becker-county-cuts-ties-to-f5-project-after-nd-attorney-generals-office-issues-findings

"The troubling allegations about F5 have been substantiated through our investigation," N.D. Attorney General Drew Wrigley said. "The F5 board and its officers are on notice."

10/06/2026

No Kiwanis today!
The VFW had a water problem in their basement yesterday and there are lots of fans down there today, so Sheri has to cancel us. I asked Skoyles to send a messsge and Sheri will put a sign on the door.
Madalyn

10/04/2026

Our thanks to Tom Noel for visiting our DL Kiwanis chapter. Tom is the new Lt. Governor for Kiwanis in this district. He has a long list of clubs he plans to visit. Tom grew up in Halstad, currently lives in Moorhead where he is an underwriter for Auto Owners Insurance.

08/25/2026

You gotta love Patty LaBarre! Her enthusiasm for whatever she takes on is contagious. Today she was promoting Oktober Fest in Detroit Lakes with fellow Rotarians, Justin and Rebecca Dahlberg, alias Fritz and Frau Helga. Put it on your calendar for September 19th noon til 5pm at Zorba’s and People’s Park.

08/05/2026

Kiwanis is on track to have a meeting at Ortenstone Gardens each year. The beautiful addition to Detroit Lakes keeps growing with art work to enjoy as you hike up and down the rolling hills on the 50 acre public park. It is located on the east side of DL (off of Highway Ten, across from Casey’s).

Our hostess today, Amy Stearns told of the unique ecosystems on the former farm — three biome. Local artist, Hans Gilsdorf created three female sprites to celebrate three seasons on the prairie, the deciduous forests, and pine forests.

White Earth’s Kent Estey’s paintings replicated to endure the elements, enhance the hike through the forest and of course Barefoot Frida, a Thomas Danbo troll brings in people from around the country.

A new gift shop opened last week with darling items for sale including my violet hat. Soon gelato and a specialty coffee will be for sale to enjoy on the new patio. More art work will be added as donations and talent continue to grow. Volunteers are also welcome to assist the small staff.

Sidelight… I think I met retired pro football star, Adam Thielen. I was proud of the photo I took of the biome sculpture with children running down the hill. I showed it to the kids and one of them said, “You should show it to our dad!” If that wasn’t Adam who was hosting a football camp recently in DL, he must have a double!
Fun times at Ortenstone Gardens!

07/29/2026

Many of you may know Abby Fostveit as a talented reporter/photographer on the Detroit Lakes Tribune staff but did you know about her athletic background? The 24 year old was a Division 1 long distance trackster at Butler University in Indianapolis before finding her way to DL a year ago. Locally she got hooked on the Young Life Triathlon and began training six months ago for bigger competition. The Half Ironman competition in her home state of Colorado gave her the opportunity in a field of 1800 men and women to swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run a half marathon at the picturesque Boulder Reservoir. She told Kiwanis members after six hours of pushing herself to the limit, it was emotional to see her family and friends at the finish line. Next up? The Beardsley Half Marathon in DL September 12th and another 70.3 miles at the Victoria Half Ironman in beautiful British Columbia May 2027.

07/22/2026

Decades ago I worked in television with Darcy Gorder Dutcher (Oak Grove and Concordia graduate) so when she contacted me via FB and said her husband, Bob had just returned from his 7th volunteer trip to Ukraine, I said, “I'm interested.” He's a member of the Los Gatos Kiwanis Chapter in California and also partners with the Ukrainian Rotary to help with humanitarian efforts. The retired intelligence engineer spoke to our Detroit Lakes chapter yesterday. His report from the front lines of the war with Russia included information that seldom makes abbreviated newscasts in America.

First, picture a huge country because Ukraine is 700 miles from end to end, rebuilding begins immediately after Russia bombs the cities, every 5-10 seconds a bomb goes off on the frontlines. Much of the land looks like North Dakota with spacious wheat fields but below the soil are valuable minerals that Russia wants. The world has been watching since 2022 but the war really began in 2014. Ukrainians remember their second class status when they were part of the USSR and never want to return as a property of Russia. They will continue to keep fighting indefinitely.

So who are these soldiers? The average age of a Ukrainian soldier is 42. They don't draft young soldiers because they want them to continue to keep the Ukrainian economy and population growing.

What is the death toll? 8 to 1 Russians compared to Ukrainians. On average, a new Russian recruit only lasts 35 minutes! 1500 Russian soldiers die each day compared to 200-300 Ukrainians.

So how are the American Kiwanians and Ukrainian Rotarians involved? Sumy is a town only 15 miles from the frontlines but children continue to be educated in a shelter with learning materials from American non-profits. Their food, however, is an alarming story. A used REFRIGERATOR TRUCK delivers meat and produce but by the time it reaches the frontline, half of the food is SPOILED. Solution? Bob and fellow humanitarians are raising money for a "new" used truck from the Czech Republic. THEY HAVE RAISED $2,000 BUT NEED $3,000 MORE TO BUY THE TRUCK SO UKRAINIAN KIDS ON THE FRONTLINE WILL HAVE UNSPOILED FOOD! Bob didn't ask us for money but I told him I like to give my friends the opportunity to give to causes that are authentic and will make a positive impact in the world. If you want to contact Bob, he's at his lake cottage currently so call 408-250-8828 or write: [email protected]