Staples Rotary Club

Staples Rotary Club Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Staples Rotary Club, Nonprofit Organization, P. O. Box 245, Staples, MN.

At the May 20th meeting of the Staples Rotary, Kripa Reese updated the club on the happenings at Williams Floral. Kripa...
05/24/2026

At the May 20th meeting of the Staples Rotary, Kripa Reese updated the club on the happenings at Williams Floral. Kripa and her husband, Brian, have eight children who also have been known to help out with the plants.

After they purchased Williams Floral and, after the fire, had initially set up a small retail store in the garage located in the back of the building. They now have moved everything to the front greenhouse and created a new entrance with a parking lot northeast of the building.

They are open 9:00 to 5:30, Monday through Saturday, but Saturday hours may change during the summer months. Right now they are focusing on annuals, having an excellent supply of flowers and many hanging baskets.

They also have an excellent supply of vegetables, including broccoli, kohlrabi, and some unique tomato varieties. Additionally, they are working on more signage and labels.

More information is available at: https://www.williamsfloralmn.com.

At the May 13 meeting of Staples Rotary, Jim Hofer presented a classification speech. What is that? Up until recent ye...
05/15/2026

At the May 13 meeting of Staples Rotary, Jim Hofer presented a classification speech. What is that? Up until recent years, it was traditional for a Rotarian to share an update about his/her career, family, and community involvement with the group. This was Jim’s purpose.

Jim began his career as a HS Ag teacher, moved on as Director of a Vocational Center, then to Asst. Superintendent, and finished his career as Principal at SM Middle School. Jim noted his work with economic development, the Motley-Staples school merger, and the value he sees in working with children.

Jim commented on his community work: in Rotary since 1969, as a County Commissioner, on the Lakewood Health System Board, and on the Northern Pines Mental Health board. He noted the importance of mental health services based on what he has experienced over the years.

Jim shared many family experiences, from pro sports to watching grandchildren in HS events. He and Mary Jo have been blessed to have time with family both vacationing and working together.

Family photos, top left around to bottom left: Fishing in the Gulf, their granddaughter earning region tennis champion in Kentucky, on a train for a Murder Mystery play, and at a Twins spring training game in March.

Dan Douts, chair of the Staples Motley Area Community Foundation, visited the April 29 meeting of the Staples Rotary Clu...
05/03/2026

Dan Douts, chair of the Staples Motley Area Community Foundation, visited the April 29 meeting of the Staples Rotary Club to give us an update on the Foundation’s activities. Several Rotary members have served on the board of the Community Foundation over the years.

The Foundation is a community partner with the Initiative Foundation, where all contributions are professionally managed. The Staples-Motley endowment fund currently holds almost $700,000, which allows it to grant about $31,000 each year to local non-profit organizations and causes. Grants are awarded in the spring and the fall.

Projects supported in the past include, but are not limited to, Staples Railroad Days, Legacy Arboretum and Legacy Nature Trail, Polar Express Christmas Festival, accessible recess equipment at Staples-Motley Elementary, meat cutting program supplies at Staples-Motley High School, Motley June Fest, and several music and performing arts organizations and events.

The Foundation also recognizes the outstanding contributions of people and businesses in the community. Each year a Citizen of the Year, Business/Organization of the Year, and Youth of the Year are honored. To see a video of the 2024/2025 winners visit the page of the Staples Motley Area Community Foundation.

For more information about the foundation visit https://funds.ifound.org/smacf/

There you can find the guidelines and application for the grants, lists of past recipients, how to make a donation to the fund and how to submit a nomination for a community award. You can also email [email protected] or call 701-240-2391.

Shane Tappe, Superintendent of Schools, shared comments regarding the recent approval of the referendum at the April 22 ...
04/27/2026

Shane Tappe, Superintendent of Schools, shared comments regarding the recent approval of the referendum at the April 22 Staples Rotary meeting. He noted the bond passed with a 61% to 39% vote. He also recognized the hard work of school district employees to build relationships and make connections to promote how this funding would improve academic and extracurricular needs of students.

Shane noted this bond had a major focus on CTE (Career and Technical Education), with improvements to the metal shop, wood shop, and Ag classrooms. The funding will also support equipment purchases which are critical for students in CTE so that they are learning with current technology found in today’s workplace.

A 9-month design phase now begins to develop detailed plans. Bids will go out in Jan-Feb with ground breaking next spring. Construction will begin with CTE and Elementary areas, and then move to the high school. He invited the Rotary members for a tour as the process moves along.

Shane commented on the economic benefit that construction of school facilities brings to the community. Member added that it ties in directly with other work being done by the City of Staples.

On April 22, to celebrate Earth Day 56; Staples Rotary members, Lisa and Tom Kajer, along with the Staples City Public W...
04/23/2026

On April 22, to celebrate Earth Day 56; Staples Rotary members, Lisa and Tom Kajer, along with the Staples City Public Works director, Scott Grabe, spoke to 70 third grade students at Staples Motley Elementary about how the city gets its water and treats its wastewater.

Scott demonstrated how water travels in the Staples water system, showing the difference in water flow for used and fresh water. Lisa and Tom also played a game discussing how the students can conserve water.

At the April 8 Rotary meeting, Colleen Frost spoke about how her parents encouraged her to live her dream. She came to ...
04/13/2026

At the April 8 Rotary meeting, Colleen Frost spoke about how her parents encouraged her to live her dream. She came to Staples to start her dream which she is living every day at the Opera House. She also talked about the importance of having people in your life to support you: physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and financially. People like her guests, these “Women of the Hood”, who love living & working in Staples.

Here are just a few of their comments:
Sandy Knosalla spoke about how she loves working in the place she lives. She found real estate one summer & has been in business for over 20 years with Edina Realty.
Denise Baumgart moved here 11/2 years ago to work at Sourcewell. She loves the community & has now decided to join Sandy in real estate.
Cari Kottke moved to Staples & opened up Iron Paradise Gym 6 years ago. The business is going well & she says it is calm and peaceful living in Staples.
Pam Rapp moved here & opened Old School Health. She offers a variety of alternative medical procedures that work well with Western medicine too.
Dawn Timbs moved back to Staples to work at the Staples World as a reporter. She loves sharing other peoples’ stories with readers.
Such good stories.

The Staples Rotary Club held a special collection during March as a fund raiser for food shelves in the area. A tot...
04/09/2026

The Staples Rotary Club held a special collection during March as a fund raiser for food shelves in the area.
A total of $621 was raised with $310.50 going to the Staples Food Shelf, $155.25 for the Motley Food Shelf, and $155.25 for the Central Lakes College Food Shelf.
Kurt Wilson, left, president of the Staples Rotary Club, is pictured with Lisa Kajer, a member of the Staples Food Shelf board and a Rotary member.

James Macey, president of the Sauk Centre Rotary Club, was welcomed to the Staples Rotary Club’s April 1 meeting by Pres...
04/05/2026

James Macey, president of the Sauk Centre Rotary Club, was welcomed to the Staples Rotary Club’s April 1 meeting by President Kurt Wilson (upper left). Macey was in the area on business and decided to visit. He shared a few of the projects his club conducts during the year.

Two of the youth-centered programs are STRIVE and the Sauk Centre Chamber Ambassadors. The STRIVE program works through the school to provide mentors and positive role models for under-achieving students or those experiencing difficulties. Club members meet with the students weekly. The Ambassadors program is a partnership with the city’s chamber of commerce and the high school. Students can earn credit for attending civic meetings, visiting businesses and service organizations.

One fund raising project that captured the Staples club’s attention was the expansion of the traditional rose sales. The Sauk Centre club has added the option of specialty caramels originally made by an area business.

At the March 25 Staples Rotary meeting, Mike Palmer shared stories of his, and his wife Gloria’s, efforts to visit all m...
03/27/2026

At the March 25 Staples Rotary meeting, Mike Palmer shared stories of his, and his wife Gloria’s, efforts to visit all major league baseball stadiums. Mike grew up with Terry Steinbach, former MN Twins catcher, spending time together on the baseball field as well. Their first stadium visit together was on their honeymoon, attending a MN Twins game. It was a family reunion in Seattle and a visit to Mariner stadium that started this path for them. They have hit them all with the last being NY Mets stadium.

Mike’s favorite stadiums are in: Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and St. Louis. He remembers leaving a night Twins game in the eleventh innings, and listening to the rest of the game until they were in Motley…18 innings (They were glad they left early); a walk-off home run by Jim Thome; and the excitement watching the Jumbotron & seeing that Kansas City lost which sent the Twins into the playoffs.

Other memories: accidently leaving his car running for a whole game, getting a Rickshaw ride to the stadium, meeting Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett, visiting a Yankees/Rockies game to see 3 outs before the rainout, and many more. What experiences they have had.

Bryan Winkels, County Commissioner for District 2, returned to provide updates on Wadena County activities at the March ...
03/21/2026

Bryan Winkels, County Commissioner for District 2, returned to provide updates on Wadena County activities at the March 18 Staples Rotary meeting. He reinforced his concern over Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) now that it is being used, noting that 20 weeks of leave is just too much to be able to manage. This will impact the county, and therefore the taxpayers.

The "downshfting" of expenses by the state, cutting spending in St. Paul and moving those costs to the counties, has to stop. That ongoing action requires a plan be developed to increase tax capacity in Wadena County.

Bryan highlighted the need for public engagement in upcoming meetings on the comprehensive plan and encouraged feedback on road issues, particularly in District 2. He discussed the county's road funding sources, including county state aid highway funds (CSAH) and state transportation sales tax, explaining how these funds are used for different types of road projects.

Bryan also discussed several infrastructure projects, including bridge replacements and shop improvements; and gave an update on the Friendly Rider, noting it is a $3.5 million project funded through a 90-10 grant with a local cost of $175,000, and mentioning that three new propane buses will be arriving over the next few years.

Address

P. O. Box 245
Staples, MN
56479

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Staples Rotary Club posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category