banner
 
Morning Meeting:
Kevin Gray
St. Louis County Administrator
Join us Wednesday morning at 7:30am in the Great Hall - Kitchi Gammi Club (831 E Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802) as we hear from Kevin Gray, St. Louis County Administrator.

The St. Louis County Administration Department is based at the Courthouse in Duluth, with additional staff serving citizens from commissioner offices in Virginia, Hibbing and Ely. 

The Administration Department is responsible for developing and implementing the broad policy directives of the Board of Commissioners. This team also manages intergovernmental relations, public relations, administrative support, aid to other agencies and labor relations. 

Gray oversees a wide variety of departments including both external and internal county departments like Public Works, Planning & Zoning, Land & Minerals, Safety & Risk Management, Veterans Services, and Human Resources. 

Stories
Hands-On Upcoming Opportunities
SAVE THE DATE
Harbortown's Upcoming Hands-On Opportunities!

Community Service Committee Meeting  |  Tuesday, November 3rd 7:30am - 8:00am

  • Kitchi Gammi Club
  • Will review a received requests and bring volunteer ideas to the table to fill out the rest of the Rotary year

Bentleyville - Various Opportunities!  |  Wednesday, December 16th 4:00pm - 9:00pm

  • Keep an eye out for signup at the end of November / early December
  • Contact: Jinell Abernethy (jinellabernethy@gmail.com)

 
Rotary Magazine - November 2026
logo
main image

What would it take to row solo nonstop for 10,000 miles over eight months across the Pacific? It would take Katie Spotz. The Cleveland Rotarian and endurance athlete will set out near the end of December to break a record and raise $1 million to expand clean water access in Fiji.

Read her remarkable story in your digital copy of the November 2026 issue.

Then, meet another group of Rotary members confronting the global water crisis with energy and fresh ideas: Rotaractors. The clean water and sanitation project they led in the Ashanti region of Ghana was the first to be completed since The Rotary Foundation opened global grants to Rotaract in 2022.

In our personal essay, Texas Rotarian Bill Martin writes movingly of the death of a friend, how the loss motivated him to become a regular blood donor, and why you should, too.

Finally, in this month's Our Clubs report, journey to the hills of Vermont to experience a garden of almost otherworldly beauty and learn about the unusual partnership that reopened the beloved destination to the public.


 
Rotarian Birthdays

Happy Birthday to our Harbortown Rotarians celebrating this September!

Chloe Strand - November 2
Charity Johnson - November 7
Christian Koelling - November 26
If we've missed you, please reach out and let us know!

 
Happy Rotary Anniversary!
 
Happy Rotary September Anniversaries to our following members!
We so greatly appreciate your commitment to service.
 
Nathan Sager (27 Years!)
Christopher Dahlberg (21 Years!)
Karl Everett (19 Years)
Tony Hansen (10 Years)

 
Upcoming Program Duties
November 4th            
  • Greeter: Nathan Sager & Rick Oase
  • Invocation: Kevin Anderson
  • Fellowship: Scott Fisher
  • Member Spotlight: Rick Cleath
November 11th                      
  • Greeter: Jim Boileau & Michelle Schubitske
  • Invocation: Max Holm
  • Fellowship: Mark Fredrickson                       
November 18th                      
  • Greeter: Karl Everett & Scott Neustel
  • Invocation: Greg Wegler
  • Fellowship: Pat Hahn
November 25th                      
  • Greeter: Amber Sadowski & Lauren Farden
  • Invocation: Jim Wheeler
  • Fellowship: Christian Koelling
  • Committee Spotlight: International Service
December 2nd            
  • Greeter: Juhl Halvorson & Dan Meierhoff
  • Invocation: Craig Carlson
  • Fellowship: Bob Hansen
  • Member Spotlight: Mark Erickson
December 9th            
  • Greeter: Shawn Clairmont & Duane Holm
  • Invocation: Chloe Strand
  • Fellowship: Kerry Leider                       
December 16th                       
  • Greeter: Brad Jenson & Jeannette Hollinsworth
  • Invocation: Mike Cochran
  • Fellowship: Drew Stroberg                       
December 23rd                      
  • Greeter: Steph Jago & Adam Hughley
  • Invocation: Fred Rouse
  • Fellowship: Charity Johnson                       
December 30th                       
  • Greeter: Scott Soderberg & Jinell Abernethy
  • Invocation: Pat Hahn
  • Fellowship: Max Holm
  • Committee Spotlight: New Generations                       
January 6th                 
  • Greeter: Kevin Anderson & Scott Fisher
  • Invocation: Kerry Leider
  • Fellowship: Adam Hughley
  • Member Spotlight: TBD

 
Upcoming Program Speakers
If you have the upcoming program duty (check the duty roster here), please be sure to secure a speaker and provide notice to Chloe Strand (chloestrand90@gmail.com) as soon as your speaker is confirmed. If you are unable to confirm a speaker, please contact Lauren Farden (lauren.farden@edwardjones.com) for help. If you have a different assigned program duty and cannot make it to the meeting, please find a replacement. 
 
Harbortown Rotary has a Windows 11 laptop. Presenters may bring a USB drive with the PowerPoint presentation (or whatever is wanted to be shown on the projector while speaking). Please share this information with your program's presenter. 
 
Upcoming Program Speakers:
  • Nov. 11 - Kerry Leider
  • Nov. 18 - Joe Meierhoff
  • Nov. 25 - Rick Cleath
  • Dec. 2 - Chip Jacobs
  • Dec. 9 - Jeremy Jeannette
  • Dec. 16 - Nathan Sager
  • Dec. 23 - Dan Meierhoff
  • Dec. 30 - Michelle Schubitske
  • Jan. 6 - Pat Finney

 
Harbortown News
There will be some changes to the Club Service role starting 7/1/26.  There will now be a Club Service Committee: Chloe Strand, Brad Jenson, & Steph Jago.
 
JULY 1 - NOV. 4 , 2026 - Scuttlebutt
For news, announcements, event promotion, social media, media releases, please contact Chloe Strand | chloestrand90@gmail.com | 218.340.2541
 
NOV. 4 - JUNE 30, 2027 - Scuttlebutt
For news, announcements, event promotion, social media, media releases, please contact Stephanie Jago | sjago@charter.net | 218.343.1833
 
HARBORTOWN HEALTHY & OTHER SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
Please contact Brad Jenson | bradleyjenson1956@gmail.com | 218.349.7566
 
For Scuttlebutt: If you are hosting the program speaker, please copy Chloe on the speaker's name, organization, and email.  If you are the chair of a Harbortown Committee, please update Chloe on relevant information regarding grants and awards, meetings or news.  Your information will be used to create more dynamic and engaging content to share with potential club members and on social media! 
 
Do you have Harbortown Rotary pictures to share!? Share your photos HERE with Google Photos so we can spread the word about how awesome our members are and the impact we're making on our community!

 
Harbortown Rotary 2026-2027