By Deborah Banish

Several Rutland residents joined the Sargent County Farmers Union bus trip to the RedHawks game on Thursday, August 15. They joined individuals from Forman, Gwinner, and Lisbon areas for a fun night out at the old ball game. Upon arrival at Newman Outdoor Field, the group scattered toward concessions and their seats. Mike and Debbie Banish paused briefly to decide which concession stand they would visit when they were asked by a RedHawks employee if they would like to upgrade their seats for the game. The Banish’s questioned what, exactly, they would have to do for this upgrade. The woman informed them that they would receive a small cooler with four refreshing Budweiser beers and after the First Inning would simply have to turn toward the camera and toast or click their beers together as the Budweiser Couple of the Day. Although Budweiser is not their primary refreshment of choice, they decided they would be willing to do this small feat and were guided to the seats behind the batter’s box. Their actions were on the “big screen” for the 3,700 attendees to see after the first inning. The actual performance of this action was to last only fifteen to twenty seconds which, they determined, was a lot longer than it would seem. The RedHawks played a good game and ended up winning in the top half of the ninth inning 4-2 against the Sioux Falls Canaries. There was a lot of explaining to do on the return bus trip on how they managed to obtain the prime stadium seats. A good time was had by all at the game.

The Rutland Sportsman’s Club held its 22^nd Annual Youth Day at the John Narum Rifle Range by Silver Lake on Sunday, August 18.  About 185 area youth and their families attended the event to take part in activities – shooting bow, BB guns and .22 at various stations and line casting.  As usual, it was a perfect Sunday for the kids.  Hot dogs, popcorn, pop and grilled corn on the cob kept everyone fed. The event concluded with the prize drawings for guns, fishing poles and tackle boxes, tents, hammocks, ground hunting blinds and more. Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to the Rutland Sportsman’s Club members for the annual event.

Well, you know Fall is coming when the Rutland community gets rolling – rolling out the lefse that is! Marcia Brakke gracefully agreed to chair the lefse production for the 2019 Uffda Day and no time was wasted in getting a good start on Tuesday, August 20. Marcia reports that. . .

“we had 295 in the morning and did only 4 batches in the evening as I wasn’t sure about people but had a great turnout to prepare about 148 making for 443 [total lefse so far]. We were dealing with wheat harvest and a funeral in Cayuga but still we had participants from Lidgerwood, Cayuga, Havana, Forman, Rutland and Farmington Minnesota. Everyone had a good time. Our youth also came to help their grandmas. The experienced teenagers rolled the lefse like professionals. Everyone was talking about what they would do to participate on Uffda Day. The event after 35 years is alive and well.”

The lefse-making dates are August 22, August 29, September 10 and 12^th at the Rutland Town Hall. Sessions begin at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and typically last about ninety-minutes. Everyone is welcome to come help with rolling, turning, folding and packing. Give Marcia a call at 763-221-7862 or just drop if you can make any of the scheduled dates and times to help.

The Rutland City Council will hold a public hearing on the 2020 City Preliminary Budget on Monday, September 9^th, starting at 5:00 p.m.

The Rutland Community Club will meet Monday, September 9^th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Rutland Town Hall to finalize plans for Uffda Day on Sunday, October 6^th. Check out details and information on Uffda Day on the Rutland City website and on the Uffda Day Facebook Page.