Monday, July 20, brought another round of rain to the area with various amounts of moisture reported. Shawn Klein reported that her rain gauge measured .40 inches at her home in Havana while Kenny Hamilton boasted .97 inches. Two-miles south of Rutland the rain was measured at .23 inches and north of Rutland at the Kyle and Kathy Marquette farm about two-inches of rain had fallen and the same storm left 1.2 inches north of Cayuga on the Rick Banish farmstead. The last few rainstorms have left varying amounts in the rain gauges.

The Rutland Housing, Inc., Board met on Monday, July 20, followed by the annual Housing meeting. Some Housing tenants attended the meeting to discuss the need for repairs at the buildings and some minor safety improvements such as exterior rails on the steps to help residents enter and exit the buildings in the winter. The Housing Board has not been able to hire a handyman to make repairs and changes as quickly as desired. There is also the ongoing issue of funding and expenditures as the units are not at full capacity to provide sufficient income.

Roger and Janice (Anderson) Lee stopped in Rutland on Tuesday, July 21. The Lee’s decided to make a quick road trip from Detroit Lakes with some of their grandchildren to give them a tour of where Roger and Janice grew up. Roger Lee was a math teacher at Rutland Grade School back in the 1960s. The Lee’s stopped in Rutland to view the Veterans Park Memorial before making their return trip home on the sunny Tuesday.

Several Rutland residents gathered by City Hall on Tuesday, July 21, for a “Meet the Mayor” event.  It was a nice evening in Rutland with a cool breeze and good company. Mayor Michael Mahrer took the time to visit with individuals and to get input on City issues and hear resident concerns.  All but two individuals who attended the event had already submitted their Census data and they made sure they got counted. The City is unable to determine which households/addresses have not yet completed their census survey; unfortunately, those residents will not be counted in time for the City’s competition with Forman, Gwinner, and Milnor. It appears that Mayor Mahrer will be getting some free hats or shirts from the other towns to promote the cities. The friendly census competition ends July 31 so there is still time to register using your Census ID number and a smartphone to get counted yet this month. Households that are not registered by the end of July will soon have someone knocking at their door to get an in-person count.

The Rutland Community Garden is ready for harvesting. All the tender care the garden has received from many participants both those in 4-H and other volunteers who watered and tended the garden has resulted in healthy crops.  The peas and lettuce are ready for picking and the beans will not be far behind. Get there soon before what is available is harvested!

That is it this week from Rutland. Be sure to get your Census survey completed. We are counting on you!