Tag: Rutland City Council

The Rooster Crows – Dec. 9, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

Three inches of new snow on Tuesday, December 6. Three degrees below Zero on the morning of Wednesday, December 7, the 81st anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Was this a repeat of that dastardly sneak attack, this time pulled off by Mother Nature? Predictions for next week, 13 inches of new snow, will have us looking back at this week with nostalgia. Well, we’ve survived sneak attacks and tough winters before this one, and we’ll still be around when Spring arrives, too. 

Ms. Maggie Ness, representing the Alzheimer’s Association’s Fargo office, accompanied Morgan Biss of Ransom-Sargent Senior Services, Lisbon, to the Rutland Seniors’ Center on Wednesday, November 30, where she spoke to the Rutland Seniors about The Basics of Dementia & Alzheimer’s. Her presentation included a discussion of risk factors that make the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s more likely. One week later the members of the Rutland Senior Citizens group still remembered Ms. Ness’s name and the topic of her presentation, so, things are looking good at the Rutland Seniors’ Center. Anyone who has questions for Ms. Ness may contact her at 701-356-2085, Extension 8639.

The members of the Board of Managers of Rutland Improvement d/b/a The Lariat Bar LLC met at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 1, at The Lariat Bar in Rutland. Members Present were: Paul Anderson; Michael Wyum; Patty Woytassek; Rob Wyum; and, Katie McLaen; Also present was Manager Sue Kaehler. It was reported that all liquor and sales tax licenses have been obtained and are ready to be displayed as required by law. The Tobacco license has been applied for but has not yet been received.  Insurance policies covering the structure, furniture, equipment, and premises business operations has been obtained. The liquor liability insurance application has been submitted & is awaiting approval. All inventory has been ordered, and most items have been delivered. The Board decided to replace the refrigerator in the kitchen. It was reported that the new dishwasher has been delivered and is ready for installation. Installation of the Point Of Sale (POS) equipment and programming is proceeding slower than anticipated. This has been holding up getting the bar opened for business. All staff members: bartenders; waitresses; and cooks; have been hired and must be trained in the operation of the POS system before opening, otherwise the old-fashioned system known as “CASH” may have to be used. The menu and pricing have been completed and have been sent to the designer for layout & printing. Payroll will be done using QuickBooks and has been set up. Rutland Improvement has retained the services of a CPA, and the company’s Treasurer, Mike Wyum, will be working closely with Manager Sue Kaehler and the CPA to make sure that the train stays on track. Painting, except for the west wall, has been completed. A wallpaper border remains to be added in the hallway. Lights in the kitchen and hallway will be switched to new LED fixtures. The Brenco Company of Fargo has power scrubbed the floors, but they have not yet been resealed. The Aramark Co. has been contacted to get a quote for rugs with Rutland logos imprinted on them. The price quoted was $17.50 per rug every 2 weeks. A quote for rugs without logos is also being obtained. Security cameras for the exterior and interior of the Bar have been ordered and are expected to be installed by the opening date. The tentative opening date is December 10th depending on when the Point Of Sale System is fully installed & operational. Check Rutland’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com or the Rutland Facebook page for definite information on Opening Day for The Lariat Bar.

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The Rooster Crows – Dec. 2, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

The four day Veterans Day weekend, from November 10th through the 13th, gave us rain, cold, ice, snow and slush, bringing down power lines, wrecking trees, damaging buildings and making traffic of any kind, pedestrian or vehicular, hazardous. The four day Thanksgiving weekend gave us sunshine, temperatures into the upper 40’s, and altogether pleasant conditions that raised spirits, melted snow, removed ice, and greatly improved conditions for travel and other activities. The Almighty giveth and the Almighty taketh away, in this case that turned out to be a mighty good deal. By Wednesday, November 30, conditions were back to winter, with a temperature of 9 above and a 25 mph northwest wind, but at least the ice and snow were gone, for a little while, anyway. Sometimes old guys wear their long woolies; Sometimes they wear the ones filled with down; sometimes they’re all in the laundry; then those old guys are the talk of the town.

A few years ago, the City of Rutland installed a speed limit sign with a flashing light on it along County Road #10/First Street, on the south side of town, in an attempt to slow down the traffic entering Rutland from the south. The sign is now missing, as is its flashing light. Anyone with information about the present location of the missing sign is asked to contact the City of Rutland at 724-3081. Traffic signs are expensive, and they are installed for the protection of the public. Some folks think that it is humorous to remove or deface traffic signs. Several years ago, someone thought that it would be fun to steal a STOP sign from the intersection of County Road #14 and ND Highway #11 at Geneseo. Shortly after the sign had been removed, a person unfamiliar with the area drove through Geneseo from the south and, as there was no sign, did not stop at the intersection. The driver’s vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer rig in the center of the intersection. The driver was killed and her car was demolished. This was not humorous to any of the parties involved. If you have any information about Rutland’s missing speed limit sign, please see to it that the sign is returned so no one will have to carry a tragedy on their conscience for the rest of their life.

Paul Anderson travelled on Delta Airlines to Phoenix AZ on Tuesday, November 22, to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his Mother-In-Law, Etha Quinlan of Sun City West, his daughter, Betsy, from Las Vegas NV, and his daughter, Katy, and her family from Seattle WA. Present at Etha’s home in Sun City for Thanksgiving Dinner were: Etha Quinlan; Paul Anderson; Betsy Anderson; Josh & Katy Elfering; Rhys Elfering; and, Arlo Elfering. Betsy, Josh, Katy and the kids all headed for home on Friday, November 25, and Paul arrived back in Fargo on the11:00 p.m. flight from Minneapolis on Sunday, November27.

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The Rooster Crows – Nov. 25, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

To the list of things to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving weekend, add sunshine and temperatures above the freezing mark. After putting up with snow covered ice for 2 weeks, we are ready to be done with Winter and all of its 4 letter gifts: cold; wind; snow; and, a 3 letter trinket, ice. Even though the first day of Winter is still a month in the future, it will be a relief to have the Sun take away its opening salvo. Sunshine and high temperatures in the mid to upper 30’s pushing to the end of November is certainly a blessing worthy of a sincere “Thank You!” to the one providing those conditions.

Work on The Lariat Bar, getting it ready for opening day, is progressing at a steady pace according to Patty Woytassek, a member of the Board of Directors, and the point contact person between the Board and Manager Sue Kaehler. Patty reports that some unexpected glitches have delayed the bar’s projected opening from December 1 to December 8. The Lariat’s work force of bartenders, waiters & waitresses, cooks and helpers has, for the most part, been hired, and is chomping at the bit to start meeting, greeting and serving customers. To the list of those who were workers at The Lariat Bar last week, the names of Janice Christensen, Denny Pherson, Jerry Woytassek, Nick McLaen, Dennis McLaen, Trent Nelson, Mike Nadler, Calvin Jacobson and Zach Jacobson have to be added. Janice, who had the building constructed back in 2009, was providing technical advice to those making modifications and connecting essential equipment; Denny was the “Go-Fer,” running for parts, supplies and, when necessary, lunch; Jerry & Nick were toting & hauling; Dennis delivered a new safe, although it is not clear whether or not he stocked its shelves; Calvin & Zach were servicing the cooler behind the bar; Trent was installing a new service window between the main barroom and the back room; and, Mike had been called in to move the electric line that was discovered to be in the center of the new service window. Patty also reports that a new, commercial, dishwasher has been acquired from the Brenco Co. of Fargo. Brenco will also be coming in to power scrub the floors and apply sealant prior to Opening Day. According to Patty, the Lariat has been an exciting place for the past few weeks, with vendors, suppliers, workers, and sidewalk supervisors coming and going. She says that, as much as possible, supplies will be obtained locally. Arrangements are being made to obtain most groceries through Central Grocery of Forman; potatoes will be supplied by Heimbuch Potato Farm of Cogswell; and, some meats, including Mark Wyum’s favorite hot dogs, will be acquired from Fairmount Meat Locker of Fairmount. Keep your eyes & ears open for any changes in the Opening Day schedule, but Sue & Patty are pretty confident that December 8th will be the date.

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The Rooster Crows – Nov. 11, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

“Don’t know why … there’s no sun up in the sky … stormy weather…” moaned the late blues singer Lena Horn as she mourned the loss of a faithless lover in her classic theme song. Her sentiments were echoed by Republicans on the morning of Wednesday, November 9, as they awoke to find that their predicted Red Tidal Wave had not materialized as the votes had been counted the night before. There was not even a Red Wave, as many Democrats had feared, although the national results might be described as a Red Ripple. As of Wednesday morning, control of the U. S. Congress was still in doubt, although it looked as if the GOP might eke out a bare majority of a few votes in the House of Representatives. The Senate had 48 Democrats, 47 Republicans and 5 contests still too close to call. The election results indicate a fairly decisive rejection of Trump and Trumpism by America’s voters and may indicate that the flood of political poison unleashed on America’s body politic by Trump’s brand of politics may finally be receding. In North Dakota, the GOP, fueled by a flood of oil money, has retained control of State government by a substantial margin. The initiated measure that would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana in the State appears to have gone up in smoke, and the voters approved an initiated measure limiting State Legislators and the State’s Governor to two consecutive 4 year terms. Well, Election 2022 is over, and Election 2024 has begun. This year neither the red wave nor the blue wall controlled the result. Next time, who knows? 

The first winter storm of the season has been predicted to hit North Dakota, South Dakota & Minnesota on Thursday and Friday, November 10 & 11, threatening to disrupt activities and programs honoring America’s veterans on November 10 and on Veterans Day, November 11. According to Kaia Mahrer, a teacher at Sargent Central, if Thursday’s predicted blizzard causes the scheduled November 10 program at the Sargent Central Activities Center to be postponed, the program will be rescheduled to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, November 14. Keep your eyes & ears open for schedule changes.

The Rutland City Council met at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 7, in the Rutland Town Hall with Mayor Mike Mahrer; Auditor Deb Banish; and Council members Bill Anderson; Rodney Erickson; Delores Lysne; and Lori McLaen; present. Also present was City Maintenance employee, Scott Haan. The Council and Mr. Haan discussed a minimum hours guarantee per pay period for Mr. Haan’s position, and reimbursement of Mr. Haan for use of his personal vehicles while performing city work. The Council approved payment of a minimum of 50 hours per bimonthly pay period for City employee Scott Haan; and, authorized a payment of $50.00 per month to Mr. Haan for the use of his personal vehicles for City work. The Council also complimented Mr. Haan on the excellent work that he has been doing for the city. The Council discussed the State of North Dakota’s water operator certification requirement and approved the City entering into a contract with Southeast Water Users to maintain an appropriate valid operator certificate for the City of Rutland’s municipal water system. The Council authorized the purchase of the tax forfeited property in Rutland described as Lots 1 & 2, Block 5 of the Original Townsite of Harvard a/k/a Original Townsite of Rutland, at a cost of $1.00 plus delinquent special assessments, if the property is not sold at the County’s auction on November 15. The Council discussed the cost estimate for replacement of two exterior entrance doors at City Hall. The Council postponed action until other cost estimates have been received and reviewed. The Council approved the October financial reports and payment of bills as presented. The Council Adjourned at 5:45 p.m. The next meeting of the Rutland City Council is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 5, at the Rutland Town Hall. All meetings of the Rutland City Council are open to the public, and Rutland residents are invited to stop by to observe their City’s governing board in action.

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The Rooster Crows – Oct. 7, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

Uff-Da, what a day!  Sunday, October 2, 2022, Uff-Da Day XXXVII, was a great day in the little city that can. It started out as a questionable day, with an overcast sky and sputtering rain showers as the 5k Run/Walk got underway at 8:00 a.m., but it just got nicer and nicer all day long, with increasing sunshine and just enough of a breeze to keep the flies grounded. The Sun really does always shine on Rutland, even when it’s raining! The streets were full of people, and every face had a smile. More than 3,000 lefse, 18 roasters of scalloped potatoes with ham, more roasters full of rice pudding, gallons of rommegrot, hundreds of krumkake, sandkaker & abelskievers, Uff-Da Tacos, hot dogs and bratwursts had been consumed by the time activities started to wind down. All that was left was the aroma of good cooking. Among the highlights of this year’s event were: the 2022 car show organized by David & Pat Bladow, and members of their family, that included 104 antique, classic, restored & modified automobiles from throughout North Dakota, South Dakota & Minnesota; the one room country school exhibit in which Val Pherson and a group of 32 youngsters, dressed in period garb demonstrated what school was like back in “the good old days”; the sawmill operated by Sod Buster volunteers from Fort Ransom and powered by Joel Susag’s WD-45 Allis Chalmers tractor; musical performances by Jim Levery, Harvey Bergstrom and Earl Fust at the Seniors’ Center and Town Hall throughout the day; The American Legion Color guard composed of Ted Lee, Roger McLaen, Andy Hoflen, Andy Harris & Calvin Jacobson that led the Uff-Da Day Parade through town; and, The temporarily reopened Lariat Bar, now under new ownership and management, that supplied refreshments to patrons throughout the afternoon and evening hours. Annie Kempel, owner & operator of The Monkey Hut Bar in Havana, was behind the bar at The Lariat to manage the day’s operations. Arts & craft vendors, 41 of them, reported a great day and local youngsters with their wagon loads of pumpkins, squash and other garden produce did a land office business. The Nickel Scramble, once again sponsored by Joe’s Ag Supply and the Kenny & Tanya Hamilton family, had enthusiastic participation by kids of all ages.  According to Rutland Community Club President and Uff-Da Day XXXVII Chairperson Katie McLaen, planning for Uff-Da Day XXXVIII will begin at the next meeting of the Rutland Community Club on Monday, October 10, at the Rutland Town Hall. Uff-Da Day XXXVIII will be on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Mark it on your calendar now, and don’t miss it.

Among the throng in Rutland for Uff-Da Day were Rutland natives, former residents and old friends: Eleanor (Kulzer) Bommersbach, age 102, and her daughter, Patsy Steiner, of Wyndmere ND; Pat Prindiville from Horace ND; Glen Larson and daughter, Laura, from Watertown SD; Lowell T. Wyum from Fargo ND; Ann Hoflen from St. Paul MN; John Hoflen from Bismarck; Allison Hoflen from West Fargo ND; James Hoflen from Iowa; Kathy Lee from Wahpeton ND; Carol (Welle) Fridgen from Nevis MN; Sonja (Anderson) Christensen from Wahpeton; Clarence “Stub” & Sharon(Lee) Sundlie from Fargo; Bonita (Bauman) Sundlie and daughter, Lisa, from Horace ND; Harlan Nundahl from Fargo; Mavis (Hoflen) Wold from Forman; Mary Alice (Pearson) Oyloe from Williston ND; Jerry & Ramona Kelsh from Fullerton ND; Sarah (Lee) Dobmeier from Alexandria MN; Mary (Olstad) Indridson from Cavalier ND; Jim Dotzenrod & grandson, Brody, a big fan of Rutland’s “Bounce Houses,” from Wyndmere ND; Alissa Mitskog from Wahpeton ND; Evangeline (Larson) Vold from Britton SD; Patty (Larson) Jacobson from Forman; Dean & Carol (Henjum) Nundahl from Mankato MN; Corrine (Narum) Romereim and granddaughter, Jaylyn Romereim & Jaylyn’s boyfriend, from Wahpeton ND; Rod & Brenda Romereim from Wahpeton ND; Steve & Judie (Anderson-Seavert) Grohs from Rosholt SD; Brevin Watson & girlfriend from Wahpeton ND; Rita Preble from Forman; and, many, many more. 

Jim and Jennifer Boyko of Britton SD have purchased the Weber Township farmstead formerly owned & occupied by the late Terry & Patty Carlen and their family. The farmstead of about 20 acres is situated on the west side of County Road #10, approximately 6 miles south of Rutland. Mr. Boyko is employed by Hortons in Britton, and Mrs. Boyko is a teacher in the Britton school system. The Boykos have two adult children presently in college, and a daughter in Junior High at home. The Rutland community welcomes the Boykos to Sargent County, to the Coteau des Prairies hills, and to the Rutland & Havana communities. The Carlen Farm had been purchased last Winter by John Anderson of Weber Township. John offered the farmstead for sale last Spring, and the deal with the Boykos was closed about 2 weeks ago. It’s good to have people on our local farms.

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The Rooster Crows – Sept. 16, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

The long, hot days of Summer ended, and Autumn’s more moderate temperament, took over on the morning of Friday, September 9, with the mercury in the 40’s as day dawned and the high temperature for the day only hitting the 70 mark, replacing the high 80’s and low 90’s of the preceding week. The soybean and corn crops are beginning to show the effects of fewer hours of sunlight, cooler weather and dry conditions, as many fields are turning color, from green to gold, at a rapid pace. No combines are rolling, yet, but, with soybean and corn prices at astronomical levels, local farmers are not going to want to leave those golden crops in the field any longer than they absolutely have to. The cloud currently hanging over harvest plans is not a rain cloud but an impending rail strike. Most of North Dakota’s grain crops, including wheat; soybeans; and corn; are exported to other parts of the country, and other parts of the world, and dependable rail service is essential to that process. If the crops can’t move, they will just be big piles of grain on the ground. Sometimes, even with railroads moving the crops, local grain elevators end up with piles of grain on the ground. That’s likely to be a lot worse if the trains are not moving at all. Back in the 1940’s, when a rail strike endangered national security, President Harry Truman nationalized the railroads and called out the Army to operate them. Truman’s action was later declared to be illegal by the Supreme Court, but it did shock the rail unions and management into action to settle their problems and get back to work. North Dakotans can hope that the current President will follow the example of “Give ‘Em Hell” Harry, by taking firm, quick, no-nonsense action to keep the railroads moving.

Rick Bosse stopped in at the Rutland Seniors’ Center for coffee & conversation on the morning of Monday, September 12. He reported that he was one of a party of hunters from the Britton SD & Brampton ND area who were on a guided black bear hunt near Big Falls, in northern Minnesota, during the week of September 5 through the 8th. Rick has been hunting in this area before, and his guide this time out was Jeff Larson of Big Falls. Rick said that he had a couple of opportunities early in the week but turned down the first one because it was too small and turned down the second because it was a sow black bear with 2 cubs at her side. On Friday, the last day of his hunt, Rick was in a tree stand when a big boar showed up and went for the bait. The bait, a combination of stale bread, candy and other edible items that bears like because it tastes good to them, even though it smells bad to us, was covered up by a pile of logs so raccoons and skunks wouldn’t get into it. The big black bear flipped the logs out of the way with one of its huge front paws. It was about 50 yards away, said Rick, and quartering away from him. He was armed with a rifle that fired the .300 Remington Ultra-Mag, a new type of ammunition that is quite powerful. Rick fired one well aimed shot, and the bear went down. After it was field dressed, the bear tipped the scales at 405 pounds, a real trophy by northern Minnesota standards. Rick received a lot of advice about what to do with his black bear from the Wise Men at the Round Table: have a full body mount; make a bear rug; or serve it up for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Harvey Bergstrom was in Andover SD last Saturday, September 10, to take in the steam power exhibition there. Harvey reports that the centerpiece of the show was a 150 horsepower J. I. Case steam tractor that was old and new at the same time. Back in 1909 the Case company manufactured fewer than ten of the mammoth tractors before scaling back to build a steam tractor that had less power and more demand. Over the years that followed, the 150 horsepower tractors all made their way to the scrap iron pile, and there have been none in existence for many decades. A few years ago, though, a young man from Andover, Corey Anderson, went to the head office of the J. I. Case company in Racine WI, found the original engineer’s specifications and drawings for the big steam tractor, copied them, then transcribed them into a computer assisted design (CAD) program, bought a foundry and used the information he had retrieved from Racine to make all of the parts needed to build a brand new 113 year old 150 horsepower steam powered tractor. Harvey said that a plowing demonstration was presented last weekend in which the big tractor pulled a plow with fifty 14” bottoms. The plow had 25 gangs of two bottoms each. A crew of men rode on the plow to manipulate the levers to put the bottoms into the soil at one end of the field and to withdraw them at the other end. There was no hydraulic or steam assist to operate the plow, only muscle power. Actually, Harvey said that one of the plow operators was a woman who did a good job of handling the plow’s levers.

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