Tag: Rutland Fitness Center

Hens Do Crow! Feb. 7, 2020

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The Rutland City Planning Commission met on Wednesday, January 29, to receive a petition for changes to the City Zoning Ordinance. As required, the Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for Monday, February 17, at 5:00 p.m. in the Rutland Hall. The purpose is to consider the petition of Bill Anderson to amend the Rutland Zoning Ordinance by changing the the property located at the SW ½ of Section 19, Township 130N, Range 54W of the Principal Meridiance, Sargent County, ND, from an Agricultural District to a Residential District. The Kathleen Brakke Addition to the City of Rutland would add privately-owned land to the City for possible future development. The Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council for a final public hearing on March 2.

Sonja Christianson has provided a wonderful report on the Anderson Pinochle Tournament held on Saturday, February 1:

On a beautiful Saturday morning with daylight peeking over the trees to the east, cars began to arrive in Rutland on February 1. Smiling faces with great expectations were paying their fees, enjoying coffee and donuts, and shaking hands with fellow card players. It was soon discovered that pinochle players were arriving from Minneapolis, Grand Forks, Ellendale, Aberdeen, Audubon, Fargo, Sargent County, Oklahoma, and many places in-between. At 9:00 a.m. the Town Hall became quiet as 48 cards were dealt and play began. About 6½ hours later prizes began to be handed out and the declaration made that Diane Degenstein from Oakes and her daughter Sarah Oster of Fargo (both with Sargent County roots) had achieved the top position with a score of 1614 points. They edged out John Eye and Howard Lenius of Britton by 17 points. 3rd place winners were Roger McLaen and Dennis Goltz scoring 1590 points, followed by Orvin Hogness and Raymond Hogness with 1570 points.

First time player and granddaughter of Rudy and Edna Anderson, Stephanie Watson of Minneapolis, enjoyed the activities immensely. She commented about the delightful conversations, the learning experience, and the patience and enthusiasm of all participants. NOTE: It appears that Stephanie is “hooked” and will return for future pinochle events.

The Rutland Community Club scored many points with players by serving “World Famous Scalloped Potatoes.” Praises were given to the kitchen crew of Sarah Pavek, Roger Pearson, Hal Nelson, Diane Smith, Lori McLaen, Marcia Brakke, and Kayla Mahrer for brewing up a good meal.

A drawing of names ended the tournament with recipients carrying home a number of prizes including lefse made by Carolyn Christensen, the same variety made famous on Uffda Day. Marilyn Anderson of Arizona, widow of Arden, contributed to the prizes by requesting the purchase of gifts from Fairmount Lockers. 4th grader Lucy Mahrer and 6th grader Whitney Mahrer helped with scoring and were true “Gophers.” Five-year-old Corbin Carlson, with help from his father Bryce, set up tables and organized the main hall.

Bonnie Anderson of Rutland and Brookings SD helped Shannon Mehrer, Joanne Harris, Janice Christensen, Dianna Anderson, and Bev Kulzer keep the correct scores. Bonnie says she will be back next year to chat with all workers, helpers, and players.

Sargent County participants, both present and former, included Eunice Thorson, Sandy Hanson, Turk Nelson, Caleb Nelson, Bryce Carlson, Marshall Thol, Hilary Mehrer, Diane Smith, Steed Nelson, Kyle Dallman, Kathy Hayen, Jason Hayen, Keith Shasky, Stephanie Watson, Jessica Hayen, Jeri Christiansen, Sandy Popp, Clem Severson, Sandy Mund, Diane Degensteirn, Sarah Oster, Roger McLaen, Dennis Goltz, Orvin Hogness, Raymond Hogness, Wade Anderson, Pam Thol, Dave Shasky, Vern Shasky, Alfred Resler, Harvey Preble, George Resler, Stella Bell, Sue Seelye, Roger Ziegler, Benita Ziegler, Dennis Nelson, Trent Nelson, Joel Hoistad, Leonard Miller, Ruth Larson, and Harvey Bergstrom. They are all invited to return on Saturday, February 6, 2021 for the 26th Annual Anderson Pinochle Tourney. Hats off to Stella Bell and Roger McLaen who have been present for all 25 tournaments. Close behind are Benita and Roger Ziegler who have made 24.

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The Rooster Crows – January 11, 2019

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by Bill Anderson

We are now in the post-holiday season, when all of the fun and frivolity of the past 6 weeks is weighing heavily on our waistlines, if not on our consciences. Well, there’s a cure for that! The Board of Directors of the Rutland Fitness Center recently sent out notices that it’s time to pay annual dues, and to start working off all of those Thanksgiving and Christmas calories. Membership renewals are now due for the Rutland Fitness Center, the Directors have reminded us. Membership fees are $150.00 per year for an individual and $235.00 per year for a family membership. Membership fees may be sent to: RFC, PO Box 24, Rutland ND 58067. Members are asked to include their cell phone # so the new entry code can be sent to them. The code will change on January 12. Due to insurance requirements, minor children utilizing the Fitness Center must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times. The Rutland Fitness Center is located in the American Legion Hall at 123 Gay Street in Rutland. It is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to members. At that price, the cost is about 3 cents an hour for a Family membership. A small price to pay for individual, family and community fitness and good health. Directors of the Rutland Fitness Center are: Ione Pherson; Lori McLaen; and Jennifer Christianson.

Sonja Christensen reports that, as of Monday, January 7, 41 teams of pinochle players had preregistered for the 24th Annual Rudy Anderson Pinochle Tournament that will be held on Saturday, February 2, 2019, in the Rutland Town Hall. One team that will be new to the tournament is a father-daughter combination from Grand Forks who read about the tournament on Rutland’s internet web site and then contacted Sonja to sign up. Sonja anticipates that another 21 to 25 teams will have registered before play begins on Ground Hog’s Day. The tournament, which is co-chaired by Sonja Christensen and Bryce Carlson, is sponsored by the Rutland Community Club. Continue reading “The Rooster Crows – January 11, 2019” →

The Rooster Crows – April 11, 2008

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By Bill Anderson

Old Man Winter’s role in the drama of 2008 is supposed to be over, but the doddering old actor can’t seem to find his way off the stage and keeps coming back for curtain calls long after the audience has tired of his cold and dreary performance. Despite the fact that Sargent County snowbird Harlan Klefstad has returned from Arizona, the fact that farmers have tractors fueled and planters ready, the fact that Canada geese are starting to nest, the fact that the snow geese have moved on to the North and the fact that fat robins are scratching around for their next meal in local yards, Winter made another appearance here last weekend, dropping another 4 to 6 inches of wet, heavy snow on this area on Sunday, April 6, with enough wind to make the storm as close to a blizzard as we have seen this year. Snow covered roads and slippery conditions slowed traffic and delayed the start of classes at local schools by 2 hours on Monday morning. Sunny days and temperatures that climbed into the mid-40’s on Monday and up to 53 on Tuesday cleared away most of the snow by Tuesday afternoon. Mark Wyum reports that Sunday night’s high winds blew many fields clear, depositing the snow in draws and coulees that will make good tractor traps in another week or so, when Spring planting commences.

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The Rooster Crows – January 19, 2008

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The weather and the stock market have both been bouncing around like a yo-yo on a string for the past week, but now it appears that both the weatherman and the stock brokers have made up their minds, sending both into the tank. The mercury hit 15 below zero in Rutland on Monday morning, then topped out at 22 above by Tuesday afternoon before starting a slide into the cellar that is not predicted to stop until it hits bottom at 25 to 30 below sometime this weekend. Well, the weather forecasts aren’t always right, but why is it that they usually miss when they’re predicting sunny and 70, but are rarely wrong when predicting ferocious, frigid and frozen? Ask your stock broker, he’s as likely to have the answer as the weatherman.

Cameron Gulleson, Mark Wyum and Rob Wyum drove down to Texas during the first week of January to discuss contracts for spraying crops in that area with Texas farmers. Cameron and Rob, along with Lance Gulleson and Cody Gulleson, own and operate an agricultural chemical application business, and the boys are looking for a way to keep the equipment rolling year-round. Reports are that the number of acres planted to winter wheat in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas is way down this year due to increases in the acreage going into the production of corn, soybeans and milo. King Cotton in Texas has suffered the same fate as King Wheat in North Dakota. They have both been deposed in favor of a new regime. As a result, there is now a shortage of wheat and the price has soared to stratospheric levels for winter wheat, spring wheat and durum. The price could just as well be $100.00 per bushel, though, because no one has any to sell right now. There is one thing, though, that the American farmer can do better than produce, and that’s overproduce, so just give him a few years with some timely rains and it won’t be long until crop prices are back in the tank with the weather and the stock market, too.

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The Rooster Crows – Jan. 4, 2008

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By Bill Anderson

Well, 2008 arrived in Rutland without incident, and 2007 departed right on cue, at the stroke of midnight. Newborn ‘08 got a chilly reception, though, as the mercury dropped steadily on New Year’s Day, plummeting right past the 0 mark by late afternoon, undoubtedly the coldest weather so far this year. We won’t know if it’s a record, though, until December 31.

With the holiday season now over, many folks are wondering what they’re going to do about that extra 10 or 20 pounds they picked up between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. In past years, the only recourse was a New Year’s resolution that usually didn’t last past January 2. This year, though, there is hope. The Rutland Fitness Center, sponsored by the Rutland Park District, has been in operation in the American Legion Hall since December 1, with a number of exercise machines available to work off those extra pounds. Aerobics classes are also being held twice a week in the Rutland Town Hall. Contact Ione Pherson or Jen Christianson for information about aerobics classes or becoming a Fitness Center member. Join up to shape up, firm up and slim down.

2008 is a Leap Year, with 1 extra day, and also an Election Year. With the Presidential campaigns of at least 18 candidates vying for the Democratic and Republican nominations having dominated the news since November of ’06, many are wondering if that extra day couldn’t be postponed and added to ‘09, instead, in order to shorten the campaign season a little, if only by a day. By Thursday evening of this week, the results of the Democratic and Republican caucuses in Iowa will be known, and some candidacies will be abandoned, while a few will move on to New Hampshire to fight it out in the snowbanks, there. North Dakota’s non-binding Presidential preference caucuses will be held on Tuesday, February 5, fairly early in the game by traditional standards, but possibly too late to have much impact on the candidate selection process this time around. The GOP contenders are all disadvantaged by the fact that they have to drag around the baggage of the Bush Administration, which has an approval rating at this point that is lower than that of either the Truman or Nixon Administrations at their close. Bush’s hope is that, like Truman, the passage of time will increase his esteem in the eyes of most Americans. If it happens, though, it will be too late to help this crop of Republicans.

Kathy Stout of West Branch Iowa, escaped from the ice, snow and campaign advertising of Iowa to spend 5 days visiting at the home of her parents, John & Joanne Harris, in Rutland. Because of treacherous weather conditions in the Hawkeye State, Mrs. Stout made the trip by commercial airline this year, flying out of Cedar Rapids on December 26 and returning via Fargo on December 30. She reports that eastern Iowa was hit by a severe ice storm early in December and has 3 to 4 times as much snow on the ground as does this area. She plans to discuss with her husband the prospect of abandoning Iowa’s harsh winters in favor of North Dakota’s friendlier, more temperate climate.

Miss Adrienne Jacobson departed Rutland, bound for Ames IA and a return to college studies on Sunday, December 30. Adrienne is pursuing a pre-veterinary course of study at Iowa State. She is the daughter of Calvin & Wendy Jacobson of this community.

Calvin Jacobson & Norbert Kulzer have both been under the weather this past week, battling holiday colds. The cold virus seems to be particularly persistent this winter, so be careful.

The American Idol Rutland Style competition held at the Rutland Town Hall on New Year’s Eve drew a number of enthusiastic participants, according to the event’s organizers. The American Idol competition was followed by lunch, dancing and merry making with noisemakers, paper hats and confetti. While cleaning up the Hall on New Year’s Day, Jeanne Leinen expressed the opinion that, if the event is held next year, the elimination of confetti may be a good idea.

Anglers continue to report on again-off again fishing success on local lakes and sloughs. One fisherman, though, had a wild time landing a fish in his ice fishing house on Wyum’s Slough, northeast of Rutland, last week. It seems that the fisherman was utilizing a 5 gallon bucket to accommodate an urgent call of nature when, as he perched on the bucket, overalls and long underwear around his ankles, he noticed some action on his fishing line. Grabbing the line, he set the hook and then realized that something much larger than a perch had taken his bait. As he worked the line with one hand, he managed some essential clean-up and pulled up his long johns with the other, but the big fish under the ice didn’t give him time to get his trousers up, too. For more than 15 minutes he played the fish, being careful not to trip on his pants tangled around his ankles, and also taking care not to knock over the bucket which had served as his comfort station. Finally, the fish gave out, and a northern pike weighing more than 13½ pounds was pulled up through the ice. The moral of the story: opportunity sometimes arrives at inopportune moments, and the one who can adapt, improvise and overcome adversity will land the prize. The bait used to catch the big northern was a minnow purchased from the sporting goods department at the Rutland General Store.

Lynn Hartje of Cavalier ND & Rodger Kemp of Minneapolis MN visited Rutland from Saturday, December 29 to Monday, December 31, joining Paul Anderson, a friend from college days, for a weekend of late season pheasant hunting. They report good shooting, although most of the birds were very wild and got up well out of range. Enough held, though, for the hunters to put a respectable number of birds in the game bag. Mr. Hartje had a surprise while crossing a slough on Sunday afternoon when he walked close to a muskrat lodge and discovered the runway to the lodge entrance by falling through the ice into knee deep water. The water was quite cold, he reported. During their stay in Rutland, Mr. Hartje & Mr. Kemp also took time to visit with another old friend from college days, Bill Anderson, and to take in the Sunday brunch at the Rutland General Store. These two men have made their late season hunt in the Rutland area an annual tradition and expect to be back again, in December of ‘08.

Some upcoming events in Rutland next week include Rutland City Council meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 7, at the Rutland Town Hall; and Rutland Community Club meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 8, at the Town Hall. Coming up next month will be the annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament on Ground Hogs Day, Saturday, February 2, in the Rutland Town Hall. In March, the Rutland Sportsman’s Club Fish Fry will be served in the Town Hall on Friday, March 7, and the Rutland Community Club’s annual supper and play is scheduled for Saturday, March 15.

Rutland’s internet web site has been offline since last Friday, but it will be back, better than ever. Just keep checking at http://www.rutlandnd.com to see the re-designed and easier to use Rutland site on the internet superhighway. It will be coming back online in the very near future.

The following are excerpts from the L. S. Sanderson column of January 1, 1953: Now that we’re thru with Fifty-two, and a man we didn’t like: A Happy New Year, just get in gear, and we’ll string along with Ike.*Mr. and Mrs. Lester Herman were pleasantly surprised when their son, Dale, was granted a furlough and arrived to spend Christmas at home. Dale is a member of the air force and is stationed in Texas.*Tobin Nelson suffered an attack of appendicitis last week and was forced to undergo surgery at the Britton hospital. He was transacting business in town when stricken and after an examination by Dr. Kuisk, an immediate operation was resorted to. Tobin resides on a farm near Geneseo. *Lester Krohn and wife came up from Minneapolis to spend Christmas with his mother and daughter here. Mr. and Mrs. Krohn reside in Minneapolis. *Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Silseth Jr., were presented with a son as a Christmas present. Mrs. Silseth is at the Meyers Maternity Hospital. *A basketball tournament is being advertised and will be held at Rutland on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 2 and 3. High School teams from six of the surrounding towns will compete for valuable trophies. *Emil McLaen was called to the bedside of his uncle, Sam Molberg, who is seriously ill at his home in Midale, Sask., Canada. Mr. Molberg is a former resident of Sargent County who resided two miles north of Rutland.* Mr. and Mrs. McCrory came down from Bismarck to spend Christmas at the home of her father, S. L. Greene. Mrs. McCrory was formerly Miss Harriet Greene. *John Fraaberg is visiting friends here this week and also attending to his farm interests. Mr. Fraaberg is the owner of a farm here, also a farm near Max, N. D. and has a home in Appleton, Minn., where he resides. *“Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot” was the theme song on New Years Eve when everyone stayed up to see the old year out and the New Year in. The song is ended, but the melody lingers on, but 1952 will soon be forgotten in a mad scramble to get the 1952 taxes paid. Off the record, we should say that the most important events in 1952 were the oil development and the nice weather in North Dakota, and the defeat of the democrats at election time. While we are strong for Ike and the new administration, we believe that the record set by President Truman in collecting taxes, selling bonds and going fishing will never be broken.