Last Thursday afternoon Sept. 24, 2026 over 30 sixth and seventh grade students, 5 science teachers, the school principal, and 7 Rotarians planted 135 pollinator plants in a 540 square foot pollinator habitat garden on Maple Grove Middle School grounds in a visible location that will provide learning opportunities for students, provide quality habitat for pollinators, and add beauty to the school grounds.  We are creating a shared space for ongoing service opportunities and educational experiences, along with a lasting community impact that supports bees, butterflies, and essential species that are critical for food production, water filtration, and ecosystem health.

Tom Anderson said “This is our Rotary pay day.”  Getting down on our hands and knees and digging in the dirt with those students was about as good as it gets.

Students planting

Thank you to Sam Bostrom, 7th grade science teacher, and Principal Xavier Reed for being such amazing partners on this project.  Heidi's GrowHaus did a wonderful job with project planning, design, and onsite work.  If you would like to learn more about the project here is a link to the slides from Sam Bostrom's presentation to the club on August 11 - link to presentation.

The project was funded with $5K from the RCMG EcoAction team budget, $1K from the Twin Cities Rotary EcoClub, $2.5K from the District 279 Foundation, and $1.5K from the MN Nursery & Landscape Foundation.

Heidi Heiland with Heidi's GrowHaus knowledge sharing with students

Thank you Rotarian volunteers - Tim Deets, Holly Dabral (Heidi's GrowHaus), Elizabeth Andress, Mary Bosquez, Jeff Fluke, Cindy Sherer, Steve Solbrack, Tom Anderson

At the end of August, RCMG celebrated the close of our 3rd Season as Presenting Title Sponsor of yet, another wonderful Summer Music Series with our Maple Grove neighbors. Grooves & Foods Festival has provided the perfect stage for us to share our Club’s story on how we, as Rotarians  impact people around the World and especially, within our Community.

In partnership with Mick Sterling Presents, we collectively entertained over 22,000 people every Wednesday at Maple Grove’s beautiful Town Green Amphitheater. Enthusiastic audiences showed up early in the morning each week to plant their chairs for another season of carefully curated musical performances that just keep getting better and better each year.

Rotary Club of Maple Grove was a $1000 sponsor at CROSS Services Tailgate Tee-Off - Drive to End Hunger. This gave our club an opportunity to sponsor a hole and promote Rotary to 144 golfers.  Tim Zastoupil, Wayne Cullinan, Chris Yard and Allan Pavak golfed in the event.

The following members staffed a table and passed out coozies to the golfers at hole 2: Damodar, Bonita, Joel, Dave, and Mary Helen. This was good time to promote our Rotary public image event. Golfers thanked us for being there and appreciated having someone to talk to while waiting to tee off.  CROSS raised $60,000 at this event.

Thank you to all who golfed and participated in this worthwhile event.

Our club member Jennifer Borel has been recognized in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State in Nigerian. Here is the article describing her project and the impact to the village.

By Daniel Oji

A 2-day Zero Malaria programme has commenced in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State with 40 community volunteers drawn from communities trained as frontline health ambassadors. 

The programme was organized by the Rotary Club of Maple Grove, District 5950 Minnesota, USA, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Plantation City, District 9141, and the Tompolo Foundation Health Project.

Declaring the training open, Representative of Rotary Club of Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA, Rotarian Jennifer Borel, and President of Rotary Club of Plantation City, Rotarian Festus Idabe, said the volunteers were selected to be trained by medical doctors and health workers on how to test for malaria and treat uncomplicated cases.

Rotarian Jennifer Borel
Rotary Club of Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

 Rotarian Borel, who is a chief from Kabowei  Kingdom and the Project Director said Rotarians in Maple Grove, United States, are concerned about the high prevalence of malaria in riverine areas.

She added that Rotary International is a humanitarian organization committed to the wellbeing of people in its areas of mandate.

On his part, Rotarian Idabe said the training aligns with Rotary’s seven areas of focus, particularly healthcare.
He disclosed that the programme is powered by a Rotary Global Grant and marks the kickoff of a 1-year zero malaria project in Gbaramatu.

STORY LINE  BRIEF - Rotary Club of Maple Grove July 8^th, 2026 TOWN GREEN HIGHLIGHTS

We recognize our very own talented Wayne Cullinan with this highlight.

To kick-off our 2026 Grooves and Foods Maple Grove Festival Season, Wayne Anthony, a seasoned entertainer and producer -  and one of Rotary Club of Maple Grove’s newest members performed his Tribute Show, MINUTE by MINUTE on Wednesday July 8^th at Town Green Amphitheater to an enthusiastic audience.

Wayne’s show was created to honor his life-long following of the legendary blue eyed soul artist, Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers & Steely Dan - of which Wayne has been a fan since the early 80’s when Michael hit the scene internationally.

Michael has won 5 Grammy Awards, was christened into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and recently was inducted into the Song Writers Hall of Fame in 2025. 

Wayne’s Advertising Agency, Cullinan Creative Group was handling National creative assignments for Yamaha Music International when it took him to Los Angeles for the NAMM Music Conference in 2000 which honored Michal McDonald for his 25 years in the Music Industry. This photo op was Wayne’s opportunity to personally meet Michael and tell him first-hand how much he had been influenced by his music. 

Bravo to one of the greatest musical icons of our generation!

As a Rotarians we tend to meet, since we also like to learn about each other as a networking aspect of Rotary. What are your thoughts about your club experience? Here are a few key take aways as to how club members feel the Rotary exerperience is working for them. If you have any other ideas to make the club experience better for you, contact the club President with your thoughts.

District Governor Mark Shockey presented takeaways from the 2025 Rotary International Survey where 88% of Rotarians are very or moderately satisfied with their Rotary experience and agree that the time invested in Rotary is worth it.  In addition, 76% of Rotarians feel that their expectations are being met.  What members experience in their club matters and is positive when 

• Members enjoy meetings.
• Members have confidence in club leaders and the direction of the club.
• The club offers opportunities for personal growth and skill development. 
• Members develop meaningful friendships.
• Club service opportunities make a difference in their community and world.

If you feel there are other aspects to the club experience that keeps you engaged please let us know.

One of Rotary's focus is Peace. Our club is looking to install a Peace pole at Central Park. While searching for poles we came across this story on planting trees with the Rotary Club of Brooklyn Park four years ago. Here is the link to the full story.

https://share.google/dJYST5wCK2N5FbPqd

Enjoy!