Brad Shuler, Farm Manager from Square Roots was our speaker. Brad’s degree is in Agriculture, and he is excited to be a part of this new method of farming – CEA or Controlled Environment Agriculture. Currently, there are 3 operating farms – one in Brooklyn, NY, and two in Grand Rapids, MI. The 4th farm will open in Kenosha in the next few months and 5th will open in Springfield, OH, later this year. The idea began several years ago to grow fresh, local food responsibly, meaning less water, less land and less waste. So, the idea to use shipping containers began. Shortly after the first farm was created a partnership was formed with Gordon Foods and they other sites have all been built right next to a Gordon Foods. This relationship assists Square Root to get the items they grow out there to sell. These indoor farms can be set up practically anywhere and especially in areas that have historically had limited access to fresh, local food. These indoor farms operate 365 days / year, regardless of weather or season. They use significantly less water and land as compared to conventional field farms and can be in cities, resulting in shorter supply chains that reduce food miles and help minimize food waster. They never use pesticides or GMOs, and all facilities are USDA GAP-certified for superior food and operational safety. They have created their own software to track growth by taking photos and measurements of the plants at different stages. They use hydroponics – dissolving fertilizer salts in water and an inert growth medial (i.e., peat) and they reuse water with the additional nutrients it has gained. LED lighting is used, which uses up to 70% less energy than High pressure sodium lights which have historically been used for any indoor growing and produces the same amount to light energy needed for plants. Currently they grow herbs – cilantro, parsley, dill and basil and 2 lettuce types of Salad mix.
100 Years Young in 2021!
Nearing 100 Years of "SERVICE ABOVE SELF" in Kenosha!
The Rotary Club of Kenosha was chartered in 1921 by Rotary International. Our over 50 members are active citizens devoted to service. As a major service organization in Kenosha, we annually distribute grants to local organizations, provide hands-on service to the community, and sponsor youth programs.
Please consider joining us in service to the community, district, and world.
We are back in person and meeting on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month at Kemper Center. Come join us from Noon - 1:00 pm for fellowship, friendship and fun!
Dr. James Kambol, Froedtert South
Aug 02, 2022
Emergency Medicine and Wound Care/Hyperbaric Medicine
Stay tuned as we work on our club's Strategic Vision Planning and find new ways to serve our community when & where we are needed in the next decade!
Today's speaker was Dr. Michael Ginsburg from Froedtert Kenosha Hospital and Pleasant Prairie Hospital. He is a specialist in Vascular & Interventional Radiology. The first intentional percutaneous transluminal angioplasty took place in 1964, this is where they use imaging to help with other diseases. There was a lot of unbelievers in this science, which is why it took 50 years to advance and become a primary medical specialty. Interventional Radiology (IR) is one of the pillars of cancer care. Many schools in the country now teach this specialty including the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Today Dr. Ginsburg focused on IR and knee pain. 25% of adults experience knee pain. 3.5 million knee replacements are expected by 2030. Knee arthritis pain is a major issue and 45% of U.S. adults are at risk. Total knee replacements are only good for 10-20 years so many people consider delaying this surgery. Several treatments they recommend are: exercise, weight management, physical therapy, topical NSAIDS, surgery, and some other interventions.
Richard Alstrom from Abatron was our speaker. Abatron was founded in 1959 by the Caporaso family and stayed family owned for 62 years, when Marsha in her late 80’s wanted to retire, so she sold it to a private equity firm under U.C. Coatings. It started when Marsha Caporaso couldn’t find anything but plastic wood filler to make repairs on a “three-flat” she owned in Chicago, she asked her late husband, the chemist John Caporaso, to come up with a solution. Long story short, he invented WoodEpox and LiquidWood, still the signature items for Abatron, a company that specializes in the development and manufacture of epoxies and compounds that can work miracles in wood, concrete, and metal. Abaton moved to Kenosha in 1994.
Anyone who’s struggled to patch a rotten windowsill probably has heard of WoodEpox and its comrade in arms, LiquidWood. Both are epoxy systems. Epoxy is a family of plastic chemicals made of two parts, resin and hardener. You put them together and it creates a chemical reaction. The resulting medium, whether liquid or a pliable solid, is used to fill voids in wood. As the name implies, LiquidWood is a viscous liquid that can drip into small voids in the substructure. WoodEpox is a more plastic medium (think Play-Doh) for filling larger voids. If it’s properly mixed, WoodEpox is especially user-friendly. If you make a mistake with it, you just sand it off and apply some more. The finished product is often stronger than the original wood and can be sanded, drilled, screwed, nailed. This product is huge in historic restorations.
One of the attributes of WoodEpox and LiquidWood is that they don’t release volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. They do not harden by evaporation, so they have virtually no VOCs. That’s one reason sales of these Green Guard-certified products have been so successful, especially in California, which has stringent regulations on harmful chemicals in building products. 80% of their overall sales are for their wood products, the other 20% is for their concrete, metal, plaster repair kits, adhesive coatings for garage or basement floors and mold making and casting. Kenosha has 13 FT employees and up to 7 additional “summer help”. The product must be used in 50 degree or warmer weather, so this is a quiet time for them.

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Kenosha, WI 53143-5111
United States of America