Kiwanis Club's can sinks; winners announced

Just a month after it was placed on the lake near the Moose Lodge, the Rice Lake Kiwanis Club’s giant metal can sunk in the shortest time ever in its fourth annual Sink the Kiwanis Can contest.

“The can went through the ice on the night of Feb. 27 at 11:30 p.m.,” contest Chairman Wally Narins said. This was a cold night of high winds, snowing and we did not expect it to go down so early.”

Guessing it would sink Feb. 27 at 3:15 p.m. was Donna Schultz, who won $750 for her first-place guess. Also receiving cash awards for their close guesses were Renee LaPoint, who won $500 for guessing it would sink on Feb. 28 at 11:47 a.m., and Anais Taylor, who won $250 for guessing the can would drop Feb. 28 at noon.

“The unusual warm weather sure made it different from other years,” Narins said. “Generally ice houses, per DNR rules, have to be off the ice by March 15 and that is the end of our contest ticket sales. It did not work out so well this warm winter.”

While the club did not raise as much this year as the contest lasted only a month, it appreciates all who helped to make it possible — the Rice Lake High School technical education instructors and students for welding and maintaining the can, those who participated by entering guesses, and Kiewits Lock & Security and the Moose Lodge for assisting with webcam set-up and security.

Funds raised are used by the club to support many community projects.

Narins reminds the public that the Kiwanis Club collects aluminum-only cans all year long at its can collection trailer in the parking lot of the Rice Lake Chamber of Commerce.

“We thank all the people and businesses that donate cans to our Kiwanis trailer,” Narins said. “We like it when they are clean and aluminum cans only.”