Career Exploration Day

About 500 area high school students, including those from Little Falls, Royalton, and Pierz, attended Career Exploration Day Jan. 25 at the Staples campus of Central Lakes College. Students attended from Pierz, Little Falls, Royalton, Staples-Motley, Pillager, Sebeka, Pine River-Backus, and Aitkin. Two dozen career fields were presented by working professionals and college instructors. The college provided lunch. Images: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58518185@N04/

Lincoln

Bob Brekken, a history instructor at Central Lakes College, on Tuesday, Feb. 5 will present “Abraham Lincoln: How He Became America’s Greatest Politician” sponsored by the Center for Lifelong Learning in Brainerd. Brekken’s program from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Business and Industry Center of the Brainerd campus will examine the changes that took place in Lincoln’s successful resolution of the Civil War and abolition of slavery, as depicted in the popular Steven Spielberg film, “Lincoln.” Brekken attended CLC when it was Brainerd Junior College, and he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Concordia College and his MA in history from the University of Minnesota. He has been a full-time instructor at CLC since 2006 and was an adjunct for two years before that. The program is free to CLL members and $6 for non-members. Phone registrations are accepted with a personal debit/credit card at 218-855-8142 or 1-800-933-0346, Ext.8142. Online registration can be accomplished at http://clcmn.augusoft.net  and clicking on courses. For information email to bberg@clcmn.edu

Pathways to Nursing

Central Lakes College and the College of St. Scholastica will co-host a free, public program about nursing education for current and prospective nurses from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 11. “Pathways to Nursing Careers,” a discussion about the future of nursing profession and how education can open pathways to new careers in the nursing field, will be held in Room E354 at the Brainerd campus of CLC, 501 W. College Drive. Featured speaker is Marty Witrak (shown), dean of the School of Nursing at CSS, presenting the implications for current and future nurses from the 2010 Institute of Medicine report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” which prompted widespread change for the healthcare industry. A panel of five professionals will be included. Scheduled panelists are Connie Frisch, CLC dean of nursing; Pat DeLong, chief nursing officer for Essentia Health; Laurie Bach, vice president of hospital services at Lakewood Health System; Elena McNutt, interim nursing director at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center; and Susan Hyndman, program director with the RN to BS online nursing track at CSS. Those attending are asked to RSVP at go.css.edu/NursingPathways or by calling (218) 625-4816 or (877) 287-8752. Refreshments will be provided.

14th year of Cultural Thursday

Cultural Thursday, the monthly first-Thursday noon-12:50 p.m. program offered at no charge to guests from the community and CLC family in Chalberg Theatre, is headed into the second half of its 14th year, reports coordinator Jan Kurtz. You are cordially invited to the spring series. Feb. 7, "Peru: The Inca Trail" presented by alumna Heidi Purdy (shown). Heidi will share a few details from her independent study trip (via Augsburg College). She earned her Latin American Studies Certificate from CLC and in 2010 traveled to Mexico to deliver donated supplies and study with Kurtz and others from CLC; March 7, "Teaching Under the Volcano" presented by Jan Kurtz. Jan will share part of her sabbatical journey to Guatemala, where she spent three weeks last February teaching at an elementary school in San Pedro Las Huertas with Rising Villages project based in Little Falls. April 4, "Vietnam" presented by Michael Hopps, CLC geography instructor. Michael was also on sabbatical last year and this will be a journey with him during his one-month stay in Vietnam. May 2: To be announced.

Taxes & Spending: What's Ahead?

The Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL) at Central Lakes College, Brainerd, will present Dr. Louis Johnston with “Taxes and Spending: What’s Ahead for the U.S. and Minnesota?” on Tuesday, Jan. 29 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Business and Industry Center. He is associate professor and chair of the Department of Economics at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University and is a frequent commentator and featured expert on economic issues for Minnesota Public Radio. Taxes, spending, and the size of government are important issues at all levels of government.  In this talk, Johnston will address three questions: What are the current and future challenges faced by the state and federal governments? What are the differences between the political challenges and the economic challenges (they are not the same)? How can individual citizens make sense of these issues and get involved in their solution? The fee is $6 for non-members but free to members of the Center for Lifelong Learning. Register with a personal debit/credit card by calling (218) 855-8142 or online at http://clcmn.augusoft.net  and clicking on “courses.” Information is available from bberg@clcmn.edu.

Rosenmeier Forum

Central Lakes College in Brainerd on Tuesday, March 5 will host a Rosenmeier Forum titled "The Future of Renewable Energy one Minnesota." The forum will be from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Chalberg Theatre. The four presenters: Craig Fink, a principal owner of Denali (a Minnesota-based wind energy industry); Jason Edens, director of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) in Pine River; Troy Goodnough, Sustainability Director at the U of M/Morris; and former State Senator Ellen Anderson (shown), now Senior Advisor to the Governor on Energy and Environment. The purpose of the forum is to follow up on the implementation of the state of Minnesota's energy policy that was formulated five years ago, in which one quarter of our energy is to come from renewable sources by 2025. The forum will explore what is happening at both the local and state levels in support of this energy standard. "In addition to renewable energy being better for the health of humans and the planet, all indicators suggest that many economic advantages, such as good-paying job opportunities, accompany the move to renewable, clean energy," said Laura Raedeke, event chair. "We hope to get a large audience for this important and timely forum." For information, contact Laura at (218) 963-3877, or raedekel@gmail.com.

Instructor passes away

Dennis Lamberson, 61, Central Lakes College Theatre instructor, passed away Jan. 8 after suffering stroke last February. Dennis had 43 years of experience as an actor, director, designer and educator. Starting at the college in 1987, he served as director, designer and playwright. During his years of service to the college, Dennis designed and/or directed over 400 productions for regional and educational theatres throughout the U.S. He taught costume design, creative drama, children's theatre and theatre for a diverse population. He helmed the annual senior revue "Geritol Frolics" from 1991-2001. For his work with the Theatre for A Diverse Population program he received the 2002 VSA Minnesota Jaehny Award for promoting the creative power of populations with disabilities and the 2005 International Leadership Award from the Chair Academy. He received the 2005 International Exemplary Leadership Award from The Chair Academy of Mesa, Ariz. In 2006 he was one of 32 scholars chosen to attend the Oxford Round Table at Lincoln College in Oxford, England, where he was a presenter of "Creative Drama for the Young Learner." He graduated from Ventura (Calif.) College. He received post-graduate degrees in drama from California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks and California State University-Chico.

NR students in MDHA, DNR activities

Luke Burlingame of Maple Grove, NR Club president; Jack Britton, MDHA chapter president; and (back) Dr. Bill Faber, instructor and NR Club adviser.
As the 2013 spring semester begins Jan. 14 at Central Lakes College, students in the Natural Resources program welcomed a partnering donation and enjoyed participating in a statewide DNR roundtable. The Brainerd chapter of Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has given the Central Lakes College Natural Resources Club $700 as a donation. The club assisted the MDHA with its Hides for Habitat project during last November’s hunt. College students assisted with the preparation of deer hides, cleaning and salting nearly 1,000 hides over a three-week period. About 15 CLC students were involved, led by Luke Burlingame, president of the NR Club at CLC.

Free tax preparation

Central Lakes College in Brainerd starting Feb. 5 will again serve as a site for free income tax return preparation offered by the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program facilitated by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). The VITA Program generally offers free tax help to people who make $50,000 or less and need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation to qualified individuals in local communities. For information and to make an appointment for tax preparation in the Business and Industry Center at CLC starting Feb. 5 call (218) 855-8158 or (218) 855-8124.

Back to Basics

Central Lakes College joins Happy Dancing Turtle and Pine River-Backus Community Education to co-sponsor  "Back to Basics" Saturday, Jan. 26 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the PR-B School. Workshops, vendors and exhibitor booths, kids' activities, and keynote speaker Chuck Marohn ("Strategies for Building Strong Towns") are included, and lunch is available. Door prize drawings will be held. Continuing Education credits (.4) are available. For information and to register for sessions go to www.happydancingturtle.org and take your own "steps toward sustainability." The solution is YOU!

Ag Outlook & Vision Day

Central Lakes College is partnering with Mid Central Federal Savings Bank, and Prairie Lakes Co-Op to sponsor the Ag Outlook and Vision Day from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Jan. 15 at Bruno's Hub Supper Club, Burtrum. The program includes a 10:10 a.m. presentation by Bob Rick, CLC Farm Business Management instructor, on "What is FINBIN? How Can It Help You Manage Your Farm?" Bob Schafer (shown), director of the CLC Ag and Energy Center, is on at 2:45 p.m. for "Farm Fuels Update." Other program topics: Tax Law Changes, Trends in Agronomy, Robotic Milking, and Legal Issues in Farming. Lunch is included. Information: jpalmer@midcentralbank.com or 218-639-7615 or 218-640-0193.

International Students

Eight international students attending Central Lakes College presented the Dec. 6 Cultural Thursday in Chalberg Theatre. Chiranjeet "Jeet" Shah, Zishan Khan, and Richard Andrews from India; Abdul Qadir (shown), Usman Naeem, and Nasir Hussain from Pakistan; and Beatha "Sasha" Astamarindraputri and Elsa Sasmita from Indonesia. They are one-year students at CLC through Community Colleges for International Development, a program sponsored by the U.S. State Department. CLC was the first college in Minnesota approved for participation three years ago. Jan Kurtz and Lori Beth Larsen coordinated the presentation, which provided insight as to the expectations, experiences, surprises, and educational enrichment shared by the foreign students.