CLC student earns bronze in SkillsUSA Championships

Central Lakes College student Tommy Hoheisel, of Pierz, earned a bronze medal in the SkillsUSA Championships held in Kentucky June 22-26.

The SkillsUSA Championships is the showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels.

More than 6,000 outstanding career and technical education students –– all state contest winners –– competed in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields during the championships. 

Hoheisel, who is attending CLC in the PSEO program, competed in the high school division.

SBDC business consultant at CLC named 'State Star'

Peter Nelson of Brainerd was recently recognized as the Minnesota Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC) State Star for 2015 at the Minnesota SBDC Program annual conference in Minneapolis.

The award recognizes business consultants and staff in the SBDC Program who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the program and the business community. 

Nelson, a business consultant with the North Central SBDC at Central Lakes College, was recognized for his work in assisting financially stressed businesses, helping guide companies through the development of growth plans, and working with business owners to prepare for transitioning their business to new owners in the future. Nelson has also been an active member of the Minnesota SBDC Advisory Council and has been a speaker at many business events. 

CLC going tobacco-free Aug. 14

Central Lakes College will be tobacco-free starting Aug. 14.

CLC is following a trend consistent with the rest of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU). CLC is the 18th MnSCU college to adopt a tobacco-free policy. 

The tobacco-free campus policy is in alignment with the mission of CLC. It promotes social norms that support healthy living and lifestyle choices by discouraging tobacco use, protecting against involuntary exposure to harmful secondhand smoke, and encouraging and supporting cessation efforts.

“Creating a tobacco-free environment for students and communities is a positive move,” said Ajeet Yadav, Environmental Health and Safety director at CLC. 

CLC instructor meets with former President Jimmy Carter

Central Lakes College political science instructor Steve Wenzel met with former President Jimmy Carter last week at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. 

This is the second time Wenzel was invited as a guest to a Board of Councilors event. The first was in 1986 when the Jimmy Carter Library was dedicated. 

Last week’s event was in part to celebrate Books for Africa, a cause to which CLC donated a significant amount of library and faculty textbooks in 2014. 

The guest of Patrick Plonski, executive director of Books for Africa, Wenzel was able to chat with President Carter during the two-day trip. 

CLC instructor attends national conference

Central Lakes College Natural Resources instructor and certified wildlife biologist Dr. Bill Faber attended a Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters conference in Minneapolis last week.

There, Faber met with two national conservation supporters: Ted Roosevelt IV, the great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, and Collin O’Mara, the executive director and president of the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C. 

The event was held to discuss the importance of the Boundary Waters for hunters, anglers and all wildlife enthusiasts, and the threat to critical habitat and recreation areas posed by proposed sulfide ore copper mines.

The event was sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, Minnesota Conservation Federation and the Minnesota Division, Izaak Walton League of America in support of the Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters coalition. 

Sign your child up for SEaM Camp

Students grades 6th-12th are invited to a Summer Engineering and Manufacturing (SEaM) Camp hosted by Central Lakes College.

The camp runs 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. July 6-10 at CLC’s Staples campus. A daily bus will transport campers from Brainerd to Staples. 

The camp gives students a chance to get some hands-on experience in electronics, motor controllers, computer aided drafting, manufacturing machining and robotics automated systems. 

In teams, students will start building their “battlebots” on the first day of camp. On the last day, they’ll compete, maneuvering their battlebots through an obstacle course. Students will also compete in robot hockey and the main event: The Battlebot Demolition Derby. Awards will be given for top competitors. 

CLC Announces Spring Honors List

Central Lakes College, Brainerd and Staples, has announced its 2015 spring semester honors list.

The President’s List includes 388 students who earned a grade-point average of 3.75 to 4.0 while enrolled for at least 12 credits. 


The Dean’s List includes 398 students who earned a grade-point average of 3.25 to 3.74.

The released honors list does not include students who have requested no release of information.

Central Lakes College is a comprehensive community and technical college in the Minnesota State 
Colleges and Universities System. The college serves about 6,000 students annually in liberal arts 
and career education programs.

Series brings in renowned poets from across the nation

Pulling in a taste of culture to an isolated small town often falls on the shoulders of the local community college. It can be a daunting task, as obstacles like funding and resources arise. 

But Central Lakes College - a community and technical school serving about 6,000 students per year - is bringing a taste of exceptional poetry to students, staff and the people of Brainerd, located in the center of Minnesota.

It’s through a program called Verse Like Water.

In its third year, the series has brought in eight renowned poets from across the nation to hold readings and a workshop, for the town of 13,500 people. Several of the poets are Pulitzer Prize winners or former U.S. Poet Laureates. 

The program is more than just a chance to hear some great poetry, though. It has brought a new dimension to the college, said CLC President Larry Lundblad. 

“It shows that the college is really trying to reach out and do some extraordinary things for the students and community,” he said. 

TRIO Upward Bound students attended Girls in STEM Conference

Six Central Lakes College TRIO Upward Bound students attended Girls in STEM Conference at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN May 29-May 31.

The conference was hosted by the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel.

Students were able to build robots, make batteries out of potatoes, paint using maggots, tour the IUPUI campus and meet students from 10 states. 

The students included: Danielle Sand (Browerville High School) and Rosalyn Stewart-Kuschel (Onamia High School), both in CLC PSEO, as well as high school students Amy Lochli (Staples-Motley High School), Elizabeth Brown (Staples-Motley High School), Jasmine McRoss (Onamia High School), and Makayla Kowalczyk (Pierz-Healy High School).