Outstanding educators

Two Central Lakes College instructors are nominated for Outstanding Educator awards bestowed each year by the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Darci Goeden, Nursing, and Leon Dahlvang, Communication Art and Design, are now eligible for the Educator the Year award. The award is intended to recognize superior teaching. The pair was nominated by CLC President Larry Lundblad and will be among about two dozen MnSCU instructors recognized this spring at an award luncheon.

Appointed by Governor

Dr. William Faber of Cushing, head of the Central Lakes College natural resources program in Brainerd, has been appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to serve on the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. The LCCMR is made up of 17 members: five senators, five representatives, five citizens appointed by the governor, one citizen appointed by the senate, and one citizen appointed by the House. According to membership criteria adopted in 2008, LCCMR members “must have experience or expertise in the science, policy, or practice of the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources; have strong knowledge in the state’s environment and natural resource issues around the state; and have demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative environment.”

March Cultural Thursday

Jan Kurtz, a Spanish and Latin American Studies instructor at Central Lakes College, will present the free, public Cultural Thursday program on Guatemala March 7 at noon in Chalberg Theatre on the Brainerd campus. In February 2012, Kurtz spent the month in San Pedro Las Huertas, Guatemala.  This small town just outside of Antigua is the site for Rising Villages, a project founded and run by Little Falls residents Dave and Bina Huebsch. It is a volunteer operation which has supported the people of Guatemala with educational, electrical, water, medical and community building endeavors over a 40-year period.

CLC on TV

Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) was on the Brainerd campus Tuesday, Feb. 5 to capture footage and interviews for a feature airing in April on public TV across Minnesota. The crew, which is part of a 12-person production team, focused on high school students earning college credits from CLC through programs such as Post-Secondary Enrollment Option and College in Schools. They recorded samples of courses delivered through interactive television (interpersonal communications, psychology), horticulture labs, the welding shop, automotive technology shop, and mathematics lab. "Redesigning MN" is a series of 8 programs exploring the dramatic impact the retirement of more than a million babyboomers will have on everything from public safety to education to health care. The higher education program featuring CLC is the fifth among the eight subject areas to be covered. Each of the three most recent programs was 56 minutes long.
Images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/58518185@N04/

Children's Dental Health Month

February is national Children's Dental Health Month, according to the American Dental Association. Central Lakes College hosted Give Kids a Smile Day Friday on the Brainerd campus, where Kirsten Winscher of Royalton was among Dental Assisting stduents who provided teeth cleaning and oral health tips to children ages 4-16. Drs. Arnold Rutman and Clint Roberts and staff hygienists volunteered their services in the CLC Community Dental Clinic. They provided 64 scheduled appointments. The annual event is sponsored by the Minnesota Dental Association. Appointments for free exams were also taken through CLC Dental Assisting at the office of Dr. Dominic Gagnon at Staples.  The CLC Dental Assisting Club held a toothbrush trade-in on the Brainerd campus Friday in conjunction with promotion of dental health.
Images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/58518185@N04/

Energy forum March 5

The future of renewable energy in Minnesota will be discussed by four professionals in the field March 5 at Central Lakes College in Brainerd. The free event starts at 7 p.m. in Chalberg Theater and is presented by the Gordon Rosenmeier Center for State and Local Government. Presenters are former state senator Ellen Anderson (shown), now senior adviser to Gov. Mark Dayton on energy and environment; Jason Edens, director of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) in Pine River; Troy Goodnough, sustainability director at the University of Minnesota-Morris; and Craig Fink, a principal owner of Minnesota-based Denali Energy.

Ag & Energy Expo

Central Lakes College (CLC) in Staples invites the public to “power up” as it hosts the third Ag and Energy Expo on Saturday, Feb. 9. This free event, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is a chance to hear about and witness demonstrations of the latest innovations and research fostered on behalf of renewable energy. It is co-sponsored by Mid-Central Federal Savings Bank (MCFSB), Wadena, and the CLC Agricultural and Energy Center, Staples.