DULUTH, Minn. -- Robotics teams from Minot and Cando reached the semifinals at the FIRST robotics Lake Superior Regional held in Duluth, Minn. March 10-12.
The team from Minot received the Entrepreneurship Award and the team from Cando won the Team Spirit Award.
Teams of high school age students built robots in the weeks before the competition.
Robots, guided from the sidelines, placed brightly colored inflatable tubes on hooks nearly 10 feet off the ground. They sent "minibots" scrambling up tall poles. They tried to block other teams' robots. Robots picked up colored inner tubes and drove across the field, placing them on pegs located on three different heights, the higher the peg, the higher the score. The upper game pieces had to be placed on a peg that's about 10 feet high. If the pieces are in the correct order, red, white and blue, then the score doubled.
In the final 10 seconds of the game, a surprise awaited. Each big robot could also carry a small "minibot" that it could deploy on a 9 foot pole. A race to the top ensued and the first minibot to the top would garner its team a 30-point bonus. Each successive minibot would get fewer points.
When it was over, only three teams qualified to go on to the FIRST -- an acronym meaning "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" -- championship at the end of April in St. Louis. Qualifying teams were from Northwood and from Mankato, Minn., and Duluth, Minn.
Byron Borgen coaches the Minot team. He said team members came from Surrey and Minot and five members traveled to the competition. The group works out of one member's garage and meets outside school hours.
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Waffle fundraiser set
The Surrey Senior Citizens will sponsor a Waffle and Sausage Brunch Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Surrey Senior Center, 301-2nd St. NW, Surrey. Waffles with strawberries will be $6; plain waffles will be $5. The brunch fundraiser is open to the public.
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Citizenship class offered
The Minot Adult Learning Center will offer a citizenship class, "All You Will Need to Know to Become a United States Citizen," March 30, April 6, 13, 20 and 27 from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m. in the center. The class is free and includes a workbook with a compact disc but people should preregister by calling 857-4488.
The class is specifically designed for non-native speakers of English. It features simple English using a variety of visual aids that highlight important history and government facts about the United States.
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Share-A-Story event planned
BOTTINEAU -- The Share-A-Story Literacy Event, featuring literary character Clifford the Big Red Dog, will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. April 15 at Dakota College at Bottineau. The "Walk-Around Clifford" will be available to greet children and pose for photos throughout the evening. Other characters attending the event will be Cat in the Hat and Smokey the Bear.
At the free event, parents and children can meet Dakota College at Bottineau athletes and coaches, make their own books and take home a free book. Face tattoos, balloons, music and a meal are also planned as part of the festivities. Community organizations across the county are invited to sponsor the event through donations-in-kind and volunteers are also needed to help at the event.
The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Dakota College at Bottineau and Prairie Public Broadcasting.
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MSU students earn ADDY awards
Minot State University art students won awards at the North Dakota Advertising Federation Student Competition Feb. 24-25 in Fargo.
MSU students who received gold ADDYs included Nick Bremer, Minot, in the digital photograph category for "Shh, They're Watching," Max Patzner, Minot, in the television category for "The Man with 2 First Names" and James Skinner, Hazen, in illustration for "Reality Dysfunction." Josh Collins, Minot, received two silver ADDYs in the digital photography category for "Strawberry Lake" and "NDSF." The other silver ADDY recipients were Aaron Jaeger, Washburn, in the direct marketing category for "IT Christmas Card" and Briana Schwan, Burlington, in the digital photography category for "Snowflake."
"The statewide chapter provides opportunity for students to compete with all students in our state and students from Moorhead State and Moorhead State Technical College," said Bill Harbort, professor of graphic arts. "All of the gold ADDYs will move on to student regionals competing against other student work from Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota."
The Advertising Federation binds the mutual interests and collective powers of advertisers, agencies, media companies, suppliers, local advertising associations and college students. AdFed is open to professionals in the graphic arts, advertising, marketing, photography, public relations and other related fields. It promotes education in advertising, marketing and communications.
MSU's art department has participated in the competition for the past 13 years.