Chisago-North Branch robot ready for regions

The North Branch-Chisago Lakes FIRST Robotics Team 3038 joined 24 other teams at the Blue Twilight Zero Week Invitational at Eagan High School to test the robot and see how it performed. The build season concluded Tuesday, February 19 and the robot was bagged and set aside until the regional competition on March 28-29-30 at the University of Minnesota.

"It has been a crazy six weeks with the team designing, drawing, building, programming, and testing the robot five to six days a week and most Saturdays. “We are very pleased with how the robot performed at the scrimmage and excited for the competition," said Mentor Becky Leuer.

Team 3038 student members this year are; from North Branch: Newell Fisk, Jake Hatle, Dominic Hufford, Alyssa Johnson, Emily Lawrence, Alex Lesmann, Brendan Mikkelsen, Jessica Olmstead, Sam Peterson, Tyler Rogers, Mike Stephens, Amanda Studt, Brycen Vilmain, and from Chisago Lakes: Jeremy Bastyr, Justin Bastyr, Elliot Courant, Jordan Duffy, Noah Froberg, Jenna Frost, Riley Frost, Nick Rockenback, Noah Rockenback, and Jacob Schwelling The team is currently working on an application for the Chairman's Award. "This is the highest award given by FIRST and the first time Team 3038 is applying for this award. It's a pretty big undertaking but our committee has worked very hard to get this done. The last thing we have to do is make a three minute video about our team and we are tackling that this week," said Mentor Anne Lawrence who is working with the marketing committee to complete this project.

For more information about the team, check out their website at www.icerobotics. org or visit us on Team 3038 on Facebook. Team 3038 is a self funded program sponsored by St. Jude Medical Foundation. "St. Jude has been our sponsor for the past five years and is very committed to FIRST Robotics. By helping fund this activity for kids, they are developing the future of medical technology and giving our students at Chisago Lakes and North Branch a real world engineering opportunity with the hope that some of these kids will develop the medical technology that will save a life in the future," said Leuer.

No school district money is spent on this program and all of the mentors are 100 percent volunteer. Mentors this year are Tim Courant, Barb Cummings, Ken Cummings, Tomy Commings, Scott Frischmon, Jon Gamble, Anne Lawrence, and Becky Leuer. Other sponsors this year are PTC, Cummins, Branch Manufacturing, and Allina.