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This year Lindstrom will be represented at the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers' and International Masonry Institutes' International Apprentice Contest, taking place September 23-24 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center.

This contest draws the BAC's top apprentices from the U.S. and Canada. They compete for the title of International Champion in each of the BAC's trades: brick, cement, tile, marble, terrazzo, plaster, pointing-cleaning-caulking/ restoration, and stone.
Local 1 MN/ND/SD is proud to send  two  soon-to-be second-year brick apprentices: Riley Strate and Keanan Carlson.

Keanan is a 28-year-old, second-year brick apprentice from Lindstrom. Growing up, trade work was not a foreign topic in his household. His father was a union carpenter and spent a lot of time helping him with projects.

Before becoming a bricklayer, Keanan had many other experiences. Working in food service to retail to private sector construction and a year in a state university. After laboring for a year with a union masonry contractor, he realized that his love of the detail in brick and stonework was pointing him toward a new career path.

Keanan's experience as an apprentice with John Foley Masonry has been wonderful, he says. His colleagues and forepersons are dedicated to teaching him the right way. They have allowed him the opportunity to exceed expectations on every project. He is confident that he is learning from some of the best in the trade.  

Keanan aspires to become a foreman for John Foley Masonry and to continue to take on new additional challenges and responsibilities. He hopes to learn more about natural stone laying which, in his opinion, nothing looks better. He loves when the scaffold comes down at the end of the job, and you get to see the big picture of what you spent your days, weeks, and months working on.

Last April, the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Minnesota and North Dakota Apprentice Training Center hosted its 2022, Local 1 Apprentice Contest. First-year apprentices were three of the nine competitors in this event. Going into the local contest, Keanan was nervous but confident that if he did his best, he could do just as well as anyone there. Many of his colleagues had told him that he would do well, which helped him maintain his confidence heading into the competition. He took first overall in this contest!

In June, Keanan traveled to Addison, Illinois, to compete in the Regional Apprentice contest. He had the pleasure of building rapport with Union President Doug Schroeder, Riley Strate and his family, and Matt Hopkins, Sr. and his wife. Overall, it was a great experience. He says, "it's always fun to get out of the house for the weekend, and it's even better when you get to do what you love and represent your company and Local."

Ahead of the September 23 & 24 International Apprentice Contest, Keanan is feeling great. In the Regional Apprentice Contest, he took tenth place, but plans to make the necessary changes so he can compete at a higher level this time around. Win or lose, he says he will remember this experience for the rest of his life, “It is a once-in-a-lifetime event for my career. “

Please join The Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Minnesota and North Dakota Apprentice Training Center and Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1, in congratulating Riley and Keanan on making it to the International Apprentice Contest. Wishing them the best of luck as they head into this final round of competition!

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