Aug. 11

W. Gohman Construction employee finishes first at state, takes second at national carpentry competition

Alex Engelmeyer, who works for W. Gohman Construction of St. Joseph and who resides in Freeport, recently placed second in the national carpentry competition at the annual Skills USA Championships in Louisville, Ken. Before nationals, Engelmeyer finished first in carpentry at the 2017 Minnesota Skills competition. This qualified him to compete against other premiere carpenters across the nation. This year’s competition featured 68 secondary and post-secondary carpentry competitors. Each participant was tested on individualized projects that required load-bearing wall framing utilizing wood and steel stud-framing members as well as roof framing that incorporated post, beam and rafter construction and exterior siding and trim. Contestants were judged on job-interview skills, written test scores, safety, adherence to plans, craftsmanship and the proper use of tools and materials to perform the required tasks. W. Gohman Construction is a commercial contractor who has built many landmarks in central Minnesota, including the St. Cloud Public Library, Park Industries and the St. Cloud Aquatics Community Center and YMCA.

Rose Kellner of St. Joseph was among the Granite City Gearheads Robotics Team, which competed July 20-21 in the 2017 Gitchi Gummi Get Together in Duluth, and came home with the first-place trophy.

Twenty-two FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics teams (20 from Minnesota and two from Michigan) competed in rotating alliances of three teams each. The alliances were randomly generated, and changed for every match during the qualification rounds. For the elimination phase of the competition, the top four teams in ranking chose their alliance partners.  The Gearheads were ranked #3 and chose team 2846 (the Firebears from Roseville,), and team 2512 (the host team, from East High School in Duluth). The Gearhead alliance won the competition.

The Gearhead team is composed of high school students, from the St. Cloud area, and their adult mentors. The Gearheads have been a part of FIRST Robotics since the 2010 season. This was the Gearhead’s first time to be an “alliance captain” and our second time as part of a winning alliance at a FIRST competition..

FIRST Robotics is an international robotics program created by inventor Dean Kamen for the purpose of fostering interest STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics), and developing STEM skills among students.

This years game theme was FIRST Streamworks. Teams built robots that load plastic gears onto an assembly to turn rotors, shoot wiffle balls into a “boiler,” and climb ropes. The robots are operated autonomously for the first 15 seconds of the match, then human drivers take control.

For more about the Granite City Gearheads, go to their website www.granitecitygearheads.com or contact them at granitecitygearheads@gmail.com.

For more about FIRST Robotics, go to their website www.firstinspires.org.