City thanks CLC Heavy Equipment trail builders

The Central Lakes College Heavy Equipment program recentley finished the groundwork of a 2,600 foot trail connecting the Living Legacy Gardens bicycle trail with the Hwy 10 overpass bike trail. The trailis expected to be paved next year, depending on grant money availability.

On Oct. 27, the Staples Parks and Rec Dept. a long with city officials thanked the students with a pizza party at CLC campus. Pictured, front; left, Mitchell Kopp, Spencer Tiboni, Bryce Urbaniak, Andrew Ives, Cody Learman, Justin Getschel, Sam Erickson; back row, Mike Sams, Anthony Koll, Damian Jensen, Alex Sorenson, Roy Wigton, Thomas Loewen, Evan Doty, Kolton Opelt, Trisha Jasmer, Eric Cambronne, Kevin Grondahl and Mary Theurer.

Students were in charge of the entire project, including the Gopher State One calls, making sure they knew where the buried utilities were. The students back-scheduled the build from their completion date and hit every time target.  During the project, students were able to practice using a variety of equipment, with approximately 30 different machines being used.  

Instructor Mike Sams said the project, which included 1,632 man hours and 1,351 machine hours, if priced at traditional costs, saved the city $84,794, including a reduction in man-hour costs because this was the first live project for the students. (Staples World photo by Mark Anderson)