News release
Area teachers attended educational seminar courtesy of Otter Tail Power Company
Fergus Falls, Minnesota - July 1, 2010
Nearly 130 elementary and secondary educators from Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota experienced role reversal June 14-17 as they became the students at an educational seminar conducted by the Lignite Energy Council at the National Energy Center of Excellence on the campus of Bismarck State College.
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Photo caption: Otter Tail Power Company sponsored seven educators who attended the 2010 Lignite Energy Council education seminar. Dwarfed by the massive dragline bucket used to extract lignite at one of the mines that the group toured are Muriel Eggebraaten who lives and teaches in Morris, Minnesota; Kathi Nordgaard who lives in Gary and teaches in Toronto, South Dakota; Mike Piechowski who lives in Browns Valley and teaches in Graceville, Minnesota; Tammy P. Roth who lives and teaches in Morris, Minnesota; Doug Ryant who lives and teaches in Mahnomen, Minnesota; Tracy Stallman who lives and teaches in Herman, Minnesota; and Joan Thoren who lives in Glenwood and teaches in Cyrus, Minnesota. |
Otter Tail Power Company sponsored seven teachers from its service area to attend this 25th annual "2010 Lignite Education Seminar: Energy, Economics, and Environment. "
One of the educators who Otter Tail Power Company sponsored, Doug Ryant, who teaches at Mahnomen Public High School, expressed his thanks for the opportunity to attend. “I most certainly will recommend this to other teachers in our area as a great learning and networking opportunity,” said Ryant. “I will be adding information from all of the materials given to me into my teaching curriculum.”
"I had a great time at BSC and Coal Country learning all about the lignite energy industry," said another attendee who Otter Tail Power Company sponsored. "I am putting together an album on Facebook for my students to view. This album is one of the ways that I plan on getting students interested in energy careers," said Tammy P. Roth, K-12 Licensed School Counselor at Morris Area ISD 769.
The seminar provided the educators with information and materials they can use to teach their students how lignite is mined and used to produce energy for homes, farms, and businesses in the Upper Midwest. It covered lignite's economic impact on the region, important environmental issues, and job opportunities in the lignite and associated industries. Speakers represented the Lignite Energy Council, North Dakota Geological Survey, North Dakota Transmission Authority, the University of North Dakota and its Energy & Environmental Research Center, Bismarck's school system, North Dakota State University's Extension Service, Great Plains Synfuel Plant, The Coteau Properties Company Freedom Mine, and several electric utility companies.
As part of the seminar, the educators toured several lignite mines and electric generating stations, as well as the Great Plains Synfuels Plant and the Headwaters Fort Mandan Visitor Center, which is constructed from coal combustion byproducts.
Educators who attended this seminar are eligible to receive two graduate credits in economics through the University of North Dakota, in science through Minot State University, or in education through North Dakota State University. Since 1986 about 2,600 educators have attended the Lignite Energy Council's teacher education seminar.
Otter Tail Power Company, a subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select Market: OTTR), is headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. It provides electricity and energy services to more than a quarter million people in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. To learn more about Otter Tail Power Company visit www.otpco.com. To learn more about Otter Tail Corporation visit www.ottertail.com.
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