On March 26, the Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC) announced it awarded agriculture education grants to Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial High School and Tri-City United High School to support programs that strengthen agriculture, food, and natural resources education

“Congratulations to Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial High School and Tri-City United High School for winning these grants!” Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) said. “These are two great projects that will deepen student understanding and appreciation of agriculture, and hopefully steer some of them to careers in ag someday.”

• Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial High School received a $1,683 grant for their project entitled, “Teacher Work-Life Balance – Greenhouse.” The main purpose of this grant is to purchase irrigation equipment to use in the new greenhouse that was recently built by the school’s construction classes.

• Tri-City United High School received a $10,000 grant for their project entitled, “Welding Certification in Secondary Education.” This grant provides funding for welding equipment and other necessary tools for industry-level welding and safety certifications.

MAELC was established in 1997 by the Minnesota Legislature with a mission to provide leadership to promote and expand agricultural education in Minnesota. Its purpose is to encourage people to enter or remain in the agricultural education profession, provide a venue to look at the “big picture” of agricultural education in Minnesota, and provide answers to agricultural education questions and inquiries. MAELC believes that Minnesota is stronger when people understand the importance of agriculture, and that it is important agricultural education serves both youth and adults.