 For the first time ever, Northern Minnesota was the backdrop for a few robot fights. Our newest reporter, Sherell Moore, stepped into the pit and tells us what the robotics event has to offer students. It was the Battle of the Brass at Cass Lake's Pina. As things have evolved, robotics right now in Minnesota is exploding in popularity. We are the second largest state in the nation, second to California, and California has more just because there are more people in California. 18 teams from Northern Minnesota and North Dakota came out to put their engineering skills to the test. Teams that are playing this game right now start preparing last year in January. They've already went through several competitions playing the same game. They get a challenge, and they have six weeks to design, prototype, and build their robot. And then they go compete. So it's really a time crunch for them. It's kind of a real-world situation where there's deadlines that they have to meet. This isn't all fun and games. The students also learn valuable lessons that can help them in future STEM programs. You learn mechanical and wiring and computer programming, talking to sponsors, talking to engineers, networking with other teams. What sets this competition apart is that it's not really a competition at all. It's about working together to help you follow them. These students meet each other, and within three minutes create a game strategy to work together to perform and achieve as much as possible. And then they go out. The next time they go on the field, it'll be street-different alliance members. This may even be the first competition, but overnight you say it will not be the last. We're planning on doing this every year as a conference. It might not always be held in Cast Lake, but it'll be a Northern Minnesota thing. It's been very successful, generated a ton of excitement with our students. We're very proud of them as mentors, very proud of them. In Cast Lake, Sheremon, Lakeland News. And this competition served as a preparation for the big robotics season in the spring. You can stay updated with the Northern Minnesota Robotics competition by visiting our website at lptv.org backslash news. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.