 The field of candidates for this year's Minnesota Teacher of the Year has been narrowed to 43 and two of those finalists are from the immediate Lakeland viewing area. Eric Carlson, a visual arts teacher at Kelleyer Public Schools, and Angie Herdig, a second grade teacher at Bertha Hewitt Public Schools, made the list of semi-finalists who were selected from an initial field of 167 candidates from across the state. The panel will review the semi-finalist portfolios again in late March and then narrow the field down to 10 finalists. The current Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Corey Bulman, will announce his successor at a banquet May 6th in Bloomington. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.