Kids from all across Guthrie County gathered in Coon Rapids Saturday for the second annual STEM Fest. Guthrie County Iowa State University Extension and Outreach hosted the youth and representatives from 29 businesses and organizations at Coon Rapids-Bayard Junior Senior High School. The kids got a chance to receive hands-on experience in displicines related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The experiences ranged from learning CPR to programming robots.

John Knobbe with Rose Acre Farms talks about the vital nature of educating the next generation of Guthrie County job seekers in technical skills. “It’s very important. If we don’t, we won’t be anywhere. The next generation is the people that are going to bring forth every opportunity that has to be taken by them. We’ve (all) got something to gain.”

Raccoon Valley Radio was one of the businesses represented at the event. General Manager John McGee taught the next generation of broadcasters basics in audio editing and gave them an opportunity to examine transmitter readings and station interfaces.

Participating Organizations:

*Raccoon Valley Radio

*Guthrie County Farm Bureau

*John Deere Financial

*Blank Park Zoo

*Nathan Van Zante

*Carroll County Extension

*IPTV

*Poet Biorefining

*Rose Acre Farms

*Carroll County Farm Bureau

*Panorama FFA

*Horizon Equipment

*Whiterock Conservancy

*Science Center of Iowa

*CR-B FFA

*A.D.V.I.S.E. Senior Group

*Vetter Equipment

*Mercy College

*Lewis Chiro

*St. Anthony Hospital/Clinic

*Iowa DNR

*AMVC

*Coon Rapids Public Library

*Mike’s Plumbing

*Coon Rapids EMS

*Coon Rapids Fire Dept.

*Iowa Corn Growers Association

*National Guard