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Vol. 51 No. 43 Norwalk, Iowa 50211
USPS No. 395-120
Phone 981 -0406
email: news@norwalknewspapemom
Thursday, March 28, 2019
N orwalk and Cumming
Announced as Pass-Through
Cities for 2019 RAGBRAI
Event organizers have announced that on Tuesday,
July 23rd, Day 3 of RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great
Bike Ride Across Iowa), both Norwalk and Cumming
will be cities passed through on the route during the
ride. More details will be shared as they become
available. Exciting news for Norwalk and Cumming!
Fig. Fag
Knights of Columbus
Fish Fry Dinners
The Norwalk Knights of Columbus will once again
offer Fish Fry Dinners on Friday evenings during
Lent. Remaining dinners will be served March 29th,:
April 5th, and April 12th. The events will take place
at the St. John the Apostle Catholic Church hall, 720
Orchard Hills'Drive in Norwalk, from 5:30 p.m. to
7:00 p.m. each week.
The menu will include baked and fried fish,
macaroni and cheese, cheese pizza, baked potatoes
(while they last), french fries, cole slaw, and drinks.
Contact St. John’s Catholic Church at 981-4855
with any questions, including information on cost of
the event. Please join us each week!
City of N orwalk Municipal
Utilities Advisory Commission
Seeks New Member
Interested in Norwalk water, sewer, and storm
water utilities? Interested in having a voice in your
community? The City of Norwalk has an opportunity
for you to serve on the Municipal Utilities Advisory
Commission (UAC). ,
The UAC advises and makes recommendations to
the Mayor and City Council regarding the water,
sewer, and storm water utilities. UAC meetings are
held every 2-3 months, as needed, on Monday
evenings at 6:00 p.m. The term of this vacancy is three
years. The City of Norwalk makes every effort to
organize a diversified group of citizens representing
gender balance, a variety of ages and interests.
If you have questions, or are interested in
participating on the UAC, please submit in writing,
- your desire to publicworks@norwalk.iowa.gov. You
can also call the Public Works Department (515) 981-
9527 to ask questions and learn more about the
opportunity.
Request for Easter Church
Services Information
We will be printing church service information
for Good Friday and Easter in our April 11th and
April 18th issues. If you’d like your church’s service
information to be included, please email your
service information to us at news@norwalk
newspaper.com or call us at 981-0406.
N orwalk Robotics Team is State Runner-up
and Advances to World Championships
by Nicci Lamb
FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) rookie Norwalk
Robotics team, RoboWarriors Gold, won their
Division at State Championships, making it all the
way to the event finals, Where they finished as the
state runner-up! The RoboWarriors’ performance at
State earned them an invitation to the World
Championship competition in Detroit, Michigan on
April 23rd to 27th. This is only the second year for
the Norwalk Robotics team, and their first time
qualifying for Worlds. .
The First Tech Challenge (FTC) is an international
program that strives to inspire youth, ages 7th to
12th grade, to be science and technology leaders and
innovators. Students work together in teams to build
robots and compete in a head-to head challenge with
3 other robots at a time, but it is more than just
robots. Norwalk’s robotics team has been tackling
tasks from designing, engineering, and programming
their robots, but they have alsdbeen working on items
like budgeting and allocating resources for use
throughout the year, marketing, outreach, and
communication skills. First Tech Challenge is proven
to encourage students to purse education and careers
in STEM-related fields, all while enhancing their
work-life skills.
Fun facts about the RoboWarriors Gold team’s
season & the FTC competition:
' They finished 3rd in the Clark League (the local
level competition of 11 teams)
' They finished 1st at League Championships in
Nevada, IA, to advance to Super Qualifiers.
They finished 2nd at the Super Qualifier at John
Deere in Johnston, to qualify for state.
Photos by Brian Butcher and Nicci Lamb
'They earned 3rd place for the Control .Award
(programming) at Super Qualifier.
' They finished 2nd at the State Championships
in Coralville, Iowa.
They are ranked 8th in 10wa (182 teams).
There are 13 teams from Iowa going to Worlds,
where 128 teams will compete.
‘They are 90th of 2,211 teams competing for a
spot in Detroit. '
' They are lblst of 4,440 teams in the US.
' There are more than 7,000 FTC teams
registered in the world for the 2018-19 season,
with more than 70,000 student participants.
Norwalk Robotics created a second team this season
to accommodate more students in the program. So,
in addition 'to the N orwalk RoboWarriors Gold,
Norwalk has a sophomore team, RoboWarriors
Purple. Between the two teams, there are 28
members and 3 coaches.
Rm Facts about the RoboWarriors Purple’s season:
' They finish 1st in the Clark League.
- They placed 3rd at the League Championships
in Nevada, IA and unfortunately didn’t advance
tO'Super Qualifiers. "
' They are ranked 12th in Iowa (182 teams).
Robotics is all an all-year program, and the teams
practice together during the year, and meet twice a
week, which adds up to about 5 hours of practice per
week. While the official season goesfrom September
to January, _with post-season advancement-
dependent competitions running through Worlds
Continued on p. 7
