Local businesses drive innovation

IOWA - When passion, precision, and perseverance come together, incredible things happen — just ask the Iowa State Baja team, a dedicated team of students who design, build, and race a fully custom off-road vehicle as part of the SAE International Collegiate Design Series.

    Recently, our homestate heroes had the exciting opportunity to meet with Scott and Alex Fortune, the owners of Upper Iowa Tool & Die, to show firsthand exactly what their generous donations of customer donated parts and support help bring to life. Student and Baja team member Randy Fravel a Cresco native made the connection between the team and the business. During the visit, the team members were graciously offered some raw materiels to bring with them back to the school to further assist their build. Dynamic partnerships like this help fuel the team of dedicated Iowa State University students who compete on a national stage — and the results are nothing short of impressive.

   Iowa State Baja is a proud part of the SAE International Student Chapter, where students take the wheel from start to finish. From sketching out initial concepts to welding frames and fine-tuning every part, these young engineers pour their hearts into creating rugged, high-performance machines. Each year, they enter the thrilling SAE International Collegiate Design Series, competing in two official events and one unofficial competition, showcasing their skills in design, cost management, business savvy, and, of course, driving. Cloy Waterbury, Project Di-

rector of the Iowa State Baja Team said, “90% of our team majors in Aero Space, we also have some Ag engineers but anyone can join the team.” She adds, “There are about 60-70 students on the team”.