Fritz Panek has more than 40 years experience in the construction industry before being brought on part-time as the large heavy equipment instructor at the Operating Engineers Local 49 Training Center. “I can run any piece of equipment when it comes to dirt work,” said Panek. Panek grew up on a dairy farm, and graduated [...]

Born and raised on the Iron Range, Hailey Lislegard has always had a love for operating heavy equipment. “I am from a long line of miners from the Iron Range that goes back generations,” Lislegard said. Lislegard, a two-year Local 49 member, said her passion for operating equipment began when she was growing up riding [...]

Nick Tangen credits his father, a Local 49 operator for 30 years, for getting him interested in the industry. “My dad often told me it’s not always easy work, but it’s the best union to be a part of, raise a family on and know you’re secure,” said Tangen who has been in the Local [...]

Steve Tuhy has transitioned from being an apprentice at the Operating Engineers Local 49 Training Center, to landing a job as an instructor/mechanic at the Training Center to now being their Apprenticeship Coordinator. However Tuhy grew up on a farm and has been around equipment his entire life, so it was only natural that he [...]

Local 49 member, Russell Rask of Gilbert, MN, has been a part of the Operating Engineers Local 49 Apprenticeship Program for a year, and will shortly begin Phase II of the program. While an unfortunate event brought Rask to the Training Center, he now says this has been a positive experience. “I got laid off [...]

Lisa Klankowski, a five-year member of Local 49 and current apprentice at the Operating Engineers Local 49 Training Center, has worked her way up from operating small equipment doing dirt work to now operating cranes at the St. Croix River Crossing Bridge project for Lunda Construction Co. However, prior to her time as a heavy [...]