The CDL class at Cloquet High School is going strong in its second year.

On Wednesday, the class visited the Saginaw scale, and saw what commercial vehicle inspectors with the Minnesota State Patrol do on a daily basis.

They got to see the underground part of the scale. Plus ask all kinds of questions.

Their instructor, Bret Gunderson, said, “It gives them a chance to see what it’s like to come through and be inspected. And it enforces the importance of doing your own inspections.”

Captain Robert Zak, commander of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement District, said outreach like this is really important. “That way they can see how important safety really is, and be part of the solution,” he told us.

Several students from last year’s class have gone on to get their permits, and are working on getting fully licensed.

When Cloquet launched the program, they were one of the few in the country to offer this for free for their students.