Michigan student Mikala Sposito will be the first woman to represent the U.S. in welding at the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai. wapo.st/4icme0B

I'm Legal! Today I’m pleased to announce that mikeroweWORKS is finally legal. The foundation turns 18 years old this Labor Day, which means that MRW can legally buy a lottery ticket, get a tattoo, jump out of a plane, operate heavy machinery, rent a hotel room, open a bank account, move out of Mom’s house, and vote for whatever knucklehead seems less likely to wreck the nation, among other things. (Alas, we’re still too young for a shot of my grandfather’s whiskey, but whatever…I don’t make the rules. Online sales, ironically, still benefit the foundation, and – if you’re 21 or older – I’ll invite you to celebrate this milestone with any of the award-winning adult beverages at knobelspirits.com. But I digress…) To celebrate our 18th birthday, and America's observation of Labor, I'm pleased to announce another tranche of work ethic scholarships, in our ongoing efforts to help train the next generation of skilled workers. In this round, we have 450 recipients who will collectively receive $3.5 million to further their training in 23 individual vocations. To date, that’s $22.5 million dollars awarded to 3,350 individuals. What a sublime legacy for an unscripted TV show that make me marginally famous for crawling through sewers. Also, attached below, are the donors who made this round possible. Many thanks to all of you. And thanks also, to the many individuals on this page who have supported MRW from its infancy, financially and otherwise. Your encouragement over the years is priceless, and your willingness to share posts like this one, is the primary reason we have finally reached the age of majority. So please, share away. We're already taking applications for the next round. Apply at: bit.ly/ApplyForAWorkEthicSch… Having said all of that, I’ll now take my 18-year-old alter ego out for non-alcoholic beverage and ponder the future. Happy Labor Day Our Sponsors… @BuildFreedomUS @WellsFargo Fisher Global Foundation @ferguson @PureTalk @JK_trashremoval @FoldsofHonor Berens Foundation @Google @Montanaknifeco Software Engineering of America Ford Philanthropy @BlackrockFD James & Shirley Rippey Family Foundation @LockheedMartin Hearst Foundations Suffolk Care Charitable Foundation Turbine X Energy @aligneddc @coigncard Grady Family Foundation @PaulMitchellEdu And a sincere thanks to my own team at MRW… Jen, Shari, Jade, Mary, Chuck, Paige, Libby, Logan, Charlie, Noah, Kristi, and the committee who helped us review every application. And Jade, again, because she killed it, as always.