Minot needs more sidewalks
By JESSICA PIPE
How many times have you seen people walking not on a sidewalk? A lot and that's because Minot is not very pedestrian friendly and does not have many sidewalks.
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Yeah, there are a few sidewalks and crosswalks here and there but there aren't any continuous sidewalks running all throughout Minot. I understand that putting in sidewalks everywhere would be expensive, but for people who have to walk and bike to their destinations it is very dangerous for them to be walking on the street. Minot is great, but for people who want to walk everywhere and don't have a car it's difficult to get around safely.
How do we solve this problem? We all know that this is a problem with traffic and the danger of pedestrians if the people driving are not cautious. That is why we need more sidewalks and crosswalks, so the pedestrians running across the road do not distract any drivers to cause any wrecks or accidents. The safest thing to do is to change this problem and to have more notice of this problem.
Jessica Pipe is an eighth-grader at South Prairie School.
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School lunches need to be healthier
By LARAMIE LARSON
How many times do your kids come home and complain about school lunch? School lunches are nasty. People say that they are getting sick of processed meat and greasy foods. I hear people every day say, "We should have real food, not this stuff." I honestly think the food is not good myself. They also say that they want us to eat healthy food, but it's not heathy at all. Are hamburgers and french fries really healthy? I hope schools can make a change. We need healthier alternatives.
Laramie Larson is an eighth-grader at South Prairie School.
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There's never anything to do
By KENNEDIE ZURCHER
How many times have you heard your kid complain about being bored and having nothing to do? I don't know about your kids, but I do it all the time. There is literally almost nothing to do, as a teenager, in Minot.
Yeah, there is the mall, a couple of parties at Space Aliens, but after awhile it all gets old. There should be more places for teenagers to hang out, or just more sponsored dances. Yeah, they would have to be chaperoned by adults, but at least there would be something for us teenagers to do. It would also probably keep us from committing petty crimes, like shoplifting, and vandalizing. I think there should be more school-sponsored events for teens all over the city, and there should be a type of community center for teens. Inside the community center could be an arcade, a Starbucks, a study center where kids can have a quiet place to study or do homework, a gym, and even a lounge area where everyone can just chill and hangout. You could even call it "Just for Teens." I can tell you that all the teens in Minot would be grateful for the place to hang out.
Kennedie Zurcher is an eighth-grader at South Prairie School.
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We need to take pride in our community
By CORY NEHRING
Have you ever drove through Minot and noticed a mess along the road and on the sidewalks? Right away when you come into town by Wal-Mart there is garbage all along the road. All the garbage is stuck in trees and bushes, or just sitting in the ditch. In the summer, weeds push up out of sidewalks. When the Fair comes to Minot and people from out of town come, Minot doesn't look its best. I think it is embarrassing for the people of Minot!
One solution is to hire more maintenance workers to clean up Minot. Another solution is to create a volunteer program where people go around and clean up all the trash around Minot. Everyone says you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but, most people do. I want Minot to look its best so it shows everyone we care what our town looks like.
Cory Nehring is an eighth-grader at South Prairie School.
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City streets are full of potholes
By LEVI ROEN
Are you happy with your roads? The highways in Minot are horrible and have potholes and big bumps everywhere. Our roads get bad from the extreme weather. The winters in North Dakota can be bad and I think we should fix the roads that are bad in Minot because they can wreck your car if you hit a bump or pot hole. Minot's roads are bad, but the highways and gravel roads in the country are 10 times worse from all the oil trucks and the water washing out the gravel roads. The oil trucks ruin the highways and the country roads that they travel on. I think that the oil companies that wreck the roads should be responsible for fixing them.
Levi Roen is an eighth-grader at South Prairie School.
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School lunches need to be larger
By ALEX RIDL
Why do kids have to have small serving sizes for lunch? I know that a vast amount of the kids in the United States are obese, but most schools are so worried about how many calories are in the food that they don't see the that they are becoming part of the problem. I eat school lunch a majority of the time, the problem is that kids don't get enough food at school so when they go home they end up eating junk food because their parents are not home. Then when it's time for dinner they're not hungry.
Don't get me wrong. I like fruit and vegetables. I believe that schools should feed us more, or at least give us a greater variety of choices. For example, I go to South Prairie school and there is no salad bar or a la carte so you either have to bring your own lunch or eat what they supply you with.
Alex Ridl is an eighth-grader at South Prairie School.
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School lunches need to be better
By ZOE ST. CROIX
Do you know how healthy your kid's school food is? The school's lunches are not the healthiest. They have some healthy things, but most of the food is processed meat, sugary, fatty, greasy, and flat out disgusting! Your kids on average are eating about 2,000 calories just during lunch! What I don't understand is why older people are trying to push healthy eating on us when they are serving us is unhealthy. Kids should be able to have their choice of healthy foods to choose from. Schools should have a salad bar available at lunch so that if the kids don't like the main meal they can have a healthy alternative.
Zoe St. Croix is an eighth-grader at South Prairie School.