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ANTI-VAPING LAW TAKES EFFECT AUGUST 1, 2020
Last updated 3 August 2020, at 7:38 p.m. Central Daylight

We Defeated The Vapists!
We did it! Our amazing BorealCorps' kids' writing and illustration club helped change Minnesota Law to protect young kids from the severe and demonstrable lung health dangers of vaping!

Congratulations to so many Cook County kids in BorealCorps for doing the right thing the right way! Using their flair for visual communication, 6th grade students in ISD #166 sketched concepts for telling the story of the health damage vaping can cause. We then translated their sketches into impactful digital media storytelling in the form of public service announcements and data graphics. Thank you one and all!

BELOW: The official press release issued August 3, 2020 announcing the T21 implementation

Two Summer Programs Showcase Grand Marais Kids Leading

Last updated 26 September 2019 11:25 a.m. Central

Hope Notes
TOP | Card covers by Sammie. BELOW | Left, "Stay Strong" cover by Lily. Children's Hope Notes sent to children at the southern border in El Paso, Texas, by kids at the northern border in Grand Marais, Minnesota along with 100 copies of the read-aloud children's book affirming all life, Mira's First Day of Wonder, by Grand Marais adult author Anne Brataas. Right, Maddy narrates the challenges of printing as she makes a sign for another BorealCorps project: peer health messaging and outreach about the dangers of vaping.
Read More About Both Projects by scrolling down. See Andrew and Ella take the national stage on anti-vaping!

continued Two Summer Programs: Grand Marais Kids Leading

LOVE YOUR LUNGS Grand Marais students in BorealCorps' Story Scouts club, grades 4-9, won a competition to display their health messaging project about the dangers posed by e-cigarettes and vaping, and shared their work Aug. 27-29 2019 at the Minneapolis Convention Center with leading researchers on tobacco and health from around the U.S.

Above, left bottom, Michael J. Parks, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota, listens intently as Andrew Hallberg, grade 8 at Cook County ISD 166, explains BorealCorps' interactive "Candy or Vape?" exhibit station BorealCorps kids created to educate people on deceptive methods the vaping industry uses to appeal to kids. As a researcher specializing in applied health promotions that address health behaviors among youth populations, Dr. Parks was especially interested in BorealCorps' peer-messaging approach. In the top left photo, Andrew explains BorealCorps' health messaging to other researchers and policy makers.

At right, his sister, Ella Hallberg, grade 4 in Cook County ISD 166, administers the "Smell Test: Candy or Vape?"

Their goal is to show visitors to their project how a dangerous, lung-damaging practice such as vaping is marketed to kids by being designed to be flavors kids associate with innocent fun -- candy, ice cream, dessert. There are no flavors called "Do Your Chores" or "Homework."

BORDER BUDDIES Kids at the Northern U.S. border sent baby board books and hope notes to kids legally seeking asylum at the Southern U.S. border.

On July 17-19 at the Grand Marais Library, BorealCorps Story Scouts who are staff reporters and artists of the Grand Marais Children's Newspaper, The Grand Marais Gleam, created colorful, cheerful messages of love and support for children held in difficult conditions at the U.S. Mexico border.

Service Learning
At the end of July, Minnesota Children's Press led a service-learning workshop during Youth Week at the United Church of Christ (UCC) youth conference held at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Hope Notes
Writing hope notes in Spanish and English, nearly 40 UCC youth leaders from around Minnesota helped prepare books, notes and origami "Hope Shapes" to mail to children seeking asylum who are being held inhumanely at the border. Eighty new copies of the tender read-aloud picture children's book, Mira's First Day of Wonder, were donated by Grand Marais author Anne Brataas.

Back in Grand Marais, Minnesota, BorealCorps kids mailed the books and Hope Notes from our town near the northern U.S. border (that makes us border buddies!) to southern border colleagues in El Paso, Texas.

Help Distributing Books
Friends in El Paso will distribute them as humanitarian book aid, personalized with heartfelt notes from children who fiercely embrace and accept and believe in the children's journey toward the American dream. Children know right action in the world and take it. Follow their lead.

About BorealCorps
BorealCorps was begun in 2017 with a generous Blandin Foundation Innovation Grant, and is now supported by its health messaging campaigns for clients, and by the Grand Marais educational non-profit, Minnesota Children's Press.

TAKE THE MIRA READ-ALOUD CHALLENGE!

1. Buy One, Give One (BoGio). Buy 1 Mira book online, and we will send 1 free book in our next Border Buddies Book Aid, to El Paso book aid workers.

2. When you get your Mira book in the mail, go outside to a park or lovely nature-y place with a child, relative, friend, animal--other. Video record yourself reading aloud for 10-15 seconds. Sure, read to your mint plants and the garden!

3. Send the video clip to [email protected] so Noah can upload it to our Mira's Read Aloud Challenge YouTube channel

4. When we receive 40 donated books and video clips, we'll donate a 2nd free book -- for a total of 80 free books--to send to families seeking asylum.

Why? To harness the power of affirmation. Reading aloud positive, tender, loving words to the world helps us feel, do and live better, deeper, more humanely and compassionately.

BorealCorps Editor Sammie Garrity of Grand Marais, Minnesota prepares donated baby books being sent to the southern border to comfort and inspire kids -- to give hope.

Sammie Garrity packs 40 books per box of baby board books mailed August 23, 2019 to fellow border buddy book aid colleagues in El Paso, Texas. BorealCorps mailed two boxes from Grand Marais near the northern border with Canada -- and is ready to mail more. To help or donate, contact: [email protected]

Read Aloud outside to release empathy and understanding into the world; give hope; embody compassion. See the Mira Read-Aloud Challenge below.

WHAT KIDS THINK ABOUT:

Truth & JUSTICE

OPINION | WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINTS & IMPEACHMENT
Editorial, October 9, 2019
by Sammie Garrity, BorealCorps' Twin Cities Bureau, State News Editor
Ninth-Grader, Mounds Park Academy, Maplewood MN
Last Update: 17 October 2018 10:31 a.m. Central

During these couple of crazy political weeks, I think the Whistleblower Complaint stood out the most. This incident was a show of blatant ignorance by President Trump who decided that bribing and blacklisting another country was okay.

The Whistleblower Complaint is one incident on the long list of illegal, and unethical things that Trump has done during his time in the Oval Office. He knew he was being recorded and listened to by at least 12 people and yet, still decided to threaten to withhold aid from Ukraine unless they investigated one of the many people who is standing in the way of his second term. That is not even mentioning the fact that he tried to hide it from the public because he knew what he did was wrong, and it wouldn’t look good for him and his campaign.

Will Impeachment Matter? Is So, How?
Now, karma is finally coming for him and he might get impeached. But will Trump getting impeached actually make a difference? He is coming to the end of his term and has already created so much damage. Also, if he was impeached his ideals wouldn’t leave the White House. His entire cabinet that would all still be in power, would continue all of the terrible things that he has done. Mike Pence, while he doesn’t have as much power as Trump, shares very similar views as him and would just continue Trumps plan.

Another side of the argument is that even if the actual time frame that Trump has left is limited, impeaching him will send a message that no matter who you are, how much money you have, or how much power you have, you can’t do whatever you want and get away with it. You can’t treat people like animals and if they don’t fit into your vision, just deport them or arrest them. That you can’t discriminate against people for the color of their skin or their sexual identity. That just because someone doesn’t think like you that they are less. Impeaching him also would lessen his re-election chances greatly. Maybe impeaching him will also leave room for the people that have started changing their minds about how Trump runs our country to speak up and change things. To share their truth and to bring all of the horrible things that he has done out in the open. The Whistleblower Complaint is I’m sure just the beginning.

What We Need: Truth, Integrity, Empathy with People
Whatever opinion you have on whether or not impeachment will be effective I hope that you can agree that we need a President who knows how to manage and nurture relationships with not just leaders, but with citizens. We need a President who can manage a country and make smart decisions based on intellect, not just throw temper tantrums. Our nation needs help and Trump is definitely not the answer. So please, when you go to vote, think about the lives that Trump has ruined, think about all of the destruction that he has caused, and lastly think about the blatant ignorance for human rights that he has displayed in the past 4 years and beyond.

OPINION | VAPING DEATHS
Editorial, August 26, 2019
by Sammie Garrity, BorealCorps Editor
Graduate of Great Expectations Charter School, Grand Marais, MN
Ninth-Grader, Mounds Park Academy, Maplewood MN

First Case of Teen Illness and Deaths Linked To Vaping: We Need Less Marketing from Juul, More Lung Health Education

“U.S. health officials are reporting what could be the country’s first death linked to vaping.”

That ominous sentence written by The Guardian is one that should really make you think, especially if you vape. Officials say that on Friday, August 23, 2019, that a patient had contracted a lung disease from vaping and using E-cigs and that is what caused him to die. Soon after, more reports came in: Two in Connecticut, four in Iowa, and six in Ohio.

Developing Brains & Data
Now, are the many people that are vaping educated enough to know how harmful and addictive this practice can be? Based on the fact that 193 people in 22 different states contracted respiratory illnesses*, I would say not. What really terrifies me is that some of these cases are teenagers. Teenagers whose brains haven’t fully developed and are being pressured into a habit that can and probably will ruin their life. Just a year ago, when our BorealCorps Story Scouts staff community events and county fairs, companies were saying that their products did not harm people. We heard people tell us that as a reason why they vaped: there was little data to support the claim that vaping was harmful.

Addiction
Now, however, there is plenty of it, and yet, people still refuse to listen to information that could save their lives. They do this because they are addicted. Addicted not just to nicotine, but to the popularity that vaping brings, to the fact that they seem cool if they can blow something as meaningless as a smoke ring. And I don’t blame them. I blame the corporations and the people that are profiting off of the creation of such a life-ruining practice. I blame society for marketing a lifestyle that embraces harming your lungs--the basis of your ability to breathe and live!--and an attitude that addiction and lung damage are something to look forward to.

THC
According to news reports, these people that became ill had inhaled THC, which is the psychoactive part of marijuana.

Does that sound safe?

Does that sound cool?

That children are intaking ingredients that are in addictive drugs?

Every Kid in Every School Could Get Vapes
I sure don’t think so. So please, if you know someone who vapes, or wants to, educate them. Try and help them understand that what they do, or what they are about to do could ruin their lungs and even their life.

If they won’t listen to you, give them the resources from Minnesota Department of Health--https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/tobacco/21/index.html -- especially T21, the law that can save lives by helping keep vapes out of high schools by raising the age to 21, from the current 18. Trust me. I'm in school. Every kid starting in middle school could get vaping devices if motivated. It's just that common.

But if kids talk to you or to professionals, maybe they will save themselves from addiction, and even death.

Sources
*Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Publisher's Note: This Sammie Garrity editorial was inspired by reading the book Internment by Samira Ahmed "about the injustices that immigrants face daily," Sammie notes. Neither the book nor the editorial were assigned. Sammie reads and writes out of curiosity, concern for the world and belief in the power of the written word to vivify the world and right wrongs. She writes rights. Perhaps you do too! Please send them to us for our future issues: [email protected]

OPINION | IMMIGRATION & HATE
Editorial, June 20, 2019
by Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor
Grand Marais, Minnesota
Graduate, Great Expectations Charter School, Grand Marais MN
Rising 9th Grader, Mounds Park Academy, Maplewood MN

When you hear the word immigrant what is the first thing that pops into your head?

Is it something that reflects positively on either those people or our country?

Probably not, because with all of the injustices that have been occurring for the past three years, and the fake news that our president and government has been spewing--which can be documented by many objective and genuine fact-checking sites--some people have actually started to believe the things that they are saying: That immigrants are “rapists” and “criminals” here to steal your jobs and your children. People have started to believe that women, children, and innocent families are pieces of garbage. When in reality, they are people that have been mistreated and abused in ways in which many can not imagine.

Think About Hate
When you think about it, these racist, closed-minded tendencies are not new to our country, nor our world. They are actually quite old. Japanese-American internment camps, The Civil Rights Movement, Nazi-Germany concentration camps, the fight for women’s rights, and the struggle for the freedom and equality of the LGBTQ community. These terrifying, heartbreaking battles are ones that we are obviously still struggling with today. People are beaten down and discriminated against every single day for things as uncontrollable as their gender, skin color, or sexuality. These people are told that they are worthless, that they don’t deserve to live, or that their life means less than others.

Can you imagine going through that? Can you imagine how you would feel knowing that people hate you for no other reason than the fact that you are just you? That is how these innocent people feel. That is how thousands of mothers, brothers, sisters and fathers feel.

Did You Know?
Did you know that:

so far 13,000 (and counting) children have been separated from their families?
in September of 2018 alone, 1,600 children were taken under the cover of darkness and taken to a tent city in Tornillo, Texas? 1,600 children that don’t know where their family is, if they’ll ever see them again, or if they will even survive another day.
that our government is building “detention centers” in abandoned airfield in California, Arizona, and Alabama? They will hold 120,000 migrants and most definitely won’t be a safe place for these people to go… these are internment camps where they will be labored, abused (both physically and sexually,) and will no doubt be stripped of any rights that they may have left.

Enough! Stop!
These facts and this blatant intolerance make me sick.

The striking ignorance and passivity with which our country has masked these fascist, bigoted misdeeds should be enough to make anyone stop. Should be enough to make anyone want to stand up and make a change. To make a change for the 4-month-old child who lost his parents. For the toddlers that died because they didn’t receive basic, timely medical care. For the thousands of parents wondering where their children are, and for the thousands of children wondering where they are.

OPINION | LAKE SUPERIOR & COPPER MINING
Editorial, April 28, 2019
by Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor
Grand Marais, Minnesota
8th Grade Great Expectations Charter School, Grand Marais MN
Rising 9th Grader, Mounds Park Academy, Maplewood MN

Adults Leave Behind Pollution: Minnesotans Must Act to Protect Our Water Riches of Lake Superior and BWCA from Copper Mining

People often say that the future is up to the younger generations. However, adults these days have started falling into the unfortunate habit of polluting the very earth that they are leaving us with.

The amount of destruction that our earth has faced in such a short time during the last few hundred years of rapid industrialization and population growth is largely due to the choices of adults. Our rivers have been dirtied, our ozone layer is slowly repairing itself from being exposed to deadly chemicals, in some places the air is too dirty to breathe safely, our oceans are partly made of plastic, and mining is destroying our earth every single day. And in Minnesota, our truly precious and rare water resources--Lake Superior and the lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoing Wilderness Area--are threatened by copper mining interests that pose a risk
of serious, even catastrophic pollution. Who will clean up the years or decades of destruction this new generation of copper mining could bring? Not the adults voting on permits now....not the billionaires who run the mines. Kids.

Leaving a Mess for Kids
The effects that these occurrences leave on our earth will have to be cleaned up and fixed by the current babies, children, and teenagers. It will be our responsibility to clean our lakes and rivers, ban harmful chemicals, find other ways to clean our air, clean and protect oceans from plastics and more, day after day.

The time and energy that it will take to rebuild our earth and try to restore it to its former safety, beauty and health will be astounding. For a preview of what could happen to our northern Minnesota waters of Lake Superior and BWCA if the mining experts are wrong, just look at the recent copper mining dam break in Brazil. Just the fact that we even have to worry about it is wrong--such reckless pollution should never have happened, and certainly shouldn't continue to happen now that we know better.

Our job as kids is supposed to be to have fun, grow and learn to responsibly manage the world for the next generation--not to worry about fixing our earth and cleaning up the mess today that the current generation and those before it left for us.

The Truth About Adults
We grow up learning that adults are supposed to protect kids and try to make sure life is safe and fulfilling. However, the truth seems to be that many adults are just making it harder for us. Adults in power positions (major players in our government) have been letting the proposed bill for mines in our Boundary Waters pass through our state legislature. This would cause immense disruption to our land and the ecosystems that it protects. Our animals and water would be in danger, and our forests and lakes would be diminished and polluted. Our world as we now know it could change drastically for the worse. All for some extra cash to go into the pockets of billionaires. To answer the argument that many pro-mining people have, yes, it does provide jobs. However, it is not everlasting employment.

Here's why: We as kids are digital and tech natives who really know how rapidly technology is changing--robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are the future of mechanized work like mining.

Mechanized Mining Means No Lasting Jobs
Do you really think these foreign billionaires behind the mines plan to pay high wages to Americans, fund generous insurance plans and comfortable retirement, as well as protect workers from dangerous mining injuries -- when they could create the mining equivalent of an Amazon warehouse staffed by robots who need only batteries to get the job done? These bots will never strike, sue or ask for a raise. They will work 24/7, endlessly and never get sick. Robots won't mind a dam break and pollution of Lake Superior and the BWCA.! As a capitalist, what would you do--hire Minnesotans or invest in AI-managed bot-force?

Eventually, the mine will stop producing and all we will be left with is damaged earth and jobless, demoralized people unprepared for this dismal future.

New Jobs for Us in AI
To me, that doesn’t make too much sense. Ways that we can avoid this and start repairing our planet before its too late are endless. On a large scale, let's educate Minnesotans to run AI and automated systems where it makes sense.

Then, on a small scale everyone of us can start by recycling and repurposing instead of tossing things out the windows or to landfills. We can use toxin-free products to get rid of pests. We can use less electric light and more solar panels. We can use paper products instead of plastic. And so much more. Every one of us can do something to preserve and protect our earth.

In Minnesota now, we can demand that our politicians make the mine owners protect our people, water, forest and animals: All Minnesota.

These are just a couple of the options out of many that can help our earth become a place that is healthy for everyone on it. Try them--now!

NEWS FLASH!

On April 26, 2019 BorealCorps kids learned they won a highly competitive presentation spot at the National Conference on Tobacco and Health to be held August 27-29 in Minneapolis!!

BorealCorps' Story Scouts staff their 2018 Fisherman's Picnic booth where they educated the public about lung health and the dangers of vaping. From left: Sammie Garrity, Bryn Fitzgerald-Wells, Grace Ritchey, Grace Blomberg.

In reviewing BorealCorps' application to present on the health dangers of vaping, the judges based their decision on BorealCorps' highly creative and comprehensive public health messaging last summer about lung health. BorealCorps' kids took their public health messages to the Grand Marais Library Lawn; The Fisherman's Picnic; Grand Marais City Council; Lake County Fair -- and nearly anywhere else people would listen.

The abstract submission process was very competitive, and our reviewers believe that your presentation topics will be an important addition to the
meeting agenda. Congratulations once again, and we look forward to seeing you at the National Conference on Tobacco or Health! ~ excerpt from the April 26 Judges' letter to BorealCorps

At our Love Your Lungs educational booth at the Fisherman's Picnic and Lake County Fairs, we surveyed people to see how much they knew about the dangers of vaping. Most had heard about it -- but didn't know much about it. And very few adults had ever seen vaping devices; most kids had.

READY...SET...SMELL! The "Smell Test" challenges people to decide if what's in the jar is candy...or a vape flavor packet of a nicotine delivery device. It's harder than you think to tell them apart. Vapists specifically formulate vape flavor pods to smell like candy. This is one of the ways kids get addicted -- by mistaking vape nicotine delivery devices to be just another form of candy. Candy is not good for you. Vaping is worse.

SPRING BREAK 2019!
Field Report....send us your reports and pictures!

TRAVEL NEWS
East Coast History Trip
by Andrew Hallberg, History Editor
Ella Hallberg, Assistant History Editor

From March 21 to 30 we went on a trip to the East Coast. We drove to Thunder Bay then we took a plane to Toronto and then drove through Niagara Falls, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to Boston. In Boston we had fun exploring the history of the United States and saw important landmarks.

Boston
Boston is a historic city and I think it is the most historic city in the United States. My favorite thing we did was see the Boston Massacre it happened March 5 1770 when 5 colonists died in the hands of the British. We also saw the old city hall and Paul Revere’s house. We stayed in the oldest hotel in Boston. We went to the Bunker Hill (also known as Breed's Hill) Monument. We also climbed the 294 steps inside the monument as well.

New York
New York is also an important city in the American Revolution because it was the stronghold of the British forces. We visited Trinity Church and saw Alexander Hamilton’s grave. My favorite thing in New York was the Statue of Liberty. We were also at the Empire State Building and the 9/11 Museum. We took ferries, trains and the subway in New York, next we went to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia/Toronto
In Philadelphia we saw the Liberty Bell and we went to Washington Square. We also visited the National Constitution Center we also saw Valley Forge, the winter encampment from 1777 to 1778 that is 23 miles away from Philadelphia. Then we went to Toronto by driving through Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario.
In Toronto our hotel was next to the CN tower and the Toronto Blue Jays Stadium. The next day we flew to Thunder Bay, then we drove home. We drove through 11 states and 1 providence, we put 1500 miles on the rental car and walked over 60 miles.

New York City!

2018 GLOBAL HEALTH REPORTS

©Graphic by The Story Laboratory, LLC, 2018.

DAY 3, October 23: Amsterdam to Africa

Follow our BorealCorps' coverage of Gordon Lindquist as he travels from Grand Marais to Uganda, with his daughter Julie Lehmann on an African Mission trip!
See all daily reports and archives on www.storyscouts.org

DAY 2 | Boston USA to Uganda Africa

Gordon and Joyce Lindquist Africa Project

The Lindquist Way:

Inspiring Giving

DAY 2
Would You Take $10?

Fundraising for an African health clinic by lifelong Grand Marais residents Gordon and Joyce Lindquist began small and slow.

Nine years ago (see attached picture) in the early days of the project, Gordon recalls speaking at a Methodist Church about the health needs of women and children in a rural, poor Ugandan village that is today the home of the Nyakatsiro Health Clinic. Since then, Gordon helped raise over $100,000 to build, furnish and equip it—much of it from donors in Grand Marais, Cook County, and Minnesotans all over the state as well as donors in 30 other states. He left Grand Marais October 19 to attend the clinic’s grand opening on October 26 with his daughter, Julie Lindquist Lehmann. It’s a 16,000 mile round trip.Even at age 89, Gordon says he wouldn’t miss it for anything.

One woman’s response still stirs Gordon. She lived in a nursing home in New Brighton and phoned him after he had spoken about the mission project at a Methodist church. Says Gordon: “She called up and said, “I heard about the clinic in Uganda you want to help. I don’t have much money, but I’d like to help, too. Would you take $10?”

It was the first of many times he teared up over this project and the goodness it calls forth in a wide range of people.

Adds his wife Joyce, recalling the early days of continual fundraising presentations, endless stuffing of envelopes with appeals —and wonder of wonders, opening envelopes with donations. “We were really, really worried for a while that we weren’t going to make it,”Joyce says. “But every time Gordon sent a report out about what was needed, checks came in ….and checks came from people didn’t have much money. It brought tears to my eyes.”

Gordon sums it up with a comment a friend made as he reached for his checkbook: “Gordon, if you don’t think the Lord has a sense of humor, look at it this way: Here you are a Baptist raising money for a clinic in Africa run by nuns, and here I am a Protestant priest writing out a check to a Catholic church.”

Watch this space for daily updates from Gordon and Julie about their African trip and a dream being realized. To receive daily email inbox postcard updates on their trip, email [email protected].

Photos, top to bottom
Gordon first arrived in southwestern Uganda, Africa, in June 2010. He was greeted by the Catholic nun who manages health care there, Sister Christine, and flute players honoring him with music.

On Oct. 22, 2018, Gordon and his daughter Julie Lindquist Lehmann left from Boston’s Logan Airport for Kampala, Uganda, Africa, to attend the grand opening of the Nyakatsiro Health Clinic on October 26.

Cook County Kids at the State Capitol Learn Lobbying Techniques, Urge Lawmakers to Protect Lung Health

NEWS
Out and About
Staff report
Last Update: 6:30 p.m. March 22, 2018
A group of 17 Grand Marais students and four parent chaperones traveled to St. Paul March 22 to learn how to change tobacco laws that protect kids from damaging their health and getting addicted to nicotine from tobacco, electronic cigarettes and other nicotine delivery devices.

Learning to Lobby
In a morning coaching session at the Minnesota History Center sponsored by the Minnesota Lung Association, students learned the basics of an effective lobbying pitch to engage interest and spark action. The goal of the coaching was to prepare them to tell Cook County lawmakers at the state legislature to change the legal age of purchasing tobacco from 18 to 21--which they did later in the afternoon, after walking to the Capitol from the History Center.

BorealCorps story scout club members on the trip are Grace Blomberg, MaTaya Fairbanks, Wren Ferry, Bryn Fitzgerald-Wells, Andrew Hallberg, Sammie Garrity, Livi Nesgoda, Grace Ritchey. Nine students from Cook County High are also participating, offering a video they made on the need for Tobacco 21 law passage.

Beautiful Lungs
Eight of the students, grades 5 to 7, are BorealCorps members who prepared a presentation board, “Beautiful Lungs: a Visual History Of One Woman’s Life and Death from Smoking.” It is told in primary source photos, an emphysema lung CT scan, and hand-felted diseased lung slices the students made and “accessorized” with tumors.

The bejeweled felted lung cross-sections are an artistic challenge to tobacco company advertising themes that market cigarettes and electronic-cigarettes as part of a beautiful, glamorous, carefree and alluring lifestyle. By using art and science in their presentation board, BorealCorps kids casts cancer as bling on handmade diseased felted lungs that provactively and creatively challenged Big Tobacco's marketing message.

The Preparation of Display Boards, "Beautiful Lungs" and "Don't Be Fooled": Drawing, Writing, Wet Felting Lung Cross Sections

...and the Presentation, Coaching and March to the Capitol !

Close-up of an artistic interpretation of lung disease created by hand through wet felting fleece into a cross section of lung "decorated" with a fanciful tumor in BorealCorps' "Beautiful Lung" project. The project is an exploration of marketing's use of "beauty messaging" to deliberately sell destructive tobacco and nicotine products to girls and women.

BorealCorps parent Dave Mills used his Grand Marais City Council expertise in governance and communication to help coach kids as they drafted and rehearsed their appeals to legislators to pass the Tobacco 21 law.

STUDENTS CARE, STUDENTS ACT
WHY STUDENTS and WOMEN MARCH .... A CALL FOR A NEW POLITICAL PARTY: THE YOUTH PARTY!

Grand Marais 7th graders joined students nationwide March 14, 2018 to honor slain students and teachers of the Feb. 14 Florida school shooting. They began with 17 minutes of silence, one for each life lost, followed with a solemn reading of the murdered victims' names, and a march through the streets of Grand Marais.

FORWARD MARCH! Students take to the streets in respectful protest of gun violence nationwide that endangers learning

OPINION
Editorial, MARCH 14, 2018
by Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor
Grade 7, Great Expectations Charter School, Grand Marais, Minnesota

What we did today was not because we wanted to get out of school.

What we did today was stand, walk, and protest those 17 kids and adults that were taken from this world.

We stood up for the lives of the American people. Our motivation: hope, fear, wishing that our country will be fixed. What we gained from this experience was a new understanding for the world and what people believe in.

Some people did not agree with us and they voiced their opinions through words and hand motions, but the majority of the feedback that we faced from the community was support and thankfulness. They were thankful for kids standing up for the rights and lives of people. They were proud that it was us, from their own lives doing it for them. We gained insight of the importance of this and how, even if unexpected, this could happen to us.

Cook County Supports Women and Girls! Photo Credits: Denny FitzPatrick.

EXPLANATIONS
Community Events & Social Justice MARCH 5, 2018
by Livi, Boreal Corps Q & A Community Editor
Grade 7, Great Expectations Charter School, Grand Marais, Minnesota

Q. I read that more than 200 people took part in the Cook County women’s March in January. Why?
A: I think more than 200 people took part in the march because they were unsatisfied with they way women are being treated in society. They came to the march because they wanted to protest how women are treated and fight for equality.

Q. What is most memorable about it in your mind?
A: What is most memorable about it for me was not when we were actually marching, but when we gathered in Harbor Park afterwards and people spoke out about inequality and why it is important to them to see a change in how society treats women.

Q. Why was the march important?
A: The march was important because it should our community that women and even men are ready to see a change in how females are treated in society. It also opened people up to the idea of addressing how women are belittled compared to men.

Q. What do these marches do for women and girls across the country?
A: These marches show women and young girls that they are worth just as much as their male counter parts. It also shows them that if something is bothering them and or they want to see a change they can stand up for themselves and people who may not have voice.

BorealCorps Editor Sammie Garrity testified in 2017 before the Minnesota Legislature's Broadband Commission on the importance of fast, reliable internet service to rural Minnesota students and families.

OPINION
Editorial, MARCH 5, 2018
by Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor
Grade 7, Great Expectations Charter School, Grand Marais, Minnesota

Lately, children seem to be the only ones taking a stand for what we believe in.

Is that bad? Yes and no. We need more of young voices in the media and society but also, we need adults help us.

Lower the Age for Political Candidates to....16!
So, kids around the country have come up with various propositions.
One is: What if in Minnesota we lowered the age limit on the ability to run for office to 16 years old? Right now you have to be 21. At the vary least, the law of the land should be: if you can legally buy a gun, you should be able to run for political office. That would be the start for forming the Youth Party.

In other states, kids around the ages of 16 are attending government meetings, creating campaigns, and protesting for what they believe in. Adults could still run for office of course, but with responsible teenagers running for office, the American people would have a choice for young and fresh voices over the classic sugar-coating-politician who only cares about making money, and votes in whatever direction the money pile is located. At least, that's how the basic adult politician of any party strikes many kids.

Which would people choose?

Kids Step Up
Younger people are ignoring what many adults or politicians think about gun control--that the problem is too hard to solve! Instead, the kids are focusing on the biggest and most correct goal of all: saving students' lives. Whether it may be to enact sales or age limits on the AR-15 rifle to prevent further tragedies, such as the ones they've suffered in their friends death, or organizing marches for safe schools WITHOUT armed teachers, kids are out in the world making a difference.

For example, in Kansas, high school kids are running for political office now. Why not change laws everywhere so kids in all states can do that? In Florida, kids are amazing adults everyday with their powerful speeches and demonstrations for safe schools. Wanting to change the world for the better is spreading contagiously and the fight will go on until maybe one day, the world will be healed by kids.

For now, we are taking it one issue at a time. If kids in Kansas and Florida can do it, so can we Minnesotans. Some if not all of us are walking out of school on March 14th in respect for the seventeen lives that were taken, again some if not all are taking part in the March for Our Lives on March 24.

3 Advantages of Youth Party Candidates
These smaller things eventually add up to a large thing: changing the world. And leaders from the Youth Party would be ready and willing to lead this change for at least three reasons:

We usually can out-maneuver most adults in technology, and face it, much of modern life and many elections' accurate results depend on technological skills.
We have no money and no power. We are not as corruptible as adults because we have nothing to lose by doing the right thing. And hopefully, we have every thing to gain: a better, fairer, safer, more honest world.
We actually care about doing the right thing--and to take action and fight for the right thing.

These three traits would help the world more than what is happening now.

Though adults and experienced politicians may see it differently, kids know the right things to fight for. The lives and rights of the American people are on the line and now kids are stepping up. If we can continue this and let kids help run our government with elected officials from the Youth Party, maybe the world will be fixed sooner.

Tech Time With Boreal: Students Help Community Members at Free Sessions

At a Tech Help session in the Senior Center Bob worked on devising a secure password with the help of Cook County High School student Noah. BorealCorps Staff photo.

Cook County High School computer whiz kids assist community members several times a month at no cost during public tech help sessions at the library and the senior center.

Boreal Corps listened into a session earlier in February as a senior, Bob, pictured at left, sought help for an issue everyone struggles with: remembering passwords and constructing secure passwords.

What's your method? Read on to learn ours!

Password Pointers

TECHNOLOGY
Community News, February 26, 2018
By Bryn Fitzgerald-Wells, Grade 7, Great Expectations Charter School
& the Boreal Corps Tech Team

Having a secure password is a lot more important than you may think.

There are instances where someone might try to hack into an account, phone, computer, or any other device to get information. It might not sound likely, but it happens more than you would expect. A strong password that is hard to guess is good to have on a device. That way, if someone does have hold of your electronic, they most likely will not be able to access your personal information or anything else that is kept on it.

Many people will use important words, dates, or a combination of both for their passwords. This is generally a good idea, as it may be harder to guess. Some of the most common and easy to crack passwords include: password, 1234, and one number repeated over and over again, such as: 1111, 2222, or 3333.

The strongest passwords include: both uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation. If you include all of these things in your password, there are a lot more possibilities of what it could be.

It is always important to have a passcode on your device. It may take a little more time to access whatever app or website you are using, but in the long run, it is a lot safer and you may be really thankful that you put one on your phone, computer or tablet.

Follow along in a password pointers session below as Cook County High School student Noah helps Grand Marais senior Bob. Bob was at the Senior Center recently for a free public tech help session sponsored jointly by ISD 166 and Boreal Community Media.

NOTE: Bob is identified below as asking the questions with a "Q".
Noah answers and is identified with an "A".

Q: How should I start?
A. With a special character — like a pound sign, or any of those symbols on the top keys.

Q. My first word in my pass phrase starts with g.
A. Instead of g, I’d use a special character and then a g because it would make it really hard for the hacker to start the attack—and they don’t want to waste time if they have trouble right from the beginning.

Q. Do I do that for all the words in this pass phrase?
A. Yes. Write out normal letters, and then insert special characters and underscores.

Q: What’s wrong with using a birthday or name?
A. It’s really common that people do that. Use a birthday, or name of a special someone.. but stuff like that is what the hacker will go to first... But if you put in special characters, that will slow things. They’ll jump off if the crack is too hard.

Q. OK. So I have a special character, an underscore or whatever, and another word broken up with special characters. Add some underscores for good measure?
A. Add some underscores for good measure. To really throw them off.

Q. (laughing) You’re not a nice guy are you?
A. No! Not when it comes to hackers and especially if they are after your money!
Oh, and about special characters. Don’t use @ or 3 for common letters—they can guess that too easily.

Q: And where do I find the special characters again? How do I get the typewriter back?
A: You mean the keyboard?

Q: Yah, I call it a typewriter.
A: I know what a typewriter is. I’ve used both kinds, electric and the other.

Q: How’s this?
A: Good — it looks like you have two underscores.

Q. Where?
A. Here, see how it’s longer. Do you want that, two underscores? It’s fine if you do, but will you remember that you repeated the underscore.

Q. Wow. That’s a good question…I have a lot to think about, don't I. Thank you!
A. Sure! Happy to help!

Tech Time at the Senior Center is held from 2-3 p.m. on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. Evening sessions are held at the Grand Marais Library, 6-8 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month.

Bring your device, your questions and your digital ambitions and let our ace staff of Cook County High School students and Boreal Community Media tech experts help you!

TOP PRIORITIES: Gun Safety & Children

OPINION
Editorial, February 23, 2018
by Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor
Grade 7, Great Expectations Charter School, Grand Marais, Minnesota

Our nation celebrated President’s Day by hearing about death, guns, and innocent children.

I was in Florida during this time during the school break visiting my Grandma, so I got to experience it firsthand. When I went to a restaurant, I heard people afraid to stand up and walk out of school because they would get in trouble. I heard people scared to speak their minds about something as horrible as shootings. The people who died, and the people that killed them have families who in their own ways, are haunted by these occurrences.

GUN CONTROL and SCHOOLS: This makes us wonder: how protected are we really?

When people rely on guns and violence to express their emotions, I wonder, are we really free?
.....Are we really a great country?

People are scared to go to school because they are afraid that they are going to die.

Do Adults Care?
I don’t want that. And I certainly hope that the rest of the American people don’t want that either. In fact, I know some don’t because of the rallies. Kids are rallying for their friends lives. The ones that were so cruelly taken from them. They are fighting for stricter gun laws so more of innocent people’s lives don’t get taken away. They gathered at Florida’s Capitol and protested, met with lawmakers and got people’s attention. They certainly did mine.

I hope that our government realizes how important this is. To me, it just feels like this is another bump in the road for them and another item that they to smooth over or check off of their lists. They need to listen, and they need to take action. Otherwise, I don’t know how many more times this is going to happen.

There have been some ideas that, quite frankly, I don’t agree with. It has been suggested that the teachers bear weapons in order to protect schools and kids. If that were to happen, then the teachers would have to learn how to use them, there would be liability issues if an accident occurred, and there would be a higher risk of fear among children.

I know if I went to a school where the teachers carried guns around, I wouldn’t feel safe, I would feel like no one cared so they just gave some adults weapons in order to make this whole issue go away.

Imagine the Armed Classroom
How would you like it if you walked into school and along with a notebook and pencil, your teacher had a gun sitting next to them. Would you think, oh, I feel safe now! Or would you think, I don’t feel safe because my teachers have a need to carry weapons around?

The problem is that these school shootings, they have happened before. Actually, they have happened a lot. If teachers had guns, what difference would it make? If you had enough trained security guards on site, you wouldn’t need teachers with guns. I know that I would feel a lot safer with trained security guards around me then my math teacher teaching me how to do algebra using a gun as a ruler. What about students receiving access to guns? What if they found one and discharged it accidentally, or if it wasn’t an accident?

Improve Guard Training and Laws...Don't Arm Teachers
but It is hard to think about, but it is a possibility. Meanwhile, if schools received more money for security measures, security guards with professional training could protect the students in a dangerous situation. You know what would also help the situation? Stricter gun laws. If it weren’t so easy to buy an automatic weapon, then maybe this wouldn’t happen.

If it weren’t so easy for Nikolas Cruz to buy that AR-15 rifle, maybe 17 innocent people wouldn’t be dead.

Our 2018 FOCUS:
Cook County (CoCo) Kids' Health
Protect your health from tobacco, electronic cigarettes and vape damage

Happy New Year 2018!

We are excited to be working on a new BorealCorps' student project with the American Lung Association of Minnesota!

Our goal is to harness the power of online reporting and social media to help kids and families understand that their health is at risk when they use smokeless tobacco products like electronic cigarettes and vaping.

At Sawtooth Middle School in Grand Marais, we're designing or own anti-tobacco and anti-vape ads. At Great Expectations Charter School, we're writing essays and editorials about it and answering your questions with our Q & A's. Join us!

And check out our progress below, and follow BorealCorps BREATHES on Facebook!

Start off right.... in life and in 2018! As students in Cook County's Sawtooth Middle Schools and Great Expectations Charter School in Grand Marais, we're learning about ways tobacco and vaping products are marketed, how they impact health, and how much money they suck out of you. It's bad.

Martin Luther King Day, Women's March....and Vaping? Wha-a-a-a?

Sources, from left: Racial targeting ad from Tobacco Free kids website https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0208.pdf. Smoking Flapper ad from the Duke University archives of advertising. Used with permission for educational purposes.

Remember, “He who accepts evil without protesting against it, is really cooperating with it.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

Here are some statistics about marketing strategies and links to follow to learn more about how teens, racial, minorities and women have been targeted by advertisers--unfairly!--to get us to smoke, vape, throw away our health for their profit:

* Marketing to Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives has included advertising and promotion of cigarette brands with names such as Rio, Dorado, and American Spirit.

*The tobacco industry has targeted African American communities in its advertisements and promotional efforts for menthol cigarettes. Strategies include:

Campaigns that use urban culture and slang to promote menthol cigarettes.

Tobacco-sponsored hip-hop bar nights with samples of specialty menthol cigarettes.

Targeted direct-mail promotions.

Fundamental American Right: Say NO
If Americans don’t have the right to health and protection against smoking and vaping ads targeted at specific races and genders, where is the world going? Are we just going to let people that have power make us feel smaller?

Have us get addicted to things that could kill us in the long run. At the top of this article there are pictures of old ads designed to target women and racial minorities.

Ads still do this kind of thing. These days, vaping is advertised at candy without calories.

Honestly, it would be a lot healthier to just eat regular candy.
~ Sammie Garrity

CoCo KIDS' HEALTH | e-cigs & vaping
by Sammie Garrity
Health Columnist
Great Expectations Charter School

MLK day is an important moment in our history. It reminds us of our culture and the troubles that we have all faced in the past and the present. The injustices that we all face not depending on our race, culture, or religion have one thing in common, it is all caused by pure hate.

When we face discrimination it is not based on us. It is not our fault. It is the person-that-is-putting-us-down's fault.

Health discrimination
There is injustice everywhere, including improper advertisements of smoking equipment. Racial minorities are one of the many groups that are targeted by large smoking companies. Another group of people that are targeted are women.

Since early in the 20th Century women have been subject to many unfair examples set upon stereotypes. It is recognized by the American Lung Association and many other health organizations that women, children, racial minorities, and many other people are unfair and very large targets for tobacco companies.

Notice Tobacco Executives Do NOT Smoke...Why?

A certain tobacco executive said, and I quote, "We don't smoke that s**t….We just sell it. We reserve the right to smoke for the young, the poor, the black and stupid."

You can find this on this website, https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0208.pdf.

Here is a two minute video aggressively targeting African American people, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ7ZtFDOwTM.

Labeled below is a fact from the U.S. government’s own study on smoking:

"Compared to other racial/ethnic groups, African Americans bear the greatest health burden from preventable tobacco related diseases which kill approximately 45 000 African Americans yearly."

Here is the link for it, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791258/

All in all, I hope that we can remember the importance of standing up for our rights just like Martin Luther King Jr, did.

Remember!

“Those who accept evil without protesting against it, are really cooperating with it.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.

* The original quote uses the pronoun "he". I corrected it.

ENCOUNTERING E-CIGARETTES....

CoCo KIDS' HEALTH | e-cigs & vaping
Fast Facts
by Bryn Fitzgerald-Wells
Staff Writer
Great Expectations Charter School

The electronic cigarette — e-cig—is a new way of encouraging children, adults, and society in general to smoke by minimizing the health dangers. An e-cig is a mechanical device that delivers the addictive drug nicotine in a hazy vapor cloud, not smoke from burning tobacco. You don’t smoke an e-cig — you “vape” it.

It’s not rare to see a kid attempting to buy or use one. Unfortunately, a lot of the time they are pressured into using them because they want to be considered ‘cool.’

How it starts
This is just one way that a kid can encounter one of these cigarettes: Imagine you are a highschool kid who is hanging out with some friends near a drug store. Your friends decide to go inside to buy some cigarettes and convince you to go with them. Once you get inside, they tell you that you should try one. You feel pressured and cave in. You think that it might be alright if you try it and that it doesn’t sound that bad. You don’t realize how addictive they are, and use it.

Bad for you
Studies show vaping e-cigs only arrived on the scene in 2007, so all the dangers have not yet been scientifically discovered. But studies do show it’s bad for you: mouth sores that don’t heal and a depressed immune system are two bad health effects.
But it’s not rare to see a kid attempting to buy or use one. Unfortunately, a lot of the time they are pressured into using them because they want to be considered ‘cool.’

Addiction
After you start, you see how many e-cigarettes you have smoked and decide that you made the wrong choice. But when you want to stop, you can’t because of how serious your addiction has become. All types of cigarettes and cigars have addictive properties due to nicotine. The brands adds various amounts of nicotine to all their products because they want to make sure that you keep buying them.

Lung damage
Smoking constantly is really bad for your lungs. It can cause sickness and death. The only way of avoiding something that severe is to stop yourself before you light another cigarette—whether it’s a tobacco cigarette or an e-cigarette. The sooner that you can detach yourself from doing so, the better your health will be, whether or not you are an adult or child.

CoCo KIDS' HEALTH | e-cigs & vaping
Editorial
by Sammie Garrity
Staff Editorial Writer
Great Expectations Charter School

Imagine a kid rushing down the sidewalk, not wanting to be late for his first day as a lifeguard.

Shortcut

Time is running out, so he decides to cut through the woods. In those woods are teenagers. They are smoking, vaping, and who knows what else.

This particular kid, being around the age of 12, does not know them. When he reaches a clearing, almost to the pool, he stops.

The clearing

A group of older kids, all around the age of 17 stare at him. Before he could even think of what to do, they speak. “Hey, kid,” says one.

   “You ever smoke? You should try some,” another one speaks. The rest just look.

   “No thanks. I’m okay.”

   “I said, ‘You should try some.’”

Peer pressure

All of the teenagers are staring at him. Pressuring him into smoking, vaping. He really doesn’t know what is happening.

“Really, I’m good.”

Even though he said no, a pen-shaped item gets put into his hand. Everyone is looking at him. Peer pressuring him into a choice that he does want to commit.

Choices

Right now, the kid has two choices:

To either smoke it and head down a path that could lead in sickness, addiction, and possibly death. Those drastic measures being the results of side effects of e-Cigs, Vaping, and regular smoking. Or firmly say no and just run.

Run

Run. Run away from bad choices, bad situations and bad people.

Breathe, think

Though it may not seem easy, you can do it, and when you can take a breath and think, you will feel good, too.

CoCo Kid's Health: Make The Right Choice
By Wren Ferry
Staff Writer
Great Expectations Charter School

Before you read anymore of this, we need to get something straight:

It is your choice fully and completely to use cigarettes and vaping pens. You could argue that it was someone else’s fault for peer pressuring you to start using them, but in the end it was your choice to cave in and actually do it. You are not completely helpless; you have opinions, beliefs, rights as a person to decide what you are going to do and how to go about it. And you can change your mind! Put it down right now if you are experimenting!

As an asthmatic, I am familiar with how it feels to be short of breath, to have an inhaler, not to be able to do many sports, or to feel slow and clumsy while running or jogging. Smoking and using vapes would have that reaction, only way worse, and that wouldn’t be the only side effect.
It is true that 1 puff of a e-cigarette is not as bad for you as 1 puff on a conventional cigarette, but vaping is also addicting. When you vape, you are basically inhaling liquid nicotine, artificial flavoring, and chemicals. And it isn’t just you suffering from smoking, non-smokers who breathe it in are also in danger of health problems. And after you look at this list maybe you’ll get a better idea of how bad smoking is for your health and body.

Here are some side effects of vaping:
by Wren Ferry

1. It increases the possibility of heart disease for people who already have bad conditions.  
2. Nicotine sometimes has an effect on the reproductive system. It can lead to babies being born with low birth weights if the mother has had exposure to it.  
3. Smokers have an increase chance of heart attacks. 
4. Kids who use e-cigarettes have more respiratory problems and take more days off of school which can lead to falling behind.  
5. Cancer 
6. Frequent colds or sicknesses  
7. Stroke 
8. It constricts blood vessels which leads to high blood pressure. 
9. Emphysema  

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

By Livi
STAFF Q&A Columnist
Great Expectations Charter School

Welcome! Here we answer your questions about health problems from cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaping:

Q: How is smoking different from vaping?
A: Until the mid-1960s, smoking tobacco cigarettes skyrocketed in popularity as smokers were unaware of the possible health risks. Now people are more hesitant to begin the dangerous habit. But a new trend has been on the rise: Vaping is the act of using an electronic device (e-cigarette) to inhale and exhale the vapor produced by an e-cig or similar device.

Q: Who vapes, and how do they do it?
A. This fad, as harmless as it may seem, is targeted to teens and is actually quite dangerous. Vaping is on an upward soar, entrapping teens through youth marketed ads, leading to addiction and addictive behaviors, and has the potential to cause serious medical problems. Vape products are now the most common tobacco products amongst teens. E-cigarettes that dispense the vapor are actually designed to target teens. They offer colorful candy flavors, discreet vape pens that look like pens, and are often endorsed by celebrities in highly-read teen magazines.

Q: What is a vape pen, or rig?
A. Vape pens are designed specifically to look like the common household tool, a pen. It is made this way to be as unnoticeable as possible. This is probably to make hiding the fact someone is vaping easier. But who are they hiding from? Could it be parents or teachers? Possibly. Whoever it is, it most likely helps teens get away with the dangerous habit. To add to their danger, vape pens are easily purchasable online.

Q: What or who are replacement smokers?
A: Tobacco companies market towards kids to gain replacement smokers so they can continue making money after their current users die from natural causes or from any of the many side effects of smoking. In fact almost 90% of smokers start before the age of 18. A growing amount of evidence shows that teens who don’t use conventional tobacco products but vape are more likely to use them in the future than non-vapers.

Q: Why do people vape?
A: Most kids try e-cigarettes because the vaping liquid is designed to have pleasant, candy-like flavors. There is also a common thought that flavored products are healthier than tobacco flavored products. It is said that by simply removing flavored vaping products the number of youth users would plummet.

Q: Does vaping deliver nicotine?
A: E-cigarettes and vape pens contain the same enslaving chemical as traditional cigarettes, nicotine.

Q: What’s so bad about nicotine?
A: Nicotine is highly addictive and can wreak havoc in adolescent brains. The human brain is not finished developing until the age 25, so when a growing brain is exposed to nicotine it can lead to addiction and disrupt learning and attention. This is horrifying to think about, since most vapers are still in high school, and because of the use of nicotine they may not be able to focus in school and get the most out of it. This can seriously affect students’ chances of going to a good college and having a good career.

Q: Can vaping cause bleeding mouths?
A: Vaping is commonly thought to be a good alternative to smoking or that it can even help people quit smoking. Both of these thoughts are incorrect. Vaping is actually very dangerous and can lead to many health problems. Many vapers complain of throat sores and bleeding mouths; this is because the vapor in e-cigarettes inflames the mouth and throat causing infections and leading to gum disease.

Q: What are other bad health effects of vaping?
A: According to Science News for Students; vaping actually slows the healing process in the mouth and throat. There are even some toxic metals found in vape products. Some of these are nickel, chromium and magnesium. Both nickel and chromium are cancer causing toxins. Another toxic chemical found in e-cigarettes is benzene. This is yet another cancer risk.

Q: Overall, what’s the verdict on e-cigs and vaping?
A: In conclusion, it is safe to say that vaping is a serious health risk. But like the popularity of tobacco up until the 1960s, people are unaware of the dangers. Vaping is thought to be a healthy alternative, or a way to quit smoking, but this is misleading and often causes teens to take up smoking later in their life. Vaping is not only detrimental to users’ physical health, but to mental health as well: it can cause addictive behaviors and take away from students’ abilities to focus in class.

Q: Why do teens fall for something that wastes their money and takes their health?
A: Vaping has an image of being cool and seduces teens to take it up by being advertised by celebrities, leading to dependence on the nicotine fix and obsessive behavior, ultimately causing medical problems further down the road.

DECEMBER 2017

Our Posters Say It All: Bullying is Wrong!
Positivity is Right!

"Judges looked for positivity"

SCHOOL LIFE
ANTI-BULLYING POSTER CONTEST
By Reuben and Illya
Staff Writers

Hi! This is Iylla and Reuben from Sawtooth Elementary Student Council!

The school held the first Anti-Bullying Poster Contest for Unity Day on October 25th. A bunch of students worked together
and created their posters and displayed them on the wall by the Eagle Doors. The main qualifications judges were looking for were positivity and creativity in addressing bullying.

The winners for Sawtooth Elementary are Aubrey Williams, Ty Mielke, and Jack Radloff. They won for Most Positivity. Their prize was glow in the dark necklaces.

The middle school winners are Kylie Viren, Kole Anderson, Brody Lacina, and Cayden Zimmer. They won zipper earbuds. Another group of middle schoolers won for most creativity. They are J Shannon, Ben Obinger, John Piere, Paul Dorr, and Ryan Christiansen. Their prize was zipper earbuds as well.

All participants for the Anti-Bullying Poster contest will receive one Vikings Voucher. We also took a school wide picture in the high school gym for all the students who were wearing orange. Last but not least, we did a raffle for the elementary, middle school and high school students.

We do all of these things to show that Cook County schools are kind and respectful places to learn! See some of our posters below!

COME TO THE Y'S COMMUNITY HALLOWEEN PARTY TUESDAY!

NEWS
Story
by Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor, Grade 7, Great Expectations School

Illustrations in gallery (above and below) and at left
by Tanner, Staff Illustrator, Grade 6, Sawtooth Elementary School

Party from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday
As you all know, Halloween is just around the corner, and that means that it is time for scary stories and spooky costumes. What better place to spend it then at the YMCA Halloween party?!

From 5:30-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31st, at the Cook County Community YMCA you can enjoy various activities including the spider hop, obstacle course and much more.

Fun for All Ages
There will be activities for 1-2 year olds in the daycare room. There will be a costume parade and contest at 6:45 p.m., and you can enjoy refreshments before that—even take a spooky selfie with your friends in the photo booth!

The Y has this event annually, and this is the third year that they have hosted it. Last year more than 200 people participated, so join them this year and make the Y a part of your Halloween celebration! The event is free for everyone, and open to all ages.

Volunteers Needed
Volunteers are needed, too, to help set up from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and to run the activities and contests from 4:45 to 7 p.m., give out prizes and encourage participants. There will be snacks and punch and many spooky memories. Prizes, drinks and games for all ages. To learn about volunteering or to sign up, call: 218-387-3386 x 501

Stop by and make the Y one of your Halloween stops. It is going to be so much fun, and I hope that you don’t miss out!

Sawtooth Elementary School Election Newspaper Introduces Candidates

ELECTION NEWS BY STUDENTS AT ISD 166
The Boreal Corps' digital media skills club of elementary school children in ISD 166's Sawtooth Elementary School took to the polls on October 17, 2017 to participate in student government as a way to continue to make a great school.

To get the most out of the experience, the 4th and 5th graders created a special edition of Boreal Corps' children's newspaper, The Grand Marais Gleam School Election Issue. You can also click on the image of the newspaper cover to open and download the PDF.

FISHERMAN'S PICNIC NEWS BY STUDENTS AT GREAT EXPECTATIONS SCHOOL
Students at Great Expectations School rallied over the summer to write, edit and illustrate a special Fisherman's Picnic Edition The Grand Marais Gleam. You can also click on the image of the Gleam's cover to open the PDF.

Thoughts on Kids, Cook County and Racial Discrimination

OPINION
Editorial and Photos
by Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor

Racial discrimination is a problem that our country has faced for decades. I have never really understood the point in it, and was glad that it had not come to Cook County.

Racism is Real
Unfortunately, I recently found out that it has been here in Cook County for years. Two young girls were being bullied by a group of boys. The girls were called names that are absolutely unacceptable and horrifying. I feel horrible for them because I honestly thought that our community was a safe place for everyone to be in.
But for those girls, sadly, it is not. This bullying caused them to leave our town and move somewhere that I hope they feel safe in. I personally knew the girls so I am very sad to see them leave.

Rally: 150 People Strong
Denny FitzPatrick and Pat Campanaro are part of a Cook County organization called Arrowhead Indivisible, which is fighting against racism and bullying in our county and everywhere. They helped organize a community rally October 1 against racism at Grand Marais Harbor Park, and about 150 people attended.
People at the park pledged to do whatever they can to help stop bully, and support kids in general. They said they will continue to do so until everyone in this community feels safe. A smaller group of about 25 people met Oct. 8 in a “huddle” to keep their commitment to kids and a safe and fair community strong. They brainstormed ways to make a positive difference through mentoring and other interactions with kids.

Attend School Board Meetings
Some speakers at the Oct. 1 rally encouraged community members to show up to the school board meetings to protest what they felt was a lack of communication with the general community. Some felt the school board seems to discount the views of one or two people, but argued they cannot discount one hundred-plus people who show up at a meeting.
Meeting dates will be posted around town and online, so please show up and support these girls and the other victims of discrimination and bullying in our town.

Sharing Stories and Pain
Some people shared their own stories about being bullied or bullying others. There were people who have been called “Apples” repeated times and did not know what it meant. When they found out they were sad to find that an “apple” is an insulting and factually incorrect way to describe a biracial person, suggesting they are “white” on the inside in their actions and “red” on the outside in their skin color.

People Are Like Trees
There was a four year old girl who said that people are like trees. They can be tall, short, wide, thin, and that the leaves represent our colors: All different, some similar, but all different in the end.
I don’t understand why we can’t all be like this four year old. Stop looking at people and judging them for their skin color, but judge them for their character and morals; how they act. What they do or do not do. In a way, we all are the same. We may have different racical backgrounds, interests or values, but we are all human and we all live and breath the same air.

Changing Stereotypes
There were people at the rally that even spoke about times when they were racist. One person had their three-year-old grandson and was going to church. Her kids lived in a stereotypical “the hood type of neighborhood,” she said. And when she exited a church building and turned the corner, she saw three young AfricanAmerican men standing there. Her first thought was “Oh S***t.” On the basis of her stereotypical thinking alone, she was afraid of them. She was trying to hurry, and at the same time trying to get a hat on the baby.
One of the young men walked over to her. He said, “You know, I think that the baby would be a lot warmer with the hat on...” She responded by saying “I know, but I cannot get it on.” He said, “Here, let me help.” And he put the hat on Henry (which was the baby's name). Right before the man left, he put a hand on Henry’s cheek and just blessed him with his touch.
My point in telling you this is just because someone lives in a stereotyped neighborhood and is a different color, does not mean that they are dangerous or bad people. It just means that they have a different skin color and live somewhere that you don’t. For me, it is as simple as that.

Bullying for Being Transgendered
There was boy named Isaiah who told his story. He was bullied from 9th grade into 11th grade. People would bully him for his race, sexuality, and gender. In tenth grade he was sexually assaulted by a 19- year-old man, and then was bullied some more for that when word got out. After that, he distanced himself away from people and tried to commit suicide eight times.
He had a scar on his stomach and was bullied for that. He had to get a scar revision surgery because the bullying was so bad. In 11th grade he came out as transgender, and switched his name and identity from Isabel to Isaiah. He was bullied for that, too, because he said he was the first person in Cook County High School to come out as transgender.

The Need for Understanding
Isaiah recalled that one day in school he wrote his preferred name down on an assignment and the teacher told him to erase it, and instead write his birth name down.
There was also a specific boy that bullied him 24/7. It got so bad that Isaih took a week off of school because he could not face his racist and sexist comments about how he would never amount to anything and that he would never really be a man. Isaiah told everyone at the rally that they were doing a good thing to protest bullying. He wished he’d had this kind of community support when he was the one being picked on, and he is glad that people are doing something about it, finally, he said.

Speak Out
It’s important to say what is really happening—to not keep secrets because secrets isolate you. But when Isaiah was in school, secrets ruled. He said that when anyone would go to the principal about racism they were told that they had to keep it to themselves, and that you could not tell anyone. It had to stay in school and absolutely no one could know. Now, he has gone on to college and got a 4.0 grade point average!
There were also people at the rally from ISD 166. Specifically, teacher Mila Horak spoke about how the teachers are the people that the students go to first and the people to hear the story.

Awareness Can Create Change
A lot of people that spoke did not understand the point in racism. They talked about their kids and how some do not encounter racism because they are in sports and if they experienced bullying they would pull back and stop. One kid was in school and their class was watching a movie. A couple of white boys were laughing, and so this kid laughed too. The teacher only called him out on laughing, and said to stop. He replied: “I thought we were supposed to be stopping this racism in our school and yet you are only calling me out because I have a different skin color then these boys over here.”
I personally think that it is true, that the teacher only told the boy with the different color skin to stop and not the white boys. Like I have said before, I don’t understand it.
People at the rally also hoped the widespread awareness around this bully event would help the bullies get the right kind of help so they can change. One woman questioned what their path was going to be like going forward. “They have a choice,” she said. “They can either go down the path with hatred and bullying or the path with acceptance in love. They will decide who they will be and what they want to be.”

See People as People
Those are very wise words. See people as they are: Fathers, Mothers, Daughters, Brothers, Uncles and Aunts, Friends. Stop seeing them for what their skin color is. Look at who they are as people.
Please help stop this racism, bullying and hate speech, and support the people that are and have been bullied.
Help us stop this.

Boreal Corps at the Fisherman's Picnic: A Gallery of Community Pride, Aug. 2017

Boreal Corps Table at the Fisherman's Picnic, Aug. 4, 2017.

Introducing The Seven Clans Art Project at Oshki Ogimaag Charter School

Kids Create
Inside Cook County
by Bryn Fitzgerald-Wells, Staff Writer and Sammie Garrity, BorealCorps Editor

Kids at the Oshki Ogimaag Charter School in Grand Portage completed an awesome art project and had an art show of their paintings in May of The Seven Clans teachings of Anishinaabe culture. The artists’ are in fifth and sixth grades, and their intent is clear in the images they painted: they want readers to reflect and feel values of their culture. The paintings are painted on circular canvases to represent the medicine wheel.

Feelings
When you look at the Bear Clan, you can see art is to inspire feeling happiness and learning new things.
The Loon Clan wants to to know the cultural importance of the loon as chief.
For painters of the Bird Clan, the egg is important because it is the baby. And the heart is vibrant and true.
For the Crane Clan, the image says to all: follow your dreams. The bright colors and vibrant hearts encourage
viewers to feel love. Marten Clan artists want you to feel respect, and the Fish Clan is the learning clan, encouraging growth and curiosity.

Visually
The images communicate their messages clearly. The bear has a turtle near the heart, the loon has a flower and bright red eye and moon illuminating water with a nice deep blue background

In the bird portrait, there is the egg and heart that is sort of electrifying everything else to show the importance or raising young. It looks kind. Crane is very bright, vibrant and looks very warm, with flowers all around it and on the wings.

In the Hoof Clan there is a skull, and a heart that looks vibrant and meaningful but still portrays a dark sense to it.
Marten is climbing a birch tree at night, surrounded by trees. The birch tree looks very welcoming, but still
mischievous. Fish looks large and respected, with many others following it. It is very bright green and looks like a powerful and wise creature.

By creating these powerful vibrant images, the Oshki kids have opened a world we did not know, and we appreciate that.

The Seven Clans paintings were created by students with art therapist and facilitator, Belle Janicek, who has worked with students at Oshki Ogimaag for the past five years to create works that allow student to explore, interpret and create their own images of their cultural teachings.

WHAT'S TRENDING?!..
Fashion Notes...

FASHIONABLE...OR NOT?
Trend Roundup
by Grace Ritchey, Staff Writer

DID YOU KNOW!?

Out and about Cook County

LOCAL MAKERS: Inside Cook County
The Crafting Scene
by Siena Woerheide, Staff Writer

Pre-mudded jeans. Photo courtesy of CBSnews.com

Inlaid polished stone table. Staff photo.

Hello, my name is Grace, and I am here to inform you about the hottest trends and gossip.

First in the news is pre-mudded jeans.

Don’t understand? Yeah neither do I.

Nordstrom has been drawing a lot of attention to the media lately for selling a pair of jeans and a denim jacket from the label PRPS. Here's the twist, they’re covered in a mud-like material. The over-priced items are supposed to be a fashion statement but they look more like a used gardening outfit or a Canadian tuxedo that has seen better days.

The real controversy about these mud covered items are that Nordstrom is selling them for $425. The store's website copy says the jeans “embody rugged, Americana workwear that’s seen some hard-working action.” The description then falls into a time warp when it claims the stains on the jacket “give you permission to get down and dirty from rodeo to grungy rock show.” Ok Nordstrom I think I’ll stick to regular clean jeans, thanks.

Mike Rowe, the former host of Discovery Channel’s television show “Dirty Jobs” posted this to his Facebook page, which has more than 4.7 million followers: “The Barracuda Straight Leg Jeans aren’t pants. “They’re not even fashion. They’re a costume for wealthy people who see work as ironic - not iconic.” More than 14,000 followers agreed with him, sharing his post. Even I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Rowe.

Twitter users quickly took to their accounts to fire off more taunts. Some of their tweets include things like:
“For when you need a pair of jeans as fake as you are.” “It seems Nordstrom was short on workers so they hired 5 year olds.”

It seems Nordstrom is ignoring all the controversy about them, because for now the muddied jeans and jacket remain available online.

Did you know that my dad works at Border Design Signs?

His name is Dave Woerheide. His workshop is right by his house. He makes all sorts of signs, agate tables, big signs, small signs, light switch plates, benches, and all sorts of furniture.

He uses acrylic paint sometimes and mostly oil base enamels. He also uses paint thinner to clean his paint brushes. My dad uses tape to make lines straighter or to make it look better. He uses sign foam and vinyl, too. He uses the vinyl for lettering and other small stuff.

That's what goes on at our sign shop!

MUSIC TRENDS

BILLBOARD TOP 5
Music Review
by Grace Ritchey, Staff Writer

1- Dj Khaled ~ I’m The One, featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne
   I have to say listening to this, the beginning is very repetitive and the background music is a little stupid...The rest of the song is either rap or the same as the beginning. The rap parts of it are very cliche pop song about sex, The beat isn’t that great and a lot of the song is just Justin Bieber singing “I’m The One.” Maybe not this time Biebs. Overall my rating is 4/10. It isn’t even that catchy.

2- Bruno Mars ~ That’s What I Like
   Now this is a song I can get into. I must say it is very cliche but I suppose what pop song isn’t? I do like it because the meaning of the song isn’t about drugs or sex, just spoiling a girl. The beat is pleasing and it’s overall just a catchy song. Everything about this song is perfectly placed, nice tempo, cute lyrics and his singing is amazing. Love this song 10/10. Keep it up Bruno :D

3- Luis Fonsi ~ Despacito featuring Daddy Yankee
Interesting to say the least. I literally have no idea what they’re saying because the entire song is in Spanish. Good for them getting a Spanish song on Billboard's Hot 100. The beat is very catchy and even if I can’t understand what they’re saying, this is a song I could see myself listening to a lot. This song is definitely one of those songs you hear on the radio that you become obsessed with that you just can’t seem to find what the name of the song is. It’s a good song, not perfect though. My rating is 8/10.

4- Kendrick Lamar ~ Humble
   Not what I expected when I first pressed the video. Honestly, I expected a calm non-rap song, It is not. I should have expected it from Kendrick, though. I don’t think that I am a big fan of it. It is basically a rap song packed with sex, drugs, and acting like the top dog. The beat is super catchy, but props to you if you can learn that entire rap. If you’re into rap go for it but if you are not, you can still listen to it, just don't expect much. I give it 7/10.

5- Ed Sheeran ~ Shape of You
Any Ed Sheeran song is set up for success, and this is one of my favorite songs. It’s amazingly sun, and the beat is very on point. It’s a very good song. And if you like pop music this is definitely the song for you. I give this one 10/10.

DIG IN! ....FOOD REVIEWS

The Crooked Spoon Cafe
17 W. Wisconsin Street, Grand Marais, MN 55604
218-387-2779 | www.crookedspooncafe.com
Restaurant Review
by Sammie Garrity, Editor

In a small town like Grand Marais you would be surprised how many culinary
treasures you can find. The Crooked Spoon Cafe, is one of them. When you walk in
it is normally pretty busy but not intolerable. They make that easy by having a
rooftop, indoor dining area for appetizers and drinks. It has a nice and
comfortable atmosphere.

For appetizers I recommend the French Onion Soup, the
Braised Pork Belly and the Mussels. For dinner I would suggest the Seared Sea
Scallops or whatever steak they have. They bring out the flavors in everything
that they make and I always leave needing a wheelbarrow!

The last time that I have been there I wanted more quantity of what I was getting which is good and bad. It is a pricey place but yet, well worth it. I think that I would probably give The Crooked Spoon Cafe a 5 star rating. I hope that you check it out and try their delicious food. When you go I would recommend getting there around 5-5:30 p.m.

Angry Trout Cafe

Restaurant Review
by Sammie Garrity, Editor

When you go to Angry Trout Cafe they usually have a wait. STAY.

You will not be disappointed. When you sit down and get food I recommend the fritters and eggplant for appetizers. When you get to the actual meal I recommend the grilled bison tenderloin, pasta and salad or the daily fish. They blend the salads to perfection and in the meat and fish are always flavorful and juicy.

When you get there I recommend arriving around 5 p.m. and make sure to go inside first. Ignore the beach. Someone always comes right after and then they fill scarily fast.

Typically I would give the Angry Trout a 4 or 5 star rating. Jump in Lake Superior while you’re at it. Have fun! I almost forgot the most important part: get the Mocha Cheesecake to top it all off.

CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT BOOK STORE DAY APRIL 29 WITH A...
BOOK REVIEW!

Source: Fair use, Wikipedia.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Book Review
by Sammie Garrity, Editor

Introduction
I chose this book because it looked interesting, and I had heard about it by word of mouth and because the synopsis made me feel deeply intrigued and emotional. The cover and name are definitely a key factor in my decision-making progress. It was so free looking, and it definitely caught my eye because of that. It connects you with the characters and then swooshes in and gives you a heartbreak. I guarantee that you will cry at the end. I loved the book and recommend it for children over 10 yrs old. There are some confusing words.

The Setting
The story happens in Indiana when Hazel is 16 and Augustus is 17. It is set in the literal heart of Jesus, a church that holds Hazel’s support group, Amsterdam where Hazel’s favorite author lives; An Imperial Affliction and different hospitals where different friends are. They are a group of literal miracles who all survived cancer and live to tell about it. The Moms and Dads meddle and the kids turn friendships and other relationships into treasures as they take an incredible journey through misfortune and hardship. A heartbreaking ending left me crying. The characters are amazing and they make you feel like you are someone.

The Characters
Hazel Grace Lancaster is the main character of The Fault in our Stars. She has thyroid cancer so she has to quit school early. She takes college courses and is alive and breathing but doesn’t live life to its fullest. Her mother thinks she is a homebody because she mostly just watches "America’s Next Top Model" and reads An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. She meets Augustus Waters at her support group and takes a liking to him. The weird thing is, he keeps staring at her. After the meeting is over he comes over and asks her to watch a movie with him after saying that she looked like Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta. He is there because Isaac, who is another kid at the support group, needed extra support to announce he was going blind. Augustus had osteosarcoma and survived. Lost a leg in the process, though. Isaac is Augustus’s friend who had eye cancer. He becomes blind and dumped by his girlfriend who “could not handle it.” They believed in PDA* all too much.
*= Public Display of Affection

The Plot
It all starts when Hazel’s mom forces her to go to the support group that Hazel despises. It is held in a church that is shaped like a cross so they sit in the literal heart of Jesus. After the group’s meeting ends, Augustus Waters comes over and strikes up a conversation with Hazel. It ends up with them watching V for Vendetta because he had said that she was Natalie Portman; V for Vendetta beautiful.

The relationship turns into calling, into dates and finally into secrets. They go through a journey of love and disappointment. When they talk about favorite books she says that hers is, An Imperial Affliction. He says that his is, The Price Of Dawn series. They both read the opposites books and find that they love them. She reads the whole series and he reads An Imperial Affliction. He has this whole love of metaphors and when he puts a cigarette out of his pocket, she is disgusted. It turns out the whole thing is a metaphor. A couple of days later Augustus calls her with wailing at the other line. Isaac is over at Augustus’s house. His girlfriend Monica had dumped him claiming that, “It is just too stressful for her.” It ends with Isaac smashing all of Augustus’s basketball trophies which is a sport he hates. He has always been looking for an excuse to tell his dad that he hates basketball since his other leg does not work that well, granted, it is a prosthetic.

Next, Augustus decides that he loves An Imperial Affliction so much that he tries to contact Peter Van Houten. No one has ever been able to reach him although some know he lives in Amsterdam. Augustus stumbles across his assistants email which turns out to be how you get in contact with him. He never answers his fan mail so it is pretty difficult. When they get in contact, they get an invitation to go to Amsterdam. When they go he totally blows him off and is really mean. It ends up with his assistant quitting and him being lonely.

They go to the Anne Frank museum and look there with the jobless assistant. That whole trip they have been dreaming about the night that the had before when they went to the fanciest restaurant in Amsterdam. It was called Oranjee and had champagne that felt like the stars when it hit your tongue. When they return home August gets the news that his cancer is back so they go through the motions of keeping him comfortable and happy.

All of the family comes to visit and see Augustus along with all of their kids. It was pretty maddening since there were so many of them. Hazel’s parents wanted her to stop taking care of him so much and spend more time with them while her boyfriend slowly died. She got really mad and went over. Augustus had escaped and tried to get gas and cigarettes by himself and was tangled and couldn’t breath. They rushed him to the hospital and after a while, he died.

Laying there with him, Hazel was the one who couldn’t breath. She was sad, angry and worst of all, depressed. She remembers when she got through with August and went to the church on his request. He was there with Isaac at his own personal funeral knowing that he was going to die soon. They read eulogies of the tops of their heads and made Augustus laugh. The actual funeral took place in the same place and was much more lively with people but not souls. There was no laughter, no stupid eulogies and no joy whatsoever. When it came time to sit Hazel noticed Peter van Houten sitting behind her. He rode to the burial with them and on the way back down. He was selfish the whole entire time and only talking about himself. Hazel got really mad and told him to get out of the car. Later, though, she found him in her backseat trying to talk to her and she told him to not be a drunk and get his life together.

She will be sad for the rest of her life but has some comfort in knowing the Augustus knew he was dying and gave her precious moments to hang onto.

MARCH FOR SCIENCE SUPPORTS NATURE, KIDS, HEALTHY PLANET

Arrowhead Indivisible's Saturday morning March for Science was a success in raising awareness for the need to use scientific methods and results in making decisions about healthy lifestyles and the future of the planet.

Families and friends throughout Cook County celebrated Earth Day Saturday at Harbor Park to support the importance of scientific research in all aspects of American life to ensure a healthy future.

To join BOREAL CORPS contact [email protected].

In Spring, Cook County kids in grades 4-8 cover Boreal Corps news.
In Fall, Cook County students in grades 9-12 take over. But we're flexible. If you want to write, cartoon, map, illustrate or solve digital technology problems now with us, join us!

Boreal Corps In the World
March 15-April 22, 2017 !

Spring Musical Lion King Jr. Opened Friday April 21 in 6-performance Series

The Grand Marais Playhouse brings six performances of this beloved Disney musical adapted for school-age theater troupes. For a first-person insight about what it's like to be part of this fantastic creation, scroll down to read Grace's essay below.

Run Dates It began Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m. in the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. A second evening performance will be held Saturday April 22, and a Sunday April 23 matinee begins at 2 p.m. The three-show sequence repeats the following weekend, ending with the 2 p.m. Sunday April 30 matinee.

Tickets are $10 adults and $5 under 18.

For information (218) 387-1248, or Email: [email protected]
Website: http://grandmaraisplayhouse.com and https://arrowheadcenterforthearts.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=961230

Spring Road Trips!

1581 map at the Minnesota History Center lacks Great Lakes.

Antiquarian Books Curator Patrick Coleman with Boreal Corps Editor Sammie Garrity.

This 1688 map shows the Great Lakes had been discovered.

Minnesota History Center
Museum Review
By Sammie Garrity, Editor

When I went to St. Paul in March and visited the Minnesota History Center we saw everything from the oldest book owned by Minnesota History Center, written in 1492, to maps that have made-up islands in Lake Superior on them. Explorers and map makers did this in the 1600s and 1700s when they were trying to impress their sponsors in "New France"--that's what French colonies in North America were once called.

Our tour guide was Patrick Coleman, curator of Antiquarian Books for the Minnesota Historical Society. He started out by taking us to the storage room in the basement of the History Center. It had 100,000 square feet of every mark that people in Minnesota history had made on paper.

For me, as an avid reader with a love for literature, it was pure amazement.

Inventive Mapmaking
We learned that a French mapmaker took a map and claimed that there was a clear way across the continent! It turns out that where he had put a river, the Rocky Mountains were in the way. He didn’t actually go that far in real life, so he did not know that there were mountains there. He was trying to make it look easy.

Imagine if people called him up and were just like, “Hey dude, where you said that there was a river, there is actually a mountain range. Can you clear this up?” I laughed when I imagined this.

Another French mapmaker in 1755 invented three islands in Lake Superior, which he named after his boss, to get on the good side of his boss. Benjamin Franklin discovered his lie, and when he was negotiating boundaries of the U.S., said that he would take Isle Royale and New France could have the other three islands--which didn't exist. When people found out they were very angry. They stopped using that map entirely, but not before the mistakes showed up on so many different maps that are now preserved perfectly now at the Historical Center.

Civil War Newspapers
At the Minnesota History Center there was even a newspaper that was printed in Missouri during the Civil War. Because it was in the middle of The Civil War people had no food and had taken to eating rats. There was almost no resources to make a newspaper, so they printed the paper on wallpaper. You can see the wallpaper patterns still. The enemy would print jabs at the southerners and claim the General Grant is going to take over. They got so mad that their life was pretty much being taken away. As most can imagine, that must be pretty frustrating.

History Told By A House
Another cool thing we did was take a tour of an old model home recreated inside the History Center. It had speakers on some exhibits, and printed articles to read and fun things to do, touch and see everywhere. A section on children's games had hopscotch and pin drop, but also had a recorded narrative by a speaker telling about her experience in a fire.

Hands-on Enrichment
We did all sorts of fun activities that are very hands-on. It was an amazing experience and I hope to do it again soon. I believe that everybody should do something like this at least once in their lives as to enrich their knowledge. I know it did mine!

Making Maple SYrup

Dave Mills and daughter Wren Ferry filter sap.

Birch bark circle labels on finished syrup.

Author Wren Ferry with finished syrup.

Photo Credit: Beth Ferry
NORTHWOODS LIFE: MAKING MAPLE SYRUP
Family Activity
By Wren Ferry, Staff Writer

Tapping Trees
   Every year around mid-March my family goes out to tap trees on the Old Ski Hill Road. While my brother and I are climbing trees, my mom and dad are drilling small holes into some of the bigger trees. The trees that we tap have to be at least 12 inches in diameter.

After they’re done drilling, mom and dad stick taps in the holes they made. (A tap is like a small spout that comes out of the tree.) Then they hang buckets from the end to catch the sap. When we come back a couple days later the buckets are either full, or they might only have 5 inches in them.

My and Basil’s favorite thing about collecting sap is eating ice or snow that‘s dunked in sap.
Here’s how the flow of sap works: if the weather goes above freezing in the day and falls below freezing at night, the sap runs.

Boiling & Sap Tea
   We have a stove that we put together each year made out of bricks and metal trays. My mom and dad usually do the boiling because it takes all day and you have to check on the fire every 5-10 minutes in case it dies down too much.

For fire wood my dad gets junky lumber from the hardware store for free because it’s crooked and flaky. Sometimes Basil and I jump on it to break it in half so it can actually fit in the fire, but sometimes we just feed it in. As the sap boils, foam surfaces, and we have to skim the top with a strainer. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make about 1 gallon of syrup, so most of it ends up being steam.

With our set up, it takes us all day to boil 1 gallon of syrup. The whole family’s favorite part about boiling is drinking sap tea, which is steaming hot sap. I like to make red chai with it. After the syrup is completely done, Basil and I get to clean the pan with spoons.

Label Making
   Then for the labels, mom and I cut out small circles of birch bark and write 100 percent MAPLE SYRUP , First Boil, 2017, Ferry/Mills Family, Old Ski Hill RD.

Bye!

The Play Lion King Jr., movies, museums...and more!

DISNEY'S THE LION KING, Jr.
Play Preview
By Grace Blomberg, Staff Writer

The Lion King is a Disney production that was turned into a famous Broadway play. It was shown around the world and now it is coming to our local playhouse, the Grand Marais Playhouse, and around 50 kids are performing in The Lion King Jr.

I am very excited because I am in it. There are 14 songs in the play and about 50 kids in the play. Which is a lot compared to last years kid play. There are a lot of new kids this year. The grades performing are 3rd grade to 11th grade. Karina Roth comes in and helps us learn the songs and the notes. She is very helpful and we all appreciate her.

Opening night is April 20, which is a Friday. It goes two weekends: Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

We hope you come see us at the Lion King Jr.!

Source: Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50759197

MOANA
Movie Review
By Sammie Garrity, Editor

Most of you probably have heard of the new movie Moana. It is starring Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson as Maui and Auli’i Cravalho as Moana. When I saw the cover and the characters what I guiltily admit drew me in was the fact that The Rock was in it.

Then when I actually watched it I loved it. I admit I would change some parts to be less cheesy, but every movie has a cheesy part. The characters were very funny and their voices when singing were beautiful. The characters were perfect for whoever they played. I think that the movie should turn into a book, play and live-action movie. It is really cute and tells a tale of friendship, betrayal and love.

A Moral For All Ages
Maui is a bit selfish at some parts and Moana is a very self-conscious girl when nobody believes in her. The chicken is really funny, the pig is cute and the grandma is crazy! I would definitely recommend it for all ages and everyone.

The story has a moral that everyone should have and has been told before to have: be yourself and try your best. Anything is possible if you try.

4.5 Out of 5 Stars ****
I personally thought that it was going to be less interesting, but I was totally wrong. It really surprised me and I think that it will surprise you. Have fun watching Moana.

In conclusion, I give Moana 4.5 out of 5.

The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, Tenn. Photo By DavGreg (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

National Civil Rights Museum
Museum Review
By Sammie Garrity, Editor

Have you ever found yourself truly giving thought to African-American history? Why don’t I know much about it?

Well, if you are thinking that, then the Memphis, Tennessee; The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., is the best place for you. It memorializes where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968. The Lorraine Motel has many interesting exhibits on African American history and symbolizes the importance of learning about our culture. As some say, “There would be no American culture without African-American Culture.”

Raising Awareness
I don’t think that we realize how much of a positive impact the African-American community has put into our country. We brought Africans here like livestock, cramming them into disgusting and dangerous areas on ships and beating them almost to death to brainwash them. Some died of the conditions, some died by killing themselves and very few remained. If they made it alive, they were beaten even more, given no clothes, and told to complete grueling tasks. When I was at the Civil Rights Museum/The Lorraine Motel I learned what a struggle it has been for African-Americans.

Struggle Continues
I am sad to say that the struggle continues to this day. The Civil Rights Museum focuses on the plight of African-Americans spanning from the days of slavery to current times. If you turn on today's news, you will most likely see either a black being wrongly accused of a crime that they didn’t commit or being beaten or shot to death in the middle of the street. While some people might not see it, we are in the middle of our own Civil Rights Movement. While black freedom has been granted, black equality is not always there. People still question the rights that blacks have in this country. America the free is not so true for blacks. At the bottom of this story you will see a timeline that shows only a few of the Freedom Riders that paved blacks way to freedom in America.
While some may be gone, they all will be remembered.

Dr. Martin Luther King
I haven’t even gotten to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His killer, James Earl Ray, was an escapee from the Missouri State Penitary. No one knows why James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King and also who got him to do it. It is a lingering question between everybody.

Did James Earl Ray have help?

Some suspect the government wanted to kill Dr. King because he was in Memphis speaking out against fair pay to sanitation workers. James Earl Ray died in at Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 23, 1998. He had liver disease so the police said that he died because of that and kidney failure.

What Do You Think?
What do you think about all of this? Would you want to live back then? When beating and racism were encouraged, when separations of race were put into people’s heads as the right thing to do. Would you try to stop it? Would you join the Freedom Riders on that bus that lead the KKK into their sense of victory?

So many questions that hold your opinions in the answers. Do you want to answer any questions, email me at [email protected]. And don’t forget the inspirations!

FREEDOM RIDERS: Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Nelson Mandela, Nina Simone, Mary McLeod Bethune, Lena Horne, Marva Collins, Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Janet Collins — and the list could go on and on!

SOURCE: Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51018270.

Live-Action Beauty and The Beast
Movie Review
By Bryn Fitzgerald-Wells, Staff Writer Last update 8:16 a.m. April 10, 2017

You have probably heard that the Live Action movie, Beauty and The Beast has recently come out. This is just a review based on my opinion of the new film.

The original Beauty and The Beast is a fabulous movie, which came out in 1991. I personally thought that the new Live Action movie would seem less exciting. However I was very blown away by the whole thing. The movie was very touching and felt to have more of a backstory and connection between the characters, giving it more depth and emotion. Having recently been in the play Beauty and The Beast at the Grand Marais Playhouse, seeing this version was especially amazing for me.

Really Brought to Life
The casting in this movie is, in my opinion, extremely perfect. The characters have really been brought to life with the actors who portrayed the people in the small town and the people/objects who have been living under the spell in the prince’s castle. These characters seem like they could truly be a person with more emotion than an animated character, even if they seem very life like.

The detail in the enchanted objects and the floors, walls, and ceilings add so much more personality to the characters. The costumes are as well so intricate and so perfect for the person wearing the clothing. It is almost so that I could tell the personalities of the people before they even spoke.

5 Out of 5 Stars *****
Overall, I would give the new Beauty and The Beast five out of five stars. It was a great experience for me to watch this film, and I will definitely be seeing it again.

Click the button at right to listen to WTIP's behind-the-scenes coverage of Grand Marais' version of Beauty and the Beast performance in January 2017!

Listen now!

Animal Skulls
Science Snapshot from March 21, 2017

By Bryn Fitzgerald-Wells, Staff Writer, 25 March, 2017. Last update: 7:48 a.m.

Animal Skulls
Skulls all are all very different. But some are not as easily distinguished. The human skull is very easy to guess as it has that unique shape and familiar look. With other skulls, it’s harder to assume which animal it came from. But there are clues that you can look for to narrow down your choices.

What Does It Eat?
The picture above is an example of a mystery skull. The ways that you can find out what animal this was starts with seeing if it was an Herbivore or a Carnivore/Omnivore. The best way to know is to look at the teeth. If there are canines and sharper molars, it’s safe to say that it was a Carnivore/Omnivore, if there are not canines, and the molars are more flat, it was a Herbivore. Sometimes the canines will fall out of the skull before you find it. If this happens you can still determine what the animal ate. There should be two holes where the canines would be if it was a meat eater. The animal in the picture did not have canines so it was an Herbivore.

How Does It Get Around?
The next step to finding out the animal is to look at the eyes and nose. If the eye sockets are larger, the animal depended on it’s eyesight, if the eye sockets are of smaller size, it probably didn’t have very good sight. The nose determines whether the animal depended on its sense of smell or not. Like for the eyes, you would look at the size of the nose for this, an animal with a larger nose would have been more accustomed to using its sense of smell, but a smaller, pushed in nose would not use its smell that often. In the picture, the animal has medium to larger sized eyes, so it probably had pretty good eyesight. The nose is longer in the picture so it probably had a good sense of smell too.

Does It Have A Ridge?
If the animal had a very strong jaw, it probably has a ridge. The ridge is located on the top of the head straight down the middle. All ridges come in different sizes. Some are very large and others are barely noticeable. The animal in the picture did not have a ridge, so the jaw probably wasn’t extremely strong.

What Animal Is It?
The information that we gathered from the example picture is that the animal was an Herbivore, it had good eyesight, a good sense of smell, and it’s jaw was not extremely strong. All these clues can lead you to find out what animal you are looking at. So next time you see a skull in the woods, you can identify it!

Predator or Prey? Look at the...

By Sammie Garrity, Editor Last updated 8:19 a.m. April10,2017

Skulls
In science class at Great Expectations School, we learned about skulls. We found ways to identify them, to find how they ate and if they were predator or prey. First off, there are a couple things to look for like the eyes. Imagine this: A hungry fox is creeping up on a little rabbit. The rabbit sees the fox because the rabbit’s eyes are on the side of its head. The fox zones in on the rabbit, its eyes straight ahead because it does not have to worry as much as the rabbit about becoming somebody's next meal. The fox and rabbit suddenly engage in an exciting chase. The fox, being smarter and quicker, wins the race and eats the rabbit. As a classmate and fellow Boreal Corps member said, “Eyes on the front: hunt. Eyes on the side: hide.”

3 Types of Teeth
However, all that is left is a skull that the bugs come and dine off of. After a while, a human may enter those woods searching for a skull. They find it, pick it up and walk away. When they get home they start to try to identify it. The first step is to look at the teeth. The three types are: Incisors, Molars and Canines. Some teeth may fall out so if you see the holes where they would have been, then you know they used to have them. If they have:

Canines they are Carnivores
Incisors they are Herbivores
canines, incisors and molars they are Omnivores. All three have molars, though. "They" is a species of we. What I mean by that is, we are omnivores! Another thing to look for is the ridge. The ridge is a long, narrow crest at the top of its head that can be big or small. Some animals have ones that look like fins on the top of their heads and others have ones that are barely noticeable. They are always there, however.

How Did It Die?
The woman that came into our classroom to teach us told us about a time when she was at the Slate Islands. She was walking around and she found a perfectly preserved caribou skull at the bottom of a cliff.

Our class came up with theories on how it died. Here are a few examples: It was reaching for grass or lichen on a small ledge and lost its footing, it was kicking snow around trying to find grass and it fell, it was chased or pushed off of the cliff by another animal or human for food.

You do have to remember that the skull is smaller than the skull size of the living animal. There are layers made up of skin and fat, muscles, and fur. Another way to help identify skulls si to measure the eye socket and nasal cavities. Put your thumb up against the eye socket and if it is smaller than your thumb, it had poor eyesight and if it is larger than it had decent or good eyesight. The nose is a measure of its nasal cavity. If it reaches up to the forehead than it had a good sense of smell. If it has a small and pushed in nose, it probably didn’t have a good sense of smell.

While the skulls remain a mystery, What Do YOU Think? Send your thoughts to [email protected].

And! Check out our Field Trip page to see another skull -- it's in the rotating gallery of images with the map, on top. Now test your new-found knowledge to identify it!

Boreal Corps Goes to the Minnesota State Capitol!
Civics Snapshot from March 15, 2017

The Progress of the State

Broadband Day on the Hill. The freshly gilded 4-horse quadriga sculpture entitled “The Progress of the State” proclaims the front entryway of the majestic Minnesota State Capitol. The Capitol was the site March 15 of a Boreal Corps civic engagement field trip. Boreal Corps editor and Lutsen resident Sammie Garrity traveled with her mother, Linda Garrity, to take part in the state's first ever "Broadband Day on the Hill," sponsored by the state Broadband Coalition and the Blandin Foundation. Sammie testified and spoke with legislators about the importance of broadband internet to rural areas, emphasizing that having reliable highspeed service such as that available in Cook County makes creating this Boreal Corps online newspaper possible! The Boreal Corps field trip also included a field trip for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Minnesota History Center where we saw, among other things, an early map of Minnesota that didn't have Lake Superior.

Slides show the Minnesota Broadband Coalition's panels on Wednesday March 15 in the State Capitol, St. Paul, including pictures of Director of the Office of Broadband Development, Danna McKenzie of Grand Marais, Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) and Boreal Corps Editor Sammie Garrity.

Boreal Corps At the Capitol's Broadband Day On The Hill

By Sammie Garrity, Boreal Corps Editor
Grade 6, Great Expectations School, Grand Marais
Last updated: Saturday March 18, 6:59 a.m.

ST. PAUL, March 15, 2017 – Fast wireless connections and highspeed internet are modern services many people take for granted—we do in Cook County because we have broadband installed. But we’re unusual. Actually, most people in Minnesota do not have broadband (see slide show map above) or internet service they consider fast or reliable.

That was the point made over and over Wednesday at the Minnesota State Capitol during the state’s first-ever workshop focused on finding solutions to providing world-class internet service to everyone in Minnesota, no matter where they live, big city or "middle of nowhere," as several panelists gave as an address. It was called “Broadband Day on the Hill,” sponsored by the Minnesota Broadband Coalition. It is a partnership of the Blandin Foundation of Grand Rapids, MN and the state’s Office of Broadband Development, which Grand Marais resident Danna McKenzie leads as the executive director, (below left, walking through the Senate tunnels to the hearing room with Boreal Corps Editor Sammie Garrity.

At right: Cook County residents at the Capitol in St. Paul. Danna McKenzie of Grand Marais, executive director of the Office of Broadband Development, walks through the Senate tunnels to the March 15 broadband hearing room with Boreal Corps Editor Sammie Garrity of Lutsen.

PRICING INTERNET SERVICE

Minnesotans are divided on the answer. But some at the March 15 workshop thought a simple 50-50-50 formula is best:

50mb download
50mb upload
For $50 a month
No data caps

Not Just Nice, Necessary
The problem of access to good internet service is especially bad in rural Minnesota. As State Senator Thomas Bakk (DFL-Cook) put it: “These metro kids have such an advantage over rural kids with the internet resources they have.” Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith agreed. In the opening meeting she said, “It’s a matter of fundamental fairness. Highspeed, reliable internet is not just nice to have, it’s necessary.”

All sorts of people are affected by slow data speeds and limited bandwidth, according to panelists. There is a:

graphic designer in Ely whose job suffered because she couldn’t upload large design files to clients
a resident of Chisholm who considered moving because it was too frustrating to do her hobby of online gaming with slow internet connections
a doctor who had to sit in his car outside of a McDonald’s to connect to the restaurant's internet to read medical journals
kids near Warroad who Lt. Gov. Smith said stayed on the school bus even after it reached their bus stop because it had wireless, which they needed to finish their homework because their homes didn’t have internet. “Imagine if kids in Edina or Eden Prairie had to stay on a bus to finish their homework…It’s just not fair,” she said.

Why Boreal Corps?
As editor of Boreal Corps, (the new kids’ digital media team of Boreal.org), I was invited to talk on a panel to explain how Cook County kids in grades 4-12 are using a new Blandin Broadband Innovation Grant that Boreal.org just received to actually create a newspaper: we use broadband to be creative and to connect our community.

This is a new message for legislators to hear – how kids really can do important work with the internet. We’re not just all about social media, playing games or listening to music. In the language of Wednesday’s Broadband on the Hill, we’re about “uploads.” Boreal Corps kids make stories and art that we upload to the internet. The internet serves our stories and art back in “downloads” to readers. We do this by using our imaginations, education, curiosity and digital media skills we are learning at Boreal.org. We are not just “downloaders” playing games or watching videos and Snapchats that other people make.

When I visited The Capitol, mostly everybody had the same thing to say: “We need internet and broadband for our work, and ourselves and for our kids’ education.” Some noticed a regular dip in service at around 3 p.m. when kids got home from school and everyone jumped on the internet and there wasn’t enough bandwidth to support all that use.

Fixing the Problem
Legislators in Minnesota are trying to fix this problem. One bill was introduced asking for $100 MILLION to make sure every community has the fiber optic cable and other systems needed to support highspeed internet connections like ours in Cook County. But legislators said it’s a hard problem because there are so many competing needs in the state for money. Sen. Bakk put it this way: “There is not a very good solution to the problem— there is a huge fight about how to meet the needs of the un-served and the underserved.” Rep. Rob Ecklund agreed, and said many people are working on a solution.

"No Bar" Lake
The realistic dollar amount of what broadband projects are probably going to get is, $30 MILLION in each of two years, 2018 and 2019 (total of $60 MILLION). That’s what Danna Mackenzie wanted, so a total of $60 MILLION in two years. To that, I say, “YOU GO GIRL!!!” And same to everyone else helping. All of them want “border to border” broadband internet in Minnesota as a way of giving everyone a fair chance to be connected.

At the meetings, wireless and fiber optics and copper cable were all debatable subjects. Some people said wireless won’t ever work well in northern Minnesota communities like Cook County where all the things we love are in the way of reliable wireless signals-- hills, trees, lakes, rivers, rock cliffs, snow.

One woman who lives on Bar Lake said they call it “No Bar Lake” because their internet service is so weak. “Clear line of sight is everything,” she said.

One question came up that really struck me as interesting: “How can we encourage private investment in rural communities?” A panelist answered this question with a statement he had made before in the conference: “In 30 days something incredible in going to be available with Minnesota internet.” He also said lawmakers should give higher priority to businesses that use broadband to demonstrate and promote economic development.

Kids Should Visit the Capitol
When I met with Sen. Bakk (District 03) and Rep. Ecklund (District 3A), Mr. Bakk told a story of the time when 125 sixth graders came to the Capitol and sat in on some sessions. At the time, lawmakers were passing a bill to make fourth of July sparklers legal. Mr. Bakk was standing in the middle of the Rotunda when he asked the kids, “How many of you have held a sparkler before?”

He said that every hand went up.

He then proceeded to tell them, “Then you all broke the law! Until now, lighting sparklers were illegal in Minnesota.”

He recalled that a little girl raised her hand and asked, “Have you ever broken the law?”

Learn more! More to come soon at www.borealcorps.org! Also, we just got a shout out from an organization called Growth & Justice. Thanks G&J! They are working on fairness in internet access at the legislature by urging improving broadband service for all Minnesotans--you can read download their priorities at the Capitol below.

growth_justice_legislatiivepriorities-2_27_2017.docx
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What Is Boreal Corps?

The new Boreal.org is now kid-powered — we have a new reporting team for kids called Boreal Corps, and we'll run their stories on the new webiste, at boreal.org, when it launches later this month.

WHEN
By March 31, 2017, www.boreal.org will launch on a new platform that is more secure and modern than the current website platform. That's right, the owl and the birch will retire.

Among the improvements are weekly reports of Cook County community that are written, illustrated and digitally produced by Boreal Corps students from schools throughout the county. Kids in grades 4-8 are producing the spring Boreal Corps columns. In the fall, kids in grades 9-12 will staff Boreal Corps.

A sandbox web site is where Boreal Corps' kids practice digital reporting skills...and it's ready! You're reading it now!

Look for our March 15th live coverage from the St. Paul State Capitol when our 6th grade editor, Sammie Garrity, attends "Broadband Day on the Hill". It is a connection made possible by the Blandin Foundation, the rocking Grand Rapids, Minn., foundation that is funding Boreal Corps in an effort to enrich Cook County rural life through kids' digital storytelling mastery.

Thanks Blandin!
(Click here to see the Blandin press release,
or download the PDF file from the right-hand column.)

WHAT
We call our new youth reporting group Boreal Corps—and we want you to join us! Send a note to our publisher at Boreal Community Media, [email protected] if you are interested.

HOW
Coached by Boreal Community Media's (BCM) Development Director, Anne Brataas, an award-winning science writer and digital media teacher, Boreal Corps' students meet weekly at flexible times and spaces within Grand Marais to learn and master digital communication skills needed for 21st century life, learning, success and connection.

Boreal Corps work will be published weekly in Boreal.org along side of Boreal.org's standard favorites such as news from Cook County Herald and WTIP, classifieds, blogs and more.

WHY
Developing digital media skills empowers Boreal Corps students to:

change lives
change the world
prepare for success in college, work, community connection

blandin_award_boreal_corps_release_revised_3march_2017.pdf
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MORE WHY
Boreal Community Media explained the need for Boreal Corps to the Blandin folk this way:

From their earliest learning experiences, Boreal Corps' kids come to view—and accept—their role and responsibility in North Shore rural life as a call to:

create a deeper sense of community, and sense of place

connect with and impact Cook County civic issues in practical ways

protect the environment and Cook County's incomparable bounty of wild, boreal beauty by reporting on the science, the debates, advocacy groups and spiritual practices that inform responsible and sustainable stewardship of land, forest, minerals, water and all forms of life, two- footeds included

earn certification badges that validate digital competencies publicly. Kids can post their digital badges on their online portfolio platforms, such as LinkedIn or Facebook or personal web pages or social media accounts.

Proudly Proclaim Your Boreal Identity

GET OUR NEW WINDOW DECAL!
It's yours for becoming an official sponsor of Boreal Community Media (BCM), the parent 501 (c) (3) non-profit company of www.boreal.org and of Boreal Corps. Learn about sponsoring us here!

BCM Board Member Eric Block of Hovland collaborated on the decal design as part of our new branding and visual identity with his phenomenally talented friends and colleagues at the Studio Minneapolis design firm.
See more of their fine work in our merit Badge icons and the new Sawtooth Range banner imagery.
~ Thanks Eric, Dan and Studio Minneapolis!

What are the Big Questions we are exploring with Boreal Corps?

We Are Boreal Corps: Writers, Reporters, Drawers,

Doodlers, Mappers, Editors, Cartoonists, Critics and more!

We want to know what is most important to our friends and neighbors, and how to make it a part of our culture.

Youth are a large part of every community, but often struggle to find avenues for their voices to be heard. Boreal Corps changes this!

See Our Action

Amplifying the Voices of Our Youth

BIG QUESTION #2

How Might We:
increase health and wellness through a youth news publication?

Youth have so much to contribute to the world of media, but .... What if we changed that?