Adelaide Areaux

Minneapolis, 5th Grade

If I was mayor for a day I would want to focus on two things. First, I would make sure all of the behind the scenes people or the people who don’t get recognized enough get recognized. This includes the lunchroom people, or the janitors, or the people who pick up the phone at 911. Wherever I go there are always people that do amazing things, but they are being overlooked. Once, at one of my schools I did an experiment to see how many people would say thank you to the lunch people who gave them their food. Only 4 out of 100 kids said thank you! I think we should have a day devoted to recognizing people and knowing that some people don’t get recognized even though they really should be because they do so much. The day could be called “recognition day” and when everyone goes to school, or work, or any other place they would make sure they say thank you to those people. I mean what would we do if we didn’t have people to make lunch at school or we didn’t have librarians to help us find books to read. Plus, it would help those people to know that other people do care.

The other thing I would do would be to organize a highway cleanup because whenever I drive on a highway I always see so much trash on the sides of the road, and it’s bad for the environment. Plus, it can sometimes kill animals if they eat the plastic or get stuck in it. I would want to organize a trash pick up group where people help pick up trash by the roads and while they do it get to learn a little bit more about environmental awareness. I would provide the:

  1. Information about highways we are working beside
  2. Date and time
  3. The equipment: bags for the trash, gloves, etc.

By just doing a couple of highways we could save countless animal lives. We would also be making a better environment for plants to grow. These are the ways I would make our community better if I was mayor for a day.

 

Avery Herrala

Otsego, 4th Grade

If I were mayor for a day the job I would focus on the most would be improving our parks. Since Minnesota is cold during many months, I would add indoor playgrounds so kids have something to do all year around. It would be important to have someone sanitizing indoor play areas so kids don’t get sick in the winter. I would make the cost of indoor parks affordable so every family can afford to go. Outdoor parks are a great way to spend time outdoors when the weather is nice. A few improvements I would make are adding bathrooms and water fountains at all parks so families don’t need to leave when they are thirsty or need a bathroom. I would add fences around parks to keep little kids safe and walking trails for people can exercise while they watch their kids play. At all parks I would make sure there are trash cans and bag holders so everyone can clean up after themselves and their pets. Parks are an important park of everybody’s lives. If I were mayor for the day I’d like to help people improve their lives by helping in this way.

 

Kate Goodrich

Deephaven, 5th Grade

Hi! My name is Kate Goodrich, and I live in Deephaven. If I were mayor for the day I would want to work on water safety and water conservation. In this area a lot of the water contains iron bacteria, sulfur bacteria, lead, and even arsenic. According to the Minnesota DNR the average person in Minnesota uses 52 gallons of water a day. That’s a LOT of water! People use water for cooking, bathing, irrigation, and drinking. Even though we are the land of 10,000 lakes we should be responsible and non-wasting of the water.

While at my local park, I’ve noticed TONS of trash. There are many bottles and candy wrappers. I think some of the bottles and wrappers end up in the sewer or the lake, making the pipes even dirtier. Sometimes when we are out on one of the lakes we see trash. One time we even saw a lifejacket!

Here are some ideas for the project to make the water safer and more clean:

Whether it’s working on cleaning up or getting new systems and pipes, every month the city spends a bit of money to help improve the water.

If somebody has a concern about their water, they can contact the city for help. The city would provide resources to make the water better and to teach people how to use less.

If you see junk in a lake or outside you should pick it up. When it rains lots of trash and chemicals go into the systems. Who knows, maybe later you’ll end up drinking that nasty water. Many people use fertilizers on their grass, which may help their grass but it is really bad for the environment. I would try to have a limit on how much fertilizer you use.

A lot of people get sick because of all the bad bacteria in the water. I would install new pipes if a lot of people complain about the water being polluted.
Over 5,000 bodies of water in Minnesota are polluted. Minnesota has a lot of water compared to other places, but we shouldn’t waste it. I think Minnesota has the potential to have the best drinking water in the whole U.S. With this idea set in place people would not get as sick and our water will stay clean! If I were mayor for the day I would work on making the water safer and water conservation.

 

Winward Nicol

Clear Lake, 5th Grade

I would help with waste management, by organizing a city recycling competition. This could help people get involved with how you deal with garbage, and it would educate people. Plus, it would be fun! After that I would partner up with someone in the community to create an app that informs residents about proper waste disposal and waste management. Or where garbage disposals are located around the community. Next, I would help find gaps such as lack of recycling bins around our community. I would also make a connection with the app from before to notify city workers when recycling bins are full. After all that hard work, I would set up a fun festival to acknowledge all the improvements we have made. With games including fun activities that teach people about waste management. 

 

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