We're halfway there!

Wednesday marks the halfway point of the week here at Cornhusker Girls State but the journey is far from over. The citizens were rewarded for all of their hard work so far and had a more relaxing morning on their floors. During this time, those in the running for the general election were able to campaign to the other citizens who were gathered in their floor lounges. One special campaign event that occurred this morning was the rapid fire campaign. All the candidates for state positions were escorted by staff to each floor one at a time and were asked questions about their political beliefs, strengths, and knowledge of their position. They had three minutes to answer before they were led to the next floor of citizens. General elections followed the campaigning.

Delegates were given an opportunity to intermix and get to know people from the other towns at Girls State during dot discussions. The senior counselors led conversations about a variety of current relevant issues including Veterans Affairs services, teen suicide, and what question they would ask the President if able. Once returned to their floors, the problem-solving continued while the elected city school board worked with their floors. Citizens collaborated to help schools with real life problems such as bullying and consolidation.

After a lunch break, the citizens left their floors and traveled to the Union for their afternoon assembly. Whispers traveled and faces were tense but eager- the general election results were about to be announced. All races were exciting but the governor race was the one that had everyone biting their tongues.

"And the winner is... Taylor Schendt!" A very happy Schendt hugged and shook hands with those around her and received congratulations from the room. The mood switched again when 2015 Girls Nation delegates Kamryn Sannicks and Kelsey Thomas spoke about their experiences and why Girls Nation is such a beneficial time. Over 50 citizens then nominated themselves to be the 2016 delegates.

State senators were dismissed after this time to write bills that they will propose during a mock legislative session on Thursday.  While the senators were working, the rest of CGS heard Sarah McDonalds and Carlin Daharsh speak. Both are former Cornhusker Girls Staters and are currently active in politics. The citizens listened intently while McDonalds and Daharsh jointly shared about their lives as well as how women have important and empowering roles in society. At the end of session, the entire state broke into a CGS dancing celebration! Once the delegates had sufficiently sung and cheered their hearts out, they headed off to their last day of activities, dinner, and their second joint session with Boys State.

The session began with the concert by the Boys and Girls State Band directed by Jim Kucera. The group played patriotic songs and Hail Varsity and got a standing ovation after every piece. Following the band were greetings by several Husker athletes and coaches. Among those who shared advice were head volleyball coach John Cook, head football coach Mike Riley, and head men's basketball coach Tim Miles! The next man on stage was equally as successful on the UNL campus, choir director Peter Eklund. Eklund conducted the Boys and Girls State Choir in a beautiful and moving concert.

The final event of the day was one that delegates had been looking forward to all week: the address by the Honorable Pete Ricketts, Governor of the State of Nebraska. Ricketts was escorted on stage by the governors of Boys and Girls State where he told of the tradition, honor, and opportunity of speaking there every year. He shared with the delegates insights about leadership along with his personal journey that led him to the governor position. Furthermore, he opened up the floor for questioning. "What are you doing to help small businesses hurt by the federal minimum wage increase?" and requests to explain and justify actions of his administration were included in the questions asked. Ricketts' speech was a combination of qualities - relevant, interesting, and light-hearted at times - all of which joined to create a very beneficial evening.

Case of the Mondays

The citizens of Cornhusker Girls State 2016 awoke early this morning to tackle their first full day of activities. They didn't waste any time getting to work and began city elections at 8:00 this morning. Candidates and citizens alike received ballots, voted and were left to anxiously await the results given at the afternoon assembly.  In the meantime, those running for state and county positions filed for office with the help of several American Legion Auxiliary members.

After everyone had successfully filed for office, the citizens of Pierce, Lincoln, Grant and Garfield hiked to the Nebraska State Capitol Building while the citizens of Buchanan, Johnson, Hayes and Arthur returned to their floors to take the annual current events quiz. This is the first year in which delegates have been able to visit the capitol for tours. Once there, they received an exclusive historical tour of the building and were able to freely visit the rotunda and observation deck to see the view from the tallest building in Lincoln. After the tours, the groups switched places and the citizens who were at the capitol were given an opportunity to take the quiz. The current events quiz consists of questions pulled from local news stations as well as several newspapers.

Lunchtime was anticipated by many CGS citizens after working up an appetite all morning and was a great mental break to continue meeting new people and campaigning. Before long, the delegates were at it again with our short afternoon assembly. The citizens of Pierce provided our opening and closing ceremonies which sandwiched our city election results. The elected officials beamed as their names were announced to the entire girls state! Following closing ceremonies, the citizens split into Nationalists and Federalists to attend their party conventions. The 2015 CGS representatives to Girls Nation Kamryn Sannicks and Kelsey Thomas led the meetings and helped facilitate discussion throughout. During party conventions, delegates elected party officers, voted on party platforms and drew artwork to represent the party.

Citizens spent another afternoon in their activities making music, going on scavenger hunts or writing newspaper articles before eating dinner. Anticipation was high in the air during this time as the delegates awaited their first joint session with Cornhusker Boys State! Dr. JoAnne Owens-Nauslar spoke for her fifth consecutive year for CGS and 21st consecutive year for CBS. She packed a punch of enthusiasm, information and her own personal charm as she led an interactive presentation with all the citizens. Dr. Jo received multiple standing ovations!

To end the evening, county and state candidates for office donned their best campaign tactics and, in some cases, costumes to convince others to give them a vote. The last event on the docket was town meetings led by the elected mayors on each floor. Mayors led open discussion with their fellow citizens, helped find a solution and voted on a town issue.  Even with a very busy day today, there is an equally thrilling day that awaits Girls State tomorrow!

Rapid fire whistle stops

Story by Sami O’Neal

At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the rapid fire whistle stop campaigns started.  Citizens gathered together in the lounges of their respective floors to listen to the state office delegates. The delegates were given three minutes to speak on each floor. Citizens on the floors were allowed to ask the delegates any appropriate question.

Questions for the delegates differed. Some questions involved personal opinions, while other questions were about different current event topics in the state of Nebraska. All delegates faced different questions. Some of the questions involved a person’s strengths, weaknesses, their experience and what would the delegate would do if they were actually elected to that position.

The rapid fire whistle stop campaign was a time to not only for the state office candidates to gain experience, but it also forced the citizens to use critical thinking skills when creating questions for the candidates. It is at events like these where delegates grow and learn more about real life issues.