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In addition to the local news, WXPR Public Radio also likes to find stories that are outside the general news cycle... Listen below to stories about history, people, culture, art, and the environment in the Northwoods that go a little deeper than a traditional news story allows us to do. Here are all of the series we include in this podcast: Curious North, We Live Up Here, A Northwoods Moment in History, Field Notes, and Wildlife Matters.These features are also available as a podcast by searching "WXPR Local Features" wherever you get your podcasts.

Young Adults Discuss What It Means To Be An Informed Voter

“…I think it’s a very unorthodox election. On one side you have this career politician candidate who has very...positive things in her history but also some negative things in her history that is very along party lines. Then on the other side you have this non-politician, a business man, who is trying to make a name for himself as a politician who is firing up a group of voters who I don’t think has voted in a long time or has felt very connected to the political process.…[and] I think that’s the most interesting thing about this election; that there’s this whole group of people that finally feel they’re connected to this person who speaks their mind, as he likes to say, kind of off the cuff, what he feels is right he will say it, and that’s really appealing to some people. That’s not appealing to me because I focus on policy, but when he says those things he does fire up a whole group of voters that’s never been fired up before.”

It’s a presidential election that has Rhinelander High School students like 17 year old Andrew Padgett fired up. It’s not necessarily because he’s an overly enthusiastic Trump supporter, but for someone whose dream job is to be a state senator, missing the election of our 45th president by two weeks is frustrating…

“…I’ve imagined it before …of having a ballot in front of you…of having the power to elect the officials that will govern me. It’s such a great responsibility and duty for people to do. It frustrates me when people say they don’t want to vote or they’re not going to vote because they ‘can’t find the time’ or they ‘don’t like either of the candidates.’ Even if you don’t like either of the candidates, there are other options you can pursue. It’s such a great part of America, the idea that we can elect our own officials so they can serve the way we would like to be served.”

Matthew Knott is part of the social studies department at Rhinelander High School and teaches AP Government and Politics.

“…kids would always come in and talk to you about it; just “did you hear what Hillary Clinton did?!’ or ‘did you hear what Donald Trump did?!’ and it’s always fun to see they’re excited about it and that’s really what’s important because a lot of people get desensitized to our political arena and we need more people involved.”

He says it’s hard to teach students about civics when the presidential campaign is anything but civilized…

“…Yeah that’s really tough because you’re trying to teach them to become active in government and get them to understand that there’s a role for everyone in government and it’s hard because a lot of them get a little turned off by this policy and this idea of engaging in this. But most of the kids understand that it really plays a role in the students to get out and be active and understand the issues so that we don’t have these situations present themselves in the future. I think misinformation can cause people to make gut wrenching decisions sometimes, so it’s really just the process of getting them to understand how the government works and ensuring their role in making a democratic process.”

It’s students like Katie Krueger who are relieved they don’t have to make that gut wrenching decision this time around…

“…My parents are both pretty republican, and my sister just went off to college and she’s very liberal now, so it’s interesting to see what she thinks and I don’t think I would vote for either candidate to be honest. I liked Ben Carson and that he was level-headed, but I think you need to be up-front when you speak and I don’t think he would have been able to do that. I think things just like Mr. Knott is teaching us, after each debate don’t just take what they’re saying word for word; go fact check it, see what kind of policies they’re actually talking about and what they would do to our political affairs. I honestly don’t know who I would vote for."

Katie says she’s nervous for the future…

“…I am just because I think it will have a lot of affect on my generation, personally. But at the same time, it is what it is. I don’t have a say in it and I need to accept that...”

Of the dozen kids in Knott’s AP Government and Politics class, only one is able to cast a vote…

“…I follow along with my parents, they vote democratically. They’re both teachers so I understand why they vote democratically.”

18 year old Tyler Kolasa credits his parents and Knott’s class for pushing him to make an informed decision…

“ …I like her ideas. I’m an avid supporter of Obama and she follows along with what he does. I like that she has clear cut ideas and plans of what she wants to do. Trump, I’ve looked into his plans and they aren’t too great. He’s more focused on getting the right-wing conservative on his side and I don’t see how that would make America better, or how we’d move forward in the world.”

Even with the election nearly one week away, Andrew is still left with questions…

“I’ve looked, Hillary Clinton is I believe 5’6”, but I can’t imagine her being that tall. I imagine her as like 12 feet tall and that when I come in the room I would look up at her in awe but that’s not how it would be. Realistically, I think I wouldn’t say anything, but if I were to say something I would…ask her how she would like to see America for my generation. I would ask both of them that. How they envision America in 30 years and how I’m going to be living in it and what kind of society I’m going to live in, what the mindset behind the people is regarding diversity, regarding inequality…I think that’s an important issue that people might not take into account. The fact that either of them would have the power to appoint Supreme Court Justices which could drastically alter the interpretation of our constitution in either direction, will greatly affect me more than this election in the next four years ever could.”

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