Mason City 8th graders wins inaugural North Iowa Civics Bee

MASON CITY — A John Adams Middle School eighth grade student was the winner of the first North Iowa Civics Bee on Tuesday sponsored by the Mason City Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 70 students from around north-central Iowa submitted essays demonstrating their knowledge of civics principles, with ten finalists chosen to compete in Tuesday afternoon’s event.

Kaitlyn Thangaraj was thrilled to win the inaugural contest.  “I was definitely really nervous, taking a lot of deep breaths backstage , making sure I was calm before I got here. We found out about two weeks ago, so definitely using the study guides they provided made for a lot of help along the way, and I also prepared at home by myself, which was also really helpful.”

For her essay, Thangaraj submitted an idea to have the city install armadillo-shaped lane dividers to separate bike lines from regular traffic.  “My first idea for my essay was public transportation, and then I kind of developed on to bike transportation. I wanted to improve safety, which is something we don’t have in Mason City right now. I found armadillo lane dividers were so incredibly easy to install and they were so cheap, and I thought they’d be a great addition to Mason City.”

The Civics Bee is the first of six events as part of a pilot project promoted by the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Civic Trust Initiative. Vice president of programs Hillary Crow was impressed by the event and says the students did a phenomenal job.  “We’re really passionate about the Civics Bee because we are really passionate about increasing civic knowledge across the country. We think it’s important to the strength of our democracy and our entire economic system and the strength of America as a whole.”

Crow says they are hoping more people become better versed in civics.  “Unfortunately decades ago, schools stopped teaching civics in classrooms, so we are committed to the Civics Bee as a way to bring civic education to middle school kids all across the country, and hopefully educating their parents and families and friends along the way as well.”

Crow says they look forward to the future of the Civics Bee program.  “We have five competitions coming up over the next few weeks in Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico, Maryland and Kentucky, so we look forward to those. Next year, we are working toward 50 sites in 2023. Great to see these pilots, and I’m excited for the growth for next year.”

As the winner, Thangaraj received a $1000 cash prize along with a trophy and national recognition.