High school journalism students work with local newspaper to keep their community informed

If it's happening in their neighborhood, the journalism students at North High School in Minneapolis are on top of it.

The 21 students cover everything from their school's sports teams to community cultural events, with many of their articles making it onto the pages of a local newspaper, the North News. They also go on field trips to newsrooms and journalism conferences. "Anytime we go to an event, our students really shine," one of their teachers, Samuel Wilbur, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "They stand up and ask truthful, hard-hitting questions that others aren't asking."

The students don't shy away from writing about tough issues, putting a spotlight on underreported stories like lead poisoning in the community. The editor of North News, Kenzie O'Keefe, teaches the class with Wilbur, and every year hires students to join the paper as paid interns. Not every student who takes the class goes on to become a journalist, but O'Keefe said they are still learning how to be leaders and becoming more aware of what is happening in their community.

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"My dream is that a student would come up through our program, go to college, have a ton of life experience, and want to come back and lead this paper," she said.