By Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts Program Director
What an exciting day of competition in Minnesota! The Minnesota State LifeSmarts Competition came down to the final question, with Willow River leading Prior Lake by just 10 points. The final question was read in pin-dropping silence:
You recently purchased fuel at a gas station and believe you did not receive as much gas as the pump indicates. Who would investigate this?
A Willow River student buzzed in–but the answer given was incorrect. The question was re-read and a Prior Lake student buzzed in – with a chance to tie the match and send it to overtime – but also gave an incorrect answer.
The dramatic end to the competition made one thing certain: none of the students on stage or in the audience will ever put gas in their car again without remembering the correct answer (your state, county or local Department of Weights & Measures).
Willow River won the nail-biter 90-80 to repeat as state champions, moving through the double-elimination grid with its only loss to Prior Lake in the semi-finals. Congratulations to Willow River Coach Lois Johnson and her team!
In hosting the competition, State Coordinators Maili Frison and Barb Grieman were joined by a number of their fellow staff members from the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota, including President Dana Badgerow, who congratulated all the teams and presented a $1,500 travel grant to the winning state champions to use towards getting to the national event in Miami.
Fifteen teams competed hard throughout the day and all teams are to be commended for the consumer smarts they demonstrated during the day-long event held at the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul, MN.
