Three Decorah Middle School students chosen as finalists at Iowa's "Virtual National History Day Competition"

Front row (l-r): Kelly Gates, Kathryn Kelly, Brenna Parker--Back row (l-r): Alex McGohan, Luke Arendt, Mason Cote, Shlok Patel, Skyler Cole, Danielle Losen, Lydia Monreal-Rice, Gabrielle Dixon

Eleven 8th grade Decorah Middle School students recently competed in Iowa's virtual National History Day competition.  Of those students, three were chosen for the finals, placing them among the top projects in the state of Iowa.  Chosen were Lucas Arendt for his individual website on "The Manhattan Project's Legacy on Modern-Day Warfare;" Kelly Gates for the individual documentary on the "U.S.S. Barb;" and Skyler Cole, for her individual paper on "The Federalist Papers' Impact on the Judicial System."  Cole also received the Colonial & Early American History Award for her paper.

Also competing at State were Shlok Patel in "Individual Performance" about "Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun"; Mason Cote and Alex McGohan for group documentary about "The First Jamaican Bobsled Team"; Kathryn Kelly and Brenna Parker in Group Performance for "Radium Girls"; Danielle Losen and Lydia Monreal-Rice in Group Exhibit for "Diamond in the Rough: Breaking the Unrecognized Barrier of Neuroscience"; and Gabrielle Dixon in Individual Exhibit for "Children's Blizzard of 1888."