Behind looming walls of St. Cloud prison
by Ashley Sundstrom
News Editor Driving or riding on Highway 10 to or from St. Cloud, you likely have noticed the large awe-inspiring medieval style prison named the Minnesota Reformatory for Men. Perhaps you have wondered, what exactly are behind those walls? Surprisingly enough, the prison we know today, was just one cell block which was four stories high. It was designed by a man named J. Walter Stevens, and he was the man who continued with the second cell block. Although the prison may have seemed as just another prison in the state, it has the longest granite wall in the United States, and it’s the world’s second largest wall in the world, right after the Great Wall of China. Also fascinating is how it was built by the inmates who were held there and finished in 1920. The materials used to build it were from Minnesota’s oldest granite quarry. Originally it was intended for men ages sixteen to thirty who were viewed as salvageable. The prison being located only a |
few miles from people’s homes, some may wonder, is their safety in jeopardy? A woman named Dani Lindner, who lives in the apartment building The Highlands located only a few miles from the prison, was interviewed. When asked whether or not she felt her safety was an issue she replied, “Absolutely not. When I first found out it did not faze me.”
She went on to explain how she had once visited the prison in 2000 for volunteer work to talk to those who had been sexually assaulted. She explained she was only there for an hour and in a classroom with the prisoners, not in their holding cells. In the classroom there were only about ten prisoners and the guards explained if there were problems they could remove who was causing the problems, but no one caused problems. Around 2006 a woman named Shirley Schmidt had the rare opportunity to go on a tour to the prison. It is rare because a guard she later encountered said the prison would likely never have a tour again because so many people showed up. When asked if she was nervous going there she explained, “No, I felt safe because I knew the prisoners were behind bars. Families came with their small children, of course it is a different environment than Magic Kingdom, but it was |
neat for them to see. The place was so clean, at least where we were.” Upon being asked if she would go again she replied, “Absolutely.” A man named Gary Molenar who regularly volunteers at the prison said, “I was not afraid going into the prison, I was only apprehensive since it was something I had never done before.” When asked if he had a new or different view of the prisoners he replied, “The ones in the prison are ones who broke the law, and there are also ones outside the prison who have broken the law before. Since I study the bible with them, they come to the classroom to learn because they want to. They can also change their lives if they want to. It is the one time they can be free of vices so they can open their mind and heart in order to have a better life.”
Although the prison may appear to be intimidating, it does not seem to scare many of the citizens in the area. The tall walls bring the feeling of security and peace, not worrying people of an approaching prison break like popular movies and TV shows. Although the population of inmates as of 2007 is 1, 037, people are more curious of the old structure itself. The walls bring questions and curiosity rather than fear. |
Tech High School graduates of 2012
by Mylee Tyler
News Staff Writer On May 31, Technical High School’s class of 2012, will have their last day of school. They have successfully completed 13 years of education and are ready to plunge into their long awaited graduation. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 4Th, to celebrate the momentous time set before them. Tech high School is one of the two major schools in St. Cloud, the second being Apollo. The school was first built in 1917, and a building was added on in the 1970s to accommodate the number of students they had. Currently, Tech has about 1,500 |
students who attend and holds grades nine through twelve. The
student to teacher ratio is 20.2, and has relatively stayed the same for the past few years. As of 2010, the number of students enrolled at the school has been slowly decreasing. The Tech students are also very diverse. As of 2009, about 20 percent of the schools population is African American, American Indian, Hispanic, and Asian. Many may wonder, where are the students of Technical High School going to college and what will they major in? Senior Nicole Nister from Tech said this, “I am going to St. Cloud State University. I’m going to major in criminal justice and taking generals my first year of college. I choose this because I love crime scene stuff.” Senior Brook Rankila says, “I am going to Le Cordon Bleu and majoring in food prep, business and the financial aspect of it. I choose this because I love cooking and |
want to own my own restaurant someday.” These are just a few of the interests and colleges to be learned and attended by these students. Zach Accord says, “I am going to the MMI, (Motorcycle Mechanic Institute), to repair, fix, and make motorcycles. I have always loved motorcycles and this has been my dream.” As you can see, Tech’s seniors are making great accomplishments and are going to start the journey to a long, bright future.
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Up-Up-Away into skies saving energy
by Zachery Acord
News Staff Writer Altaeros Energy, a newly started company, has begun its testing of a new age wind turbine. Small in comparison with its helium filled shell, it lets it go |
higher in to the sky easily. In doing this, it captures more of the energy not being used from fixed ground turbines.
They are seeking companies to bring money to build a full scale commercial sized model. This is one of the last companies still trying to come up with better ways to harness the wind power. In its test flight in Maine, Altaeros Energy used the Southwest Skystream turbine, which normally sits on a pole. They put it in their helium filled |
capsule and they lifted it 350ft in the air. At this relatively low height it produced twice the power of a conventional fixed pole turbine.
They used a trailer with cables and programming that auto lifts and lowers the shell into the air, on test day all worked as planned. Planning is in the works to be able to go as high as 1,100ft where the most wind is able to be captured. In hopes these are first going to be put in airports, military basses and large open facilities. |
MCAs: are they coming or going?
by Mollie Miller
News Staff Writer Saint Cloud area school district 742 is debating on whether or not to keep the state standard testing (MCA's) around. The schools district requires grades 5-11 take the test every year in the spring. Once the students are in grades 9-11, they have to pass the state standard test in order to receive their diploma. Ninth graders take the writing test, which is when they are given a topic and required to write a response on whatever topic they get. Tenth graders are doing the reading test, so they must read stories and answer questions referring to the story they had just read. |
In eleventh grade they are required to take the math test, which has recently had changes on the requirements. Obama made the No Child Left Behind law, which states in 2013 students do not have to pass the state standard testing order to graduate. Not all people agree with this law though. A survey was taken with 40 students, 26 of those students said they should not be required to take them. Then they were asked why they should not have to take them and numerous of students said it is not fair. Multiple students also stated you could have good grades in school, be good at reading, writing and math but not pass the MCA’s because you have test anxiety. Not all teachers believe that students should have to take the test to pass either. Many students are not at the same reading level, or have trouble testing. They also do not believe they should have to |
pass in order to graduate. A lot of teachers and parents are worried that if their child does not pass the MCA’s they will become insecure unlike everyone who passed. Some students believe we should take the test. Out of the 40 students we asked 13 of them think we should. After asking them why they had many responses. One student say “it can and will show them the teachers progress and show them some things they may need to teach longer on.” Some students even said it can show the students and their parents, the progress they have over the years. It could show them what they are having trouble with. Some student’s response to the question was that it can show teacher their comprehension level. Whether or not the test rules will change for the students, they have a very strong opinion on the situation. |
District is against anti-gay bullying
Jasmine LarsonEditor in Chief
The largest school district in Minnesota, Anoka-Hennepin, has adopted a plan to protect students from Anti-Gay bullying. All who are in a settlement will be resolved in The Southern Poverty Law Center law suit. Sam Wolfe, an SPLC attorney states, “This historic agreement marks a fresh start for the Anoka-Hennepin School District.” This settlement will make Anoka-Hennepin an example for many other Minnesota public schools. On behalf of five students, the SPLC sued the Anoka-Hennepin district in July of 2012. These five students were verbally abused because of their sexuality, or appearance. Not only were they subdued to verbal abuse, but physical as well. Some reported being shoved, choked, stabbed with pencils, and even urinated on. The lawsuit said that the school districts “gag” policy-which prevented teachers from addressing the |
harassment,- elongated the gay and lesbian students abuse. This “gag” policy was repealed in February, which had been in place for 18 years. In a number of cases, students were told by officials to just “lay low”, or “stay out of the people’s way.” On the topic of this repeal, Dylon Frei, one of the plaintiffs in the SPLC case said, “I am happy this agreement includes real changes that will make our schools safer and more welcoming for other kids.” The departments of Justice and Education will carefully monitor the district for five years to make sure they keep up with the plan. The district is required to hire a harassment prevention official, have it’s policies and practices reviewed by the Great Lakes Equity Center, and work with the officials and Equity Center to train students and employees. The schools in this areas must also have a counselor on duty at all times during the school day. They will also work with the Equity Center to locate the most probable areas in the school district for bullying, and produce corrective actions for the situation. Also by this decree, the six students involved with the lawsuit will receive a grand total of $270,000 in damages.
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This investigation by the departments of Justice and Education found that the Anoka-Hennepin district violated Title IX and IV of the Education code. This was done by allowing a hostile environment against students on the basis of sex, and failure to conform to any and all sex stereotypes. Investigators reviewed over 7,000 district documents, and interviewed more than 60 individuals. These individuals would include past and present staff, students, teachers, and administrators. When students are comfortable communicating with teachers and other staff in their schools, the environment has the ability to be a lot more welcoming. This lawsuit has changed the districts view on bullying into something much more serious, the SPLC hopes the change will last.
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