Kids compete in national history contest

A delegation of Iowa middle and high schoolers is in Baltimore, Maryland, this week for the National History Day competition. The 44 Iowa students are facing off against hundreds of other kids from across the U-S in the contest that’s much more intense than a spelling bee.Roger Munns, spokesman for the State Historical Society of Iowa, says the 44 Iowa competitors are the top finishers from the state competition in which more than 25-hundred Iowa students took part. He says the subjects of their historical presentations include everything from Anne Frank to the Battle of Guadalcanal to the Moon Landing.The kids chose a topic, research it in-depth, then present it in an exhibit, a paper or in a ten-minute performance. Munns says the students learn a variety of valuable skills by taking part in the competition.The competition in Maryland runs through Thursday. This year’s -state- winners are Heather King and Laura Skow of Johnston High School who did a documentary on the Katz Drug Store sit-in of 1948. They’ll each get a 500-dollar scholarship if they attend college in Iowa.