Comets compete at state

WAUPACA – The Civics Games finals took place May 2 in the state capital in Madison where 16 high schools competed for the top spot. The season started with 49 teams from 27 high schools throughout the state, with 16 advancing to finals and the Waupaca Comets were among them.
In the Civics Games, student teams face off to answer questions about local government, state budget, local elections, legislative term limits, quorums and civic-related issues around Wisconsin.
Money is on the line: winners get a medal and each student gets a $2,000 scholarship to use at a Wisconsin college or university.
This was Comet’s fourth year as a civics team and their second year of making it to the finals with returning team members Miles Wenberg, Lukas Soto, Anakin Stern and Captain Alton Ross.
“We hope to have teams that can make it to Madison and keep improving every year,” said Corey Nagel, a Waupaca High School social studies teacher and team advisor. He said replacing Wenberg and Soto will be difficult; however, with Ross and Stern returning they will continue to be competitive.

There were guest speakers at the competition: School Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, University of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Wisconsin Chief Justice Ann Walsh Bradley and Dr. Eric Fulcomer.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers was not able to attend the event but he wrote a letter given to each participant. “We need dedicated public servants, elected officials, and community members like you now more than ever. We need people who will lead with kindness, empathy, respect, and compassion; people who will treat others with dignity and kindness, regardless of their background; and people who will always try to do the right thing when it matters most,” wrote Evers.
In the end, Platteville took first place, with two teams from West Bend taking second and third. The first civics games took place in 2019 and Platteville also won that year as well.