‘Mayor for a Day Essay Contest’ invites students to share ideas for improving their cities

Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders can submit essays by Dec. 12 for a chance to win $100.

The Mayor for a Day Essay Contest, hosted by the League of Minnesota Cities, is now open for submissions. To enter, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders can answer the prompt, “What would you do if you were mayor for a day?” for a chance to win $100 and recognition in Minnesota Cities magazine.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, Dec. 12. Students and parents/caregivers can submit essays via an online form, a PDF email attachment, or United States Postal Service mail. All contest materials are available at lmc.org/mayorforaday, including a primer on what it’s like to be a Minnesota mayor.

The contest is in its 11th year and received 560 essays from all around the state in 2022, the highest number of entries in the program’s history. The 2022 winners were from Edina, Glencoe, La Crescent, and Medina. In addition, judges selected four honorable mention essayists from the cities of Elk River, Inver Grove Heights, La Crescent, and Pierz.

Winners only will be notified in January 2024.