Teams from Oliver and Cass counties took first place in their respective divisions in the 2019 North Dakota 4-H consumer decision making contest.

The Oliver County team of Jacob Klaudt, Morgyn Miller, Charlie Liffrig and Reanna Schmidt placed first in the senior division. The team will represent North Dakota 4-H in the consumer decision making contest at the Western National Roundup in Denver, Colo., in January 2020.

Cass County’s team of Elsa Axtman, Nora Severance, McKenna Mohs and Christian Thoreson took first place in the junior division.

These teams were among 83 youth who participated in the contest, which was held during the North Dakota State Fair in Minot. Fifty-six competed in the junior division and 27 competed in the senior division.

The contest is designed to educate youth about making better consumer decisions. This year, the youth judged classes of bicycles, menu items and toothpastes, and gave oral reasons for why they placed the items in a certain order in some of the classes.

In addition to judging the classes, both junior and senior teams participated in a group think component. Each team was given the same scenario, and each team’s members had 10 minutes to work collaboratively to evaluate the situation and make a final decision based on given standards. Teams were scored on how well they worked together and presented their solution.

“Decision making, communication and teamwork are important life skills that youth gain from participating in the consumer decision making contest,” says Meagan Scott, a youth development specialist in North Dakota State University Extension’s Center for 4-H Youth Development.

Six teams competed in the senior division, and 14 teams competed in the junior division.

Other teams placing in the senior division were:

• Second – Morton/Cavalier counties, with members John Goettle, Tucker Regner, Grace Berger and Marcus Iverson
• Third – Cass County, with team members Linnea Axtman, Paige Haugen, Nolan Severance and Garrett Haugen

Other teams placing in the junior division were:

• Second –Towner/Rolette counties, with members Martinus Hein, Edwin Hein and Jaelyn Buckman
• Third – Stark/Billings/Dunn counties, with team members Phaden Schrum, Andrew Fritel and Paula Meyer

John Goettle from the Morton/Cavalier counties team was the top scoring senior individual, and Elsa Axtman from the Cass County team was the top scoring junior individual.

The North Dakota 4-H Foundation sponsors this contest.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Aug. 13, 2019