Following the resounding success of Voices for the Land, 1000 Friends of Minnesota has decided to gather essays for a companion piece - Voices for the City. 

Voices for the City commemorates those places and things that give the city its unique sense of place.  Minnesota's urban centers are exciting and vital.  Like our state's pastoral countryside, these beautiful cities need to be both celebrated and protected.  When we think of environmental protection, our minds normally evoke visions of rural pastures and babbling streams; however, the health and stability of our cities is just as big a concern for 1000 Friends of Minnesota.  Whether it be Duluth, Rochester, Saint Cloud, Moorhead or the Twin Cities, we feel that it is important to hear the voices that speak for Minnesota's cities.

Eight youth and twenty adults have been chosen as winners in this contest.  The contest winners are a diverse group of talented writers who write passionately about their urban experience.  Order your copy now - click here.

Choose from the list of writers below to read their essay.