I’m going to use this first blog post to introduce myself. My name is Carissa, and I will be covering the beautiful state of Minnesota for MTV’s Street Team ’08. This means that from now, until the election in November, I will be reporting on political and social issues important to young Minnesotans.
I recently graduated from the University of Minnesota where I majored in journalism and political science – and as you can probably guess, I couldn’t ask for a more perfect job straight out of college!
I consider myself very fortunate to be covering Minnesota, not just because I’ve lived here my whole life, but also because young Minnesotans are very politically active. Did you know that in the past several elections, Minnesota has led the country in voter turnout among voters ages 18-29? In 2004, a whopping 69 percent of eligible young voters went to the polls! That number is pretty impressive considering the national average for all age groups was 64 percent.
I hope this will be a place for young Minnesotans (or anyone) to come and discuss politics and social issues. If you have a burning question about Minnesota politics, or have a story/issue you want me to cover – let me know! I am really looking forward to reporting on issues that matter and getting to know my state better.