Monthly Archives: March 2023

National

West Mesa murders

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By: Ren King and Violet Hirman

*Warning: This article contains information about sexual violence

The best murderers are the ones who have never been caught. Close seconds are the cases where nobody even realizes there’s been a murder.

February 2, 2009, Christine Ross took her dog Ruca on a walk on Albuquerque, New Mexico’s west side. Ruca discovered a bone sticking out of the dirt and brought it to Ross. Ross’s sister was a nurse, and confirmed it appeared to be a human femur bone. Police were called to the sight where they dug up grave after grave after grave.

In total, the skeletons from eleven bodies, and one unborn baby, were discovered, buried in makeshift graves all evenly spaced apart. They were all women, and all but one of them had ties to drugs and prostitution.

Investigators then made another chilling realization: the majority of the victims had previously been reported missing between the years 2003 and 2005.

The first to be identified was 15-year-old Syllannia Edwards in November of 2009, having been reported missing since 2003. She had last been seen in May of 2004, in the company of three other women, believed to be using the nicknames Mimi or Chocolate.

A few days later, Virginia Cloven and Evelyn Salazar were identified, gone missing in 2004.

Two months later, Salazar’s cousin, 15-year-old Jamie Barela was found, with both Barela and her cousin last seen at a family gathering in April of 2004. The two had been heading to a park in southeast Albuquerque when they disappeared. Barela was also the last victim to be dug up.

The other victims were 22-year-old Monica Candelaria, killed between 2003 and 2005. 26-year-old Victoria Chavez killed in 2005. 32-year-old Cinnamon Elks killed sometime between 2004 and 2005. 24-year-old Doreen Marquez between 2003 and 2005. 24-year-old Julie Nieto killed sometime between the same years. 28-year-old Veronica Romero between 2004 and 2005. And finally, 22-year-old Michelle Valdez between the latter years. Romero had been pregnant at the time, and the skeletal remains of her unborn child were also discovered with her.

Aerial photographs of the crime sight were discovered, and revealed off-road tire tracks in the West Mesa desert. With knowledge of grave locations, there are two identifiable graves at the time of the photo.

Right off the bat, and only seven days after Ross had discovered the bone, April Gillen, the first wife of Joseph Blea called the police saying they should look into him. Blea already faced sex-related charges and was currently serving a 90 year sentence in prison for four sexual assaults unrelated to the West Mesa Murders. His DNA was discovered on a dead prostitute in 1985, although he has never been charged in connection to that specific crime. He had more than 130 run-ins between 1990 and 2009 relating to prostitution and drugs in an area that several of the victims frequently traveled.

He had previously been reported exposing himself to women walking on Central Avenue, and investigators found rope and electrical tape in his car. More disturbingly, during the weeks following the discovery of the remains, Blea was noticed to be seemingly stalking prostitutes on the move. One woman was interviewed admitting that Blea had taken her to his house and tied her up against her will.

More and more evidence was being stacked up against Blea when his former cell-mate said he talked about the West Mesa Murders, and even said he knew the victims. He had paid them for sex acts and struck one of them when she tried to take his money.

Jewelry and women’s underwear were discovered by Blea’s daughter as well as his wife, Cheryl Blea, around the house and in their shed. One of the victim’s fathers claimed some of his daughter’s jewelry had gone missing. Due to the case still being open, forensic scientists will not release information regarding whether or not DNA on the jewelry matched that of any of the victims.

Blea’s former attorney, John McCall, claims Blea had nothing to do with the murders.

The case is still ongoing, and investigators don’t have any other leads (although they do have other suspects) to put to the test. A $100,000 reward is in place for any information leading to the conviction and incarceration of the perpetrator.. The question is: Are there other bodies yet to be discovered? And if Blea really isn’t the killer, where are they now?

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Nordic Skiing

Nordic results

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By: Ellie Moore

Image taken from: https://www.spps.org/sports

There were a lot of challenges standing in the way of Highland Park’s Nordic ski team as the girls team made another state meet appearance, along with the boys. Wind blowing around 30 MPH on Wednesday, combined with gusts up to 45 MPH made for tough racing conditions for Highland Park’s 2 relay teams.

The boys lost their number one skier, Davis Isom, because he made the US team for the Nordic National Cup. He would be in Finland during the state meet.

Relay teams made up of Delia Johnson and Ellie Moore for the girls and Tim Tzeutschler and Tad Foresman were the first racers for Highland’s historically successful nordic teams.

Johnson is one of only 2 senior girls on the Varsity squad, looking to help lead the very young team to yet another podium finish. “I’m so excited to represent our team in the relay at state!” Johnson said, “It’s different from the pursuit race and I’m looking forward to a challenge!”

The relay teams kicked off the meet with a strong start for Highland Park, with the girls finishing in 4th, and the boys finishing in 7th, both out of 24 teams.

“Tim and I didn’t end up with the result we were looking for due to some big falls on key parts of the course, but we always got back up and kept fighting,” relay skier Tad Foresman said, “Seventh place is not representative of the work we’ve put in this past couple of years, but we still put on our best possible performance with the obstacles we had been given.”

The pursuit races kicked off on Thursday, beginning with the classic ski 5k. Hanna Koch is ranked 3rd and Chloe Koch is within the top 10. For the boys, Ben Martin and Gavin Roberts are ranked in the top 25.

Sisters Hanna Koch and Chloe Koch were the top 2 finishers for Highland Park. Hanna finished the classic race in 5th place, with Chloe just 40 seconds back in 12th. Teammate Alex Pundsack finished the first race neck and neck with Chloe, just 0.3 seconds behind. Amelie Isom came in 41st and Grace Lewis Mosher in 62nd.

On the boys side, Ben Martin finished first on the Highland team in 15th overall. Gavin Roberts was only 18 seconds behind in 28th. Shaggy Reemtsma finished third for the Highland squad placing 52nd overall. Josh Thompson and Diego Bachman finished 81st and 106th.

Going into the skate race the girls were in second place behind Duluth East by 21 points. The boys were in second as well, 40 points behind Duluth East. This put both teams in a good position to podium but they would have to work for it.

The nordic state meet is a pursuit race meaning they would do two 5ks, one classic and one skate.

For the classic race everyone starts in 15 second intervals not knowing who is beating them or who they are beating. They then get a few hours to rest then ski a skate 5k. They start in the order that they finished the classic and whoever they pass, they beat.

In the skate race Hanna Koch finished first for the team in 5th overall. Chloe Koch and Alex Pundsack skied the entire race together. “It allowed us to push ourselves super hard and have fun out there,” Koch said. Amelie Isom and Grace Lewis-Mosher finished in 35th and 59th.

Ben Martin finished in 20th for the boys with Gavin Rovers close behind in 29th. Shaggy Reemtsma came in 46th as the last scorer for the boys. Josh Thompson and Diego Bachman were 88th and 105th.

In the end, both teams ended up placing 3rd.

The girls team is looking strong for next year only graduating 2 seniors, but the boys are graduating 5 of their 7 skiers. The girls team is hoping to podium again next year and hopefully the boys can too.

Tech/Games

Do AIs tell of generated tales?

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By: Hoaseng Thao

What began with curiosity and a little boredom, ended with hundreds of texts and paths being generated by Artificial Intelligence all because of a single prompt being entered. A couple of weeks ago, from the date of this article, I found myself bored out of my mind as I had little to no homework given to me. One day, while scrolling through YouTube I found a video of a YouTuber and his friend interacting with an AI, but the most interesting thing about their interaction was that they were playing out a story generated by a prompt they wrote for the AI to understand. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided that I might as well try this AI thing out.

I scoured the internet in search of an AI chatbot that was free to use, but in reality I just typed in “AI Chatbot Free” on the google search bar. After a few minutes searching for an AI chatbot, I found a website called Beta.Character.AI, a website where people created their own AI chatbot for anyone to use for free. One thing that caught my eye with this website was the large variety of AI chatbots that you can choose from: you can choose to talk to historical people like George Washington or Napoleon, you can also interact with video game characters like Master Chief from the ‘HALO’ series or Mario from Nintendo, etc. There are no limits to what you can do on this website.

I have two examples of what you can do with an AI chatbot. The first example is me playing as a fictional country I created in @monkeys’s ‘country simulator’ chatbot. The second example is me chasing a pigeon in @Button_Quail-22’s pigeon chatbot.

I decided to begin my journey with @monkeys’s country simulator, I started the story of my fictional country with the text:

My fictional country is called the Federal States of the Ustovan Union, we are covering the Kamchatka Peninsula. My population is 10 million people and we are using the dollar as our currency. We are a democracy that has been created after the fall of the Soviet Union. The year is 2000, Chechnya was annexed back into Russia and it looks like we’re next.

Immediately after I entered the prompt, I was told by the AI that it seems like Russia was looking to annex my country. This was a big deal, so as a democratic country I decided to ask my people their opinion of Russia’s aggression towards us. The AI wrote back to me that the people were worried about an invasion but the AI also told me that the Russians delivered a letter saying that my country will be “annexed in 4 days”. I responded back to the Russians saying “get off my peninsula”, they responded with “an army of 300,000 soldiers at my border”.

The next few minutes of my story was me trying to defend my country while repeatedly asking for foreign aid, the foreign aid never came. After a few minutes I had fended off a major attack. I was later told that the United Nations was asking for permission for an intervention, one that I accepted immediately. The UN intervened and my country lives for another day.

After saving my country from being annexed, I decided to take a slow approach to AI by talking to @Button_Quail-22’s pigeon bot. I wanted to make this experience a bit comedic so I decided to write down the prompt: “I chased the pigeon because it stole my hat”.

As I chased the winged rat it began to mock me at every turn. One time I had chased the pigeon towards a tall building where the pigeon flew to the top of the building before saying I can’t reach them, so, in a fit of anger I decided to grab a pair of plungers and climb up the building, but as I climbed up the building the pigeon, pooped on my face.

This story would soon become the start of the Pigeon War, a war where I am constantly harassed by a pigeon every time I enter the park. I would win some battles and the pigeon would win some, but in the end there were no winners and I had to sign a peace treaty with the winged rat.

In the end, I had a blast generating these stories with the AI chatbots because there were no limits to what you write down for the AI. If you are bored out of your mind and need something to write about, I think it’s best to look into beta.character.ai if you are bored out of your mind or want to experience talking to AI for the first time.

If you want to try out the AI chatbots of beta.character.ai, please visit the official AI chatbot website: https://beta.character.ai/

Editorials/Student Voice, World

Italy’s second rise to fascism

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By: Charlie Boone

In the spring of 1919, a group of Italian nationalists, including Benito Mussolini, burnt down the offices of a local socialist newspaper called ‘L’Avanti!’, killing four people, and halting production of the paper for several days. This was the first of many attacks on left-wing institutions from the fascist movement. This violence, often helped by colluding nationalist law enforcement, would grow the influence of paramilitary fascist groups, eventually culminating in Mussolini gaining power in 1922.

Almost exactly 100 years after the first violent rise of fascism in Italy, it’s happening again. This time, draped in the aesthetics of modern neoliberal politics, while the actual message being sent is one of nationalism and white supremacy. The current figurehead of this movement is Giorgia Meloni, and she was elected prime minister of Italy on October 22, 2022.

The party she belongs to is called Fratelli d’Italia or “The Brothers of Italy”. They are a far-right neofascist political party and by far the most extreme to govern the country since Mussolini’s dictatorship. The fact that this is Italy’s first woman prime minister is also no coincidence. Far-right movements have had a lengthy history of picking select white women as figureheads to forward patriarchal and regressive ideas through the thin veil of progress.

Aesthetics have always been intertwined with fascism and other far-right movements. Historically, as an intense focus on uniform and conveying power, strength, and purity; so much so that the wolf in sheep’s clothing approach that Meloni is using is working better than it ever should have.

In September of 2022, before Meloni was elected, Hillary Clinton was quoted as saying, “The election of the first woman prime minister in a country always represents a break with the past, and that is certainly a good thing,”. I don’t think that this means Clinton actually supports the hateful, racist, anti-immigrant politics that Meloni and her party are pushing for, but it’s this sort of attitude that dismisses the genuine harm that these ideas cause, opening the door wide open for another rise to fascism.

With Meloni’s administration already targeting journalists critical of her ideas, it seems clear that anything short of genuine condemnation simply isn’t enough.

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Travel/Food

What to do over spring break

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By: G. Johnson

Spring break is approaching fast and a lot of us are looking for something to do. This year spring break is April 1st to April 9th. We go back on Monday the 10th. That’s 9 days of break this year.

A lot of people don’t know what to do over break since it’s usually still cold, but I think it’s a great time to be productive and also have fun. If you’re looking for something productive to do you can clean, catch up on school work, or go through your closet and get rid of things you don’t need. This is good because you are cleaning and getting ready for summer – which is actually closer than we all think. Some other productive things you can do is work extra hours if you have a job. This would be great because you would make some extra money over the break.

If you’re looking for something fun to do over spring break here’s some ideas. You could, of course, hang out with your friends or family, cook or bake something, go on a day trip somewhere, go to the mall with friends, go for a walk or even do some winter activities for the last time like sledding, skating or skiing.

If you’re looking for something more spring friendly you could get outside, go for a hike by the river or walk around one of the nearby lakes. The weather might be a bit cold but it will be nice to be outside after the long winter.

If you’re looking for some indoor activities you could always rewatch your favorite TV show or movie, or watch a new one.

All of these things will hopefully help you have an enjoyable and fun spring break. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a good spring break!

Movies/TV/Theaters

Who I would cast for the upcoming movie: ‘It Ends With Us’

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By: Mya Olson – Williams

As many book lovers know, an announcement was recently made about the cast list for the film adaption of Colleen Hoover’s popular novel, ‘It Ends With Us’. It’s caused lots of controversy and received much criticism. Casted as the main characters, Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid, are Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Although both are great actors, here’s who I would cast for the main roles, as well as the others.

Lily Bloom – Elle Fanning

Lily Bloom has an innocent, sweet, and delicate character. Elle Fanning shows that in her appearance and voice. Lily is a natural redhead and also quite young in the book. Elle is extremely close in age, just one year older. If the actress playing Lily was older, that could change people’s perception of the plot and character development. Elle also looks amazing with red hair, so much so that it looks very natural. Although Blake pulls off the new hair color, you can tell that it’s dyed.

Ryle Kincaid – Theo James

In the novel, Ryle comes off as this intimidating, powerful, and uptight guy. Theo James has a defined resting face that can almost give you chills. He has a soft and sweet smile, but also a straight face that makes me a little bit uneasy. That’s how I imagine Ryle to be, someone with deceiving looks. I bet Justin Baldoni can totally play his character, but he looks super sweet and gentle, somewhat unlike Ryle.

Atlas Corrigan – Dylan Minnette

Atlas Corrigan is the definition of a gentleman. He cares about his loved ones very much, and protects them with everything he can. Dylan usually plays sweet and innocent characters in movies and TV shows, which is why I think he’d fit Atlas’ character perfectly. He’s really good at wearing his heart on his sleeve while acting, and that’s one of the most important things needed from the actor who plays Atlas.

Allysa – Sarah Hyland

Allysa is your stereotypical fun, outgoing, gossip loving, supportive best friend. She’s always encouraging Lily to do what’s best for herself and have fun at the same time. I wanted to find an actress who resembles my vision of what Allysa looks like in my head, and she is exactly that. Sarah Hyland looks just like she’s fun and confident, like Allysa.

Marshal – Joel Courtney

Marshal is super funny and sweet. He’s the guy who makes you laugh when you need it after a rough chapter in the book. Joel Courtney is the exact same way in the movie ‘The Kissing Booth’. He plays a great friend and a fun, loving guy, which I think is absolutely perfect for Marshal’s character.

Although I’m sure everyone casted for this movie was chosen for a reason, these are who I imagine as a cast for the main characters. I can’t wait for the real cast list to come out, and see if the movie does justice to the book!

Science/Nature

An overview on 2022’s space launches

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By: Trump Vang

For astronomers world-wide, 2022 was a blastful year for its space launches. Within this year, there were a multitude of accomplishments and achievements reached.

Throughout 2022, 180 rockets were properly launched, with SpaceX leading most of them. There were 7 launch failures, but it’s clear to see the success within these launches, with the fact that 180 is the most ever within human history.

There were also a few highlights during the year, showing the potential of our technology within the environment of space.

Firstly, the mission of Artemis 1 launched on November 16th, 2022. Its mission was to prepare to create a safe environment for future crewed missions to the moon and Mars. These places, as of now, still hold many unknown dangers to us. At the end of this mission, it would successfully set up the premises for a human crew for another space launch.

Along with the Artemis mission, China was able to complete its very own space station, called the “Tiangong space station”. As of right now, this is the second fully crewed space station, creating new opportunities with the new build. Just like the other space station (ISS), this station strives for the same goals of experiments and research on life within space. With a whole new space station, the opportunities seem almost endless.

As space launches become more prominent in these upcoming years, it’s important to see what’s up next on the launch board.

With views of Mars becoming our next home, researchers have had their eyes on this planet. Recently, they’ve announced the production of a small robot by the name of Moxie. Its purpose is to generate breathable oxygen for the foreseeable future within Mars. This idea, although still floating, has been tested, giving an eventual launch date somewhere in the 2030’s.

Throughout the decades of space exploration, technology has developed way past what we had before. Looking at the first space launch ever, Sputnik 1, it’s clear to see the improvements within our goals and technology. As we continue, it will keep on improving, adding and developing our knowledge on the vastness of space. We are just a step in this process, but it’s necessary to further space exploration and its many future launches.

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Clubs and Activities, Travel/Food

Cookie season

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By: Tasha Cudinski

Friday, February 17th, was the start of Girl Scout cookie season! There are 10 flavors of cookies available for purchase this year!

  • Adventurefuls; caramel brownie cookies that were introduced last year. Thin mints; chocolate and mint wafer cookies.
  • Caramel deLites; coconut cookies covered in caramel and chocolate.
  • Peanut Butter Patties; a peanut butter cookie covered in chocolate.
  • Peanut Butter Sandwich; two oatmeal cookies stuck together with peanut butter.
  • Trefoils; shortbread cookies and the first types of cookies Girl Scouts ever sold.
  • Toast-Yay; cinnamon sugar flavored cookies. Lemonades; shortbread cookies with a sweet lemony icing on the bottom.
  • Caramel Chocolate chip; gluten free cookies with caramel and chocolate chips.
  • And new this year are, Raspberry Rally! They are wafer cookies with raspberry flavoring and a chocolate coating on the outside.

All flavors of Girl Scout cookies are 5$ a box, even the Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies, which were 6$ last year. You can buy Girl Scout cookies from door to door sales, from cookie booths, or online. If you know a Girl Scout who is selling cookies you can also ask them about buying cookies.

This year’s new cookie flavor, Raspberry Rally’s are only purchasable online this year, so if you want to buy a box of them, then head to girlscouts.org to buy cookies once cookie season starts.

If you are worried about potential allergen in Girl Scout cookies, or have other questions about the ingredients of Girl Scout cookies, you can go to GirlScoutsRV.org where you can find more details on the ingredients of Girlscout cookies.

The money from Girl Scout cookie sales goes to the troop you buy the cookies from, and funds all of their activities for the rest of the year until the next cookie season. This money is what allows Girl Scouts to do fun activities like horseback riding, arts and crafts, skiing, attending engineering workshops, and more. The money they get from cookie sales allows Girl Scouts to learn and experience more things without having to worry about the cost of things like equipment, or activities.

This year’s Girl Scout cookie season goes from February 17th to March 26th, so if you want to buy cookies make sure to keep an eye out for cookie booths, or head online to buy yourself a few boxes of cookies.

Fashion/Make-Up

Fast fashion

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By: Ajmal Abdirahman & Mushtaq Yonis

Are you aware of the manufacturers of the clothes you’re wearing right now? Do you recall where your clothing was made or how much you spent for them? Is fast fashion always the best option? Is it safe for the planet and our environment? Should we keep purchasing from fast fashion? Many people don’t think about these questions which is why these are some of the things you should consider asking yourself.

People should not purchase fast fashion because of overconsumption, child labor, and pollution.

The first reason why we should not purchase fast fashion is because of overconsumption. People usually tend to buy way too many clothes and items that aren’t necessary because things are cheap, affordable, and easy to access. Fast fashion allows people to buy cheap and trendy clothing that they’ll later end up discarding after a few wears.

Fast fashion falls into the idea that outfit repeating is lame and that if you want to stay trendy or relevant you have to achieve the latest looks as they happen.

Fast fashion causes pollution, slowly killing our planet everyday. Did you know, according to Good On You’s website, fast fashion is the second fastest polluter; oil is the first. Fast fashion’s impact on the planet is massive. It pollutes the world’s waters and creates carbon emissions which are very harmful to our planet. This includes the overuse of cheap toxic textile-dyes, making the fashion industry one of the largest polluters of clean water globally.

Many cheap textiles increase the impact of fast fashion. Fabrics like polyester, microfibers, and conventional cotton result in so many global warming disasters. Is it okay to continue this? To worsen the damage?

Child labor is sadly another reason why we shouldn’t purchase fast fashion. Factories like SHEIN (an online clothing store) that’s recently risen to popularity in the past 3 years, Zara and H&M, which are other major giants in the fast fashion field, often use low skilled child labor. They all, including many more, use that to their advantage so children in these factories can be exploited at a young age. As much as there is an environmental cost of fast fashion, there’s a human cost that comes along with it.

The risk of poor human environmental issues include poor labor conditions, and the people/kids who make the clothes get paid very little. In some countries, children working 16 hours a day 7 times a week only make enough money to buy a meal a day.

The fast fashion industry is widespread with low wages, long work hours, inhumane working conditions. Additionally, sexual abuse, and physical assaults also occur as reported about on Shared-impact.com.

Countries such as Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, are great examples of these horrendous fast fashion practices.

The reason why people like to purchase fast fashion is that it’s cheaper for people who may not be able to afford much. The affordable prices and instant satisfaction for consumers, leads to more profits for companies, and the standardization of stylish clothing.

Instead of relying constantly on fast fashion, you can try shopping second hand because thrift shopping is affordable, yet it doesn’t harm our environment as much making it an amazing alternative to fast fashion. There are many other alternatives to this, such as buying clothes from ethical and sustainable brands.

People should try not to purchase fast fashion because of the many downsides to it that include overconsumption, child labor, and pollution. If consumers continue to try to buy less and consume less, that will be the first step we can all take to prevent many disadvantages.

Remember, 10% of global carbon emissions dry up water sources and pollute rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year.

Fast fashion is affecting the whole planet and if we continue to purchase more and more items this will have a big impact on our environment. Fast fashion is unethical and hard on the environment. It is responsible for huge textile waste, water, air, soil pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Large amounts of resources are being removed and clothes sent to landfills due to fast fashion. If we don’t try to help our planet now who will?

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Advice/How To

Best way to spend a snow day

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By: Biftu Osman

Because Minnesotans are known for their cold weather, snow storms and unsafe weather conditions are not uncommon for us. For staff and students at schools, this means snow days could be a common event. Due to this, some people might find themselves questioning what to do out of boredom. I’ve chosen to compile a list of enjoyable and entertaining activities to do during a snow day to help minimize the boredom. 

First on my list is to play a board game/puzzle. Board games are a great and fun bonding activity to do with family or friends. It’s also an indoor pastime so you won’t even need to leave the comfort of your house. You can include a prize for the game’s winner to raise the stakes and make it more competitive. Some of my personal favorite board games include: Apples to Apples, Monopoly, and Candyland. 

Baking is the next activity you could do on my list. It is also a simple indoor activity that won’t take up too much of your time. You could make that new dish you’ve been wanting to try or even just celebrate the snow by making a winter-themed dish. My favorite baking challenge is coming up with new variations to a perfectly fine chocolate chip cookie recipe while also aiming to create the greatest recipe possible. One example would be to increase the amount of butter in the recipe to see whether it makes it more soft. 

My last activity for the best ways to spend a snow day is to shovel. This outdoor activity would be a considerate approach to support your parents and possibly your neighbors. It’s labor-intensive and a wonderful way to exercise, shoveling also has the added benefit of being beneficial.