By Jack Kelly | Assistant Randall City Counselor, Howe County 

Journalism is a fundamental part of the way that our democracy — both in the United States and here at Badger Boys State — functions on a day-to-day basis. Journalists, whether they come in the form of reporters, analysts or photographers, act as the watchdogs of those in positions of power.

You see, in our world of ever changing politics, the system of checks and balances that our founding fathers put into place are more important than ever before. The same goes for journalism. Journalists act as independent checks and balances to keep those in roles of authority accountable for their actions when our existing systems do not.

And journalists fulfill this watchdog role by providing everyday citizens — parents, workers, voters — the information they require to be informed participants in government. Journalists are, in many ways, public servants working to make the lives of their fellow Americans simpler. They chase down the leads that are important and tell the stories we need to hear, all so that we can be informed when heading to our respective polling places.

This is something that translates into what we do here at Badger Boys State as well. Throughout this week, hundreds of citizens of the 51st state of Badger will be elected to different government positions. Here at the Bugle Citizen, we will be encouraging our Press Corps members to report on government, keep their fellow citizens informed on what is most important and share as many of the other incredible stories from the week as possible.

The Bugle Citizen is here to serve all of you, and we hope that you take full advantage of the coverage that we provide. On behalf of the Bugle Citizen, welcome to Badger Boys State.