Bemidji Pioneer: A 'turnaround' for the arts: Citizen Cope visits Red Lake Middle School

RED LAKE -- Nearly 200 Red Lake Middle School students froze in place Wednesday, pantomiming high-fives, Elvis impersonations and arcing basketball shots in the hallway outside the school’s main office.

Principal Mark Bensen led singer-songwriter Citizen Cope through the tableau as “Bullet and a Target,” one of Cope’s early 2000’s acoustic offerings, warbled from the principal’s cellphone. The school’s “mannequin challenge” and Cope’s appearance were both there for the same reason: Minnesota’s “Turnaround Arts” program, which uses state grants to organize schoolwide arts events, help teachers integrate art into their curriculum and bring in artists.

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