Pocatello mayor challenges kids to read 1 million minutes

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad is challenging the kids of the city to read one million minutes this month.

All of the schools in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area have their noses in books trying to reach the million minute mark. 

It is not an easy feat, but they have been able to accomplish it the last few years. 

The reading doesn’t have to be during class time. It can be at home or at one of the libraries. 

He just wants kids to get lost in a book.

"It’s super important for kids to be reading, and I don’t care what it is they’re reading. They just need to read," Mayor Blad said. "If they can read, they can do anything they want to in this world. And so I want to make sure we do everything we can to help the kids read at the level that they should be reading at for one, and two I just kind of wanted a special fun little competition between the different schools, different classes and things like that."

The mayor's office and Lookout Credit Union will be awarding prizes for the school, with the most minutes read, the highest average minutes read per child and the school with the highest percentage of kids participating.