Leader-Telegram from Eau Claire, Wisconsin • R4

2013 Universal Uclick release dates: October 12-18 41-1 (13) from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page To order, send $15.99 ($19.99 Canada) plus $5 postage and handling for each copy. Make check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to Universal Uclick. Send to The Mini Page Book of States, Universal Uclick, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS 66206.

Or call toll- free 800-591-2097 or go to www.smartwarehousing.com. Please send copies of The Mini Page Book of States (Item at $20.99 each, total cost. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) Name: Address: City: State: Zip: The Mini popular series of issues about each state is collected here in a 156-page softcover book. Conveniently spiral-bound for ease of use, this invaluable resource contains A-to-Z facts about each state, along with the District of Columbia. Illustrated with colorful photographs and art, and complete with updated information, The Mini Page Book of States will be a favorite in classrooms and homes for years to come.

The Mini Page Book of States Highways On the Road Americans love to drive. And with more than 4 million miles of public roads from city streets and county roads to U.S. highways and interstates there are lots of places to go. The next time you are in a car, take a look around. What kind of road are you on? Highways are roads built to connect towns and cities across the nation.

They allow people and products to travel long distances at high speeds in cars, buses and trucks. If the nation were a human body, its highways would be the blood vessels and arteries. The Mini Page talked with an official at the Federal Highway Administration to learn more about longest, biggest and busiest roads. Before the highways The earliest roads in the United States were more like trails. People rode horses and wagons or just walked to get from one place to another.

Almost all roads were unpaved, so if it rained or snowed, these roads became muddy messes. Some roads were known as turnpikes To travel these routes, you had to pay a fee called a toll By the mid-1800s, trains were the best way to travel long distances. The National Road was first connecting towns in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. President Thomas Jefferson approved its construction in 1806. Thousands of settlers used this semi-paved road to cross the Appalachian Mountains.

The road was later extended into Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. photo courtesy Missouri Department of Federal Services Corp. The 3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway is a multiple-highway interchange in Kansas City, where three interstates and two federal routes intersect. The area is named for the Oregon, California and Santa Fe pioneer trails that passed nearby in the 1800s, carrying thousands of settlers westward. art courtesy Federal Highway Administration Highway Fact-a-roonies Number of cars in the U.S.

in 1911: 639,000 Number of cars in 2011: 253,200,000 Number of licensed drivers in 2011: 211,800,000 The first highways for cars were called Instead of numbers, they were given names. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental road, from New York City to San Francisco. Words that remind us of highways are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find: AUTOBAHN, CARS, CITY, CONVOY, COUNTY, EISENHOWER, EVEN, FEDERAL, HIGHWAY, INTERCHANGE, INTERSTATE, MILES, ODD, RAMP, ROUTE, SHIELD, STATE, STOP, TOLL, TRAVEL, TRIP, TURNPIKE.

Highways try find Which you? I A A I A A I I I A A A I A I I I from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick TM ready resources from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this topics. On the Web: fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/brainiacs/index.htm nps.gov/fone/historyculture/nationalroad.htm At the library: Fine the Way They by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge Across America: A Story of the Historic Lincoln by Mary Elizabeth Anderson from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick Americans on the Move my number? By the early 1900s, bicycles and automobiles had changed how people traveled. As the U.S. population grew, citizens also needed more food from farms across the country and goods and materials produced in other regions. But most of roads were still dirty, dusty and bumpy.

Finally, the federal government and the states decided to work together to create a nationwide highway system. These highways were given numbers: Roads that travel use even numbers. Those that run use odd numbers. While these new roads helped solve many problems, plans were underway to build something even better. Know your signs You can usually tell what kind of highway on by looking for signs.

County roads, state highways, U.S. highways and interstates all use different numbers, shapes and colors of signs to avoid confusing drivers. In some areas, interstates replaced the existing U.S. routes. Along these stretches you may see signs for both types of highway, though it is actually the same road.

States may use their own shapes and designs for state or county roads. In which direction do you think this interstate runs? art courtesy Federal Highway Administration photo courtesy Federal Highway Administration Many of the first highways, often known as passed right through towns and cities. As a result, speed limits varied, and traffic often stopped at busy intersections. This is a sign for a county road in New York. Alaska uses this type of sign, with the Big Dipper, for its state highways.

This type of shield labels a federal, or U.S., highway that is not an interstate. Rookie Recipe Blackberry Parfait need: 1 (1-ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding 2 cups low-fat milk 2 cups blackberries, rinsed and drained 3 tablespoons seedless blackberry preserves whipped dairy topping What to do: 1. Make pudding according to package directions; chill for 5 minutes until soft set. 2. Place blackberries and preserves in a small pan; cook on medium heat for 5 minutes to combine preserves and fruit.

Let cool. 3. Spoon half of pudding evenly into 4 parfait dishes. 4. Spoon 1 4 cup blackberry sauce on top.

5. Layer with remaining pudding, then with blackberry sauce. 6. Spoon desired amount of whipped topping as final layer. You will need an help with this recipe.

from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick TM from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick Oscar: Did you hear about the owl with laryngitis? Oliver: He give a hoot! Obie: What is a smart favorite type of math? Olive: Owl-gebra! TM All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category? Owen: What sound do owls and ghosts make when they cry together? Otto: Mini Spy Mini Spy and her friends are getting ready to take a road trip. See if you can find: question mark bearded man muffin number 3 ladder letter ruler letter bell word MINI saw kite cup number 2 ring doughnut letter A pencil number 7 from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick TM from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick Meet Cole Jensen Cole Jensen plays Wyatt Bernstein in the Disney Channel series He has acted in several TV shows, commercials and a movie. He started taking acting lessons when he was 6 years old and enjoys making people laugh. Cole grew up in Orange County, Calif.

He enjoys hanging out with his friends, biking, basketball, soccer, baseball and playing video games. He has fun learning new tricks on his yo-yo. He plays the piano and clarinet. He lives with his parents and two sisters. The family has a cat and two guinea pigs.

photo by Craig Sjodin, courtesy Disney XD from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick The Interstate Highways The Mini Page Staff Betty Debnam Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry Managing Editor Lucy Lien Associate Editor Wendy Daley Artist vision Dwight D. Eisenhower was 34th president from 1953 to 1961. Before that, he served in the U.S. Army for almost 40 years and became a five-star general, the highest rank. In 1919, Eisenhower took part in a military convoy or line, of 72 vehicles and 297 men that traveled 3,250 miles from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco.

This trip really highlighted for Eisenhower the poor shape of roads. The journey took two months to complete. Later, Eisenhower commanded the Allies in the defeat of Germany during World War II. There he saw the German autobahn (AH-toe- bahn) system. These wide, high-speed highways would become a model for greatest roads.

In 1956, President Eisenhower approved the Federal-Aid Highway Act to create the Interstate Highway System. longest interstate is Interstate 90, which runs from Boston to Seattle for 3,020 miles. The longest road is U.S. 20, which stretches 3,365 miles from Boston to Newport, Ore. expressway system will one day surpass interstates, with a planned length of more than 52,000 miles by 2020.

What is an interstate? Interstates are highways with two or more lanes in each direction, with no traffic signals or stop signs. If a vehicle need fuel, it could drive on the interstates forever without having to stop! Vehicles enter or leave interstates at various points known as interchange exits Most exits have ramps, which allow drivers either to gain speed or slow down. Where two interstates cross each other, drivers can often use an interchange ramp to switch roads without stopping. Although interstates generally are built and maintained by the states in which they are located, the federal government provides most of the money for their construction and maintenance. These roads must meet certain standards to be considered newest stretch of interstate opened on Sept.

2, 2013. The new eastern span of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (right) replaced the older bridge (left), which had been damaged in the past by earthquakes. interstates, and final designs must be approved by the U.S. secretary of transportation. As a result, interstates themselves often appear very similar, though the background scenery may change a lot from ocean views, forests and cities to prairies, mountains and deserts.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower photo courtesy White House Look through your newspaper for stories about new highways being built or new technologies that improve travel. The Mini Page thanks Doug Hecox with the Federal Highway Administration for help with this issue. More Highway Fact-a-roonies Americans drove 2.95 trillion miles in 2011. the same as 402 trips to Pluto and back! interstates were designed to quickly move military vehicles and soldiers around the country in case of an invasion or an emergency, such as a hurricane.

Together, interstates form the biggest man-made object in the solar system at more than 47,000 miles in length. photo courtesy Federal Highway Administration Next week, The Mini Page is all about our congressional leadership. from The Mini Page 2013 Universal Uclick Supersport: Blair Walsh Height: 5-10 Birthdate: 1-8-90 Weight: 192 Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla. Blair Walsh spends most of a football game standing on the sideline. But make no mistake, one of most valuable Vikings.

As a rookie last season, Walsh was the top placekicker in the NFL. He made all 36 of his extra-point attempts and an amazing 35 of 38 field-goal tries, including one 56-yarder and 10 of 50 yards or more. That earned Walsh first-team All-NFL honors. Before joining the Vikings, he starred at the University of Georgia, where he set a school and Southeastern Conference scoring record with 412 career points. Walsh is more than a big foot, however.

Along with his brother, he set up a home and hospice care service for youth. He also is a surfer. But he has made his biggest splash as a placekicker. TM 2011 Universal Press Syndicate.