Grace Holmgren’s desire to understand why the Upper Peninsula isn’t part of Wisconsin, and her hard work to explain why, has propelled her to a national competition in Maryland next month. That quest turned out to be her project for the National History Day Contest, in which students across the country select a topic based on that years contest theme, conduct research for about three months, then Crean an exhibit, paper, performance, website, or documentary. The theme of this years contest us “Conflict and Compromise” which as it turned out, aligned with her interest in the U.P. The national contest is June 10-14 at the University of Maryland, College Park, outside of Washington, D.C. Students are vying for a portion of more than $80,000 in prizes plus three college scholarships.