About 150 high school students from across Missouri will talk about freedom, government and the economy today through Friday.

The ninth annual Missouri Freedom Forum is being held in Cape Girardeau this week. Fifteen students from Cape Girardeau are among those attending.

Linda Minner with Cape Girardeau's Chamber of Commerce said the Freedom Forum is designed to give young people a chance to discuss the basics of American economics and government.

In addition, students will discuss private enterprise and participation of citizens in the democratic structure.

"It reinforces the American economic system," said Minner, "and hopefully will give students a deeper appreciation of the freedoms we enjoy in the United States."

Cheri VanLoo, administrative assistant with Missouri Chamber of Commerce, said students have an opportunity to discuss America's government and economic systems and how they differ from systems in other countries.

"We talk about what freedoms are and how they can use freedoms to their advantage," VanLoo said.

Students attending from Notre Dame High School are Katie Boos, Jeremy Bratton, Bethanie Gosche, William R. Hamm, Sara K. Jansen, Bryn McDougall, Jill Ostendorf, Bryan Schaefer, Amisha A. Shah, Julie I. Stoverink, Jennifer N. Teegarden and Julie Wehner.

Attending from Cape Girardeau Central High are Paul Kranawetter, Stan Clark, and Felisha M. Session.

During the conference, students will participate in two projects. Students will be tested on their entrepreneurial nature, and then groups of students will be asked to develop a new product or service along with a marketing plan.

Students will also act as congressmen, using a computer simulation.

"They make decisions on different things happening with a focus on making good decisions and getting reelected," VanLoo said. "They learn you can't please everyone, and you have to decide if you are going to vote according to your constituency or your own gut feelings. They have to think about what's more important, reelection or making the right decision."

At the end of the simulation, each student faces an election.

The Freedom Forum is sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Farm Bureau Federation, and Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. It is promoted through chambers of commerce and farm bureaus across the state. Students are selected based on leadership abilities.

The program in Cape Girardeau started in 1986. The local Freedom Forum has outgrown the original, held in Mexico, Mo.

Speakers over the three days include Alvin Rohrs, president and CEO, of Students in Free Enterprise, Inc., of Springfield, Mo.; Gregory Casey, with the department of political science at University of Missouri-Columbia; Peter C. Myers, president of Adopt a Farm Family, Myers Land Management Co., in Sikeston; Estil Fretwell, Missouri Farm Bureau and former state legislator; Bob Hitzhusen, Missouri Farm Bureau and former congressional aide in Washington D.C.; David Lankford, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and former mayor of Mexico, Mo.; Mark McKee, president of Pyramid Pizza, Kansas City; and Mark Scharenbroich, motivational speaker and comedian from Minnetonka, Minn.