This past fall, 40 children from all across the country participated in a social experiment/reality show called Kid Nation.  One of those 40 children was Hunter Jeffers, a 12 year old from Martinez, Georgia.  He had a quiet presence throughout the first half of the season but because a leader and a role model. 

A hard worker who never asked for anything in return, Hunter won a coveted gold star, awarded to him by the town council, and worth $20,000.  The money, he said at the time would help secure his future and education but he didn't just spend the money on himself.  Since being home, Hunter has donated money to charity and helped raise money for organizations such as the Make A Wish Foundation.  This month, he spoke to local news station WDRW in his home state of Georgia about his positive experience on Kid Nation.

CBS' Kid Nation, a reality series that features 40 kids trying to run their own town with minimum adult supervision, received a lot of negative buzz even before it premiered and during its first few weeks on air.  Many bashed the network and the show, saying they were blatantly exploiting children.  However, for show participant Morgan Wood, Kid Nation proved to be a worthwhile experience.

"There's not one thing I regret (about the experience)," the 13-year-old Morgan told The Indianapolis Star.  "There were so many new things I was able to do."

CBS' Kid Nation was on the receiving end of much criticism even before it premiered in September, and even though all the negative talk that surrounded the series eventually faded, executive producer Tom Forman knows that the early controversy had a crippling impact on the show's performance.

"It's not the kind of buzz you want to launch with,” Forman told USA Today. 

Alright, look.  I like Kid Nation.  I really do.   I'd love to meet these kids and talk to them about their time in Bonanza City.  I wanna pinch the cheeks of about half of them and wring the necks of the other half but all have made an impression on me.  I really loved that I had a show to watch with my son that not only was entertaining, but raised different issues that we talked about over the last 13 episodes.  However, just like I've gone back and forth about whether or not I like Greg, I went back and forth on whether or not I liked last night's finale of Kid Nation.

Here we are, the last episode of the first season of Kid Nation.  While we wait to hear if there will be a second season, I find myself surprised that I'm going to miss this show and these kids.  I'll miss Sophia's wisdom, Jared's quirkiness, Greg and Blaine's toughness, Taylor's selfishness, and even Anjay's spineless practicality.  But most of all, I'll miss all those kids who I've never seen before.  Going through the cast list, I realize I have no idea who Maggie, Madison, Jasmine, Gianna, Campbell and Brett are.  There's another dozen or so I only recognize vaguely from one episode.  What happened to Divad?  It looked like she was on the verge of becoming a major player, then she vanished.  CBS needs to call in the team from Cold Case or Without a Trace on this one.

This summer, CBS' Kid Nation, a reality series that has 40 children running a society with minimum adult supervision, faced a serious dilemma when New Mexico officials claimed the network and Good TV Inc., the production company behind the show, failed to apply for proper work permits or waivers for the kids.  The officials also said that they were not allowed to enter the set, a ranch near Santa Fe.  The controversy intensified when a letter from a participant's mother claiming the children were being abused and put in danger became public.

However, it now seems like the government has had a change of heart, as officials recently announced that they have dropped the investigation, which had them rifling through the 22-page contract between Kid Nation producers and parents.