New Ulm 2025 delegates to Boys State (L to R) Ryan Johnson, Anton Pyan and Logan Klawitter.

NEW ULM – Earlier this month, New Ulm American Legion Seifert Bianchi Post 132 sponsored four local boys to attend Boys’ State at St. John’s University.

Anton Pyan, Logan Klawitter, Ryan Johnson and Henry Albrecht of New Ulm joined 173 other delegates in the week-long program that teaches students about Minnesota government through participation. All week, they participate in mock government on the local, county and state level government. Now, back in New Ulm; Pyan, Klawitter and Johnson shared their experiences.

Pyan said he first learned of Boys State from his chemistry teacher Jenny Janssen who mentioned it in class and recommended he attend because it seemed interesting.

Klawitter said he was also recruited by Janssen to attend, but Klawitter said he was already familiar with Boys State. His brother Landon attended the program two years ago and made it sound exciting.

Johnson said he was recruited for Boys State after being called into the office at New Ulm High School Public. Both had been invited to Boys State.

“At the time I had no idea what it was,” Johnson said. “After that day I did some research on it, I did some research on it and it seemed like a fun activity.”

All three New Ulm boys said they took civics classes at high school, but none had done a deep dive into the study of government.

After arriving at Boys State on the first day, the New Ulm boys were each separated into different city groups. Klawitter said the New Ulm boys were deliberately assigned to a different city. There were a total of 6 different cities with around 30 delegates. Within these groups, they organize a local government. Throughout the week, the delegates build up through the different levels of government.

By the end of the first day, students began campaigning for city offices and holding elections the next day. By the end of the week, they would also elect county and state officials.

Pyan said he was eventually elected to county government, serving as a county court administrator. Pyan said he was initially running for a spot in the Senate, but won a write-in vote for court administrator.

As court administrator his main job was timing opening and closing arguments during court hearings. However, Pyan also had to take over the duties of courtroom bailiff after the original bailiff was absent conducting an arrest. During his brief time as bailiff, Pyan was forced to remove one person from the courtroom.

During a constitutional infringement case, the attorney called a witness who did not want to be in court for two hours.

“He had to sit there for two hours and just watch,” Pyan said. “He got mad and I had to escort him out.”

Klawitter said he initially campaigned for city treasurer but did not win the election. He next campaigned for county board and won.

Klawitter said as county commissioners they were given a series of scenarios to resolve. The big issue for his county was water access. They were given a few options to pick from but were allowed to come with any other ideas on their own.

“We ended up taking too long to decide at first and there were consequences,” Klawitter said. Since the local hospital had no water, the county was sued forcing them to head to court. In the end, they chose to create more wells.

Johnson said his strategy was not to campaign for office, but to meet a lot of people and socialize. This is how he was initially appointed city clerk and later became the personal secretary to the mayor. In the end, he ran for the House of Representatives and won.

Johnson said his first role as city clerk involved documenting all city actions and making sure voting went smoothly and everything was done in an orderly fashion. The secretary role was similar, including a lot of documentation. Once he arrived in the House of Representatives his role shifted to discussing bills and passing legislation. Johnson said overall, the representative position was less stressful than the secretary or clerk.

Johnson said looking back on his time at Boys State, he learned to better stand up for himself and get more involved.

“Before this, I was not one to put my foot forward and give speeches and talk in front of people,” he said. “Being at Boys State, and running for those positions I had to put myself forward and tell people why I should have these positions.”

Johnson admitted it was an uncomfortable experience but it was helpful in getting his voice heard.

Klawitter said he gained a new appreciation for local government from his time at Boys State.

“There is a lot more to the government than I thought,” he said. “You always hear about what is happening in Washington, D.C. but there is more to me than than that.”

Klawitter said he also felt uncomfortable advocating for himself, but through the program, it became easier.

Pyan said before Boys State he only really heard about things happening on the federal level. Even in school, the focus was on the federal level.

“I learned a lot about how important local and state government is,” Pyan said.

All the boys said they would recommend others attend Boys State if they get a chance, though none planned to run for office anytime soon.

Klawitter said he would recommend it, even for people who do not enjoy studying government functions.

“It’s a good experience to learn what the government does and make yourself better and get to know people,” he said.

“It is a great way to expose yourself to what actually goes on at these levels,” Johnson said. “You can’t really get that anywhere else.”