Matthew Kokes, the son of Jay and Lori Kokes, was the Wagner American Legion’s 2025 Boys State delegate. South Dakota Boys State was held at Northern State University in Aberdeen on June 2-6. When asked why he applied to attend Boys State, Matthew said it was because he wanted to learn more about how the government worked, the behind-the-scenes processes and to network with others from across the state. When Matthew found out that he had been chosen as Wagner’s delegate, he was very excited. Going into the event, all that Matthew knew was that it was a chance for young people like himself that were interested in government to get first-hand experience while learning.

Matthew, who will be a senior at Wagner Community School this year, is interested in the fields of health and science. Even though those fields do not directly involve the government, that did not deter him from attending Boys State, because Matthew knew that he could also possibly be interested in how governmental decisions that affect these two topics are made.

If Matthew could choose to hold any governmental office, he said that he would want to be the governor. As the governor, he would travel the state extensively, not having to leave the state maybe as much as the senators and representatives are expected to. He also feels that holding this position would give him a much larger influence on decision making and policy within the state rather than being a part of the legislature. Most importantly to Matthew though, would be his dedication to building South Dakota to be the best state in the nation.

Before attending Boys State, Matthew was looking forward to meeting others and generally learning more about how the government works. Now that he has attended, Matthew has learned a significant amount about the inner workings of the government, and the issues that the state of South Dakota in particular face as well as the country as a whole. He feels very fortunate to have been able to attend as he met a lot of people that without this opportunity he may have never crossed paths with.

Matthew is quite realistic about the current state of the United States government as he feels that there is a lot of room for improvement in how things are run and handled. If it were up to Matthew, he would start by appointing qualified people to be in charge of different governmental areas. He would also attempt to return civility and honesty to the government. Some bigger ideas that Matthew has would include lowering the salary of representatives and senators to the median income of the United States while also implementing congressional term limits to root out career politicians. He would also ban officeholders from trading or holding stock, so as to not be able to profit off of deals that they know are in the process of being made because of the passing of proposed bills and laws.

Honesty, trustworthiness, the ability to actively listen, empathy, teamwork, problem solving, creativity, passion, humility, resilience, accountability and reliability are all characteristics that Matthew would use to describe what makes a good leader. When asked if he feels that he is a good leader, Matthew said that he felt he had several of these characteristics including knowing how to be a team player, considering other people’s opinions, holding himself accountable, being trustworthy, reliable and honest.

Matthew and his parents were invited to attend the Wagner American Legion’s monthly supper before their July meeting to enjoy some fellowship with local Veterans as well as share with all of those in attendance about his adventures and experiences at Boys State. Matthew said he had a great time, and even though he was not elected for the some of the positions that he ran for, he would highly recommend it. He would tell other upcoming potential Boys State delegates that there is so much more to Boys State than just learning about the government. By attending this annual event, one has the potential to make oneself a better leader, meet people from all across the state, and open doors to many opportunities and scholarships just by attending the event.