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Alyvia Caskey, of Pipestone, participated in Girls State earlier this year. The program is organized by the American Legion
Auxiliary and teaches participants about local, county and state
government. Photo by Kyle Kuphal
Earlier this summer, Alyvia Caskey, 17, of Pipestone, spent a week at the American Legion Auxiliary Minnesota Girls State at Bethel University in Arden Hills.
According to the American Legion Auxiliary Department of Minnesota, Girls State is a program for young women who have just completed their junior year of high school. The week-long experience helps participants learn about Minnesota government at the local, county and state levels. They do that by participating in the various levels and branches of a mock government. Each girl is a citizen of a city, a county and the state as well as a member of a political party, and holds a government office.
Caskey, who will be a senior at Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) this fall, said she was part of her party’s resolutions team and a member of the house of representatives.
“We got to debate some bills that people wrote or some ideas that came up” Caskey said. “Then we would send that to the senate and then it would kind of go back and forth from there.”
Caskey said it was interesting to learn about the process and the work that goes into making laws.
In addition to participating in the mock government, the hundreds of participants also heard from a variety of speakers, who held question and answer sessions and told them about their jobs. The speakers included law enforcement, an FBI agent, military veterans, State Auditor Julie Blaha, Secretary of State Steve Simon, state and district judges, attorneys and law students.
Typically, Girls State includes a trip to the state capital, Caskey said, but that part was canceled for her group due to the shootings of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
Caskey said she learned about Girls State at school and applied because she has an interest in government.
“I think I’m interested in it because I, in general, like to help people and see what other people come up with and how to bring different opinions and make it into a tangible thing that works,” she said.
Alyvia Caskey (third from right in back) is shown here with the other residents of her mock city during Girls State. She participated in the program in June. Photo by Kyle Kuphal
She said she also thought Girls State would be a great opportunity to meet like-minded people. Having now experienced it, she said it was a fun experience that she’d very much recommend to others. Caskey said the Legion Auxiliary paid for her participation and that there are scholarships available to those who participate in Girls State. For those who do go, she recommended bringing a computer with to help jot down ideas and write bills.
Caskey was the first local student to participate in Girls State since 2018, when Lauren Lapthorn participated in Girls State. That same year, Matthew Dulas participated in Boys State, which is a similar program for boys.
Caskey is the daughter of Kyle and Sarah Caskey. She is involved in a variety of activities at PAS, including 4-H, FFA, track, cross country and speech. She said she plans to attend college after she graduates in the spring, but that she doesn’t yet know where or what she’ll study. She also said she could see herself being involved in government one day, but that she doesn’t have her eyes set on anything specific yet.