ABOVE: Students check out parts of a snowplow at the Martin County Highway Department in Fairmont on Tuesday as part of Student Government Day. Photo by Daniel Olson.

FAIRMONT– About 40 students across Martin County took part in Student Government Day on Tuesday. The long-standing program is sponsored by the American Legion Post #36 and American Legion Auxiliary and organized with help from the Martin County Veterans Service Office.

While it’s unclear just how long Student Government Day has been happening, Legion Post #36 Commander, Steve Fosness said it’s been taking place as long as he’s been a member of the local legion, which dates back to the 1980s.

“It ties in with children and youth and Americanism,” Fosness said, explaining that the Legion works under four pillars: veterans affairs and rehabilitation, national security, Americanism and children and youth.

“This is the first step locally and then we have Legion Boys State and Legion Girls Sate,” he explained.

The Martin County Veterans Service Office has also been involved in the program for several decades. Veterans Service Specialist, Tam Plumhoff, said their office helps organize it but the county is really the host.

“The county wants to share with the students all of the different departments that there are and what kind of education you may need if you’re interested in a particular area,” Plumhoff said.

All seventeen departments in the county participated and the students on Tuesday physically visited each of them.

They started the morning in the Maintenance Department and throughout the afternoon made some more stops including the Planning and Zoning Office, Human Services, County Recorder, Martin County Library and Sheriff’s Office. The students were also transported, via Prairie Lakes Transit, to the County Highway Department.

“The kids come away with it with a wealth of information,” Plumhoff said.

She also noted that those involved are always learning too as over the years operations or people in the department have changed and thus new information is provided.

This year 40 students came through, which is one of the biggest groups Plumhoff said they’ve ever had. The students, which were juniors, came from all school districts in Martin County.

Each school is limited to 10 students and Plumhoff said some schools send students who have expressed an interest in government.

One of the stops the group made was in the Martin County Commissioner meeting, where the board was holding its bi-monthly meeting. Commissioners were able to introduce themselves and speak about what they do.

Commissioner Kevin Kristenson is a new addition to the board, though he was a teacher in the Granada-Huntley-East Chain and Fairmont Area School Districts for many years.

“I think it’s a good program. It gives the kids a birds-eye view of how local government, county-wide, works,” Kristenson said.

It was shared with the students that the county employs about 140 people and that there are many employment opportunities and other ways to get involved.

“They receive an overall picture of the opportunities available,” Plumhoff said.

She said she is not aware of another county that has a program as comprehensive as Martin County’s

“We’ve always gotten very positive feedback from the kids. They live locally but don’t realize a lot of what goes on in the local government and this really opens their eyes and opens a lot of opportunities for them,” Fosness said.